Freeva Jungle Animals Cloth Nappy Review

It has been quite some time since I have reviewed a cloth nappy but I'm excited about the launch of a new website - Freeva - which launched today selling some gorgeous designs of easy-to-use reusable nappies such as this Jungle Animals design which costs £10.95 and is suitable for babies and toddlers from birth to potty.

If you're new to cloth then let me explain; these re-usable, washable nappies are one size and they grow with your baby through a popper system that allows you to make them longer and wider.  Holly is now using them on their largest setting.  They fasten together using a velcro-style tab which means they accommodate tummies of all shapes and sizes and are so easy to put on and off.  Inside the nappy you place a very absorbent microfibre insert (and in our case, an additional ultra-absorbent booster pad for extra absorbency).  The fabric shell keeps the moisture inside and, after use, you simply fold the tabs back, remove the inserts and wash everything in your washing machine.  You do have to change them more frequently than disposable nappies and you need to have a strategy for dealing with soiled nappies - experience tells me that our most effective way is to not bother using a flushable liner of any sort and to just live with any stains that really won't shift.

I've been a cloth mama on and off for nearly 5 years. Cloth nappies are soooooo much cheaper than disposable nappies so long as you are happy to place all your nappies in a pail and wait a few days between washes.  Now that Holly is at nursery, we don't use enough nappies during the week to make it worth it but we can still use cloth at the weekends.  I know from a quick analysis of my water bills and elecricity bills over the past years that cloth nappies cost me around £8 a month when we are using them full time in comparison to the £4.80 each week I currently spend on budget disposable nappies.  There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that cloth nappies save you money and... perhaps most importantly... are kinder to tiny bottoms (neither of my girls ever suffered from nappy rash until I moved them out of cloth and into disposables).

We love the simplicity of these Freeva cloth nappies.  The tabs are so easy to use and the elasticated waist results in a really good leak-free fit.  The opening where you insert the absorbent core is just at the top of the nappy and doesn't have a flap to cover it over like some better-known and more expensive brands.  I think this makes the Freeva cloth nappy a lot easier to use when adding and removing the insert but I did notice at times that the insert can ride up when Holly is wearing the nappy and, if it is wet, then it can result in the wet core touching her clothing and causing leakage.  This may just be a sign of quite how active Holly is.

Freeva have some absolutely stunning fabric designs for their nappies, many of them unisex.  There are also lots of bright and plain coloured nappies but I think the Jungle Animals design is my favourite and it looks so cool on Holly.  It really makes me want to use cloth nappies more permanently.

I have a discount code for use on the shiny new Freeva website if you fancy some of these cloth bottoms for your little one - use the code MELLOWMUMMY at the checkout.  You can find Freeva on Facebook and Twitter.

Itti Bitti Tutto Cloth Nappy Review

I like to think that I've become a bit more open minded when it comes to different styles of cloth nappies the second time around. Different styles work for different parents and different babies which is why I was really excited to try out the new Itti Bitti Tutto all-in-one nappy.

Itti Bitti is the very first brand of cloth nappy that I ever heard of and the only one that I knew before I became an expectant parent but until now I had never tried any of their nappies.

The Itti Bitti Tutto is designed for use from birth right the way up until potty training. It uses a series of snappers to alter the length and width of the nappy as your child grows. On the outside there is a gorgeous and fun fluffy fabric but on the inside where the series business of absorbency goes on it is made from stay-dry suedecloth to try and keep your baby's bottom dry. A series of different snap-in boosters are used to alter the level of absorbency needed.

I loved the fluffy fabric of the Itti Bitti nappy, it really makes it stand out from the other nappies in my collection but the fluffiness did diminish a touch after the first wash. I found that I needed to pre-wash the nappy a lot before it was able to offer a level of absorbency I was happy with (I think about 8 washes).  I also find the Tutto nappy to take the longest to dry of all of my cloth nappies.

I really like the shape of the Tutto nappy as it sits against Holly's bot - it is nice and tight around the legs without seeming to restrict her movement. The design of the inside of the nappy is unlike anything else I have seen - it has a raised edge which they call their 'poo fence' which really does seem to work to stop wet tiny baby poo leaking out. The number and shape of the different snap-in absorbent layers bamboozled me a bit and I'm still not sure that I have entirely settled on the right combo for us but I would imagine that Holly's needs will change as she grows and I will have to re-learn which pieces to use inside the nappy.  You can get the inserts in microfibre or bamboo - we use bamboo and they tend to take longer to dry but I believe give a better absorbency level.

Due to the time it took to build up a good level of absorbency in the nappy, I haven't been brave enough to try the Itti Bitti Tutto at night time yet - I should do one day really though to see if it is up to the challenge.

One of the things I like best about the Tutto nappy is that there is one extra snapper right back by the hips that allows you to really make sure that the nappy is tight all the way around a small baby's waist. This is an area where many other all-in-one and snapper-based nappies can struggle. As Holly grows older, we probably won't need to use this extra snapper but at present it prevents the 'wings' from working loose.

If I were to give the Itti Bitti Tutto a mark out of 10, I would go for a 7.

gNappies Review - Reusable AND Disposable Nappies

As regular readers will know I am a cloth nappy lover but I also use disposable nappies when it is more convenient for me. I'm a wimp when it comes to using cloth nappies out of the house as I don't like having to bring home the fall-out! gNappies are an innovative eco-nappy which claimed to have a solution to my problem - a reusable / disposable hybrid nappy that I could use whichever way I wanted. So, did gNappies save the day for me?

Holly wears gNappies

gNappies are a three-part nappy. The little gPants are soft fabric outer pants that are very lightweight and thin; they aren't clamy or bluky at all. On the inside there is a breathable but waterproof pouch that you snap into place. Inside the pouch you place the rectangular absorbent nappy. You have a choice of two different types of nappy - a 100% biodegradable disposable nappy or a reusable cloth nappy that you can wash and use again.

I tried out the gNappy little gPants with Holly - we were sent a set of disposable inserts to see if I could be converted to using eco nappies when out of the house. My first impressions were good: I love the little pants because they aren't bulky. Bulky reusable nappies tend to mean that my girls are/were in clothes a couple of sizes bigger than their age to accommodate the big bottoms!

To some people gNappies may seem like more work than some of the all-in-one nappies available but I know from my Bambino Mio experiences that the effort is usually worth it in terms of effectiveness. You do need to buy different sizes of covers as your baby grows but once again, I've found from experience that this leads to an easier-to-fit and bitter-fitting nappy.

Image courtesy of gNappies

I found the waterproof pouch to be really effective at preventing leakage onto the soft fabric cover, even of poo. The idea is that if the cover doesn't need washing, save the energy but if I'm going to the effort of washing the pouches, a few small covers isn't likely to make much of a difference. I also found the pouches quite fiddly to snap in and out so decided just to leave them snapped into place all the time. The biodegradable inserts were really impressive; very absorbent!

I'll admit that I wasn't entirely sure which way round the little gPants were supposed to be worn. Most of the pictures on the site look like they are the other way around to the way I put them on Holly! Holly seemed very comfortable in the gPants.

The biodegradable inserts for the gNappies works out at about twice as expensive as traditional disposable nappies but if you use the cloth inserts at home them the costs would drop significantly.

I will admit that I have not been converted to using gNappies when out of the house. I thought they were brilliant for wet nappies but for dirty nappies the waterproof pouch got dirty and so I still needed to carry the mess home with me!

Image courtesy of gNappies

gNappies little pants come in some very cute designs (gBloom is definitely my favourite) and earlier this year they even did a limited edition pair of gBpants to celebrate all things British !

BumGenius Freetime Cloth Nappy Review

When Lara was in nappies, we didn't try BumGenius reusable cloth nappies until quite late in the day - it came as a little bit of a shock to the system to have to stuff a nappy and unstuff it before washing. The good news is that now that Holly is on the block, BumGenius have come up with a new design of cloth nappy - the Freetime nappy - that is a one piece nappy that requires no stuffing at all. Woop.

Holly was sent two of the BumGenius Freetime nappies to try out - they come in a wide range of fantastic bright colours and it would be amazing to have one of each. Holly's nappies are Mandarin orange and Mirror blue/green.

BumGenius Freetime is a one-size nappy which means it grows with your baby as they grow. It has taken some time but I think I've finally cracked the snapper thing - at first I was bamboozled by the number of snappers, you use them to fold the nappy over so that it is the right size for your baby. At two months old I have just moved Holly out of the very first size and into the middle setting on the snappers.  The nappies are suitable for around 8lbs to around 35lbs so should see us right through to potty training.

Both of our nappies have a hook-and-loop Velcro-style fastening which is supposedly easiest for a newborn baby as it is quick to open and close and allows you to get the right level of tightness around their waist. Freetime also comes with a snapper fastening too.

For me the most ingenious thing about the BumGenius Freetime nappy is the flippy flappy soft absorbent microfibre inserts. The flaps have earned the nappy the nickname of "The flippy flappy nappy" in the Mellow household.  These semi-attached inserts are the absorbent core of the nappy and because you don't have to waste time stuffing them into an impossibly small slot (as you do with other BumGenius nappies and other brands we have owned), this nappy saves a lot of time at each change.  They have quickly become our most popular nappy at changing time and the one both Mr. B. and I reach for first.

The other advantage of the flappy inserts is that when you dry the nappy, the surface area is massive and you can get a lot of air around the flaps so they dry astonishingly quickly - another reason why they are our first choice nappy (because we can't wait for the other ones to dry!).

I love the look of the nappy, the flaps sit very well inside the stretchy elastic legs and so it appears smooth and bouncy and makes Holly's bum look infinitely squidgable.

As yet, I have not experiences any leakage whatsoever with the Freetime nappy and I am MORE than happy with the level of absorption.  We really like this nappy!

The BumGenius Freetime nappy costs £15.99 which I think is a bargain for something that will last you for years - you will probably need between 8 and 15 of these if you want to use them exclusively.

The Mio Solo Reusable Nappy Challenge

I was a little bit late to the party for the Mio Solo Nappy Challenge in which a number of bloggers put the new Mio Solo all-in-one reusable nappy through its paces. As you may know, I am a massive fan of the Bamino Mio classic two-piece nappy which I used very successfully with Lara and so Bambino Mio asked me and Holly to try out the Mio Solo cloth nappy. Here is how I got on with the different challenges.

1. The Stay At Home Challenge
At home you can change a nappy as frequently as you need so absorption isn't so much of a problem. I liked the stretchiness of the Mio Solo nappy - much more stretchy than any of its competitors so it has a really nice fit around the leg and will grow with Holly as her legs and tummy fill out. I liked the wrap-around overlapping velcro tabs which meant that on Holly's teenie tiny newborn belly I could still make a one-size nappy fit well with no leaks.  I would say that it doesn't have as much flexibility in terms of size adjustment of the nappy itself compared to other brands of one-piece nappy but actually I quite like this because too many poppers tends to blow my mind and I never know what buttons I am supposed to be popping together!

2. The Out & About Challenge
I don't find the Mio Solo to be a very absorbent nappy - at first I thought this might be because it was still new and needed to go through the wash a few times but now, 9 weeks in and having been through plenty of nappy washes, the Mio Solo is still one of my least absorbent nappies (the Charlie Banana nappy beats it for leaks!) - for this reason I no longer take Holly out in the Mio Solo. In fact, I don't often go out with reusable nappies anyway because I'm a chicken when it comes to lugging dirty reusable nappies home with me.

3. The Overnight Challenge
I tried this once! We always use a Mio Boost super-absorbent insert at night, regardless of what brand of real nappy we are using that night. A Mio Boost or an equivalent booster insert means that you have peace of mind knowing that the nappy won't be totally dripping wet if your baby happens to sleep all the way through the night. I didn't have the confidence in the Mio Solo to go the whole night, even with the additional booster.

4. The Dad Challenge
I think Mr. B. feels the same way about the Mio Solo as I do - it looks fabulous on Holly but in fact the old style Bambino Mio nappies are more effective. Mr. B. always seems to opt for the one-piece nappies when he is doing a nappy change but he quickly took a dislike to the Mio Solo because he found it hard to get his big hand into the slot where you fold in the absorbent core. Like me, he found the core to bunch and stick to the waterproof outer lining, making it hard to get the core to lie flat in place.

5. The Washing & Drying Challenge
Now this is somewhere that the Mio Solo does really well. The flip-out core means that it is fast to dry because all of the fabric can be out in the open. I like some of the nifty features such as the ability to fold back the velcro tabs during washing (it always drives me around the bend that velcro nappy tabs get stuck to each other, or to my nappy bag during the wash cycle).

I will honestly say that I don't rate the Mio Solo as highly as the BumGenius one-piece nappies (review coming soon!) but that my number one favourite reusable nappy still remains the good old Bambino Mio two-piece nappy (which features a waterproof cover and folded cloth insert)... I would definitely choose the classic Bambino Mio any day even though you have to buy different sized nappies and wraps as your child grows.

You can buy the Mio Solo and Bambino Mio Two-Piece nappies online at the Bambino Mio website.

During July and August Bambino Mio are offering a £2.50 discount off their two-piece nappy covers for every used nappy cover you return as part of their "Great Exchange".  The nappy covers are sent to developing countries through their charity partner, Real Aid. 

Cloth Nappies Make Me Smile

God, it feels good to be back using cloth nappies.

When Lara moved out of reusables into disposable nappies at about 18-20 months old (due to the fact they just weren't up to the job any more), I felt a pang of disappointment. I also felt the effect on my purse strings. Disposable nappies cost a lot of money (I was going to say "cost the earth" but then I realised that was a given!). Don't get me wrong, I really do appreciate the convenience of disposable nappies when I'm out and about or travelling. I use them for exactly that - a convenience - in the same way that I use ready-made foods or takeaways. However, you can't beat the warm glowy feeling of changing a cloth reusable nappy.

There was an element of nostalgia when we lifted the old first-size Bambino Mio pre-fold nappies out of the loft for Holly's arrival. We moved Holly into disposables at about 2 weeks old once her cord stump had dried out and was clean and tidy so that it wouldn't get in the way of the top of the nappies. The first thing we noticed was that Holly is a lot smaller than Lara was at the same age so we were able to use the newborn size nappy wrap that we had got for Lara but never used. We have also tried out our one-piece nappies on Holly which we only started using with Lara later on in her nappy journey - they look very cute when they are all buttoned down to their smallest size!

As a second-time mum, I think the pleasure of using reusable nappies is even greater than before. Each time I change a nappy I can't help but gloat at how much money it is saving me. My outgoings on nappies for Holly this time were more or less zero. Yes, I still have to pay for water and electricity to put on a nappy wash every 3 days and yes, I have had to buy more nappy sanitiser and (when Holly gets bigger, liners) but other than that, everything is paid for already from our initial outlay for our first child.

Most local councils in the UK offer a financial incentive to parents who choose to use cloth nappies due to the reduction in landfill costs to themselves if their residents reduce waste levels. Unfortunately, most councils also require you to show recent receipts for the cost of your nappies and nappy equipment. Somehow it feels a bit wrong that a second (or more) time mum can't also claim the incentive for subsequent children. It would have been very easy for me to acknowledge the convenience of disposable nappies and revert to them full-time for Holly but instead I have stuck with it and not only am I eliminating a whole load of landfill due to not using disposables... I'm doubly saving them landfill space by reusing all my equipment from last time. Perhaps I should get twice the reward?

Anyway, I devised a plan that would mean I could benefit from the cloth nappy incentive this time too. I calculated approximately how many Mio Liners and how many tubs of Mio Fresh nappy sanitiser I had used for Lara right through to potty training and then bought the entire 3 years supply of these in bulk all at once. The council have acknowledged my outgoings and sent me a cheque for my incentive of £30 which is approximately what I spent. This means that the only cost ahead of me for using cloth nappies is energy and water bills.

Anyway, enough about money. The best thing about cloth nappies is seeing them dangling from the washing line, naturally bleaching in the sunshine, all clean and fresh, knowing that Holly's bot is being looked after!

Real Nappies - Tips and Experiences from Real Mums

Welcome to the Real Nappy blogging carnival. I've brought together some of the many blog posts out there that debate the subject of using reusable nappies, offer tips and advice, and share experiences. Thanks to everyone who got involved.




Join the Debate

One of my personal favourite websites to read about reusable and cloth nappies is Really Rachel who is now host to The Great Nappy Debate. Rachel has blogged a lot about the reasons why washables win in her household and since she first started using cloth nappies, has investigated many of the issues surrounding their use, including this article debating whether maybe landfill is best.

At Mummy Do That there is a personal Q&A that answers most of the common questions about, and arguments against using cloth nappies.

Aqeela at Aqeela's Home & Garden wrote a great Q&A that highlights the pros and cons of reusable nappies.

Last summer, I blogged about whether Pampers Dry-Max could make me feel any better about using disposable nappies. On a similar subject, Really Rachel raises her concerns about use of absorbent gel in disposables.




Experiences and Advice
Really Rachel has a good introduction to reusable nappies in Reusable Nappies Explained. About a month after first using reusables, she revisted her experiences

At Diary of a First Child there are several posts about the use of cloth nappies. In part one of her adventures Luschka explains some of the reasons behind her decision to try cloth nappies.. In part two of her adventures in cloth nappies, Luschka explains how personal and online advice helped her to choose the right nappy. You can find out more about her experiences after making the move to reusables here.

You can find a great summary of the different types of reusable nappies at the New Forest Nappy Network. For anyone beginning to consider reusable nappies, their Cloth Nappy FAQ are really helpful. They also buy/sell preloved nappies on their Facebook Shop



Here on Mellow Mummy I've also shared my experiences over the past couple of years. I shared my experiences of managing to use reusable nappies with a childminder. At Christmas time we made the decision to give up using reusables full-time because they couldn't cope with the wetness any longer.

I also recently shared all of my money-saving tips for reusable nappies on a budget at BabyBudgeting.

Reviews

BumGenius
BumGenius V4 by me, Mellow Mummy!

BumGenius V4 by New Mummy's Tips.

BumGenius V4 by New Mum Online.

BumGenius Mini Socialite by me, Mellow Mummy.

Minky Nappies
Review of the Dalmation nappy from Baba + Boo by New Mummy's Tips.

Tots Bots
Tots Bots by Aqeela's Home & Garden.

OneLife
OneLife nappy system by me, Mellow Mummy.

Bambino Mio
Bambino Mio by me, Mellow Mummy.

There is a review of the Nappy Wrap Store at Mummy Needs...

Images courtesy of Bambino Mio

The Sunday Review – Bambino Mio and MioBoost

Regular readers will know that I used Bambino Mio reusable nappies more or less full-time from when Lara was about 6 weeks old, to 18 months old. We had a bit of a wobble just before Christmas because Lara was making the nappies too wet and the liquid was soaking through. I've tried a few other brands and honestly, none of them cope either. We resorted to disposables. Bambino Mio came to the rescue to help me try and move back to cloth nappies. They sent Lara some of the extra large cotton nappies and a pack of the MioBoost extra absorbent inserts. So... did they work? Have we moved back to reusables? Read on...

Bambino Mio nappies tend to get a very mixed press. I call it the Marmite effect. You either love them or hate them. We loved them. Lots of mums complain that they are unable to cope with newborn, sloppy poo and that it leaks out of the side. I never found this a problem. In fact, I had far more problems with disposables during the early months. I found the innovative Bambino Mio system to be incredibly easy to use (dare I say easier than the all-in-ones I've tried since?) and, once I'd got my head around the need to sluice sloppy poo off nappies before it caused permanent staining, I found them astonishingly easy to clean and to fit into my daily routine.

Bambino Mio nappies have a three-step nappy system. On the outside you have a waterproof cover which you can re-use for several nappies in a row as long as they don't get wet or dirty. On the inside you have a square of thick cotton which is folded to add lots of absorbency. And over the top of the cotton nappy you place a thin liner.

I love the nappy covers. They are honestly the easiest of all of the nappies I've used and, having used them since the very first weeks of Laras life, she got used to them and very kindly didn't rip the velcro open! The wraps have some gorgeous designs including this new heart design which is soooo Lara! We tended to live with 5/6 wraps and around 18 nappies so that we could do a turn-around every 3 days. The wraps didn't get much reusage when Lara was at the childminders as both childminders were very unwilling to re-use them. One of the perceived downsides to the wraps is that you have to spend money on new wraps as your child grows. Actually, I see this as a big postive. It means that the nappy wrap is a good size for your child at one particular time and is well-fitting. I struggle with nappies that expand using poppers because I can never find exactly the right size of Lara's waist, or legs. I never had this problem with Bambino Mio.

The cotton nappies are the crux of the nappy system. You can fold them in several different ways to provide absorbency where you need it. Until recently I had always opted for a simple rectangle, folding the nappy twice to provide a triple-thickness. I could have the nappies pre-folded so that I could quickly slot one in during a nappy change. Since Lara started wetting through the nappies, I've tried folding the nappies with an extra thickness at the front. The latest Bambino Mio cloths that we have tried look ENORMOUS and aren't really designed for the size of nappy cover Lara currently uses but they do provide extra absorbency so we haven't had any accidents. The only down-side is that they make the nappy so bulky that most of Lara's trousers won't fit over the top so we reserve these nappies for in the evenings when Lara is in chill-out clothes ready for bed.

Bambino Mio nappies are undeniably bulkier than most other cloth nappies we have tried but this was never a problem for us. We soon learned to buy a slightly larger size of trousers for Lara to accommodate her lovely squishy big bum.

As for liners, you can use any brand of liner you like, but the Bambino Mio ones are available in my local supermarket so that suits me fine. I learned not to use a liner until Lara started weaning because sloppy poo just slips through, or squidges out of the sides and the liner makes this worse. Now Lara is on a fully-fledged adult diet we use the liners with great success.

MioBoost

Right from the very beginning I have used an added absorbent booster in Lara's nappies overnight. A tip off from a good friend made me seek out some terry and some bamboo inserts which I folded into the cotton part of the nappy. I'm convinced that the extra absorbency helped with Lara's sleeping patterns during the night. The MioBoost absorbent boosters come in a set of 3. They are incredibly soft and have a slight shaping to them to help them sit inside the nappy. I didn't find them any less absorbent than my existing inserts but I'm not sure I noticed a great increase in absorbency. I did however like the fact that they are a lot better made and therefore likely to stand the test of multiple washes better than the two or three different types of insert I have tried before. I also think that at around £6 for 3, I think they are great value.

All in all, I have found both the bigger nappies and the new MioBoost have given me the confidence to start using resuable nappies again but that I still have to change Lara's nappy almost immediately after she has wet it. Thank you Bambino Mio for convincing me to give them a try again!

Images courtesy of Bambino Mio.

The Sunday Review – BumGenius V4 Reusable Nappy from BabyKind

I'm not a total stranger to Bumgenius nappies as we reviewed the limited edition nappies just before Christmas when we had our little reusable nappy wobble. Over the past few weeks I've bitten the bullet and gone back to using real nappies at the weekends and so I was grateful to get the chance to review the BumGenius version 4 nappies from online nappy and nursery retailer, BabyKind.

The BumGenius V4 nappy is a self-contained pocket nappy which has a brightly coloured waterproof outer cover and a soft inner lining which together form a pocket, into which you can add highly absorbent inserts. They are (allegedly) suitable right through from birth (around 7lb for the V4) to potty (around 35lb) and you tailor them to the size of your child by extending sections of the nappy using the built-in poppers.

Lara is currently 15kg (33lb) and we have the nappy fully unfolded. The stretchy lycra tabs come nicely around her belly and on the version of the nappy with a popper fastening, we use them on their widest setting. Depending on how full her belly is, I can fasten one side a little tighter but this can cause the elastic around her legs to rub a bit. I'm not convinced that Lara would last another year in the BumGenius nappy but then that's a good thing right? An incentive to get a move on with the potty training!

For this reason, I actually prefer the hook & loop (velcro-style) tab version of the nappy. I feel it gives me a bit more flexibility in fastening it around Lara's belly and, having used a velcro nappy (Bambino Mio) for the first 18 months of Laras life, she is well-trained not to unfasten the tabs herself, which is something lots of mums worry about. I find them less faffy than the poppers and, as you know, I find the sheer number of poppers on a BumGenius nappy mindblowing!



The BumGenius all-in-one nappy is a very easy nappy to learn to use. I like having them all ready made up so that a nappy change can be quick and stress-free. The disadvantage with the all-in-one is that you have to wash the whole thing every time, regardless of whether the nappy was soiled or not but if you have enough of them (6 a day?) then that isn't an issue.

The BumGenius nappy is really fast to dry, noticeably faster than others I've tried. Lara, being Lara, I do struggle quite often with absorbency. The nappies come with two terry inserts, one designed for newborns. I use both for extra absorbency and sometimes I also use a bamboo or cotton insert as well (unbranded ones I bought from ebay), but even with all the added bulk really they can't cope with Lara's wetness and I HAVE to change the nappy straight away.

I've taken to cutting my flushable liners in half to use with the BumGenius nappies because they are quite narrow between the legs and my existing liners stuck out of the edges. I wash the BumGenius nappies at 40 degrees and they seem to come out OK but I have suffered with staining, even when using a liner.

BabyKind sell a wide range of reusable cloth nappies and nappy accessories and they stock The Bumgenius V4 nappy in several colours either on their on or in sets (Blossom, Bubble, Butternut, Grasshopper, Noodle, Sweet, Twilight, White).

BumGenius image courtesy of BabyKind

The Sunday Review - Cheeky Wipes Reusable Baby Wipes

A few months back, I blogged about re-using baby wipes. Several of my readers recommended Cheeky Wipes to me as an alternative to re-using packet wipes and then Cheeky Wipes got in contact to ask whether I wanted to give them a try... so I did! I had to find out for myself whether they were up to the hype.

Cheeky Wipes are re-usable, washable, towelling baby wipes that can be washed and re-used again and again. They come in a handy all-in-one kit which provides wipes, storage boxes, carry bags for when you are out and about, and a set of aromatic essential oils.

The concept is simple. Everything colour-coded in blue is for clean, fresh wipes. Everything colour-coded in red is for mucky, used wipes. When it comes to changing a nappy, you take a wipe from the blue box (which is filled with water and a sprinkling of the blue oil that contains lavender and chamomile) , use the wipe and then discard it in the red box (which is filled with water and a sprinkling of red oil that contains tea tree and lemon). If you are on the move, you can take clean wipes out with you in the blue bag, and bring them home for washing in the red bag. Easy.

We like the wipes. They're soft and kind to Lara's skin and they clean incredibly effectively... more so than any packet wipe I have tried. I'd say that the wipes themselves were a little small and they curl at the edges after washing. We find they wash well in our normal washing (although I do tend to put particularly mucky loads of wipes in with nappies or soiled clothes along with some nappy sanitizer) and they dry very quickly.

We like the oils. They smell fantastic and once again, I've not come across a brand of baby wipes of which I prefer the smell, not even Jackson Reece!

I love the idea of the blue/green storage boxes that sit on the shelf of my changing unit but I do struggle to find enough hands with which to open the boxes when we are mid-nappy-change. I also struggle with the mesh bag that I stretch over the mucky box to prevent me from having to handle the wipes when I put them in the washing machine - the bag absorbs the water from the mucky box and so does the draw-string. The draw-string rests against my wooden changing unit making it wet. I am reliably informed that all of these issues are being resolved with the launch of their new boxes at the end of February - well done Cheeky Wipes HQ!

This aside, the Cheeky Wipes really have changed things in the mellow household. I do occasionally need to buy a new pack of baby wipes for use in the nursery (for days when the Cheeky wipes are in the wash or still drying) but the number of packs I have bought since using the Cheeky wipes has reduced A LOT. For every weekly shop I do without needing to buy baby wipes, I can FEEL the money that I'm saving. I will, occasionally need to replace the bottles of essential oils and I was worried that this would be expensive, but the prices on the Cheeky Wipes website are competitive with any other aromatherapy retailer and, given how little you need to use, the bottles will last a long time.

I've enjoyed using the Cheeky Wipes and have been converted to re-usable wipes for nappy changes. I will definitely continue to use these baby wipes.

Potty Training at 16 Months - An Update

You may remember a little while back that I told you about your slow start on the potty training adventure at what is, these days, considered early in Laras life. I've also recently blogged about how the reusable nappies are really struggling at present so today I thought I would give you an update on the potty training progress.

Back in August we got this Beco Potty from Jojo Maman Bebe. I have since discovered that one potty is not enough. You need one in every room ideally! Actually, that's an overstatement. I do keep one in the bathroom and one in the nursery by the changing unit at present as we never have time to leg it from one room to another. I think in the long term I will probably move one to the downstairs toilet when things become a little more serious.

Over the past month I've found that Lara's toilet habits have changed. She can quite easily go several hours and still have dry nappy but then when it does get wet, it gets seriously wet. When Lara wears a disposable you can tell easily when that has happened by the bulk of the nappy changing shape. But, when she is wearing a re-usable then the only way to tell is by touch; that usually involves me picking Lara up for a cuddle and then discovering that her trousers or tights are totally wet through, at which point I have to perform a complete change of outfit. Funnily enough, I see this as a good sign. It means that Lara is growing up.

For quite some time Lara has been indicating to me that she has wet her nappy through some means or another. Only in the last few days has she really been able to communicate to me accurately when she has wet or dirtied her nappy. She will sometimes now tell me in a quiet little whimper 'poo poo' seconds before the event. She rarely tells me 'wee wee' but I'm slowly learning that she does make a distinct noise... normally a little too late to act on it though. I guess that this ability to read Lara's signs is at the heart of 'Elimination Communication' which, the purists will tell you, I should have started from day one. I've been watching Lara for months now hoping to see the signs and only now am I learning... there is no way I could have done this 16 months ago.

The other significant change in Lara's behaviour over the last fortnight is the ability and willingness to dress and undress herself. She will always help me to pull her trousers or tights up and down if I ask her too and this is going to be a big help on our potty training journey.

So, Lara still wears a nappy for all but a few short minutes before and after her bath when I let her run amok. She will sit contendly on the potty both before and after that bath, sometimes with a book, sometimes with a toy. And, perhaps once a week, she successfully manages to use that potty. At present, I don't think she has really grasped the connection between her wet and dirty nappies and the potty. She doesn't seem that interested if she does use the potty and seems to shrug off the congratulations.

Given that I have not found a reusable that can reliably cope with the heavy wetting (and I've tried several different brands over the past few weeks, some better than others), I have been using disposable nappies far more frequently than I had ever intended. I now realise what a huge expense disposable nappies are. It is no wonder the big nappy companies want your children to stay in nappies until they are nearly 3 years old if they can get around £6 a week off you. I'm determined that Lara has to be out of nappies sooner rather than later and, from the way that her brain is developing to understand her own behaviours, I see no reason why this can't be done over the coming months.

Image courtesy of Jojo Maman Bebe

The Sunday Review – BumGenius Reusable Nappies (MiniSocialite)

You will hopefully have all read earlier this week about how Lara and I have been struggling with our current brand of reusable nappies. I was offered the chance a couple of weeks ago to try out the brand new range of BumGenius cotton nappies – what great timing.

BumGenius have just launched their new range of 'Mini Socialite' nappies in the UK. They are a limited edition range of brightly coloured One Size reusable nappies with some gorgeous abstract designs by designer Chelsea Perry. My favourite design is the yellow one called 'Free Spirit' but Lara looked pretty groovy in the blue one too (Retail Therapy). I love the fact that the designs are quite grown up and not cutsey at all.

 

The BumGenius One Size nappy is unlike other reusable nappies I have tried. The nappy comprises an outer cover which is the bulk of the nappy and into it you fit a small insert. Where with most other brands you tend to keep the outer cover for use again for the next cotton nappy, the BumGenius One Size cloth nappy is intended to be washed after each use. At £15.99 per nappy and a recommended stash of around 12-15 nappies, it took me a while to get my head around that. To start with, I felt uncomfortable putting the brightly coloured wrap straight into the wash after just a mildly wet nappy.

The BumGenius nappies have surprised me in their absorbency. Given the huge volumes of moisture that our nappies are having to deal with at present, I was expecting a one-use nappy to last Lara a matter of minutes. It didn't. One nappy was good on Lara for 2-4 hours so the insert must be very absorbent and I certainly didn't feel that Lara's skin was wet in any way after taking the nappies off. I folded over the cotton insert and snapped it into position with poppers to add greater absorbency at the front of the nappy.

I also really liked the shape of the nappy. It is well elasticated around the legs and seems to be tailored well. Wearing the BumGenius One Size nappy, Lara didn't look any more bulky in the bottom-area than when she is wearing a disposable nappy. This is a good thing for us because it aids her movement and means she can fit in to more of her clothes!

I found the nappy easy to take on and off. It fastens with poppers rather than velcro which is great because Lara hasn't yet worked out press studs so can't pull the nappy off like she normally does. Once again, just like the OneLife nappy, I was perplexed by the enormous number of press studs on the nappy! At least on the BumGenius nappy I understand why they are all there. The BumGenius nappy is a one-size-fits-all nappy. It arrived fully popped together in its tiniest form (which was very cute) and you un-snap various parts of it to extend it for older babies.

We are currently using it fully un-snapped but with plenty spare poppers around the main fastening to allow Lara to grow a little more over the next year or so as she moves out of nappies. I had already noticed that with my Bambino Mio nappies that the covers we were using were getting worryingly small and they don't make any bigger than that! For a reusable nappy to be truly birth-to-potty, it has to go from really tiny to pretty damn huge in size.

One thing I didn't like about the BumGenius One Size nappy is that there was no-where for me to put a liner into it. A nappy liner helps when dealing with a soiled nappy and I find it helps to reduce staining on the fabric. It surprised me a little and I even had to go to the babame website to see if I was just being dim!

I had no problems washing or drying the BumGenius One Size nappies. I put them into my normal nappy wash with a small amount of detergent and they washed well at 40 degrees (and coped fine at 60). I found that they dried really quickly because the insert and the liner can be separated and both on their own are quite thin. This is a good thing for me as I often do a wash in the evening and *attempt* to dry the nappies overnight in time for me to leave for work in the morning.

The BumGenius One Size nappies are available in Mothercare and several online retailers. Find out more at www.thenaturalbabyresource.co.uk and www.babame.com . The Mini Socialite range of nappies are bound to be as collectable as the plain coloured nappies and so if you want one, you'd better snatch one quick as they are a limited edition and may only in the shops until Spring 2011.

Images courtesy of threepipe.

HELP – My Reusable Nappies Can't Cope

I feel like I am coming to the end of an era.

Lara has been wearing reusable nappies ever since she was 6 weeks old. We've done so well. But, over the past month we have been struggling. The Bambino Mio nappies we use just can't cope with the volume of liquid that Lara produces!


A few weeks ago we tried out the OneLife Nappy system. It was fine but I didn't get on with the shape of the nappy cover and the cotton nappies themselves struggle even more than the Bambino Mios with the current wee onslaught.

I have also tried a few different approaches to using my Bambino Mio nappies. Some days I use bamboo or cotton boosters in the nappies (I had previously just reserved these for night times). This helps, but not significantly. I have also tried putting two folded cotton nappies into one of the big OneLife nappy covers. This works but it is only a solution I can use over night because the bulk of the nappy means Lara can barely walk (and no clothes fit on over the top).


Lara drinks a lot. She eats a lot. But... I was never prepared for this. As soon as she does a wee the nappy is no longer usable. This weekend I think we averaged 4 changes of clothes during the day due to the fact that the nappies had leaked. The Bambino Mio outer liners are supposed to be waterproof but the liquid has started to wick through the fabric. I don't know whether this is because I have over-washed them and they've lost their waterproofing, or whether it is just that Lara's body functions have changed – I think her body has grown up.

As I've told you before, Lara has already started potty training. It's a very long and slow process with us – none of this 'potty training in one week' malarkey for us! Lara does use the potty each evening, sometimes even with success, but she is a very long way off being potty trained as although she is now able to tell me when she has wet or soiled her nappy, she isn't able to tell when it will happen.

So, until she is potty trained, I need to find another solution. This past fortnight we have been trying out the BumGenius all-in-one nappies (you can read the review this Sunday on Mellow Mummy). They're better, I admit, but I only have two of them so I can't use them all the time. Instead, I have rather grudgingly been sending Lara to the childminder in disposable nappies! This is partly because I don't own a bag big enough to put in enough changes of clothes for the day in case every nappy leaks (and partly because I wouldn't wish that one someone else).

Using disposables every week day feels expensive to me. I find it unsightly when they sag, I hate the smell they give off and then, obviously, there's the waste they produce. On the other hand, it does mean I have less bulk to pack in Lara's bag each morning AND, it opens up a whole area of Lara's wardrobe out of which I thought she had grown. Jeans become a realistic option too! It's not all bad.

I shall keep you updated on my progress on the search for a reusable nappy that can cope effectively with the situation. It would be a shame to have to give up reusable nappies now. In the meantime, if you have any wise words of advice to impart, I'd love it if you could help me.

Image credits:
OneLife nappy system courtesy of Hello Baby
BumGenius Artist Series courtesy of babame.com and BumGenius

The Sunday Review – OneLife Reusable Nappy System

As you probably know, I use re-usable nappies on Lara most of the time. Cotton nappies are a funny thing, you have to invest quite a lot of money up front on them and so once you have made your decision on which brand to try, you are kind of stuck with it! We currently use the Bambino Mio system. I'm happy with it, but I'm not sure it is what I would have chosen if I were to start the thinking process all over again.

I am lucky to have had the chance to try the OneLife nappy system thanks to Hello Baby who sent me one to try. OneLife nappies are one of the more widely available brands of re-usable nappies but not one I knew much about. OneLife reusable nappies are available from the online nursery and baby shop Hello Baby. I've bought a couple of things from Hello Baby recently as they have a really impressive range of products for baby and toddlers. I will probably tell you about the Doidy Cup I bought at some point in the future!

The OneLife nappy system is one which features a cotton wrap nappy and a water-resistent outer wrap. The inner nappy is a one-size-fits-all cotton nappy which is shaped around your baby. It fastens using plastic press-studs and has a number of different sets of studs so that you can adjust the nappy to fit your growing baby. There is also an insert which pops into place which you can use for extra absorbency at night. Honestly, I found the number of poppers bewildering. Each time I had to fasten a nappy, I wasn't sure which studs matched up to which! I also found that even on the very largest setting, the nappy seemed very tight on Lara around the legs and left marks after just a couple of hours. Lara only weighs about 12kg and is 15 months old. I don't think she can wear the OneLife one-size nappy right up until she is potty trained if she continues to grow.

The outer-wrapper comes in different patterns and different sizes. Because of this, it has less studs to do up. It did frustrate me though that I had to do up two separate sets of studs – one for the nappy and one for the wrapper. The wrapper gaped at the sides and had a funny, unflattering squareness to it.

The OneLife cotton nappy certainly seemed softer on Lara's skin than the Bambino Mio nappy but I found it more difficult to put on her, less comfortable for her and harder for me to prevent the nappy leaking urine out from inside the wrapper. My other observation is that the wrap-around nappy caused all of Lara's lower region to be wet, whereas the Bambino Mio nappy isolates the moisture to one line from front to back.

You can find out more about the products in the One Life reusable nappy system at Hello Baby.

Images courtesy of Hello Baby

Is Pampers 'Dry Max' A Green Step Forward?

As someone who only uses disposable nappies as a convenience when travelling, or when I'm out and about, I was particularly fascinated to be invited to tour the Pampers research and development facility in Schwalbach near Frankfurt. Because I only use disposable nappies about 30% of the time, I don't take them for granted. I'm very aware of their effectiveness, of their fit, of their price and of their construction. I'm fussy when it comes to disposable nappies.

If you are a user of Pampers nappies then it can't have escaped your notice that a short while ago, the Pampers Active Fit nappies changed. I was invited to Germany to find out more about the research and technology behind the new Dry Max technology. And so, with a handful of journalists from Prima Baby, Mother & Baby and Think Baby / Made for Mums, I spent a day finding out about the new Dry Max technology and the 10 years of research and development behind it.

The journos squidge a nappy full with 500ml of liquid!

I promise to share with you some of the exciting tales and photos later in the week but for the time being I wanted to talk about the issue that was most important to me on the day.

I use reusable nappies. I use disposable nappies. The two can work together.

I cook healthy, scrumptious home-made food. I buy convenience food. The two can work together.

I have been using disposables a lot recently due to our trip to the USA last month. As I passed through Heathrow airport on the way to Frankfurt for the Pampers trip, I couldn't help but wonder what people had done before the days of disposable nappies when travelling with babies. I can't think of anything I'd like to do less than lug a bag full of stinky nappies around in my hand luggage. In the days when my parents travelled the globe with me, disposable nappies were REALLY bulky, plastic-wrapped, rectangular lumps that offered little protection from leakage. But, even so, my parents still chose them over cotton nappies when they travelled. The new Pampers Dry Max technology is the biggest technological breakthrough in disposable nappies for around 10 years and it means that disposable nappies of the future will be compact and ultra-absorbent – ideal for travel.

Me examining the difference in bulk between the old and new Active Fit nappies

At the end of the day in Schwalbach, Proctor and Gamble brought out the big guns - The Environmental Expert – to tell us why the new Active Fit nappy is going to save the world. Now, as a green mummy, I'm more than aware that the environmental impact of my reusable nappies is similar to that of disposables (as they kindly pointed out to me here). That's assuming that I use evil washing detergents and evil tumble driers (sometimes I do, sometimes I don't) and that I'll never have any more kids (which, I hope, is unlikely). I'm also aware that for every reusable nappy that Lara wears, it is one less disposable, non-biodegradable nappy piling up in UK landfill. And anyway, I don't only use reusable nappies for their environmental impact; I use them because Lara's skin is always 100% free from nappy rash when she wears a cotton nappy (but she gets a rash with just one day of disposables); I use them because I find it easier (and she finds it easier) to identify a wet or dirty nappy when it happens and I use them because they smell and look nicer.

The new Dry Max technology involves more of this crazy absorbent gel

P&G were quizzed by us all about the environmental impact of the weird gel that is now the primary active element of their new nappies (The gel is also known as Super-Absorber – read more about it later this week on Mellow Mummy). To be very honest, they coped well under pressure – Pampers are not designed to be biodegradable in any way and their primary focus is performance. P&G were keen to point out that the new Active Fit nappies with Dry Max have a significantly lower environmental footprint than their predecessors; from raw materials right through to disposal. Each nappy now has about 20% less bulk which means less space being taken up in landfill. To me, it doesn't make an enormous amount of difference to which brand or style of nappy I buy, but if I am going to use a disposable nappy, then yes, I would like to know that the manufacturer was making attempts to reduce their impact on the planet.

So no, Pampers with Dry Max will NOT save the planet but at least it is a small step forward and now, having spoken to the real scientists behind Pampers disposable nappies, I know that the thought is there and that somewhere in the depths of their research centre there are small steps being made to research a greener alternative, perhaps another 15-20 years in the future.

She Moves!!!

Lara has reached one of the most exciting milestones in her life so far - she has learned how to get from one place to another. Admittedly, she can only crawl backwards at present (I've been told I need to fit her with a reversing siren and lights) but backwards seems to do the job just fine.



I wanted to take this opportunity to ask whether anyone else has any experience on whether or not real nappies inhibit your baby when learning to crawl? My childminders have both commented that when Lara gets into the crawl position, that the nappies seem to restrict her legs. Any thoughts on this?

P.S. I know, I know, I need to remove the cables from the background! Our house needs to be totally baby-proofed in the coming weeks.

Can Reusable Nappies Work With A Childminder?

Lara wears re-usable nappies. I'm not an eco-warrior, I don't use them 100% of the time but I do feel it is my duty to do as much as I can to reduce our family's waste, and I KNOW (because I've done some very complex calculations, including electricity costs and water usage!) that it saves me money. When I was looking for childcare last year, the prospect of having to give up using the cloth nappies was a very real worry for me.

I didn't KNOW when I started looking whether nurseries would allow us to continue using re-usable nappies but it became very obvious after we had looked around a couple, that nurseries are very much geared up for disposable nappies – in very high volumes! It became quickly obvious that it was a non-starter. I won't say that it directly contributed to our decision not to send Lara to nursery, but it was certainly something that we thought about when we made our decision.

Each of the childminders that I interviewed seemed willing to give the re-usable nappies a try (I've heard that many simply won't entertain the idea). For many, it was a totally new concept that nobody had ever suggested to them before. For one or two (mainly the ones with a history as Nannies), they had tried them before in different guises. I was worried that my childminders wouldn't want to deal with reusable nappies because of the bother of having to deal with different nappies for different children – but because most childminders ask you to provide your own nappies, it is very little additional effort for them to deal with reusables rather than disposables for one or more of the children in their care. Both of my childminders were more than happy to try reusable nappies out.

I gave each of my childminders a roll of liners, a packet of nappy sanitiser (for soaking in the event of a really evil nappy) and a drawstring bag for carrying wet nappies when out of the house. Each morning, I take them an empty nappy bucket, two nappy covers a pile of six pre-folded cotton nappies. I have yet to find a well-sized bucket with a truly sealable lid, so if the nappies have been soaked, the childminder has to drain them before we take the bucket home.

I wash the nappies every two or three days. Since I started back at work, I've found that I could do with a few more nappies and covers than I did previously. Much of this is to do with the childminders not having totally adapted to the reusable nappies. There have been some extremely wet nappies that could have done with changing much earlier than they were, and some ill-fitting nappies where all sorts of horrid stuff has escaped. It's a learning curve that I had to deal with; and they'll get the hang of too soon. I also find that I have to be well-prepared when it comes to washing nappies. When I was on maternity leave, when I could see I was running out, I could put a wash on, hang the nappies up to dry and the whole process would be turned around before the end of the day. These days, I can only wash and dry overnight so I have to always be thinking one step ahead.

When I take Lara out and about, I normally take disposable nappies with me to make changes faster and less messy (and to save on space in my changing bag). I provide the childminders with a pack of disposable nappies so that they can do the same. It turns out that childminders have much more of a social life than me (!) so they get through a lot more disposables than I did when I was at home. Despite this, they're doing well at using the reusable nappies as often as possible and in 2 months they have used around 20 disposable nappies between them.

I have received no complaints from either childminder about using cotton nappies – in fact the feedback is good. One of them is currently pregnant but I'm not sure I've done enough to convince her to use them herself when her second child comes along (I have a few months yet!). I am happy that I've given it a go, that I've been confident enough to request that they do things my way and that I haven't had to give up what I believe in. I've learned that you CAN continue using reusable nappies even when your child goes to a childminder.