Hello everyone, it’s Jenny here! I am still on maternity leave, having welcomed our beautiful girl Lynnie in January. I am, of course, very happy to pop back onto the RNfL blog and say hello to the reusable nappy community. Our boy Rawrie just turned two but he is not quite ready to fully potty train, so I am here to report back on the stark reality of having two kids in reusable nappies. Spoiler alert: it’s completely doable!
The first thing I have loved about reusables is in the title: the ‘Pass It On’ theme. We originally sourced most of Rawrie’s nappies from other parents, via Facebook groups and Give & Take events. Reusable nappies are made with beautiful, breathable, and durable materials that will last for years when cared for properly. We saved both waste and money from buying second-hand, and now Rawrie’s stash has, quite literally, been passed on to his baby sister. Now not only is double the money and waste saved, but our nappies have also become family heirlooms, much in the same way as Rawrie’s old baby clothes. They have memories attached to them, and they appear in many special photos. I love the fact that Lynnie is dressed in a reusable nappy that Rawrie used to wear and, in preparation for his sister’s arrival, practiced on his own teddy bear! We have also just passed nappies (and memories) on to Rawrie’s cousin who is arriving in September, so the economy of nappy-gifting is going beyond our little family.
The other thing I love about our reusables is that they have fitted in to life with two kids so easily! Our secret is quite simple – we add our kids’ nappies to the daily wash. We knew that, even without reusable nappies, we would still be putting on a wash every day. Kids’ clothes, our clothes, bedding, blankets, reusable cloths, sanitary pads, breast pads and towels are very quickly rotated in many family households. It doesn’t cost any more money or water to add our nappies to the mix. Once the nappies are rinsed first, we can add anything we want to the wash cycle and everything gets cleaned.
We also discovered that pocket nappies are a great option for two kids that are in reusables full-time. Rawrie is the average size and weight of a four-year-old (!?!), but he fits nicely in Size 3 pocket nappies. Lynnie wore flat nappies from birth but is on a similar weight-gain trajectory to her brother, so she is now in his birth-to-potty one size nappies from around two months old. The great thing about these nappies is that the waterproof pockets dry very quickly and can then be stuffed with anything absorbent – not just boosters and prefolds, but also cotton towels and even t-shirts. Rawrie’s huge Size 3 inserts were also Lynnie’s flat nappies when she was tiny, and her cotton and bamboo prefolds are now stuffed into Rawrie’s pockets. We didn’t have to buy a huge stash of nappies to increase rotation – we just had enough pockets to last for two days (for each child), and a big pile of absorbent material that could be grabbed from the drying rack quite efficiently. Another bonus point is that pockets also have fleece lining sewn in for keeping little ones’ bums comfortable and dry.
We have completely reaped the benefits of our nappies. If you would like to go beyond my little blog and you want to get started with reusable nappies, this week is the week to do it. The team at Real Nappies for London have a full week of events, including virtual demos and the very first Real Nappies for London Nappy Exchange and Meetup Facebook Group. This group has just launched and is a very exciting new place for parents to go and pass on their much loved nappies to new families, so do check it out!
Jenny Weeks, 22nd April 2021
(Photo credit: Jenny Weeks)
Blog post for Reusable Nappy Week
#ReusableNappyWeek #EarthDay #PassTheNappy #ChooseToReuse #ChangeStartsHere