11 months into my cloth nappy adventure

 

Yes, my big boy is 11 months old! Time flies when you are having fun!!

 

Summertime is here, and with it, the wind and the sunshine.

I guess cloth nappies have their ups and downs, but summertime is definitely a good time for cloth nappies. I am still using a mixture of Snugglybum nappies and a couple Steggi nappies that I bought. What a pity that Steggi nappy closed down, as their inserts are super absorbent and never retain any odour. I LOVE them! I use them as inserts inside the Snugglybums, because I prefer the cotton stuffing to the microfiber inserts from Snugglybum. The microfiber inserts still work well, however I find I need to use 2 per nappy, in order to increase absorbency. The microfiber inserts also have retained a nappy smell, not necessarily a bad smell, just one that I associate with nappies.

I prefer the Snugglybum covers over the Steggi nappy ones however, as the Snugglybum covers are much cuter, and also they don’t stain inside.

Several things I LOVE about using cloth nappies:

·        Every time I put one on my son, he looks so cute that I don’t want to cover the nappies with pants!

·        People are curious, and it is a great way of chatting to them about the impact that disposable nappies have on the environment.

·        Every time I put one on him I think to myself “I just saved R2!!” Just think about it, at 4 nappies per day, you’ll save yourself more than R2900 annually!!

Simple & Green: Living with a baby

A post from my work blog date 13-09-2012:


All the wonderful research in the world, cannot prepare you for having a gorgeous, little, wholly-dependant bundle of poop... oops, I mean joy. Also, no matter your good intentions, babies are complicated and they cost a lot, and even more if you want to ‘green’ them!!!

Nappies. Yes, I have succumbed to using disposable nappies regularly. Keeping up with washing the adorable cloth nappies is such a mission, even with a nanny at home to do it, but maybe summer will change this. And she is not too keen to wash off the stains either. I do aim to get some of the old-fashioned flat cloth nappies (soon!) that you need to fold into shape, because believe it or not, my nanny would prefer to use those than the fancy-shmancy pre-folded cute cloth ones...

Toys and equipment. Educational toys (and organic/’green’ toys) are the most expensive!! So we have decided, as a general rule, not to buy Jonah toys ourselves (books don’t count), since grannies and grampas, aunt and uncles love to get toys. If people ask what they should get him, we’ll encourage them to contribute to his savings fund (this is better for the environment too!). All Jonah’s bedroom furniture is proudly recycled. There’s the cupboard that someone was throwing out, which just needed to be sanded and freshly painted, then some of my old baby furniture from when I was little (all it needed was some sanding). Of course, all the wonderful friends who have had babies already , are always happy to help out and pass on hand-me-downs (cot, bath, bath seat, baby carrier, clothing, etc). Baby stuff is used for such a short time before they grow out of it, that usually all the equipment is in great condition, so I greatly advocate hand-me-downs.

Food. My baby is over 6 months old now, so food is a major part of his day. Babies need to eat all these little meals during the day of interesting and healthy food. Fruit, vegetables and chicken every day- ouch- hurts the pocket to have a healthy baby! And i find I cook 2 meals- one for the adults (sugar, spice or salt- mmm!) and a bland version for Jonah, which means more cooking, i.e. more electricity. But I must say, it has kept our doctor’s bills low.

Pets. Ahhh- the importance of deworming and de-fleaing your pets regularly... Also so pricey!!

Bathtime. Once your little one gets too big for those little plastic baths, you need to start bathing him in the big bathtub, and this is easiest if you bath with them. But, we all know that bathing instead of showering is much worse for the environment, as it uses WAY more water and more electricity to heat the water. Yes, you can take your little one into the shower with you, but when it comes to washing them they are more slippery than a bar of soap, so we stick mainly to baths.

Savings. Let’s call this recycling of coins, because we started a ‘Jonah Fund’, which was a jar in our living room, where people would chuck their useless cents and other coins. Guess how much we got from this jar sofar to start Jonah’s savings account? More than R300- just in coins! This is not even a drop in the ocean though, compared to how much we should be saving for his future education and all that... but, every bit helps!

Ahhh, so my little bit of honesty is that its harder than I thought to be a green mommy. I will keep trying, however.

A few inspirational quotes...

There would be very little point in my exhausting myself and other conservationist themselves in trying to protect animals and habitats if we weren't at the same time raising young people to be better stewards. (Dr. Jane Goodall Primatologist, ethologist and anthropologist )


There is no single effort more radical in its potential for saving the world than a transformation of the way we raise our children. ( Marianne Williamson)


Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world. (Archbishop Desmond Tutu)


The trouble with simple living is that, though it can be joyful, rich, and creative, it isn't simple. (Doris Janzen Longacre)