Leicestershire Real Nappy Week 4th October - 10th October

Leicestershire Real Nappy Week is almost upon us, here's what's planned so far.....

Demos/talks

Monday 4^th Oct, 1pm – Huncote Children’s Centre 

Tuesday 5^th October, 12.30pm – Harborough Young Peoples' Centre 

Tuesday 5^th October, 9.30am – Ratby Outreach Clinic

Social evening at County Hall Social club

Thursday 7th October 6.30pm - 9pm, there will be demos, talks and other cloth nappy users available to answer any questions you might have, I'll be there, children are also very welcome.

I'll also be helping out Blaby District Council at Fosse Park on Friday 8th October, we'll be in the entrance to the food hall all day to promote real nappies and discuss the lending scheme and cashback offer LCC currently has in motion.

I hope to see you there!

Leicestershire's Nappy Network Event

Just a quick one to let you all know Leicestershire Real Nappy Network are hosting a social evening at County Hall in order to promote real nappies and give real nappy users the opportunity to meet and share experiences.

There will be nappy advisors on hand, stalls to purchase real nappies from, and a licensed bar with refreshments- woo!

The event is a good opportunity for parents who would like to know more about real nappies but also for parents who are using them but have some questions that still need answering.

The social evening is being held in the Sports and Social Club at County Hall in Glenfield on Thursday 7th October 2010, 6.30 - 8pm.

Everyone is welcome to come along, hope to see you there :) For more info here's the facebook page

http://www.facebook.com/#!/event.php?eid=151930548174073&ref=ts

How I care for my nappies.....

Everyone has a different method or tip for caring and washing nappies, here's how I do mine........

I own a variety of different nappies, all with different fabrics that need different care. Thankfully the basics are the same.

Things you need....

Nappy bucket(s)....I have 2, one upstairs and one downstairs in our outhouse where we keep the washing machine. The beauty of having an outhouse is that a lidded bucket wasn't an essential so I use a huge 'Rhino tub' I keep a smaller Rhino tub in Edwards bedroom and empty it everyday to prevent smells building up. Some people find a lidded bucket better when they don't have much space and if they want to contain the dirty nappy smells. I 'dry pail' my nappies, which means I don't soak them.  It is recomended that you do soak some nappies, but rinsing in the sink does the job and then when I have a load ready for the washing machine they go straight in no hassle!

If you do choose to soak your nappies please note that Napisan, although good for it's antibacterial properties, can break down the waterproof bit on nappies - if your nappy has a plastic backing or barrier then it's better to just soak it in water with essential oils instead as they won't effect the waterproofing. I use camomille tea (I soak a tea bag in the bucket for ten minutes before putting nappies in) the camomille is great on baby's skin and I can add something a little stronger on smelly days.
For dry pailing, I sprinkle some orange flower water on the top of the nappies and this works wonders.

I use rubber gloves when dealling with dirty nappies from the bucket too, this is personal preference but I find it useful if the nappies are really soiled and need a really good rinse.

I have a Becko washing machine, which like many others has a 'toddler and baby' cycle - it rinses the clothes a little more than normal to wash out any soap build up.

It is recomended that you use about 3/4 of your usual amount of detergent. I use even less. Again this is to prevent soap build up. Most nappy addicts like myself will tell you not to use Fairy detergent as it contains some ingredients which will effect the absorbancy of your nappies - I use Persil, but Bold 2 in 1 also comes highly recomended. Many people use Soapnuts or EcoBalls instead of detergent - these are great for people with allergies to detergent but I prefer to have that just washed smell to my nappies.

DO NOT use conditioner. It acts in the same way as hair conditioner and puts a plastic coating on the clothes you wash it in, that gives your wash a nice soft feeling. This coating stops nappies being absorbant so defeats the object of your baby wearing one.

I wash all my nappies at 40 degrees. Whoever told you to boil wash was talking rubbish! There is no need to do it, the nappies that contain the plastic backing are better washed at a lower temperature to protect the waterproof part too, plus it's better for the environment if you use a cooler wash.

Contrary to many opinions, nappies CAN be tumble dried! Ok, so it's not ideal for the environment to dry them this way - line drying is always the first recomendation, and following that you could use a clothes horse or airer to hang them indoors. But sometimes, tumble drying is very covienient especially if you are short on space or the weather has been very bad. As long as you use a low temperature they will be fine. I personally try to line dry as often as I can, but as we live in a very rainy country I do find it easier to tumble dry them on occasion.

Once dry I prep them ready for use, I stuff my pocket nappies, wrap my wraps and fold my terry's before putting a liner to catch any poop in each nappy. I use fleece liners but you can also use disposable liners or silk (silk is fantastic as a natural cure for nappy rash too) then I pop them in a draw ready for the next nappy change.

Fluffnic!

I was very excited about this picnic, I had a few friends coming from out of town - people I've met through using real nappies. Sadly a few of them contacted me to say they couldn't make it which was a great shame. I arrived at the park hoping for a handful of Mum's I could chat with. I waited for almost half an hour, yet no one showed :( then I noticed my best friend Jo, walking over with her son Oliver (who is also in real nappies) all was not lost! She had brought her brother along too so after a cup of tea at the cafe we took the little ones on the swings. It was Edwards first time on the swing and he loved it (that's Christmas sorted then!) As we picking a good spot to park our fluffy bums I saw a friend of mine from Nottingham's nappy network wandering round.....things were looking up!
We sat about having our picnic and a good chat about nappies and motherhood in general, it was lovely. It was a shame we didn't have more attendee's but it was nice to talk to Jo's brother about his opinions on nappies/slings and breastfeeding in public! I must admit he surprised me as he pointed me in the direction of an indoor venue I can use for my next meet up :)

Not exactly as I planned but fun none the less :)

Updates

Well, not really much to update on today - just a reminder that Leicester's Fluffnic is still going ahead tomorrow :)

We'll be meeting at Victoria Park at the Pavillion Cafe at 12pm and if the weather is good we'll congregate in the park, if not we'll descend upon the cafe! It'll be on until 3pm so feel free to join us and bring your friends!!

I've been busy sewing this week, making Mei Tai slings for friends - they are looking good if do say so myself :)

Tamworth Heritage 2010

I've just got home from a day out with Brett and Edward in Tamworth. We own Reliants (yes 3 wheelers!) which were produced in Tamworth and we were invited to take part in a rally with some friends of ours who also drive Reliants. It was a really nice day, the weather was good and we got to see some really fantastic cars - some had travelled from as far as Holland! We've been to a few Reliant meets this year, one of which was in York, where we camped for the weekend. We decided not to camp at Tamworth though as it's so close to home but after the rally we drove to the campsite where our friends were staying for a cuppa and a chat before going home.
I managed to get some cloth promotion in today too, I met a lady from Leicester who is on her 6th child (6th!!!) and she noticed Edwards nappy (a lovely Wee Notions Girraffe print number) and she asked how I got on with them, obviously I had to brag about how much I love them and then we launched into washing nappies and how easy it is when I'm out and about - I explained that the best way to wash nappies (I will be posting about this shortly) and what I do when going out (again I'll post about this later).

Once at the campsite, I was talking to a teenage girl as I changed Edwards nappy. She seemed surprised that I was changing his Leopard print nappy cover to a Cow print one when it goes over a disposable 'You're just making more washing for yourself' she said LOL!!! I pulled off his nappy and she was even more suprised to see it was an actual nappy and not a cover, her next statement was 'What's wrong with using normal nappies?' I nearly dropped Edward! I felt very belittled, and by a teenager!!
Usually, when people see my nappies they are surprised but interested by them, not appalled so I was a bit shocked to be honest. I caught my breath and talked through how disposables contain chemicals, don't break down for 300 - 500 years (so every disposable ever made is lying on a trash heap somewhere.....bleurgh!!) not to mention how much cheaper they are than disposables! She couldn't believe that I washed his dirty nappies, 'disposables are so much easier' she said.....'are they?' I replied, 'they might be easier sometimes, but I find these so much easier than running to te shops when I've run out of nappies!"

I'm not sure I changed her mind about disposables, but I hope I gave her another option to consider when she has children.
On the plus side, I took my homemade (by me!) Mei Tai sling, and carried Edward in it most of the day. It was great as I had only been to Edwards Nanna's with it and she lives 10 minutes up the road from us so it needed a good test run and I think it was a success!
My next few posts will be about nappy care and going out with a bag full of real nappies - please have a good read of these ones, especially if you are new to using cloth nappies because I hope you'll find some handy hints to help you out :)

LCCRNN Meeting

Hi!
I went along to Leicestershires Real Nappy Network meeting yesterday at County Hall, it was great! I was really excited because it was my first one since becoming a volunteer. I met some of the other advisors and agents which was good as I hadn't a clue who else was involved really. Our main aim was to discuss whats been happening in the area and any events coming up, especially as Leicestershire's Real Nappy Week is fast approaching (Starts 4th October 2010) I'll be posting a list of events as and when they are confirmed, but so far there are a few demo's/talks planned and also an evening of nappies at the social club at County Hall - I'm really looking forward to this as it'll be great to meet up with other cloth users in the area and convert some more!!

I myself have some events planned in - on 2nd October I'll be at the open day for the new Thorpe Astley community center and in November I have a demo planned in Ashby. I'll also be taking part in Real Nappy Week so keep your eyes peeled!

I'm organising what may well be the last Fluffnic (a picnic for cloth nappy users and people interested in using cloth) of the year too, this is planned for Friday 17th September 2010 so only a week away! I have a few friends coming from outside of Leicestershire too and I believe someone from the Nappy Network will be joining us. I'm hoping the weather will hold out really as at our last Fluffnic, we got a bit damp! For more details please see the events list :)

Welcome!

Hi there!



I'm Kerry, and this is my son Edward – I have a teeny confession to make, I am utterly addicted to reusable nappies!!
I recently became a volunteer for Leicestershire County Council and thought it'd be a good idea to make a note of some of my experiences with Motherhood and anything nappy related that you lovely people can view in the hope I can dispel all those rumours and preconceptions of using cloth nappies.
Here's my story........
I had made the all important decision to use reusable nappies the week I found out I was expecting Edward, my partner (Brett) mentioned that his Mum had bought some for his Sister when she had her Son but she didn't use them so they were gathering dust at the bottom of the wardrobe, waiting to give a little bum a good home. Thankfully Brett's Mum was over the moon when I talked to her about using the nappies she had, she was so excited she got them out and showed me how to use them. My desire to use cloth nappies grew and grew, until the day Edward came into our world and after one look at him I knew he'd always be wearing cloth nappies.
After a difficult birth I thought I might use disposables for the first week, I had just become a Mum for the first time and the thought of constantly washing nappies whilst I got to grips with being Mummy was very overwhelming. I was struggling to breast feed Edward and I was exhausted! It took me until Edward was 5 days old to start using my soft, white nappies – I started with 2 parters (also called pre folds) which consist of a square of cloth and a waterproof wrap, the square of cloth can be folded to suit the individual and then the wrap goes over the top. Day 5 was a very bizarre day for us, Edward was admitted to hospital with dehydration so my cloth journey was put on hold as the hospital wasn't the best place to wash nappies. After a few days in hospital, we were allowed to take Edward home – during our hospital stay we discovered Edward only has one kidney, we came away with some positive feelings about moving forward with his care.
Throughout our time in hospital I had to use disposables, I realised I could just carry on using them when I got home – I reached a massive hurdle. When we got home Brett encouraged me to start using cloth again, I am so grateful he did because every other hurdle I hit seems to be easier to handle now.
I'll admit, since that first eventful month – I have used disposables a few times, mainly during Edwards appointments to see his consultant at hospital (and one morning when I had forgotten to wash my nappies the day before!) each time I use them I am reminded of how many we throw away each day and I wonder what chemicals I am putting so close to my little boys bum. I don't want to bad mouth disposables, I'm sure for some parents the pro's out weigh the con's but if anyone asks me my opinion on them be warned lol!