Molly Dilnot holds forth on newborn nappies

Molly is one of our advisors, and is in a great position to talk about nappies on newborns, given that she had Charlotte Eliza just about a month ago. I should also point out that she is a pretty glam London mother, not the hippy type at all, which is enormously reassuring to the people she does demos for. This is her story… 

No one could ever claim that being a Nappy Lady advisor is an every day kind of job, and this becomes even more apparent when you find yourself doubly excited at the birth of your new baby because, on top of the joy of adding to your family, you get to conduct nappy trials!  

Our first daughter Olivia was 6 months old when I joined the Nappy Lady team so it is fantastic to be able to try out all the nappies in my demo kit on a newborn.  It is product research and parenting all in one and gives a whole new meaning to multi-tasking.  My poor husband has mentioned that every nappy he picks up seems to be different, but despite that he’s been managing just fine, not bad going considering we used the same 18 Bumbles on Olivia from birth to potty training. 

All the nappies I have been using have one thing in common, they are easy to use and way more reliable than a disposable…yes, even terry squares which may sound daunting, but believe me I have had worse struggles with my Pashmina!  

Due to some rather lax parenting – I am coping with a 4 year old as well after all – Charlotte has worn the same nappy for up to 5 hours during the day and we have only ever had 1 leak (which was down to some dodgy experimental folding of a muslin square).  At night she is already going 12 hours without a change – or a leak.  

If you are not a cloth nappy user you are probably thinking that I obviously have a ‘non explosive’ baby…believe me, nothing is further from the truth, Charlotte has gained over 2lbs since birth – she eats a LOT, and that makes for plenty of very wet and soiled nappies.  It is simply that cloth nappies really are that good.  Sometimes when it comes to nappy change time I shake my head in wonder at how such a small baby can produce quite so much….well….poo.  

But however bad the nappy situation is the combination of cloth nappy and waterproof wrap over the top stands up to the challenge, and that is why I really do love my cloth nappies.  I wish I could show all those new parents who are dealing with dreadful leaks and soiled clothing how much easier it could be.  

I can’t imagine having to change an outfit for any reason other than wanting to make sure I get some wear out of all Charlotte’s clothes before she outgrows them.  Sadly one thing I have learnt over the years is that I can’t change the world, I can only help those who want to be helped.

At the moment my nappy of choice is a Bimble with a small Motherease Air Flow or Rikki wrap over the top.  The Rikkis are the better fit overall as the Air Flows are loose around the legs – but impressively still do the job.  Terry Squares and Muslins are easier to use than I expected, and if I were on a tight budget or had very limited drying facilities then they would be my first choice, but overall I prefer a shaped nappy and find the elasticated legs help with containment and result in fewer soiled wraps when Charlotte does her ‘worst’.

Ah, but what about bulk I hear the cynics amongst you say. Well both Bimbles and muslins are really slim fitting – so much so that people don’t actually realise I am using cloth nappies.  I am just starting to use some bigger nappies, many of which can be used from around 8lbs.  Personally it is only now that Charlotte is approaching 10lbs that I feel happy with the fit, and whilst I could have used them sooner they would certainly have been bulkier, and frankly I didn’t bother because I didn’t need to. 

Our original set of Bumbles plus accessories cost about £200. They have been washed and will be back in use as our main system soon, once I have finished experimenting.  On the accessories front my washable terry wipes (also out of storage) are absolutely fantastic.  When changing Charlotte I just run a couple under the warm tap and then use them to clean her up, no chemicals, and no startled baby suffering a cold wet wipe on her bottom!  When she is older I will soak the wipes in a home made solution of chamomile tea, olive oil and lavender essential oil.  

It is amazing to think that I will have saved over £600 in wet wipes alone over the course of two children.  There is something incredibly satisfying about this, I feel as if I am ‘beating the system’ somehow.  Whilst I am not aggressively anti disposable – in my demos I always say there is a time and a place for them, as there is for paper plates – I certainly have no desire to use them.

Charlotte is now just over 4 weeks old and I am really proud to be able to state the following statistics;

Number of disposables worn – 0

Number of cloth nappies in use -  6 Bimbles, 12 muslins and 3 Terry Squares, plus demo kit nappies for trial purposes!

Number of leaks – 1

Number of commercial Wet Wipes used – 0

Amount of nappy based rubbish produced – 0

 

Some may think I am mad to use cloth nappies. Frankly I think you’d be mad not to.

 

Molly Dilnot

Cloth Nappy Advisor, south east London