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Baby Hints & Tips

Are You Crazy?! You are thinking about using modern cloth nappies?

By Claire Marchand-Johns (owner of Mod Bots)

When most parents think of cloth nappies they imagine huge, old-school, terry towelling nappies soggily drooping from a baby’s behind. They imagine that once carefully un-pinned from baby, the leaky nappy is piled into a watery bucket of poo soup, requiring soaking for hours before being boiled to oblivion.

Thank goodness those days are over! Modern Cloth nappies ain’t called Modern for nothing. There’s been a huge evolution in cloth nappies with professional companies creating cleverly designed nappies with high tech, waterproofed and durable outer shells featuring double gussets and stretch panels. The inners of these modern nappies are made from ultra absorbent textiles including hemp, microfibre, bamboo and organic cotton. Super trim, super absorbent and super gorgeous too featuring beautiful prints and fabrics!

Modern Cloth Nappies diagram

Image source: Close

But are they easy to use? Velcro or snap fastenings mean that modern cloth nappies are as easy to pop on and off as a disposable nappy. And to answer my most popular question at cloth nappy demonstrations “But what do you do with the poo!?” Too easy! Simply add a nappy liner to capture the solids and then flush the biodegradable liner away, or you can easily install a nappy sprayer and hose away number two’s straight into the toilet.

I’m scared of how much washing is involved! Truly, there’s no need to be scared. Simply place your nappies into a dry bucket – no soaking required! Every couple of days wash your load of nappies and then line or tumble dry. Recently, a cloth nappy facebook page asked their members how much time it took to care for their cloth nappies in an entire week. The responses ranged from 60 minutes to 1.5 hours and averaged at only 1.25 hours.

Baby in MCN lying on blanket on grass

Image source: GroVia

One of the main reasons parents switch to cloth is for the cost savings. According to reputable reviewer Choice Online, using modern cloth nappies can save you as much as $2400 per child.  And remember, once you have invested in a set of cloth nappies you can use them on your subsequent children and save even more – as much as $3200 per child!  

Baby girl in MCN

Image source: GroVia

There are an estimated 5.6 million disposable nappies trucked into Australian landfills each day. And each of those nappies takes over 500 years to break down. This means that every single disposable ever used on a baby since their creation in 1961 is somewhere out there in our Australian landfills. Even the most mainstream of us embrace sustainable practices – think reusable versus throw-away shopping bags, installing solar power, and increased recycling. It’s clear that cloth nappies are the future for Australian parents.

There is a growing concern with our overuse of chemicals and plastics in our everyday lives. With nappies against your baby’s skin for an average of three years, it is understandable that parents are starting to steer away from the glues, bleaching agents, and sodium polyacrylate, which are found in disposable nappies.

Basket of MCNs

Image source: Mod Bots

There are so many different brands of modern cloth nappies available in Australia to chose from, each with their own unique design and style. You can enjoy selecting from this huge array of super trim nappies whether it be some soft fluffy minky nappies, super cute prints, tie dyed, embroidered and ruffle nappies – just beware of a common affliction called “cloth addiction”!

A great way to find out whether cloth nappies are for you is to chat to parents who have made the switch to cloth nappies. Here are some quotes from our Mod Bots customers:

“I love being able to express my individuality through cloth! Plus after using soft fabric modern cloth nappies, disposable nappies seem so plasticky and harsh against my babies skin.”  Jo, Mum of four.

“I had heard varied cloth nappy stories from friends and was hesitant about using them. More than anything, I was concerned about cloth nappies leaking; how could I go out in public?!

I am thrilled to say I gave cloth a go as I have not once had any leaks! They are so fun to mix and match with clothing and super easy to care for. The extra washing and drying is hardly noticeable- but the drop in our weekly nappy expenses is!

I also like to do my bit treading lightly on this earth and every time I snap a cloth nappy on I think about the disposable one that hasn’t needed to be produced, shipped and disposed of. I could never go back to disposables now.”   Emily, Mum of three.

“Having used Disposables for my first baby and then cloth with my second baby I can say with utmost confidence that, for me personally, cloth is definitely better!!

Obviously there are the positive environmental factors; less disposable nappies contributed to landfill which takes decades to break down, less chemicals my baby is exposed to and of course a lot less money spent on catching poo and wee!

In addition to that, cloth nappies are pleasant to look at, perfect for dressing up my baby’s cute bottom without the need for extra clothing (especially in summer) and a perfect expression of mine and my baby’s personality.

The washing never bothered me as once you have a routine and a method the time and effort spent on washing them is really quite negligible.

In a nutshell, I Love Cloth nappies and I’ll never go back! :)” Bonnie, mum of two.

Made the first step of looking into cloth nappies but confused by the various cloth nappy systems?  Check out my article Dazed and Confused? Cloth Nappies Explained Simply.

*Claire is a mum of three, and in her business Mod Bots shares knowledge about cloth nappies and provides only the best tried and tested quality brands you will love. Find out about the latest giveaways, specials, and modern cloth nappy hints and tips by subscribing to Mod News and joining Mod Bots on Facebook.

 

 

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