Tuesday 30 September 2008

the great nappy adventure

modeling her green kids nappy

man, i've been trying to write this post for about three days now but have been too busy trying to keep the wee one asleep, to stop crying or give me just one more hearty laugh. yes, folks, she's laughing and it absolutely makes my heart swell up like a big ol blimp. she had her first out loud laughs on sunday and i've been working for them over since. she really makes me work too, i think i've only gotten two or three out of her since then. anyway, that's not what this post is about. nappies, that's what this post is about (yes, diapers to the north americans out there. i'm in the aussie speak habit after living here for 4 years). the thought of throwing away copious amounts of diapers (and money with them) has always slightly horrified me (i read don delillio's "underworld" in my mid twenties and have never looked at waste management the same since...) so before mae was born i ordered cloth nappy starter packs from baby beehinds (organic cotton or bambo nappies that you put a wool or pul cover over) and green kids (pocket style where you fit the absorbent insert between the layers of the pul outer nappy). i also ordered a bunch of biodegradable diapers made by bambo from nordic nappies as i reasoned that the cloth ones would be too big to use when mae was first born and i'd also like to make things as easy for myself as possible at that point. well. on the nordic nappies website they sell a size called "mini" which it states is for 3-6kg. sweet, i thought, i'll get those. except when i got them, they're HUGE and actually say 5-10kg on the pack! damn them. so we ended up using huggies for the first 6 weeks or so and then have been alternating trying out the cloth options and the still-too-big bambo ones since.

now, i have to say that the green kids style is my favourite, much less bulky that the baby beehinds and, as we're heading into summer, i like the fact that you can get nice simple prints and a range of colours so mae can hang out in just her nappy and still look pretty darn stylish (see photo evidence above) : ) i ordered another 6 pack last week and then earlier this week i was reading this lovely lady's blog and noticed a link to tutorials for sewing cloth diapers*. i read through the tutorial for the pocket style diaper, looked at my green kid's one and thought, "man, i can do that!". i'd already decided to overlock my own inserts and boosters anyway as i have heaps of organic hemp/cotton fleece lying around from the oobee blankees. so i roughly traced one of my green kids nappies, altering the shape ever so slightly where i thought it could use it and then ordered some materials from here to get me started. the materials for 6-7 nappies (not including inserts) cost me about $40 delivered which is fantastic when you consider the diapers sell for about $22 - 25 dollars each. i just got some simple white pul for the outside and cream (although in reality it's more like a pale peach) microfleece for the inside. i probably won't get a chance to work on them until early next week but i'm super excited about getting started - wish me luck!

*jessica actually sells patterns and material to make all sorts of cloth diapers through her shop, verybaby.com. if i hadn't been in such a rush i would have ordered from her myself but i just couldn't wait for overseas shipping. check it out though, she has heaps of lovely pul colours at great prices!

8 comments:

  1. Good luck with the nappy sewing. I always thought I would have a go at it, but I don't mind folding my own from the square nappies. Nothing like a baby with a big nappy bottom.

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  2. Ahhh 'tis dangerouns bringing up cloth naps when you know I lurk around your blog ;)

    Free patterns and fab tutorial online at www.thenappynetwork.org.nz and OZ has an equivalent site if you haven't already found it - http://www.nappycino.com.au/

    And you must must must check out Itti Bitti nappies - http://www.ittibitti.com.au/ People have been raving about them over here but they are a product from Aus! Well... not only the special edition ones are made in Aus but the brainchild of an Aussie anyway.

    And a snap press is always a decent investment... especially if you can go in on it with a mate or two to keep the cost down. :)

    Best of luck!

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  3. Aw, thanks for the shout out! Can't wait to see what you sew up!

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  4. funny you should post this today, this morning I started making some fitted cloth nappies from the ottobre pattern, there is a free pattern on their website, but you need to size it down as it is BIG!

    can't wait to see your nappies!

    http://www.ottobredesign.com/en/print/index.html

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  5. Another diaper to consider is Bum Genius - they sell for $18 each (in the States). I just got some for my son. He is only 10lbs now (5kg?) and they fit him great. They are expandable pocket diapers and are supposed to fit up to 35 lbs. So although they are an investment up front, they will last and last and last!

    Also, I have found that Velcro/Aplix closures allow for better fit options as the baby grows. I used Bummis Super Snap wraps with my first son and they fit ok and I used some Fuzzi Bunz (also snap closures) and they were also ok, but with baby #2, NONE of the snap wraps work. His hips are too small and the leg openings are too loose.

    If you make your own diapers, make sure that they are thick enough. I made a lot that were too thin, so I had to use a lot of doublers and such to get enough absorbancy.

    And lastly, if you get dark PUL for the gussets/leg openings, then stains don't show...

    Have fun and good luck!
    :)

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  6. Anonymous11:42 am

    Well done for choosing cloth, have you been on www.nappycino.com yet? There are so many brands to consider, I try to keep it simple for myself. I just got some more Tots Bots in size 1 for my second bub, due in December- there's a big sale on the cotton ones at www.nurturenappies.com.au We've been using cloth for over 2 years now, for me there's no other choice :) Check out my blog, there's a couple of posts on cloth nappies. Good luck with making your own.

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  7. yep I've made my own and there is no going back! next you'll be wanting a snap press machine!!!!! I gave up on the bbh's as they just too wet easily and I loved pockets too much. It takes a while to find your favourite...i had all good intentions to use cloth on the twins but I think I'd have no life so I'm waiting till they're older and will decide then!

    Corrie:)

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  8. I've been doing heaps of research on making cloth nappies lately for my little one due in a few months and I found a NZ website http://www.greenbeans.co.nz/ that sells PUL, absorbent fabrics and snaps/press machines for very good prices, even taking into account postage. Good luck with it, I've heard that once you start you can't stop......

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