Cloth Nappies #145

[Junglemum]

Mel- Lu swam in the ocean in an itti once and it is fine, just rinsed it well.

I seem to be converting friends left and right at the moment, not even trying, they just like the look of Lu's nappies! Noice.

Maz- i have a happy baby swim nappy. Great for pootainment. Made of a thin wetsuit material. Not as cute as some but very functional. Got it from DDU, check em out.

[Gigi]

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LUELLA!!! (Falguni's DD)
and
HAPPY BIRTHDAY ANNIKA for tomorrow (Beatrix' DD)

i seem to have read that quite a few clothies, put their bubs in the pool with covers or pocket nappies (without the inserts in) on to swim.

Did you get the Splashabouts Ange? they look a great design

Raven, there was something in the Alchemist shampoo that didn't agree with me either, forget what it was now. Christy, i found parabens and perfume mentioned in the list of ingreadients, of a Aveda hair product i bought, i was so surprised. I had been told they were a paraben free company.

Raven, my dh LOVES any excuse to use the LS!!! PMSL. i swear he thinks it a water toy, don't care, just glad he uses it. He agrees with me, that if we went on a holiday, LS would get packed too!!!

Maz - does vy go in the potty or the toilet? Can she take off her own nappy, to go? or is she getting lots of nakey time, so she can go when she wants (without having to struggle with clothing/nappies?) And if you do nakey time, how does that work? i am petrified if i give nakey time (free rein over the unit), bilbs will poo in the sofa, the carpet, the bookshelf, in the lego, all sorts of places that would be an absolute NIGHTMARE to clean up.
Did you wait until Vy was happy to sit on the potty/loo?
i am so puzzled about TT-ing (and a bit anxious, can you tell???).

Nappy Hunt will finish soon, but i'm not panicking this time, to get to the next level. I passed one level, that will have to do for now, sick of cryptic clues that i don't get. or sites with no starting clue on the home page. don't have the time to click on every link they have on their site. the ones i got, were fun though.

next stop on the MCN calendar, Reusable Nappy Week 9 - 13th October. check out modernclothnappies website to see which events are planned for your city/area.

WOTBB: dragonflymagik all in two night napster with rainbow legwarmers and booties - i hope tiny bilby dreams of being a FlashDancer.

[Willow]

hey girls, need to ask a quick question - L's nappy's STINK to high heaven at the moment. No idea why, but they are off. DH wouldn't go near him yesterday cause it smelt that bad LOL!

Time for a strip wash?? Will that fix it? Never done one before but seem to remember it's basically just a hot wash with a squirt of dishwashing liquid - yes? no?

Maz - been meaning to pop in for ages to thank you for the covers and the little freebie - passed it on to a friend of mine who just had a bub cause I finally stopped leaking about 6 weeks ago - woot!

Also, for those who remember our night leaking dramas...we've had two dry nights in cloth!!! OMG I am sooooo excited! DS is sleeping from 7pm-6.30am without a feed now and it's made the world of difference. I noticed a few weeks ago that he was much drier in the morning but it's taken me a while to get the courage up to try cloth again, didn't want him soaking through and waking up because he was wet. If we can stay dry (or relatively so) overnight for a week, I'm ditching the sposies for good and getting some more night nappies!! He even did OK in a BBH and wool cover (thanks maz!). Very, very excited about the prospect of not having to buy sposies anymore...it's only taken us almost 11 months!

[Olive]

willow definatly sound slike you need a strip wash! i do mine on 60 degrees (no PUL) with detergant, be carefulll if you have a front loader that you dont use too much!!
did you get my money?

[Willow]

Jols - a big part of my stash are BumGs....will it work if I just do the inserts? Assuming that's the bit that stinks? Also, have a front loader so how much is too much?

Haven't checked on the money, will let you know!

[Kazbah]

Gigi - I use PPS "beach bum" hair stuff which I put on after I wash/dry it. (towel dry, who has time for blowdry?) and that works well.

The hemp smells a lot better after it spent a few days outside - it even got a light drizzle on it. DH is being childish and refusing to put on any cloth nappies, and I'm refusing to buy nasty, nasty sposies. If I buy any, they're the bamboo ones I found. But the Nappy Lady was shut on Saturday (stupid AFL grand final). So yesterday we had a shower, DH drought Pip into me in the shower telling me his nappy was dry (duh, it was a GK polar fleece pocket) and then he took the clean Pip out, and brought him back wearing his singlet, shirt & jumper, but no nappy. Even though I left a GK funtimes out for him to put on. So I just walked out of the shower, wearing nothing but my towel and wrestled with the now-grumpy Pip which made my towel fall off and DH yell at me cause I was naked (in our house!) with the windows open and me yell at DH for being childish and surly and he doesn't even understand what surly means! I'm so ****ed off at him - we had huge discussions about cloth / sposies before Pip was born, but cause we used sposies for the first 6 months he is now all precious about bodily functions and if he bloody well buys any huggies that's it, they're going down to the MCHN for some poor family to use. Its not like he washes, dries, folds or has to do anything with them.

Anyhows, back to normality. I use PUL covers (small ones) for Pip if he goes swimming if I forget his MDs.

Well done Sammi on getting your DH to change a pooey bum! And well done on your DH for braving the LS!

WoHB - BBB with BB PUL cover.

[maz]

Gigi - thanks for all the info about swimmers babe....have decided im going to attempt to make my own..fingers crossed it works
As for TT - I have a potty that is in the corner of the hallways, near the loo for vy...its one of those potty's that huggies obught out years ago...aynway vy uses it on her own accord and I dont even ask if she needs to go...she just does. BAR the pooh she did in her trackies out int eh backyard and freaked out about. I had accidents on the weekend cause every 5 mins Jed's like..Vy do you need to go to the potty...god I wish the man would just SHUT UP some times!!!! It was nice and warm to to free ball which helps.

Christy honey - its a erica (the purple on right??)

Willow - your more then welcome hon...glad you could pass them on..must pull finger out and make somemore...Im totally out of them.

Jol's - I havent got anything in my account either babe

Kaz- pooey at your DH! Sammi has the same prob with her's....Jed loves using clotha nd even backs me with cloth mama pads. Jed washed and hung out al oad on saturday..ah he's a dream but only sometimes.

only 3 weekends until the expo girls...Im hanging to get my hot little hands on a black IB..seeing Mateauz is starting to chub right up. **** Ive jsut realised....Im gonna have to sell of Vy's nappies soon it makes me so sad...

oh oh and

HAPPY BIRTHDAY LOU LOU HONEY!!!!! for yesterday

[Olive]

mazzzz yours went in over the weekend but credit union is slllllllllooowwwww

[~Raven~]

Kaz my joy was short lived as he put C to bed last night and found a sposie to put on him. One step forward...2 back

Just a little update on the baby front! Had 4D u/s today and it's still a girl

[Gigi]

hey girls, need to ask a quick question - L's nappy's STINK to high heaven at the moment. No idea why, but they are off. DH wouldn't go near him yesterday cause it smelt that bad LOL!

Time for a strip wash?? Will that fix it? Never done one before but seem to remember it's basically just a hot wash with a squirt of dishwashing liquid - yes? no?

Also, for those who remember our night leaking dramas...we've had two dry nights in cloth!!!

Willow
from what i read, a strip wash (with the dishwashing liquid) is what you do if you suspect the MCN has a buildup of washing powder residue - which stops PUL being waterproof, and hemp/bamboo from being absorbent.

but for smelly nappies, i read to de-stink them, you do a HOT wash with
- half a cup of bicarb soda (where washing powder normlaly goes)
- half a cup of vinegar (where fabric conditioner normally goes)
and do a presoak, wash and rinse.

we did this once (teething time) and it worked.

This is something you do rarely, cos vinegar is not good for PUL on a regular basis.

Do you have microfibre or bamboo inserts? Microfibre seems to get stinky more than other fabrics for us. bamboo has anti-bacterial qualities to it (which microfibre doesn't).

congrats on the night nappy success, that's great.

WOTBB: sweetdreams pocket stuffed with bamboo

DH does not put $po$ie$ on bilbs. I am not trying to be difficult here, but the truth is, we don't have ANY $po$ie$ anywhere in our home, FOR dh to put on bilbs. So there is no temptation.

i used to, before i had the "when bilbs has rash and needs barrier cream" sorted out, before i had the "what to do when bilbs got gastro" sorted out. Now i know we can do those situations in cloth, i have no reason to buy the "just in case" pack. But - i only have one bub to nappy, and this is what we do. Plus i must be stubborn methinks, i get so narked when i read what goes into a $po$ie - scary stuff. Every family does what works for them.

RAVEN - i can't believe the crazy price that nb BB went for on B4B - heaps above what it would have cost RRP. what colour are you after?

Maz - i thought i HAD emailed you about the swap? oh well, maybe it bounced, i'll do you another one.

I don't think you are paranoid about the methane. I actually suspect in decades to come, the health ramifications (both for the babies skin and the environment - the soil, the water) will come back to haunt us. Just like tobacco companies are now being sued for people having lung cancer, i think in years to come, grown up babies will sue sposie companies for health complaints.

THe ingredients of sposies contain stuff that has been banned from women's menstrual products, toxic stuff, all sorts of nasties. i cannot believe the sposie companies have ANY ethics at all, to put stuff like that in products they KNOW will be on innocent young baby bots. (sorry, but i feel so mad at teh sposie companies, how they brainwash/propagandise how cute n cuddly they are in ads. Make people feel like sposies are the ONly Option).

Maz - just for you - you are not being silly, you are spot on.
in the What is in sposies article at NN site under INFO

Disease Transmission through Faeces
A potentially serious problem associated with disposable nappies is the ease of disease transmission via faeces left on the nappy and then disposed of in regular household waste. More than 100 enteric viruses are excreted in human faeces, including hepatitis and polio (the live vaccine is used for immunization).

Viruses can live for months creating risks to both sanitation workers and contamination of groundwater in landfills” ( Primomo J et al (1990) The high environmental cost of disposable diapers, Journal of Maternal and Child Nursing, 15 (5) 279-84)

[Gigi]

from the nurture nappies website, under INFORMATION

WHAT IS IN A DISPOSABLE?

Super Absorbent Gels
Most disposables contain a super absorbent gel, including sodium polyacrylate crystals, a chemical deemed unsafe and banned from use in tampons in 1985 because of its association with toxic shock syndrome, but approved by the American Food and Drug Administration for use in baby's disposables. As mothers we ought to be very much concerned by the distinct lack of research into the effects of extreme dryness on babies thin skin and genitalia,and fears of these super-absorbent chemicals entering the body through broken skin.

Chlorine Bleaching
Chlorine bleaching is much less prevalent than in earlier days of bleaching wood pulp for white paper product, but many disposables still contain extremely toxic dioxins created by this bleaching. There is much debate over whether there is actually a safe level of dioxins. (Costello A et al 1989 The Sanitary Protection Scandal. The Women's Environment Network)

Polypropylene
The 'cloth like cover' and 'stay dry liner' are usually made of polypropylene, a petrochemical, or petroleum derivative which is non-recyclable and toxic when incinerated.



The 'breathable cover' is technically true, but the breathability is so minimal to be of negligible effect, typically less than 3% of total weight evaporated in a 24 hour period. The plastics used in disposable nappies use PCBs in their manufacture, and the waste from this manufacturing is poured out into our rivers and oceans.


PCBs are fat soluble, and therefore pass quickly from water to living tissue, and accumulate in the food chain. In otters and minks, the accumulation of PCBs has caused disturbance of the neuro-endocrine system, affecting puberty, ovulation reproduction function, and foetal and neonatal survival. Would you consider the same plastics and chemicals up against your baby's skin for two or three years healthy, or responsible? And why bother with a 'cloth like cover' when you can have the real thing?

Airborne Emissions
An independent study conducted by Anderson Laboratories in 1999 showed airborne emissions of some disposable nappies producing acute respiratory toxicity, including asthma like reactions, in laboratory mice. The researchers suggested further research into a possible link between disposable nappies and the increasing prevalence of childhood asthma. Chemical gases such as toluene, xylene, ethyl benzene, styrene and isopropyl benzene have been found to be in air emissions from disposable nappies.

Raised Scrotal Temperatures
Disposable nappies raise temperatures in the genital area, and for boys, elevated scrotal temperature has been suggested as slowing down the development of baby boy's testicles.



Wolfgang Sippell, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Kiel in Germany : ADC -- Sign In Page?This alarming information is based upon the fact that the cells supporting sperm production are laid down in the first two years of life and this development is dependent upon temperature. Testicles need to be cooler than the rest of the body so that is why they are external. Studies over the last twenty five years have shown sperm counts to have fallen as fast as 2 per cent per year. Other factors can play a part in these figures but evidence suggests that use of disposable nappies could be a contributing factor.


There is no doubt that disposable nappies trap the heat-especially in the height of summer-and there is concern about the long term effect this could have on both sexes, apart from being most uncomfortable? http://natnap.port5.com/press_1.html

Disease Transmission through Faeces
A potentially serious problem associated with disposable nappies is the ease of disease transmission via faeces left on the nappy and then disposed of in regular household waste. More than 100 enteric viruses are excreted in human faeces, including hepatitis and polio (the live vaccine is used for immunization).



Viruses can live for months creating risks to both sanitation workers and contamination of groundwater in landfills? ( Primomo J et al (1990) The high environmental cost of disposable diapers, Journal of Maternal and Child Nursing, 15 (5) 279-84)

How many parents do you know who actually scrape poo off a disposable into the loo?
Imagine all those enteric viruses being leached into our waterways, out into the big blue.

Modern fitted cloth nappies do not have the environmental disadvantages of disposablesWhen assessing the environmental concerns of cloth and disposable nappies, it is important to look at the whole life cycle of a nappy, not just the impacts we can see with our own eyes. This includes cultivation, manufacturing, transportation and waste impacts. The results of a Landbank Consultancy study conducted in 1991show that-

• It takes a full cup of crude oil to make the plastic for each ?disposable' nappy
• It takes as much energy to produce one disposable as it does to wash a cloth nappy 200 times
• both nappies use similar amounts of fossil fuel
• disposables take up to 500 years to decompose in landfill sites and can harbour up to 100 different types of virus

[Beatrix]

gigi- very scary whats in a sposie!!

Maz- no vegies for me no more!

Sammi- yay on the still a girl..

Well i now have a 2year old!! Annika had a great day.. and managed to use ever mcn for her doll!!!

now off to take them to daycare

WOMB: magicall
WOAB: dlish- lime

[1MOREPLZ]

Maz you need to clean out your message box!!!!

how many times should i wash itti bittis?? i know i have asked before but my memory is shiat!!!

[Janie]

Sam, yay that you still have a girl

I just have to have a whinge We went away for the weekend, and I decided that although it was totally doable to use cloth, that after our really bad week last week I would give myself a break (I was sick into the bargain). Well after not even 48 hours in sposies, and with sposie wipes, DS has nappy rash! Horrid, yuckky nappy rash, that I'm struggling to get rid of Poor little guy, how bad do I feel? Like a very bad mummy. So my lesson for the week is that sposie aren't necessarily easier (which I already knew )

WOHB: flat and LOTS of penaten!