Need some encouragement to keep going...

[lilprecious75]

Hi All,

I am feeling very discouraged about cloth nappies at the moment and could really use some encouragement.
DH is working nights so even though full time cloth is only usually 2 extra loads of laundry a week it is feeling like a lot of work. The boys haven't been sleeping well at night so it has been a long haul while DH does this contract and I'm glad it will be finished in another 2-3 weeks (it started mid January)!!
DS has just had his first bleeding nappy rash (I suspect he is teething).
A lot of my nappies I bought/was given second hand and a whole bunch of them are just starting to fall apart (elastic giving up, etc) and I'm just generally frustrated.
Also, AIO's don't seem to work for DS (they did for my first child) so I'm also left with fitteds and covers which is not a huge drama - just another frustration.

So, at the moment I could very easily give up on cloth all together and just go full time disposables but the fact that I'm not committing to that decisions means I know I don't feel 100% comfortable with that option!

Any thoughts, comments, advice, support anyone can offer would be SO greatly appreciated right now!!

[sneakysparkle]

a couple of things that might encourage you - we've recently been on holidays interstate and it wasn't convenient to take my stash and do washing while there so we used sposies.
It was sooooooo expensive! I had forgotten how much sposies cost - it was terrible handing over a bunch of cash for something I knew was going in the bin
also - afer a week and a half I was sooooo over that 'plastic' feeling and longing for my fluff. So while sposies can be convenient sometimes - I think cloth is worth the extra effort
hang in there!!

[Winter]

I reached that point too and I decided that the best option for me was a bit of both. Disposables for convenience when out & about and cloth bum at home (although DD is in sposies overnight full time) It was just enough of a break that I didn't feel like a martyr to the cloth and still enough fluff to make me feel good.

Do what works for you, even if you do have a break, you can always go back to cloth when you're ready.

[Junglemum]

I am totally with Winter on this one. If it all gets a bit much i sometimes use sposies for a while. Soon enough i am really to go back to cloth full time.
I feel bad putting the chemicals on DD's bum every time i put a sposie on, so i find i am soon reaching for the cloth again.

[~Kim~]

I agree with Winter too. No reason you can't just get a packet of sposies and see how you feel. TBH i think we've all felt like that at some point.
Do you remember why you started to use cloth?
Over the last few months we've done quite a few trips away and had to buy sposies....gees I hate forking out for them and I hate the way they feel under my hand - let alone that beautiful little bum! Even though sometimes I feel blergh towards the cloth, this has made me remember why I started.

[suse]

I'd second (or fourth) what Winter said. I've been using sposies on and off since I got pregnant (the morning sickness/nappy bucket combination was just too much), and since going back to cloth we've had a plumbing leak which until it gets fixed, it's preferable to use sposies than have the water leaking whilst the machine is on the really long cycle I need to use for nappies (we've got very frugal with water and turn it on only for showers and dishes LOL. We even fill up the toilet cistern from a bucket). As it looks like the wet season has hit us, it won't be fixed until the ground dries a bit, so we'll probably have a few more weeks of it.

Normally we use sposies at night because DS wees through almost everything else and destroys bamboo - it's cheaper than replacing shredded night nappies every few months.

I use the nature babycare stuff - so if you do think of going down a part-time sposie road, perhaps consider an eco-friendly brand if you can afford it (apart from the environmental benefits they are also much more gentle on DS' skin).

Good luck with whatever you decide sweets, anyone managing cloth with more than one kid and a hubby working nights deserves a medal for even trying!