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Hi all, i am planning on giving MCNs a go when i have my bubba next year. Whenever i tell this to friends with kids already, they look at me like i am a leper who doesn't know anything i am talking about and immediately start telling me how bad they are, how much work it will be for me and (as they have obviously no idea about MCN) how hard they are to fold, how much soaking and washing etc!
What is everyone's views/experiences on this?
I know wat u mean, i was telling my SIL that i was starting to buy them for DD and that i will be using them on the new bub too...she just gave me a funny look and told me that i wouldnt have the time to wash them & that i would need 2 washing machines and they would cost more buying washing detergent!!..blah blah blah
luckily though i have alot more ppl telling me that its a great idea and they are really interested in the MCN! i see it as my choice and it isnt none of anyone elses business!!
I tried and gave up with flats before so got this too but almost 12 months down the track nobody really cares anymore ;)
Just don't talk about what you're planning on doing and if they ask just say you'll give cloth a go and they aren't like the flat squares anymore. Make sure you have the cutest show off nappies for when you're out or have visitors. It's the cute factor that makes them understand very time!
So many people have no idea just how much cloth nappies have changed and still think of a cloth nappy as being a terry flat with pins LOL. Either don't say anything at all to them or just tell they aren't using them so what's the big deal?
I got the same responses, and so stopped telling people! Life was much easier that way. If you do mention it and get a negative response, just ask them why they have a problem with it, seeing as it's not them who has to do it?!
I mainly use terry flats (have some berry plushes and other cuties to sow off when we're out) and when people try and tell me hwo hard they are i just say "oh, so you actually USE cloth nappies?!" this shuts most people up! I tell them how easy it is to use even just terry flats. People are just misinformed, it was a pretty hard task "in the olden days" to do cloth nappies. Not anyore! GL xx
pffft those people dont know wht they are talking about BUT each to their own, I guess. Its not them who is having to do your washing so whats the big deal to them?
To be honest, I actually find MCN's sooo easy to use! I also prefer them to sposies as they're less stinky and dont fill up my bin so much. I'm definately saving money too, by using MCNs more than sposies.
My mum has the exact same view, so I know how you feel. I said to her "You don't use them on him, you don't get to look after him for extended periods". She soon shut up!
Well honey come and join us other lepers then. Tell your friends who much money they are actually throwing out and what harm they are doing to our Earth and the future of their children...but then it would probably fall on deaf ears...come into the nappy chatter and leper away with us ROFL
Well done on standing up for what YOU want to do for yourself and your baby.
*Maz steps off soap box now*
LOL everyone! I especially agree with sammy J on trying to get the cutest ones i can find to show off them :) I have two friends (both like me with no kids yet, 1 with 1 on the way too) who are on the same wave length as me, one for monetary reasons and the other for environmental, and i think i will just talk to them about it!! But they are so cute i just want all these people to be aware of what is out there!!!!!
Taurusa, I have recently switched both my boys over to MCN. My oldest is 2 1/2 so I am not a novice to motherhood. I got some negative reactions, one of my friends still thinks I'm mad. Tough to her. They are not that hard at all and I am so glad I converted. Just wish I'd done it earlier TBH. It is much easier than in our parents' day. I don't soak the nappies, I have an extra load of washing every 1 -2 days (and I could get more nappies to make it 2 days every time but my oldest will be TT soon so it would be a waste of money). It is really not much extra work at all. I have to empty the bin WAY less often, I am saving a HEAP of money, helping the planet, the boys look better, have no nappy rash and really love them.
Not all the reactions were negative either - my sister has just converted too LOL!
Like Sammi I used terry flats on my DD but gave up at about 5 months so I've copped it this time - just do what I'm planning on doing - prove them wrong!!
I think I heard too many horror stories when I was PG with Matilda, and then I tried with flats for a few weeks but gave up really quickly, with Jovie it took a while to get to using them, but now I do I love them soo much, I just keep telling people they aren't what they think.
bah humbug... cloth nappies, esp Mcn are easy peasey.. whats not easy is dealing with the addiction. LOL...
just dont say anything, purposely do a nappy change in front of them... be so good at it- with ur wetbag and stuff ready to go... they will have jaws drop in horror at how easy, clean, fast and pretty ur babes bum will look...
i also have in my head facts about sposies v's mcn... like...impact per infant per year...
energy use- cloth= 2532 MJ, sposies= 8900MJ
waste water-cloth=12.4 cubic metres, sposies=28 cubic metres
raw materials(non renewable)-cloth=25kg, sposies=208kg
raw materials(renewable)-cloth=4kg, sposies=361kg
domestic solid waste-cloth=4kg, sposies=240kg
-it takes as much energy to produce one disposable nappy as it does to wash a cloth nappy 200 times...
i could go on....
my daughter Eden has had 3 disposable nappies on her toosh in her life and she is 9 and half months old... she has never ever had nappy rash...
people that bag others annoy me... especially when they are ill informed and judgemental.
Meh, we all get it. I don't know why others care so much? Why do others care what other people use as poo catchers anyway??
I told my mum and MiL I was going Cloth, both bought me sposies as "you'll need them". I was told that I was doing too much and just go disposable for a few days by my GP - I told her no way, I couldn't cope with changing the bins so much, remembering to buy the nappies, spending that much money on something we don't need...
I love my cloth.
Lol Tarusa, never mind them! Honestly, I love these people who say, Oh it's too hard, you'll never cope. Even if it was flat nappies and soaking and scrubbing...my mum didn't actually die from it, she just worked it into her routine!
Seriously though, you can totally do this! Just be prepared, what's that saying, fail to prepare - prepare to fail. Just have everything set up so when bub comes, everything's within arm's reach and you have a system that works for you. Ask anyone who knows me, I'm chronically lazy, and cloth nappies really aren't much harder than sposies! They're more fun to put on, I only have to walk to the washing machine, as opposed to the outside bin, I have to do washing anyway (in theory), so what's one more load, you're supposed to flush all poo (sposies poo too) down the loo, so the trips to the loo aren't any different either!
I'm with the people who say not to bother trying to convince people though. Just say 'well, we'll see' and they'll smugly smile, and then about a year or so down the track, you'll get some tentative questions and comments of 'oh, that nappy's cute'. :D I have a smile on my face just remembering those times, it makes it totally all worth it, trust me!!
Oh, and warning: If you need to rave and gush about modern cloth, for goodness sake, find other cloth users: I see my mum go into her 'happy place' when I get started, dh tunes out, but my mcn friends understand. :p Either that, or they're crazy too.
Nelle, you can't be lazier than me - I breastfeed and use cloth nappies because I'm too lazy to go to the shops in bad weather if we run out! I know I'll never remember to buy the stuff in during my normal day so it will be a dash out.
And yup, everyone loves seeing DS in his cute nappies! I also love not having to pull his trousers up all day, like I did the one morning I put him in a sposie instead of a cloth to use up some of the blumming space-wasting nappies MiL had given me.
Haha Ryn! :p Something else to consider is, River's so skinny, that when he's in sposies his pants fall down! I have to put a fleece or wool cover over the disposable to keep it up! Although some MCN are that trim as well - but like you say, at least it looks good when you can see it! :D
exactly Ryn.. every nappy change is fun...
Nelle- LOL... yes i have people who"get" my love of cloth... like when i put Eden's nappies in colour order on the line and took a video... hehehe...
I think maybe some people are just jealous maybe. I honestly dont see whats hard, also with the washing... once bub started on solids and experimenting with foods do u seriously notice one more load of washing every couple of days? i dont... well i do.. i get excited about washing MCN and making them all up again when they are dry... oh dear... i really do have bum mania as my mum calls it.
here are some great one liners for you:
-I'm getting a new kitchen with the $5000 bucks I"m saving on nappies (insert your item of choice, fo me, it's true!!)
-Ugh, how can you handle all the leaking all the time with disposables though? The poo just shoots straight out the side - I coudlnt' manage that!
-I couldn't bear the thought of all those nasty chemicals, carcinogens and whatnot on her bum!
-i'd rather wash nappies than clothes adn bedding - which is what I'll have to do with all the leaking sposies do.
-I just want her to be more comfortable, without the horrid papery feeling
-I'm hoping that there'll be a planet for her to keep living on by the time shes' grown up.
-I can't stand the thought of changing a three year old's pooey nappies - we'll both be more motivated to toilet train at a reasonable age if it's not all locked away where she can't feel it
-I dont' want her to get nappy rash (seeing everyone thinks sposies cause less, this shocks them so they ask for an explanation!)
-I don't want to have to lug great boxes of nappies home with every shop - my trolley's hard enough to manage as it is
-I'll be too busy with a newborn to pick the gel crystals out of her genitals!
-You're not allowed to throw dirty disposables in the rubbish in our local council area (which is true all across aust, btw)
btw, I am the most lazy person, and I now don't own any disposables at all. used to use them for outings, but they kept falling apart in my hands from being taken on and off all the time (we use the potty.)
Nicole, that last point is a great one - DS does poos on the loo and imagine trying to put on a sposie he's only worn for a half-hour but was ripped off quickly!
Has anyone tried pouring water on a sposie then cutting it in half after about 20-30 mins? That's enough to scare anyone off sposies.
:lol: but at the same time Eeeeekkkssssss!:
oh oh ive got another one
My daughter doesnt need to look like she has a camel toe when her nappy is full! We'll thats what ive seen on some little girls wearing sposies anyway.
Nicolel - LOL they are great! and true true!!!.... can't wait to use them, especially the crystals one PMSL
sorry maz, I don't get it??
I use the terry flats and I don't see the big fuss! It really annoys me when people pull faces at you and say things like "well, i don't know why you would do that. they are so much work".
I have a friend who always asks me if I am still using them because she thought that I would give up as it was too hard! What is so hard about it?! Like a few others have said. Why are they complaining about it... we are the ones doing it! Not them!
Ive seen little girls with sposie nappies and leggins over the top lately and cause the leggins are tight and the sewing join is right in the middle of the woo hoo it looks like a camel toe!!!
lol maz... ive seen that toooooo.... i just dont get sposies at all... maybe caz all i look at is edens bum in cloth but sposies look foreign to me... i would hate to wear plastic on my hoohoo and bottbott.
I just think....hmmm plastic....hmmm everything down there must be 'cooking' no wonder my boys had so much nappy rash. Im so use to Vy having a big butt, I couldnt imagine her without it now. And what ediction would I have to find to fill my empty void if it wasnt for cloth nappies, covers, material to make them...ahhh I dont even want to think about it!!!!!
Plus, the white of the sposies turns yellow as baby wees... yuck. Cloth covers stay the same colour, at least!
I hate the yellow on the sposies too....ick!
My DH saw a colleague with a box of nappies at work yesterday and made a passing comment that we use cloth. Today FIVE people came up to him and tried to convince him he and I were mad and that that the only option these days was disposables. He didn’t really engage in conversation with them, he just said that it’s not what they think it is, and left it at that. But geez I wish I was there, I would have had something to say
I LOVE cloth nappies, they perform so much better than disposables. Night after night after night of leaks and poosplosions during the day. I haven’t had a single night leak since and day leaks are very rare and only ever wee (when I’ve left one on a bit too long or not done enough prewashes) and never ever poo.
Also:
- They are so mega cute!
- Our bin isn’t full of stupid stinky sposies.
- We save money, especially when I get to use them for buba #2 (and possibly #3… shh don’t tell DH) and they have second hand resale value.
- I can chose to have beautiful natural fibres next to my babies skin.
- We are making a significant contribution to waste reduction.
- They are easy peasy to look after and use.
I hate sposies and I’m never going back and people who use sposies have no idea what they’re missing. I think they’re the ones who are crazy.
I’ve read through all the posts and some other people have mentioned that some people said to them in response to cloth that you need two washing machines??? DH said that some of the people said that to him today??? WTF?????
Nicole, I loved your list.
I have found it harder to convince young mums about cloth nappies than older mums who did it when we were children. They are amazed at how advanced they are now and wish they had them when we were babies.
Nicole, you can add these to the list of responses:
* I think it's cruel to put plastic underwear on a baby when we don't wear plastic underwear... we wear cotton! And this is especially true in summer.
* I don't want my children to get asthma
* I don't want my son to become infertile
* I'd rather do an extra load of washing than create more landfill