MAKE CLOTH NAPPIES WORK FOR YOU

Gone are the days where using cloth nappies meant fiddling with safety pins and being an origami pro. Modern cloth nappies are worlds apart from all of that. But can they work for you?

Today’s cloth nappies are designed to look and function much like disposable nappies. The chief difference is that you simply toss a disposable, whereas you wash a cloth nappy, saving you money and earning you ecopoints if you wash optimally.

Almost all the modern cloth nappies available in South Africa are one-size-fits- all, so you can, theoretically, use the same nappies from birth to toddler stages. “They come with poppers or Velcro around the waist to adjust the sizing,” explains Sally Fouche, owner of cloth nappy supplier Bam+boo Baby.

But in practice the one-sizefits-all concept doesn’t always work for all babies in the early months, according to moms who’ve put cloth nappies to the test. “Up to three months

the nappies were ginormous on my boys and their legs were sticking out like spiders! It didn’t look comfortable at all, so I only started using cloth nappies at about four or five months,” says Jennifer Veitch, who uses a mixture of cloth nappies and eco-disposables on her youngest son.

Aaniyah Omradien also didn’t find cloth nappies fitted her newborn snugly, which led to some leaking: “It causes a mess on baby’s clothes, or wherever baby’s been sitting or playing.”

Amanda Huysamen, owner of Doodlebums Diapers, an online store that supplies most South African cloth nappy brands, acknowledges that the one-size-fits-all nappies are more ideal for babies starting from five kilograms, all the way up to potty training.

CHOOSE YOUR STYLE

The actual design differs depending on the brand but in general you can divide today’s cloth nappies into two design types: the all-in-one with a waterproof attached, or the all-in-two version, where the nappy lining and the outer waterproof “shell” are separate. The materials they’re made from also differ from brand to brand – but are mostly naturally absorbent fibres such as bamboo or cotton, often with some polyester to strengthen it.

After nine years experimenting with a range of materials, Joanne Austin, owner of Mother Nature Products, the only company to manufacture its own cloth nappies from scratch in South Africa, believes bamboo is best. Not only is bamboo less bulky, she says, it’s also more environmentally friendly, has natural antibacterial qualities and it’s more absorbent than cotton. “Plus the bamboo fibres stays softer – cotton can become a bit hard over time,” she adds.

Sally agrees that bamboo is best but points out that it is usually pricier and requires some special care. For example, you can’t use normal bum cream with zinc in it because it will “eat into” the bamboo inserts. “We recommend you use cold pressed coconut oil instead,” she says.

HOW MANY IS ENOUGH?

Each baby’s needs will differ, but as a basic guideline suppliers recommend around 20 cloth nappies for full time use and 10 for part time use. “For full time use 24 to 30 is a more comfortable number,” advises Amanda. “Then you can wash nappies only every two to three days. If you have less, you have to wash almost every day.” When working out how many cloth nappies to get, remember not to base your calculations on how many disposables your baby would use. “You need to change cloth nappies more frequently because baby can feel when they’re wet far quicker than with disposables,” explains Simone Cilliers, who uses cloth nappies on her 18-month-old when at home during the day and disposable nappies at night and when they’re out.

“I find you can’t really leave the nappy on too much longer after they’ve weed, because they can get red and start to chafe,” adds Jennifer, who prefers using disposables on her son when he naps or at night. “Otherwise he wakes up because he’s wet.”

IT’S NOT THAT GROSS!

Now for the part you really want to know about: what about the cleaning? The general consensus is that cloth

THE ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL NAPPIES ARE MORE IDEAL FOR BABIES STARTING FROM FIVE KILOGRAMS

nappies are, of course, more effort than simply binning disposables, but not nearly as bad as one might imagine. “It’s not as gross as you think!” Jennifer says. “If you use a [biodegradable] disposable liner then you just throw the liner in the toilet and flush it. Or throw it in the rubbish bin, depending on how your septic tank is. Then you just have to wash the nappy.”

The actual washing part is also fairly easy. “Back in the old days you had to soak nappies in steri-buckets. You don’t do any of that now; in fact that damages the bamboo,” says Sally. After flushing the liner you simply put the nappy into a dry bucket with a lid. If you choose not to use a liner, you would deposit the poop straight into the loo and then give the nappy a rinse before putting it in the bucket. “Then, a maximum of every second day you just throw the nappies in the washing machine,” continues Sally. “You can use normal washing detergent – just never fabric softener, because it will destroy bamboo. Then hang on the line to dry.”

Although the cleaning can be easy it does take time, notes Jennifer, which is a downside for her. As Aaniyah points out: “If you’re a full time working mom it’s a lot more difficult because you have so many other things that you are juggling already.”

Working full time and dealing with an extra load of nappies because your baby is teething and going through more changes than normal is no fun either, attests Simone, who finds the less than solid number twos during bouts of teething to be the biggest challenge of using cloth nappies. “I just work around that though,” she says, “so when I know she’s teething, I use disposables for a few days. It’s not such a big deal.”

Aaniyah also found the cleaning much harder in the early months when baby is exclusively breastfeeding. “The poos are not solid so it can be difficult to clean, especially in the first few days when baby is excreting thick, sticky meconium which can stain quite hectically.” With her second son, due in June, Aaniyah plans to avoid these problems by using ecodisposables for the first few weeks before going on to cloth nappies full time.

OUT AND ABOUT

The other practicality that can be tricky to deal with is soiled nappies while out and about. Amanda maintains it’s not such a big problem: “You just roll it up as you do with a disposable, and you chuck it in a wet bag until you get home.”

Sounds good in theory, but many moms find it harder in practice and prefer to use disposables when they’re out or on holiday. “For everyday use and if I’m at home, then I would definitely use cloth. But if I’m on holiday, then I prefer to use disposables,” says Aaniyah.

“I know many moms do [use cloth nappies while out and about], but I’m just not brave enough to go that way,” admits Jennifer, who uses ecodisposables when going out or on holiday.

Ultimately, says Simone, the choice on whether or not to use cloth nappies, and to what extent, all comes down to how much you’re prepared to do to reap the cost and environmental benefits, “and whether you’re realistically able to do it”. YB