First Impressions: Cloth Nappies

Cloth nappies and the Montessori way: There are some excellent blog posts on why cloth nappies fits into the Montessori theory especially here  so I won't go into too much detail, but when people ask me I tell them: cloth nappies are the first part of toilet training; that is the child recognising when they are wet and dry.  

We decided to give the cloth nappies a go for Reuben because he's our first and, well, quite frankly we figured we didn't know any better so we may as well. I'm keen to make better choices for the environment and for my wallet and the more I researched the more it seemed to satisfy both criteria. I was a little apprehensive about telling people but, I've found people are really supportive and maybe even a little impressed (maybe).

I chose to use Eco Naps All in Ones. Everything has been ordered online and the customer service has been great even when I've come across issues.

I like the Eco Naps All in Ones because they look like real nappies but cuter. His butt is a little chunkier but that's ok too, but they don't hinder his rolling at all.

At the beginning he was too little for them and leaked through a lot so we had to wait until he had put on some chub around his legs, they are delightfully chubby now so we very rarely have leak throughs unless he's way off aim (which happens with disposables anyway).

We also wore them 24/7 at the start but he has developed a nappy rash/dermatitis which may or may not be to do with the cloth nappies but definitely is not helped by them. For a precautionary measure we've changed to cloth during the day and disposables during the night to give his skin a break from being wet against his skin.

Going to disposables, even part time, has been heartbreaking, I feel like it takes a fair amount of balls to do something non-mainstream and to have them contributing to his skin problems upset me. But ultimately, it's about what's best for him not the idea of something. 

The washing is fine, it just needs to be done everyday. As a further measure we wash with soap nuts, I bought them a little skeptical, but to my surprised I find them very effective and all our clothes are now washed with them.

Overall I can't wait until his skin settles and he's running around in them in the summer time with nothing else on, it's going to be total cuteness.

References:

• http://montessorihomes.blogspot.com.au/p/toilet-learning.html 
• http://www.howwemontessori.com/how-we-montessori/2011/08/my-love-hate-relationship-with-cloth-nappies.html
• http://econaps.com.au/
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sapindus