Caroline Jackson, Go Real Nappy Blog

The Bummis Training Pants: a short review

2010-08-03T15:14:00.001-07:00

Finally I've started my maternity leave and I have a bit more time to devote to spreading the word about cloth nappies and this blog. Still totally unprepared for the arrival of baby bump. I'm only half way through packing my hospital bag and Evan is still sleeping in the nursery. Hopefully we will be able to decorate Evan's big boy bedroom before before baby bump arrives but we are running out of time.

Evan's potty training has been going really well. He's very good in the house not needing to go to the potty for a couple of hours. We do get the odd day, like today, when for whatever reason he decides he's just going to wee everywhere. Unfortunately we are still getting problems in nursery as he still doesn't say when he needs to go to the potty. We were using pull up nappies in nursery for a time as that was what the nursery said they wanted. However I do think they confused things, as after we started using the pull ups in nursery Evan seemed to start having more accidents at home. We've now switched to using big boy pants full time even in nursery however we get through a lot of trousers. We do still use the pull ups for in the car and at nap time.

We were using 4 different types of cloth pull ups, the Bummis training pants with a very cool jungle animal print which I was very kindly sent by NappyEverAfter to try out, a Happy Heinyz Pocket Trainer with a very cool silly monkey print, a Minki Yoyo with fire engines (which Evan quite likes as he likes the "Naa Noos"), and a cheapy Boots training pants.

I liked the fun pattern on the Bummis training pants. It's great for a boy but not very girly (it also comes in plain white). I asked for the small size which fits 25-30lbs. The fit was good at first but after a couple of washes it seemed to get tighter around the legs. I don't know if it has shrunk a little or if Evan is walking a lot more and his legs have gotten chunkier! It is still a good fit around the waist however Evan is quite thin with chunky thighs and they do tend to slip down. The medium size may now be a better fit for him. The reliabilty was ok. The pants did hold a full wee in the beginning but as they got tighter around the legs and slipped more at the waist they have tended to leak a bit but still pretty good. I've not been brave enough to try them overnight. The Bummis training pants were quite easy to use as they go on like pants. Unfortunately a couple of times Evan has pooed his pants and the Bummis training pants are awkward to clean out as they are a one piece. Although in time I would hope that this happens less. The major problem with them I find is drying time although they do dry better when turned inside out. They seem to take about a day and a half to air dry properly although they can be tumble dried.

Next time I'll write about my experience with the Happy Heinyz Pocket.

Moving to a Big Boy's Bed

2010-06-28T05:29:00.001-07:00

It's been two weeks since Evan started sleeping in his big boy bed. We wanted to get him used to a proper bed so we can move him out of the nursery and into his very own big boys bedroom before the new baby arrives so he'll be happily settled and won't feel too displaced - well that's the plan anyway but time is running out fast.

So 2 weeks ago last Saturday, after his nap in his cot bed, we dismantled his cot and put it back together again as his new "proper bed". I talked about it with him beforehand and I showed him mammy and daddy's bed and how it had no sides on it like his cot. Evan seemed very excited about having a proper bed and he watched as his cot was dismantled. He was fine until after his cot, which he loved, was in pieces and then suddenly I think it dawned on him that things were changing. It became all to much and he got upset, but once he saw his new bed he had the biggest grin I've ever seen and he loved it.

When it came to bedtime I wondered how I would get him in bed and make him stay there, but I needn't have worried. He was excited to get into bed until I went to leave and then he looked like he was going to cry. I asked him if he was ok and he said yes so I left and checked on him a few minutes later. He was sitting up in bed wide awake. I think he was overwhelmed by it all as when he saw me he started to cry so I went in and gave him a hug and we talked about the new bed. I told him it was just the same bed as before but with no sides and his sheets were the same and all his toy animals were there too. This seemed to settle him. He lay down and I stayed with him until he dropped off to sleep, which didn't take too long as he had had a busy day. I don't normally stay till Evan is asleep as he's normally very good at settling himself but I thought this was one time when an exception could be made. The next day he took his nap in the new bed and was no bother going off to sleep at bedtime.

We did try to fit a guard rail on the side of the bed but after much stress and effort (and a few curses) putting the rail together we discovered it wouldn't fit the bed so we just put a spare quilt and some blankets on the floor. So far he has only fallen out twice that we know of, but it doesn't seem to bother him. One night we found him asleep on the floor and we had to put him back in bed. In the beginning it was really cute in the mornings because despite being able to climb on and off his bed with ease he wouldn't get out of bed and leave his room until either me or his daddy were up. However, already that has changed, as the past couple of days I've been woken up at 6.30am to see his little face at the side of my bed. It's the cutest alarm clock I think I've every had but I wish I could set it to go off half hour later.

Still Potty Training and Stinky Nappies

2010-05-23T05:46:00.001-07:00

Since my last blog entry Evan has had a bad case of chicken pox. Everyone says it's better they get chicken pox when young, but try telling a 2 year old not to scratch, especially when the 2 year old likes to scratch himself to pieces even when he isn't covered in itchy spots. Poor little chap was covered from head to toe and spent nearly two weeks with socks on his hands. Most of the spots cleared up and he only has a few faint scars left.

The chicken pox did delay us starting potty training, although it is very difficult to potty train when he spends most of his time in nappies during the week in nursery. We have had some great successes though with him using the potty on weekends. We have had a couple of bouts of nappy rash lately as well which is quite unusual for Evan and letting him run around in "big boy pants" really helped clear that up as well as encouraging him to use the potty. In July I have 2 days holiday so I'm hoping to get Evan out of daytime nappies while I'm off work.

We did try the Minki Yoyo training pants. Unfortunately it seemed quite small (we had a large which should have fit). I stuffed a terry booster pad in the pocket but the nappy didn't go around him properly and gave him a builders bum! Perhaps I should have expected this as there was a digger on the front of the nappy! :-D I'm not sure if it might be a dodgy nappy though as it seems a little puckered.

Our nappies have been really stinky lately (which may have been the cause of Evan's nappy rash). Anyway we seem to have solved that problem by doing a cold water rinse before washing and changing the washing detergent to one spoonful of Grandmas Soapflakes, one spoonful of sanitiser and a dash of bicarbonate of soda in the powder drawer with a splash of vinegar where the conditioner normally goes. Apart from being less stinky they also seem a little softer too. It's lovely now the nice weather has come and I can dry nappies outside again.

We've also had our 20 week scan since my last blog entry. Again baby bump was bouncing around all over the place. We chose not to find out the sex of the baby as we prefer the surprise. All seems well with baby bump and he or she is giving me a good kicking.

Potty Training and new nappies

2010-03-30T14:57:00.001-07:00

Just a quick post as I know I haven't been posting on the blog very often lately. I think there maybe an end in sight for Evan's nappy wearing days. He has successfully used the potty 3 times now. He recently moved up to the toddler group in nursery and I think that has encouraged him to use the potty as nearly all the toddlers are either potty training or are able to take themselves to the toilet.

When it came to potty training I have previously been told to just go straight for trainer pants however training pants are not absorbent enough to catch a full wee (as my son effectively demonstrated for me recently), also the nursery would prefer to use pull ups. The nursery have been great at using Evan's cloth nappies so I really don't want to complain about them not using training pants and I can understand why they prefer pull ups.

Now this is my problem. We have used cloth nappies on Evan since he was just a couple of weeks old and I don't want to have to start using disposable pull ups so I have been trying to find a suitable cloth alternative. I currently like the look of the Minki Yoyo and I'm hoping that I will soon receive one secondhand to try out. So will keep you posted on how I get on with that.

As for other news, Baby Bump has been growing well, that is if the size of my belly is anything to go by (I'm already in the maternity trousers). Baby has also been doing some flips and giving me a few kicks too. I have already bought a couple of new nappies, secondhand Lollipop softee and micro. I love how fast they dry

A New Little Person

2010-02-24T05:04:00.000-08:00

I haven't been thinking much about nappies lately or been online much. At the start of January we found out we were expecting another baby so I've been suffering a bit from tiredness and evening sickness. The sickness seems to be easing but unfortunately not the tiredness. On Monday morning we had our 12 week scan. I half expected them not to find anything, as this pregnancy still doesn't seem quite real to me, but they did. There was just the one baby thankfully (we don't have enough space for 3 children in our house!). Baby measured spot on 12 weeks and 2 days and it was great to see baby bouncing around. In fact the midwife had a hard time measuring the head circumference as baby just wouldn't stay still. We could see all the body parts on the scan and I am always amazed at how clear the image is. It looked like baby was waving at us and showing off all their brand new fingers. We could even see the line of the jaw bone at one point. As much as I would love to have another baby like Evan (he sleeps, eats everything, and is so angelic whenever we are out), I already think this one is going to be completely different.
We are so excited to be expecting another baby and although most of Evan's nappies are still in a good condition and can be used again, others have become a bit worn. I can't wait to invest in some brand new cloth nappies.

Christmas 2009

2010-02-03T03:29:00.001-08:00

I hope everyone had a great Christmas and Happy New 2010! Sorry it's a bit late. I do appreciate it is now February..

We had an eventful Festive period. At the begnning of December we took a weeks holiday and visited Las Vegas! I know what your thinking - Not really a child friendly holiday destination - and I would agree, however Evan loved it. Evan was great on the plane despite spending the best part of a day traveling and hanging around airports. Whilst in Vegas, he even got to meet Father Christmas, which I think he found just a bit unnerving. He also enjoyed watching the gondolas in one of the hotels in fact we had a hard job getting him away from them. Probably by about the 4th day he was mostly in the right time zone and we tried to help him adjust by keeping to his routine best we could. Although he did frequently wake in the night.

While we were away, we took some flat nappies with us which we used in the night. Every morning we rinsed them out and let them dry over the bath. We did use disposables when we were out during the day but at least the few flat nappies we had reduced the amount of waste we threw away. We didn't have any really messy flat nappies to contend with as they were only ever wet. This is good as the hotel laundry service was quite expensive!

We spent Christmas at home, just the three of us. It was great this year as Evan was really becoming aware of what was happening. He really got into opening all his presents and enjoyed hearing all the stories and songs about Santa (or DaTa as he liked to call him, which is pretty close). We also let him munch away on some chocolate and that soon became his most over used word. Next year will be even better as he will be old enough to really grasp the idea of Christmas.

Week 8

2009-11-22T15:16:00.001-08:00

I'm so pleased today. Evan has finally walked on his own! As he's been a bit late to get walking, the poor little guy has been back and forth hospitals having tests and being poked and prodded to be assessed for a motor delay. It would seem that the only thing stopping him from walking earlier has been a lack of confidence. I'm just so proud of him. Time to get him a proper pair of shoes.

We tried out an all in one nappy this week, the Lollipop PopNGro. I had heard some good reviews about this nappy, but I've always been a bit doubtful about all in one nappies and wondered how successful they would be at preventing leaks. It's a birth to potty nappy, so getting the right settings on the nappy when using for the first time on a toddler takes some trial and error. Initially I tried the PopNGro on the biggest setting with both the extra booster pads, but it leaked around the gussets. Not to be put off, I tried it again. This time on the middle setting and with just the microfibre booster. The nappy seemed to work well with no dampness around the gusset. Unfortunately however poop leaked out the leg and we had to do a pretty hasty nappy change! This is always my concern with all in one nappies as our Nature Babies nappies always leak after a poop but the separate cover always catches any mess and keeps Evan's clothes clean (Evan rarely needs a change of clothes).The cover can then be washed with a wipe or handwashed quickly in the sink and used again.

I will more than likely use the PopNGro again to try to get a better fit around the leg, however right now this isn't going to be the nappy that converts me to an all in one. It is a shame as I did want to like it as many people use the Lollipop PopNGro successfully, however I don't think it is the right nappy for Evan. I'm hoping soon to get a Close Parent Pop-In to try out as I've heard some good things about this nappy too.

Week 7 Halloween and Bonfire Night

2009-11-08T15:41:00.001-08:00

Oops I've missed a couple of weeks again. I don't know where the time is going. What with colds and work I just haven't had time to write a blog entry. We've had a fun few weeks though with our little man. We went to the park on Halloween with Evan dressed as a spider. The little guy walked all around the park. He just loves walking right now. We've just taken Evan to his first firework display as well. I thought he wouldn't like the noise but he absolutely loved it and was mesmerised by the fireworks. In fact when the display was finished he asked for "moore".

Tried a new nappy this week, the Lollipop Softee. I loved the look of this nappy. It is so soft and cuddly. The nappy looked like it had been used many times before and had been washed many times, but yet it was still lovely and soft. The softee is a 2 part nappy so we used it with our motherease airflow covers. The nappy has Velcro tabs and it fitted great. We used the Softee during the day for 4 hours and over night for 11 hours and there were no leaks. After washing I was impressed at how quickly the Softee dried. In fact it was virtually dry after spinning in the washing machine. Less than an hour on the radiator and it was ready to go again.

I was really pleased with the fit, ease of use and performance of this nappy and I would say the Lollipop Softee is a great nappy.

Week 6: A tiring week

2009-10-21T05:51:00.001-07:00

This week I have been incredibly tired so I have been a bit slow at posting this blog entry. I guess that is what happens when you're trying to be a mum and working full time. Actually I did have a day off work this week, as Evan was unwell. When I went to get him up Thursday morning he had been sick. He's had a bit of an upset tummy for a little while, which makes me glad for the 2 part nappies, as they have protected his clothes from any mess.

Anyway, Thursday afternoon Evan seemed a bit better and wanted to go out so we bundled ourselves into the car and shot off round Fife visiting doctors surgeries with posters advertising my Nappuccino. That is another thing I have been busy with lately. In my role as a Lollipop real nappy advisor I have organized a Nappuccino in St Andrews with the Fife Real Nappy Network. It's my first one and with just 3 weeks to go, I thought it best to start advertising. See the Go Real events page if you are interested in knowing more about it.

This weekend we've been visiting Evan's Nana and Granddad. Normally we use disposables when we visit, but the past couple of times it's been difficult to find biodegradable nappies in the right size and have had to use – dare I say it – Pampers. Not this time though. I decided we should take the "Real Nappy Travel Challenge" and took with us some flat nappies, a nippa, and the Tots Bots Cover. After use we just bagged up the nappies in biodegradable nappy sacks and as we were just staying 2 nights, took them all home in our wet nappy bag for washing. The nappies were so easy to use and didn't leak once (I think I'm getting really good at folding them) and because they were flat nappies they didn't take up much room in the over night bag.

Over the whole weekend we used just 2 disposables. One of which leaked terribly on the way home and we spent 50 minutes in the baby changing room at McDonalds cleaning up. I can't help but think if Evan had been in his 2 part nappy it wouldn't have been so bad. Evan was quite bemused by it all but I would rather forget about the whole ordeal, as it was quite unpleasant especially as we had run out of wipes!

Week 5 A little accident

2009-10-10T08:18:00.001-07:00

I write this with a certain amount of guilt but I feel it is important to say so others will learn from our mistake.

This week Evan had an accident. He tumbled out of his cot and landed on his head!

It was awful to watch but there was nothing I could have done. It was all over before I had realised what had happened. He was fine and was up walking around the furniture and laughing away just minutes after his fall and seemed to be unaware of what had happened. I think it affected me more than it did him. I was all ready to take him up A+E but I phoned our health visitor who told us not to worry as this sort of thing happens from time to time and he would probably be fine. She advised us to keep an eye on him and if he seemed unwell then to take him to the hospital. It shook me and my husband up though especially as the reason he fell was because we hadn't lowered the base of his cot. Suffice to say as soon as we were home from work that day the cot base was lowered. He can barely see over the top now and until he learns how to shimmy up the cot bars he won't be escaping/falling out.

So the moral of the story is, babies grow fast (sometimes faster than we realise), so make sure the cot base is at an appropriate height.

In case anyone was wondering, Evan is still fine. In fact I brought it up at Evan's appointment with the paediatrician yesterday and the doctor was unconcerned.

Week 4 Flat Nappies Revisited

2009-10-02T14:07:00.001-07:00

I'm not going to hide the fact that I am a huge fan of shaped nappies, two part ones in particular. However I have thought recently that maybe I am too hard on the flat nappies. After all that style of nappy has been used successfully longer than any other. So with this in mind I decided to try the terry towels on my son again. Now that he's a busy 18 month old toddler, I thought it would be difficult but instead I was pleasantly surprised.

I found folding the flat nappy awkward initially simply because I was unsure how to fold it (keeping in mind that I was doing it from memory and the last time I used a flat nappy was over a year ago). I used the kite fold as it was the one my mum said she used on me. It's quite an easy fold to do and after a couple of goes I got it right. Evan was well behaved and I managed to get the nappy under him without it unfolding and the liner staying in place. I used the Nappy Nippa to fasten the nappy and a Tots Bots Velcro cover (my favourite cover blue with stars!) over the top. I like these covers, not just because they have a snazzy pattern, but they seem to have a generous fit. The cover worked well with the folded nappy.

Although the flat nappy was bulky on Evan when he was new, now that he is bigger it didn't seem all that bulky. I still prefer the shaped nappies but in an emergency I know I can always use the terry squares and with practice they can be just as easy to use as any shaped nappy.

Week 3: Nappy Rash and Stinky Nappies

2009-09-22T13:32:00.001-07:00

This week Evan has nappy rash for the first time ever. It's been really sore and angry looking for the past few days, but today it seems to have calmed down a bit. I coated his bottom in Sudocreme and that seems to have helped. Like most unexplainable things, I'm putting it down to teething. He is actually just getting one of his canine teeth. He was a grump on the weekend as well another sure sign that the tooth was coming. He hasn't had a problem with any of his other teeth. They have always just appeared without causing any bother. I'm actually hoping for a few more bottom teeth to match the top. He has almost a full set on the top but still only 4 on the bottom!

Lately I've noticed that his nappies have been particularly stinky. I have been told that nappies can smell worse when new teeth are coming through. I've had to resort to soaking even the wet nappies and doing a rinse before washing to get the smell out. It doesn't half make your eyes water!

Nappy changes have become difficult this week as well. Evan is on the verge of walking. He's very steady when walking with support and just needs to find the courage to let go. Unfortunately for me, all he wants to do these days is practice walking so getting him to lie down for his nappy changes, turns into a battle of wills!

Week 2: On our holidays

2009-09-15T02:51:00.001-07:00

Although I live in Scotland, I'm not a native. I'm a Welsh girl originally and all my family live in South Wales. We don't see them as often as we would like but when we do go visit we usually fly. I know not great for the environment but certainly easier than driving with a baby, which took us 10 hours in the past. It takes an hour in the plane and we can leave after work.

When traveling we usually keep Evan in disposable nappies (Although I do always insist that they are the biodegradable type). Unfortunately Evan drank 3 cups of water before getting on the plane (He normally doesn't drink much) and did huge wee wees. The nappy just couldn't take this downpour and we were both soaked. This meant a nappy change in the plane toilet. I hate plane toilets but it wasn't as bad as I thought. There was a fold down piece of MDF to act as a changing table although no restraints, not that he could go far. He's a tall boy though and plane toilets are narrow. His legs ended up half way up the wall but I managed to get the new nappy on without too much incident.

While visiting family we always use disposable nappies because of their convenience. I'm not against disposables. They are great for holidays, but I think unnecessary for everyday use. I also find them fiddly to use (maybe because we don't use them all the time). The Velcro tabs on our two part nappies are so much quicker to do up. A few weeks ago Evan was in a disposable nappy. He is a bottom shuffler and was scooting around quite happily on the living room carpet. I had gone over to play with him when I noticed the outside of his nappy was wet! The disposable nappy was only wearing thin with all the bottom shuffling he was doing.

Evan had a great time visiting his grandma and bampa and was spoilt rotten. He was upset to leave them and was looking for them when we got on the plane. He couldn't understand why they weren't coming too. It was very sad. But I'm hoping that when he sees them next time he will have some memory of who they are.

Go Real Nappy Blog - Caroline Jackson, Week 1

2009-09-08T03:56:00.000-07:00

My name is Caroline. I live in Fife, Scotland with my husband and baby son who was born in March 2008. I work full time as well as being a Lollipop Cloth Nappy Advisor and a member of the Fife Real Nappy Network in my spare time. We’ve used real nappies on our son since he was a couple of weeks old and made the decision to use cloth nappies when I was pregnant. In my mind there was really no decision to make. I’ve always seen the importance of recycling and “doing our bit” for the environment, so choosing to use reusable nappies was simple. My husband felt the same way as me and was definitely convinced when I told him about the financial savings we could make.

While I was pregnant I had no idea that I could book a nappy demo with a nappy advisor to help me choose the perfect nappies for us. I spent many hours researching the different types and brands of nappies on the internet. However, it was difficult to choose which type to get without actually seeing and feeling them. I decided I liked the Nature Babies brand as they were a British company based in Leicestershire and I purchase a Nature Babies trial pack containing a selection of their nappies.

I was very excited when my nappies arrived but we didn’t have a baby to try them out on, so my husband and I had great fun putting them on a stuffed monkey! After trying out the nappies on Monkey we decided we liked the shaped two part nappy system. I had read online that these were most reliable, as the two layers (absorbent nappy and separate cover) acted as a double barrier against leaks. I also liked the idea of pocket nappies as they were like disposable nappies which I thought would be useful for when we were out.

Eventually we ended up with 9 Diddi Diapers with velcro, 1 Micro Diddi Diaper, 1 Nature Babies wrap and 2 Motherease airflow wraps, 6 small Nature Babies Stuffables, and 5 large terry squares for folding. In total we spent £147 on our first size nappies and all the accessories (pail, mesh bag etc). We decided to use biodegradable flushable paper liners to make messy nappy changes easier.

After our son was born, we didn’t have any family nearby to help us learn how to care for our newborn so for the first few weeks we used disposable nappies until we had the hang of things. But after spending so much money buying the nappies we were determined to use them and make them work.

Once we started using our nappies we found that not all of them were as good as we had hoped on our small 6½Ib newborn. The Diddi Diapers were most successful and the Velcro fastening meant the nappy was very adjustable. Our son was exclusively breastfed for the first 6 months and the two part nappies were great for containment of runny poos. The Micro Diddi Diaper was fastened with a Nappi Nippa. Although the Nappi Nippa was designed to replace nappy pins it is still sharp and I caught myself on it a number of times. The Nature Babies Stuffables were disappointing as we found they leaked when our son was small so we stopped using them.

When he was a bit bigger the Stuffable nappies fit better around the legs and leaked less but I always had to put two microfibre pads in the pocket as one simply wasn’t absorbent enough. Even with two pads the nappy only lasted two hours at best before leaking. I did fold a couple of terry squares in the beginning but found it very awkward to keep the nappy folded while wrapping it round our son’s bottom. The terry squares were certainly very absorbent but incredibly bulky on our small baby and the wraps we had were not big enough to go around so we had to use plastic pants. We now just use the terry squares on our changing mat to catch any surprise wees or poos during nappy changes.

Although our first size nappies have been well worn, we hope to have another baby in the future and will use our nappies again. As a nappy advisor and working for the Fife Real Nappy Network I have come across a number of new mums who used cloth nappies in hospital after their babies were born and this is something I would love to do next time.