What that means for people like me (read: cloth obsessed) is simple...SALES!
Cloth nappy retailers have a week long sale, tempting all us poor cloth mummies with their low prices, and encouraging us to buy "just this one as well" because "I really do need that too."
The lovely mums of Northern Ireland are no exception, and we kicked off the week by helping the local economy grow by buying lots of nappies from Baba Me at the Blooming Babies Modern Parenting Expo in Belfast.
As the week progresses, we share the links and details of bargains to be had across all websites, resulting in mass buying from almost everyone, and lots of "Oh I really don't need that...but...".
I have made contribution to the economy this week too - how selfless of me! I picked up two bumGenius Elementals from Baba Me at the show, 3 Tots Bots Bamboozles from Babipur, 5 cheapie Tiny Nippers, and 3 Tots Bots easyfits on sale in Tesco. Writing it all down like that makes it seem like a lot...and I still 'need' 2 Blueberry capri wraps from Baba Me online.
But here's the beauty of it - I can use these nappies over and over again. Isabelle is only just 1, she will be wearing nappies for a while to come, and if we are lucky enough to be granted more babies some day, they will wear the nappies too. So, I see it as an investment for the future. (Am I convincing you?!)
In all seriousness, the things I picked up were things we needed. When Isabelle is looked after by Simon or my parents they prefer Velcro nappies (the Tiny Nippers and Tots Bots I mentioned above are for them!) and since she turned 11 months Isabelle has been peeing for Ireland, and the Elementals provide us with great absorbency once I get the right boosters in there too. I have found that as Isabelle grows, our needs from our nappies have changed. We now need something to hold a bucket load of wee, and to do it quickly. She does what are fondly known as 'toddler wees', which is like turning on a powerful tap, and what we had been using just wasn't holding up to this new pee regime. Luckily, RNW came along at just the right time, and so I was able to grab a few bargains. (Let's not discuss overall cost. I just worked it out and panicked!)
So, other cloth mummies might want to know exactly what my stash consists of now. I am almost scared to tell you....some are show below, there are more in the wash...
- 8 Tots Bots Bamboozles (3 new style, 5 old)
- 2 Tots Bots wraps
- 1 Happy Heinys wrap
- 2 Blueberry Capri wraps
- 3 Flip wraps
- 4 Flip stay drys
- 3 Flip organics
- 6 Econobum prefolds
- 5 Tots Bots easyfits (3 v2, 2 v4)
- 3 bumGenius Elementals
- 8 Little Lamb OSFA pockets (and 5 more never used)
- 7 bumGenius Freetimes
- 18 Tiny Nippers
And, honestly, I also have another 20+ fitted nappies which I used with Isabelle when she was first born, which are packed away for use with other babies...
I hope your RNW is as fruitful as mine clearly was! Even if you only buy one nappy and use it once every few days, you save a few nappies from landfill every week. And you know what they say, every little helps!