Leila Rose Petal

Nappies - cloth versus disposable - is one of the most vexed issues around having a baby. Like breastfeeding, it seems to bring out the inner nazi in many people and cause great consternation. The general thrust of the debate (allowing for some exageration on my part) is that those who use cloth nappies are environmentally aware angels, while those who use disposables are hellbent on destroying the world into which they’re bringing their child.

When Finn was born we started out using cloth, thanks to the nappy service Judy gave us and went to disposables when that ran out. For Leila we were going to use disposables from the beginning, but I’ve recently had a bit of a change of heart.

Disposable nappies are expensive. A week’s supply for a newborn baby costs about $15, which mounts up quickly. The recycling service we used for Finn’s disposables (which was also an expense) has closed due to “technical difficulties” with no sign of reopening so, Leila’s nappies would be going into landfill.

We already have about 36 cloth nappies, which weren’t really used for Finn. All I need to buy are pilchers (nappy covers which are getting surprisingly hard to find - good ones at least), fasteners and a bucket to put the used ones in. A bit of the reading I’ve done recently has suggested that it’s not really necessary to do all the bleaching and soaking that has traditionally been associated with nappy washing, so there’s not as much work involved as I thought. The same sources have suggested that only the water from pooey nappies cannot be reused. The water from wet nappies is fine. So there’s not as much water wastage as I thought. And I will be home with the time to do the washing and tweak the system as needed.

So Leila will start off in cloth nappies. We’re still going to use disposables for outings and as a backup for the inevitable time when the cloth ones don’t get washed or dried in time. If the cloth nappies go well, ie. we don’t have problems with nappy rash or getting them washed and dried, etc. I’ll seriously consider investing in one of the fitted nappy systems around, like Baby Beehinds to use as Leila becomes more active. The initial outlay for these is a bit much, though, until I’m sure I’m going to keep doing this.