8 years of cloth nappies

September 29, 2014

Eight years ago today I became a Mum for the first time; 8 whole years of being a mother. It’s also been 8 years of cloth nappies. I think I’ve mentioned before that I started out working as a cloth nappy advisor, as well as sewing my own nappies when my oldest was about six months old, and it’s from this that Nappy needz grew. I thought, seeing as I’m feeling a little nostalgic, I’d have a little look back over my 8 years of cloth nappies, and share some of my first nappies with you.

First nappies I used

I’d planned on using cloth nappies, long before I was even expecting my first baby, although back then I’d expect them to be pretty much like my Mum used on my brothers. Things had come a long way since then though, and the choice of cloth nappies out there were quite different. That said, the first cloth nappies that I used on my little man were quite similar to those old terry squares my Mum used. I started out with muslin squares that I folded using the “Jo fold” and then fastened with a snappi. I had some great newborn covers with leg gussets (essential for a newborn) and the muslins dried really fast. Although the type of nappies I’ve used in my 8 years of cloth nappies has changed over time, flat or pre-fold nappies with a cover are still my nappy of choice for a newborn baby.

First nappies I bought

Before Kai was born, I’d also bought quite a few shaped cloth nappies. There were a few made out of cotton terry, but I’d also discovered bamboo and hemp nappies, which seemed quite exciting at the time. These tots bots bamboozle and ella’s house bum hugger were two of the first cloth nappies I ever bought and even though they’re looking past their best, they’ve been used on four little bottoms without totally falling apart.

First cloth nappy stash

Sadly I don’t have a photo of my first cloth nappy stash, actually in 8 years of cloth nappies I don’t think I’ve taken many ‘stash shots’ at all. I built up most of my stash with second hand nappies though, and added to them as time went on. I still have a collection of cotton tots, some of the earlier tots bots styles, that you fastened with a snappi. Most of them have lost all the stretch in the leg elastics, but for saying that they are all over 8 years old, and were far from new before they were used on my four children, I don’t think that they’ve done badly at all.