I Am The Nappy Queen

I’ve been giving some of my friends some home-made fitted nappies (diapers) and covers, and have done up a pamphlet for them on how to use real nappies. Thought I’d post it here for those interested 🙂

USING REAL NAPPIES: A RESOURCE GUIDE

Dear Mum and Dad,

Since the time of our parents and grandparents, a lot has changed in the world of nappies. Gone are the days of boiling your flats in a big copper cauldron: real nappies have gone high tech and they’re much easier to use!

To help you in using and caring for your real nappy system I’ve prepared this little pamphlet. As with all other advice you’ll receive from well-meaning onlookers, take what you need and leave the rest for someone else to try.

How to Change a Real Nappy

1. Set up your change station with all the things you will need before starting eg:
   • A mat to put Bub on
   • A place to temporarily put the dirty nappy (eg. nappy bin lid, corner of change-mat etc.)
   • A bag or bin for the dirty nappy
   • Something to wipe Bub’s botty
   • Any creams or powders you use
   • Your nappy with cover and liner (or separate booster if you wish)
   • Pins or Snappi fastener if using a terry nappy without Velcro
2. Put your clean nappy together. First lay your cover out then put a clean nappy on top. Fold the sewn-in booster to the front for boys, or in half for girls, or leave flat against the nappy gusset if you wish.
   If you want to use the separate booster, place on top of the sewn-in booster with the fleece layer face up. Otherwise, lay a liner on top of the sewn-in booster. Put aside for the moment.
3. After washing your hands, open your baby’s current dirty nappy. If you are using a nappy with Velcro tabs, fold them over so that they won’t snag your clothes in the washing machine.
4. If there is poo, clean as much off as you can with the dirty nappy then place it aside temporarily (eg. on your nappy bin lid or the corner of the change-mat). Wipe your Bub’s botty clean with disposable or re-usable wipes. For that added extra touch, dry your Bub’s botty with a hair-dryer set on low.
5. Lift Bub’s legs up and slide the clean nappy you’ve prepared underneath the botty. Pull the front section up in between Bub’s legs and hold in place while you draw the back wings around to the front on either side.
   If you are using Velcro, adjust to the fit you prefer, otherwise hold the wings in place while you apply pins or a Snappi.
   Note for newborns: You may wish to fold down the top of the front so the nappy doesn’t rub on the cord. You can then do up the nappy with pins or a Snappi.
6. Wrap the cover around to get a firm fit making sure that no part of the nappy is sticking out from underneath (otherwise moisture will wick onto Bub’s clothes).
7. Attend to the dirty nappy once Bub is dressed and put somewhere safe. If there is poo, then flush this down the toilet. A Little Squirt is a useful toilet attachment for flushing poo off nappies as well as doubling as a hand-held personal bidet.
8. Pop everything soiled into your nappy bin (or bag if you are out and about). If there is no poo on the cover, it can be aired and used at the next change.
9. Wash your hands then make yourself a cup of tea or coffee: well done!

Storing Dirty Nappies

You have two main choices in how you want to treat your dirty nappies before washing them: soaking or dry-pailing. The traditional method is to use a nappy bin with a fitted lid (important to stop toddlers from getting into the pooey water and drowning). Dirty nappies are then soaked in a solution before being rinsed and then washed in the washing machine. Some people like this method and they don’t mind the work. There is a better option however… dry-pailing!

How to Dry-Pail

You can dry-pail with one or two nappy bins. Some people like to have one bin for pooey nappies and the other for wet nappies, otherwise one bin will do fine.

Sprinkle a few drops of lavender or tea-tree oil into your nappy bin to help with any nasty smells but do not fill with water. Whenever you have a dirty nappy, pop it into the nappy bin until you have a full load for washing. If you keep the lid on the nappy bin you will not have any icky smells migrating through the house.

At washing time, simply tip the dirty nappies into the washing machine. Although stains are more likely to set with the dry-pailing method, doing a pre-wash in cold water every now and again as well as drying your nappies in sunlight will bleach any stains that do appear.

If the nappy bin smells, rinse it out with a swish of white vinegar and water.

Washing Dirty Nappies

There are various methods for washing dirty nappies some of which can be found at the websites listed in the “Handy Web Resources” section: I’ve listed my favorite method here.

The amount of work you put into washing your nappies depends on factors such as what type of washing machine you have (or not); the drought level of where you live and your attitudes to chemicals in cleaning products etc. But basically you don’t really need to ‘sterilize’ your nappies or use harsh chemical solutions. Products such as Napisan can actually shorten the life of your nappies and you should avoid fabric softeners as they will decrease the absorbency of your nappies.

A basic method of washing nappies involves:

1. An optional pre-wash rinse cycle in cold water
2. A hot-wash with a minimum amount of detergent (usually half the recommended amount).
3. An optional after-rinse with half a cup of white vinegar to neutralize any traces of wee and make the nappies soft when line-drying.

If you’d like to soak your nappies, then you can interrupt the wash process and leave the nappies in the machine to soak overnight. You can boost your wash even further by adding two or three tablespoons of bicarb soda to your soak.

For more information about washing your nappies, dealing with lingering smells, hot-water/cold-water choices see the links provided in the “Handy Web Resources” section.

Washing Nappy Covers

How you wash your nappy covers will depend on the type being used.

Fleece nappy covers are hardy creatures and can be washed in the same load as your nappies. However be careful that you do up the Velcro or you will snag your other washing and collect fluff and threads thereby shortening the life of your cover.

For instructions on how to care for PUL or lanolised wool covers see the “Handy Web Resources” section.

Drying Real Nappies

The best way to dry real nappies is on the line as sunlight acts as a natural bleacher. However given Melbourne weather, you will find you sometimes need to dry your nappies on an inside line or in a dryer.

Make sure your nappies are thoroughly dry before using them, otherwise they will collect smells along the way. If after line-drying they feel stiff to the touch you can pop them in a dryer for ten minutes, or rub them together to soften them up.

If you do elect to use a dryer, this will shorten the life of the elastic in the nappies, but it means you can get away with buying and using fewer nappies in the meantime.

Real Wipes

Using real wipes allows you to control the type and amount of cleaning solution you use (whether it is water or a fancy home-brewed recipe) and real wipes catch more of the poo when you’re faced with the blow-out. (Although if you’re a bit squeamish about too much poo on your wipes, you can take most of it off with a tissue or toilet paper first, and then finish the job with your real wipes).

All you need for wipes is some old terry cloth (cut up flat nappies, old towels or flannels) and bob’s your uncle! You can hem them if you don’t like rough edges, but we’re talking bits of material that wipe off poo here!

Once you’ve used a wipe, just pop it in the nappy bin to be washed along with the rest of the nappies.

Wipes Recipe

You can use plain old water for your wipes, but for something a bit fancier, brew up a cup of chamomile tea, add a couple of drops of lavender oil (be sparing) and a dash of a cold-pressed oil (olive, almond etc.). Swish through and there you go.

Storing Real Wipes

If you’re using a recipe for your wipes solution, you’ll need to change it every couple of days or it will go sour so don’t make too much up at a time. You can make up some solution in a plastic tub and put your wipes in there to soak, or you can keep your wipes in a dry container and dunk them in the wipes solution one at a time.

Using real wipes out and about is easy, just pre-moisten a few and keep in a zip slide bag (you can buy these from supermarkets).

Handy Web Resources

Real Nappy Information:
http://www.allaboutnappies.com/
http://www.thenappylady.co.uk/ (UK)
http://www.clothnappy.com/

Real Nappy Sellers:
http://www.cleverpants.com.au/
http://www.nipnaps.com.au/
http://www.theweewuns.au.com/
http://www.darlingsdownunder.com.au/
http://noahskingdom.wahmworld.com/
http://www.keltorrdesigns.com/
http://www.ozenappy.com/
http://www.cleverbabies.com.au/
http://www.cuddlybub.com.au/

Making Real Nappies:
http://www.diapersewing.com/ (US)
http://www.ottobredesign.com/ (FIN)
http://www.bubbaearth.com.au/
http://www.maldenmillsstore.com/ (US)

Glossary

Booster: A separate piece of absorbent material that is added to the gusset of the nappy to increase absorbency. Some boosters a fleece liner sewn on one side.

Cover: Also known as a wrap, pilcher or even soaker, the cover is what stops the nappy from leaking onto Bub’s clothes. It can be made from PVC (boo hiss), PUL (yayyy) or wool (woohoo).

Dry-Pailing: Method of storing dirty nappies in a nappy bin that does not require soaking them in chemical solutions.

Liner: A layer of disposable paper or re-usable polyester or fleece which sits next to the skin to catch poo and – in the case of fleece – keep Bub’s botty dry.

Little Squirt: Toilet attachment for rinsing poo off nappies. Little Squirts can be purchased at hardware stores and from the ABA store “Mothers Direct” (among other places).

Nappy: The absorbent part of the nappy system. It can be flat, pre-folded or fitted and made from hemp or cotton terry or flannelette.

Pre-Wash: Putting dirty nappies through a cold-water rinse cycle in the washing machine before doing a proper washing cycle with detergent.

Snappi: Three pronged stretchy plastic implement for securing terry nappies that don’t have Velcro. Snappis can be purchased at major supermarkets.

Soaking: Traditional method of storing dirty nappies in a nappy bin filled with water and soaking solution.
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