Go Real Nappy Blog - Sandra Curley, Week 3

I cannot believe that there are Christmas decorations starting to pop up in the shops already! I even heard on the radio that one woman has already written her Christmas Cards. I have to say I have a bit of a bug bear about cards. I feel that they are ok to send to people who you don't see very often, but why send them to family, close friends and work colleagues when you see them most weeks.
A few years ago I was very brave and put up a single card in the office wishing everyone a Happy Christmas and donated the money I saved on cards, to the NSPCC. I was actually quite shocked at the mixed response I got and have never done it again! I do save the cards I receive and make my own gift tags for the next year. Does anyone else have any money saving and recycling tips for Christmas?

I made some shocking discoveries about disposable nappies this week, that there are up to 200 chemicals in disposables and that some of them could be toxic. It is just so easy to pop the disposables on and not think about what is in them, but perhaps if the disposable nappy manufacturers had to list the contents of their product, we might get more parents looking at real nappies. Come on Go Real, let's start a lobby!

Have any of you seen the latest Lollipop nappy, the Pop N Gro. I absolutely love it! It is a lovely soft quick drying one size nappy, with easy fastenings and nice fitting around the thighs. It is a little bulky on a very new born, but babies grow so quickly its worth putting up with a fat bottom for a few weeks.

Talking of fat bottoms, my Christmas diet starts now……………….

Go Real Nappy Blog, Sandra Curley, Week 2

We have had a busy week-end in Birmingham with the annual Artsfest festival taking place, with nearly 600 different events and performances.

From ballet to bhangra, dub poetry to indie rock, comedy to classical music and everything in between, around 110,000 people
came on Saturday alone, to enjoy the free entertainment.

We were lucky to have lots of visitors to our recycling trailer wanting information on what they can recycle, how they can compost and of course real nappies. Parents are often pleasantly surprised to find out that Birmingham City Council wants to reward parents with a £30 cash back on their purchase of real nappies. In today’s climate every penny helps!

We can also boast some special visitors, the Lord Mayor, Lady Mayoress and Sharon Lea, Strategic Director of Environment & Culture (Acting) The Lord Mayor and Sharon Lea, seen here by our lovely recycling bins!

I have just got back from an information session at Birmingham Central Library where mums and dads brought their little ones to a play and story time event. It is always so nice when parents listen to a short demonstration and then ask loads of questions – even better if I can answer the questions! I am hoping this will be a regular event, the staff were certainly very keen.

I am having a short week this week as I have to go University hunting with my daughter, Hannah, oh joy. Actually, it’s not too scary as I have already done it once before with Alex. We are going to Glamorgan Uni this week, another trip to Wales, having already done Swansea and Cardiff. It might seem a long way off, but believe me, time flies so quickly when your children are small and you have 101 things to do!

Go Real Nappy Blog - Sandra Curley, Week 1

Hello, my name is Sandra and I am a Waste Minimisation Officer at Birmingham City Council. My job is to promote real nappies. I also provide information, help and advice to parents thinking about using real nappies.

By real nappies, I mean cloth or washable nappies. They come in so many varieties and materials, I tend not to call them cotton nappies anymore.

My own experience with real nappies was 20 years ago when my son Alex was born. My mum bought me a pack of a dozen Zorbit nappies, 3 plastic pull on pants (yuk), a couple of huge nappy pins and a roll of nasty paper liners. I can’t remember using many disposables at all, if any. But I do remember that he potty trained very quickly during his second summer. A couple of weeks running around wearing little pants, a potty in each room, weeing in the garden aiming at the daisies and we were soon potty trained. I didn’t manage to beat my mother-in-law’s record of 11 months though!

I am getting an increasing number of mums-to-be calling for information about real nappies, it is really encouraging, and if I had a pound for everyone who has asked me “which nappy should I buy?” I would be a happy nappy lady! I think it is really important to get the right nappies, if they don’t fit properly you can get leaks, if they are complicated you or a partner/grandparent, might not bother with using them, certain fabrics take longer to dry and you might not have a quick enough turnover, and any of these could result in using disposables. A nappy trial is a great idea and you should have a look to see if anyone in your area offers this service.