My day starts like this: 6.30 to 7am feed Seb, burp Seb, change his nappy, put him on the mat to wriggle around and stare avidly at the louvers – they seem to be so interesting! Then check for signs of sleepiness and settle him to sleep. This is the cycle of my life and is getting to be pretty predictable unless I happen to miss the signs of sleepiness and Sebby gets too overtired and then its a bit harder to get him to settle down for sleep. I made the mistake of nipping over to the neighbours house for about 10 minutes when I thought seb had drifted off into a fitfull sleep. Oh how I was wrong. On my return I found him howling his little lungs out and I felt remorseful. How could I be so cruel! From then on I couldn't settle him to sleep so he missed an entire sleep cycle and was content to sit in the little swing while I made dinner. There was not one chance he would fall into a blissful sleep. Note to self – be a better mother!
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| Sad boy :( |
Besides this ritual I have one other in my daily life – nappy cleaning. This is an all consuming necessity that cannot be put off or wait a day or two. First I collect the nappies in a bucket with a lid throughout the day. Once I have a bucket full I commence poo cleaning. This consist of using a dish brush to scrape the poo off the cloth nappies under running water. As I am trying to be water concious I have the water going at a trickle only but its hard to say how much I really am using here. I estimate around 5 to 10 litres depending on how many nappies I have to rinse. I collect all the liners or disposable compostable nappies in another bucket and fill it with water to help them start breaking down, then they are put into my compost the next day – mmmm looks like brown pooey soup!
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| Nappy Station - 2 buckets for soaking, eco nappy soaker, bench full of nappies and accessories, nappy cleaning brush, the most essential item: rubber gloves! |
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| Nappies all ready for little Sebs bum - folded cloth nappies, microfiber nappies, nappy covers, extra towels for burping and changing, massive role of nappy liners, disposable nappy inserts, barrier creams |
The rinsed nappies go back into a big bucket with some Eco brand nappy whitener that as far as I can ascertain consists mostly of Bicarbonate of Soda to help clean off those lovely bright browny yellow poo stains. Leave these to soak overnight and pop them in the wash the next day and hey presto I have lovely white nappies again! They hang on the line like white sails in the wind. One of the maternity nurses remenisced with me recently about her white cloth nappies flapping on the line and how much she missed the sight. I almost invited her over just so she could get her fix of cloth nappy heaven.
So there you have it, a day in the life of a nappy cleaner :)
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