Ginger Beer Mumma

[clothncraft]

Hello Kirsty!

Welcome!!

Glad you hear you're considering MCNs! Yes they are great but one word of advice ... beware the MCN addiction monster! It very easily catches you and without warning!!

Re: cloth in daycare. I have heard of plenty of Mum's who use MCN at daycare. I haven't had to do it however as I've had a benefit of not having to go back to work. But Oh I feel for you and the not having maternity leave thing! Good old Engineering grad recruitment programs! (My Hubby finished his a year or so ago so I know a LITTLE about them!) Are you able to take time off as "leave without pay" and come back where you were and not have to repeat any of it? I hope so.

Another thing re: the weekly budget - just making sure you've factored the FTB into it? Not that I'm saying that the FTB should be used for disposables - far from it! It's just that I didn't find out about it until I was towards the end of my pregnancy when my SIL had her bub and she got it and I found out I was elligible too. It's not a LOT of money but it does take the pressure off a LITTLE.

And re: dealing with prejudices, I like to think of it as people who're against MCN really just aren't educated and think it's going to be much harder than it really is. So can I just encourage you in that YOU have the honoured position of "spreading the love"!! It's amazing how many people "convert" to cloth after seeing their friends use it. Let alone the fact that some of it is just so CUTE!!

I hope it's an enjoyable journey for you!!

HTH.

Michelle

[UpTheDuff]

THANKS LADIES!
Will start spreading the love even more when I have net full time

[littlesox]

Hi Kirsty. I'm from Perth too! We catch up in real life sometimes so make sure you get permission to access the Western Australia section so you can find out about get-togethers.

When I first started using cloth and didn't quite succeed (I was using the wrong washing detergent so the wee was repelling off the nappies instead of soaking in and I was constantly washing everything!) I could tell that a few people were smugly happy about it. But, now that we're using them again with our second baby people are just used to it and actually quite interested in it.

Most of the time though people are positive about us using cloth and some people will want to know more. Yay!

It's like a lot of things in parenting ... people do stuff differently. Sleep. Feeding. What toys you choose. Daycare or not. Nappies are just another thing on the list. This is definitely the place to come for good reasons to use cloth and you'll no doubt feel more comfortable in justifying your choice to others ... and maybe advocating them to your friends! But, at the end of the day no-one can really argue with you saying "We use them because it's what we've chosen to do and it's what works for us."

(A few reasons why we use them though ... less chemicals on bub's skin, less landfill, less money overall and they're cute! )

Joining up here was the turning point for me first time around ... somewhere to get advice and meet some very lovely people. Hope you enjoy it too!

[Splitsea]

Hi Kirsty

Welcome and congratulations on your pregnancy!!!!! Enjoy shopping for your MCN stash. Lucky for you finding out about them before your first babe. We battled away with flats, pins and covers with our first and it didn't take long till we gave up. We were so isolated, no baby expos or the like to come across MCN. Once your friends see you using MCN they will more than likely become more positive. There is so much to love about them! I'm passionate about cloth wipes too, so make sure you don't overlook those. They are another huge saving and less chemicals on babes bottom.

Best wishes and hope to meet you at one of our Perth meets soon!

Sam

[adalheid]

Hi and Welcome to NC Kirsty

[littlesox]

Oh yes! Cloth wipes! Love cloth wipes. I think that even if people aren't going to use cloth nappies cloth wipes just make so much sense. Disposable wipes are expensive and are full of who knows what. I mostly use cheap flannels from the baby section of Big W and others that I've bought cheap from Spotlight or the op shop.

[UpTheDuff]

Does anyone know where to get some good, cheap Hemp or bamboo boosters? Long ones pref. Or some material for them? I am look at less than $4 per booster- if possible! Will post elsewhere about this too!
THANKS!
Kirst

[photocat]

Hi Kirsty welcome, you've got loads of good advice here already!

My daycare didn't bat an eyelid when I said I wanted to use cloth, and they thought I meant flats, pins and covers so were nicely surprised with mcns. No dramas using it at all.

For your own fabric, I bought some bamboo, hemp and microfibre off an ebay seller. It was well priced and good quality so might be worth a look there.

As far as keeping to a budget, buying second hand has been the way to go for me, my dh would never have gone for it if I bought all the pretties I've seen and spent an arm and a leg doing so. And I second the cloth wipes, best thing being you never have to run to the store cos you've run out.

Oh yes, lots of people to talk cloth here!