So The Real Nappy Challenge is over and I managed to use a real nappy once a day for 7 days. How did we do? Am I a real nappy convert?

After a disappointing start to the week on Day 1, things started to improve over Days 2 and 3 and I’m happy to report that the rest of the week went well, apart from one more messy nappy incident that is.

So here are my final thoughts:

  • After a bad start initially we did find a solution to the wet nappies which seemed to help with keeping Oscar dry for longer, I am concerned though that I am having to use Miobooster pads with a 3 month old baby and as he gets bigger and wetter would I end up still being able to keep him dry. I wouldn’t dare to use a real nappy overnight as we are just starting to sleep through and if he was waking up wet and uncomfortable after 3/4 hours it would not be appreciated. I think if I were to move to real nappies I would definitely carry on using disposables at night.
  • I still haven’t found a solution to the washing situation that would allow me to not use a fabric conditioner but still allow me to have nice soft clothes without tumble drying them. If I were to switch to real nappies I’d have to do separate loads for them without conditioner and so it would mean extra loads for me to do, and when you’ve already got the washing machine on almost constantly it would mean my life would be spent doing even more laundry.
  • I do like the look of the nappies, they are very cute and I love the idea of using real nappies and being able to make a difference to the environment but I feel that for me they just won’t work right now. When you have 2 children in nappies and are trying to juggle my time between a 3 month old and a 17 month old, I just don’t think I have the time to spare doing extra washing or changing nappies more frequently.

I am glad I got to participate in the Real Nappy Challenge and it has given me food for thought. I haven’t ruled out using real nappies completely yet, I just need to maybe wait until Oscar is a little older and the nappies are less messy. I’m sure with time and practice we could find a solution that would work for us. I will continue to keep using the real nappies I’ve got when I can but I’m not ready to go out and purchase any more just yet, but you never know I could still change my mind at some point :)