Why Kaz Cooke's Kid-wrangling is wrong about cloth nappies

Kid-wrangling is a popular book in Australia. I'm sure its lighthearted look at parenting is a pleasant relief from some of the more intense parenting materials out there. In between the amusement, Kaz is attempting to provide real information for parents. Much of it is probably sound and helpful. When it comes to cloth nappies, though, Kaz is just wrong. Before I start on why, I need to state my agreement with Kid-wrangling that cloth nappy advocates shouldn't go around making judgmental statements about those who use disposables. That being said, advocates of disposables need to do their homework before saying anything about cloth.

 I've just put my nappies on the line . . .

and it was way easier than Kaz would have us believe. We've used cloth nappies solely for four and a half months of Elnathan's life so far (excluding our overseas trip and his first two weeks). Disposables have their place, but good cloth nappies are really not that bad.

Kaz's comments are in italics. My responses follow.

They require far more labour.
If you use pocket nappies like Bumgenius it is very quick and easy. When we were in South Africa we used three different types of Huggies nappies, all with the same result: serious poo leaks that required clothing changes every time. Bumgenius have much better containment and reduce work in this way. Personally, I'd rather change a nappy than a whole outfit.

Soaking and washing them is an unpleasant, tedious task
Many modern cloth nappies don't need soaking. You just have to rinse off any poo at the time of changing the nappy, pop the nappy in the bucket, then dump them all in the washing machine when you feel in danger of running out of them.

They need to be washed with very hefty antibacterial chemical washing powders and in very hot water, and if poo stained they need savage bleaching products to look non-skid marked.
Huh? We don't own any of these products, and our nappies look OK. We rarely wash in hot water, either (shock, horror), and our baby's bot looks just fine.

It's hard to cope unless you have a whizzbang washing machine and dryer.
Our washing machine is fantastic (a Fisher & Paykel Intuitive Eco), but we don't own a dryer. We found it easy to get our nappies dry throughout the wettest Tasmanian winter for fifty years.

Cloth nappies are slightly trickier to fasten.
Only if you use traditional cloth squares! Bumgenius and some other pocket nappies are as easy as disposables.


You'll need:

about 30 to 35 nappies
try 20, I'm sure you'll be fine

about 6 - 8 plastic overpants
Yes, if you use nappies that need them. Pocket nappies like the marvelous Bumgenius don't.

fastners
Yes, if you use nappies that need them!

Rubber gloves
Why? Baby poo is not scary.


2 big nappy-soaking buckets with close-fitting lids
Try one, it is enough as long as you're not planning to soak your nappies (an unnecessary and annoying process).

bleach and antibacterial soaking powder
What are those things? We don't own them. The sun does the job.

a washing machine with a hot function
Handy but not strictly necessary, as long as you live in a climate where they'll get some sun.

antibacterial washing powder
Huh? We've purchased one box of ecostore powder and it is still going. With Bumgenius you are specifically required to use environmentally friendly detergent that doesn't contain enzymes, etc, and to use it very sparingly. If you don't, you're no longer eligible for the one year guarantee.

lots of clothes-line space and fine weather or a big clothes dryer
Neither are necessary. You can dry them inside if the weather is yuck. This is especially true of traditional cloth nappies, as they are thin cotton squares and dry quickly.

When I read Kaz's comments, I'm not surprised so few people use cloth. If I thought it would be like that, I probably wouldn't either. Kaz argues that using cloth is not necessarily an environmental improvement. If they are used in the way she describes, I agree. What many people forget is that you don't have to do cloth in the traditional way. Hey, it is 2009!

Elnathan's new seat

Elnathan is six months old next week. He now enjoys trying to sit up to play, but doesn't have the balance to sit alone yet. Today I went to mother's group and saw this handy solution - the washing basket seat! Supervision is required, as unbalanced little ones can end up slumped against the sides. Some padding would also help, perhaps a blanket or quilt to soften the sides of the basket. My friend at mother's group had placed a doona over the basket for padding.

The baby feeding issue

It will come as no surprise to most Mums that how to feed a baby can be a contentious issue. Those who bottle feed can feel judged by those who breastfeed. Those who schedule feed can tend to be judgemental of those who "demand feed" - and vice versa. Those who breastfeed for one year or six months often express judgment of those who feed their children for two years or four. Whenever these conversations come up, I like to churn out my standard line. "Each to their own, each to their own", I say!

This is not because I believe the Bible has nothing specific to say about the baby feeding issue. It is because I believe the Bible speaks very clearly to this issue, and encourages us to take an "each to their own" attitude. Romans 14 indicates that we not to judge others based on what they eat. Food is one of the "doubtful things" over which we are not to get into disputes (Romans 14:1).

I am uncomfortable when Romans 14 is applied to anything and everything, from pot smoking to belly dancing. This type of application amounts to the idea that anything that is not specifically mentioned in the Bible is an area of total Christian liberty. I attempted to counter this argument in my post "Sure, you can be a Christian polygamous, petrol sniffing, right wing racist if you like". Romans 14 tells us which matters it is speaking of - food and special days. Baby milk falls into the category of food, does it not? Therefore we shouldn't be spending our days commenting on what others are doing.

My Birth Adventure

Ever since Elnathan was born I have been hoping to write down on my blog some of what God did for us in the labour and birth. Life has been busy, though, and I haven't even yet completely written out the story for myself! Here are some of the details. 

I woke up with pre-labour pains several times during the early morning hours on 5 May. I phoned my midwife about these pains in the morning, as they were continuing. Dave decided to work from home, but as it turns out he did not do much work! We went for a walk in the morning in an effort to make sure things kept on track - we wanted this baby to come!

In the early afternoon the contractions had become strong enough for me to phone my parents and some friends and tell them I was in labour. Around 3pm my midwife arrived. The contractions were getting stronger but I was able to pray and sing through them.

About 5pm I climbed into the birth pool, which was set up in the dining area, and found relief for my sore legs. The water was soothing.  The contractions became intense, and I remember trying different positions and crying out to God as I went through them. Dave sat beside the pool and held me and said encouraging things like "you can do this". He also gave me sips of drinks. 

A few hours later (about 8pm) my midwife told me that I was about 8cm dilated, and would be going into transition soon. I remember saying at some point "I just want to love God and love Dave" - I didn't want to respond wrongly to them during the trying time of labour. My sister Janelle, who is a midwife, arrived around this time. At one point I was really loosing it as the contractions became incredibly intense. My midwife and Dave helped me to realise that I wasn't helping myself. Dave helped me to breath and Janelle and my midwife took turns rubbing me where it hurt the most. This enabled me to calm down. In between contractions I was able to doze against the side of the pool and be soothed by the warm water. 

Dave had Christian music playing, and I remember singing along to the Sovereign Grace music song "Give me the strength to sustain me, wisdom enough to guide my path".

At around 10pm my midwife said that I was ready to push. She told me that the key was to push harder than I thought I could, and that with a first birth it could take 1 to 1 1/2 hours. I was praising God to have reached this point. I talked about how people have implied or thought that I wouldn't be able to have a normal pregnancy and birth because of my back injury. I said "but I didn't believe them, and I can give birth!". This was a wonderful feeling and I was praising God. 

Janelle and my midwife told me the baby would almost certainly be born before midnight. I was excited about this, as we'd prayed the baby would be born before the due date (the 6th)! However, things did not progress as fast as they thought. We all prayed together for this stage. 

At about 12pm my midwife said I needed to get out of the pool to have the assistance of gravity. I thought I couldn't, but everyone said "yes you can!". Dave was especially encouraging! I leaned on Dave, with my leg on a chair, and he held me up through each contraction. I remember everyone saying to me "push, push, push" through each contraction. I was also making a lot of noise, and the thought of the neighbours did cross my mind! 

Our midwife thought I'd need an episiotomy, but then I tore and our baby came out all at once. He landed on the chair in what seemed like a pool of blood! It was Elnathan - after months of speculating about whether our baby would be named Elnathan or the name we'd chosen for a girl, now we knew! I was happy to have given Dave a son. I exclaimed that I knew the baby was a boy! I'd been saying so throughout the pregnancy.

Dave and I climbed back into the pool with Elnathan, as I wanted to relax in the water. He looked very floppy, so the cord had to be cut and he was taken away to have some oxygen. He quickly recovered. 

After the delivery of the placenta and the first breastfeed, I went to bed. Dave took Elnathan to introduce him to his parents via Skype, then brought him back for another feed. Another midwife came to help my midwife with the stitches. I was very tired and could hardly face this next stage, but kept praying and speaking God's truth. I was able to be calm enough for them to proceed, and was blessed to be able to lie in my own bed and look at our wedding picture on the wall while I was being stitched! 

Finally we were left all alone with our newborn - and it felt like someone really should be supervising! 

There are so many things to be grateful for about our labour and birth adventure . . . 

* the comfort of our own home

* wonderful midwives to help us - not just one but two devoting their full attention to us in the most difficult stages - plus another excellent midwife to help with the stitching!

* being able to cry out to God throughout, without any inhibitions and knowing that all present were also seeking him

* good advice, particularly when I was not coping well

* the birth pool

* the medical expertise and equipment needed to help Elnathan breath properly

* being comfortable with our midwife and the care we received

* Dave's excellent support, and the strength God gave him throughout

* God's strength for me, enabling me to persevere 

* A reasonably short labour in total, for a first birth

* the special experience of having my sister at the birth

* an intervention-free birth, which was just what we'd prayed for! I believe this would have been much less likely to happen in hospital. Without the pool and excellent supporters I may well have begged for some drugs for pain relief, and it is also likely there would have been intervention due to the longer than usual pushing stage.

God has answered our prayers. May we always remember what he has done.