Making cloth nappies

A few months before bub arrived, I started to get interested in cloth nappies. Not just those flat white squares of terry or flannelette but the fitted type. Man oh man, have you looked into cloth nappies?! There are like a million different types- AIOs (all in ones), pocket, fitted etc. I spent hours on the internet researching the different types and how to make them as I thought i'd give them a go. I ended up buying a handful of different types just to get my head around how they're made. The net has a few free patterns too, so I got to work trying to make a few. I didn't want to make too many before bub arrived though, as I couldn't test them out to see which ones worked or not.

This is the first one I made of hubby's old T-shirts and some flannel. I guess it's a fitted type. It doesn't have any waterproof layer, so it'd need a cover or just as a quick day time nappy.

It's too big for bub right now, so I haven't tested it out yet. Talking of waterproof layers too (which most cloth nappy websites call PUL), it cannot be found in fabric shops anywhere! Arrrgghhh! Most fabric shops hadn't even heard of it. Talking to some other people who use and make cloth nappies, it seems the best place to buy it (and other nappy making goods) is off the net, mostly imported from the states. I tell ya, this is a huge gap in the market and if I was business minded in any way i'd open a cloth nappy materials shop in Melbourne.

This next one is made from old cotton T-shirts and microfleece. It isn't waterproof as such but the microfleece stops most moisture coming through. I've used it a few times and it fits well and works a dream too. When I get some time, I want to make a few more of this type.

The next one is a pocket nappy. I made it with microfleece and a vinyl. I had in mind to stuff it with any booster of bamboo, hemp, cotton or flannel etc. I've only tried it once so far with a cotton booster and it leaked. So i'm not sure if it was the booster or the nappy design. I'll give it another go with a different material booster.

I had a heap of old cotton T-shirts and old flannette sheets, so I made a few boosters/soakers too. They work pretty well but I don't think they're as absorbent as bamboo or some other more 'fluffy' materials.

We made a little human!

Two weeks ago at 1.45am on the 19th of March I gave birth to a perfect little girl at home. I'm in the process of writing her birth story and procsessing all that happened. Our lives have been turned upside down as having a little human rely on you for everything is pretty all consuming. Her Dad is totally in love with her and her Mum can't stop looking at her.

This is our first family pic, taken about five minutes after she was born.