Posts Tagged Under babies
Breastfeeding Releases ‘Trust’ Hormone
Scientists report that when a baby breastfeeds, a ‘trust’ hormone is released in the mother. Oxytocin has long been known to cause milk to be let down from the mammory glands, however scientists at Warwick University have now become aware that it is also involved in the enhancement of trust and love in both human, and non-human animals.
Breastfeeding triggers a surge of Oxytocin to be released, and large regular pulses of the hormone are needed to create the wave released when a mother breastfeeds, strengthening the bond between mother and child.
Yet further proof that breastfeeding promotes the maternal bond via biochemical processes.
Posted in GeneralBy Laura
Cloth Bottomed Babies
Cloth Bottomed Babies
Article courtesy of Linda Sones, of Sones UK
All the clothes that I sell in the shop are designed with cloth bottomed babies in mind to give plenty of room for the slight additional bulk. This set me thinking about the pro’s and cons of using cloth nappies. When my children were tiny there was really not a choice but now there is a vast range of disposables and cloth nappies to choose from.
First of all a good place to start might be some facts and figures produced by local councils.
- Every year we need a forest the size of Wales to provide all the paper we use in Britain.
- 1 tonne of recycled paper saves 17 trees from being cut down.
- 7 Million Trees are cut down each year just to make disposable nappies.
- If you use disposable nappies your child will use an average of 5,000 from birth until potty trained.
Not so many years ago a cloth nappy was simply a square of toweling which was fastened onto baby using two lethal looking large safety pins. Now the range available is astonishing you can have a one piece nappy, a shaped two piece, prefolded, terry, a flat nappy used with a stuffable style cover, waterproof covers, liners, booster pads and swim nappies. The large pins have been replaced by snappi nappi clips and nippi nippas and I am sure there are many more. Modern cloth nappies then fit really snuggly. It is argued that children wearing cloth nappies become potty trained more quickly because the child is able to detect some wetness. This awareness encourages the child to use a potty.
Some of reasons for using disposables might be convenience, not having the bother of washing or perhaps your child goes to day nursery. It is also suggested by manufacturers that disposables prevent nappy rash. I would argue that there is no reason for a child in a cloth nappy to have a higher incidence of nappy rash. A child’s skin is very sensitive and nappies need to be changed frequently to avoid prolonged contact with wee and poo which are the cause of nappy rash. Avoid using biological washing powders apart from the fact that they are not eco-friendly they can cause rashes. Or perhaps you might consider a nappy laundry service which may not be as expensive as you would think.
Many childcare providers will be happy to accommodate children in cloth nappies providing you have chosen an easy and reliable type, and provide a sealable bag for storage of dirty nappies. If all this still sounds like a lot of extra work, perhaps a compromise would be helpful just consider; using only one cloth nappy per day will save 365 disposable nappies being thrown away. So from little oak trees etc. etc.
Just two more factors to consider:
- In the next 10 years about 800 million people will be added to the global population.
- As the population consumption and wealth increases so does the amount of waste we produce.
- We have used more goods and services since 1950 than in the rest of human history.
Well I hope this gives you some food for thought and you may even decide to swap to cloth nappies.Information obtained from;
The Complete Cloth Nappy Guide.
Colchester Borough Council
Posted in Real NappiesBy Laura
Featuring: Frugi
‘It all started with two parents, a baby boy wearing cloth nappies, a lack of baby clothes that fitted him and the determination to remedy the situation by starting their own organic baby clothing….’
Originally branded ‘Cut4Cloth’, Frugi supplies a huge and scrummy range of Organic Cotton Clothing for babies and children, as well as breastfeeding wear. The 0-2 yrs range is designed specifically with cloth nappies in mind- to suit those fluffy and chunky cloth nappied bottoms we all know and love!
Especially useful for night-time use, when bottoms are extra ‘boosted’, the Babygrows are longer in the body, broader in the beam, and have a gusset which gives a ‘3D’ fit from front to back.
The Baby Bodies are again, longer in the body and wider on the hips, and the trousers and dungarees are cut higher in the rise so that they dont drag the nappies down- genius!
And of course, the Frugi range is Organic and free from any chemical nasties. What more can we possibly say, other than welovefrugi!
Posted in General, Real NappiesBy Laura
The Credit Crunch
Worried about the credit crunch, and the looming recession everyone is talking about? Now is the time to be a more frugal parent- parenting an infant does not need to be expensive- despite what advertisers would have you believe! Heres a few tips to help you save those pennies:
Breastfeed: Its free, readily available and better for baby too!
Use Cloth Nappies: Disposables will cost you an average of £922.74 over the course of 2.5 years- and a switch to reusables could save you as much as £676 (including laundry expenses) -plus even more if you re-use the nappies on future children. Dont throw your money away, re-use it instead!
Share Toys: Get together with friends and do regular ‘Toy Swapping’. Make up a box of toys to temporarily swap amongst friends, which will save you having to keep buying new ones to entertain the little one!
Share Clothes: Infants out-grow their clothes so quickly, it is hardly worth keep buying new ones! Share and swap clothes with friends and family, or even buy and sell online.
Buy only when you need: As tempting as it is to go splashing out during pregnancy on all the ‘must haves’- hold off, and wait and see if you really need it when the baby has arrived. I remember spending a fortune on a gorgeous crib- my daughter never slept in it once, as when she arrived I realised there was no way I could leave her to sleep alone, so we co-slept. Same with a pram- I decided to ‘babywear’ instead, so got myself a nice soft Mei-Tai carrier, and the pram was later sold. Just remember, mothers have coped for centuries without all this ’stuff’ - all babies really need is love, comfort and security.
Posted in General, Real NappiesBy Laura
Scary ‘Sposies
The Real Dangers of Disposable Nappies
We all know that modern disposable nappies are produced using valuable resources such as petroleum based plastics, and wood pulp, as well as adhesives and a host of chemical products-as parents, it is our duty to carefully evaluate these chemicals and assess their potential consequences.
Taken directly from the Huggies website, they list some of the components that make up their nappies:
‘The inside absorbent padding on Huggies® nappies is made of wood cellulose fibre, a fluffy paper-like material, and a super-absorbent material called polyacrylate. Other materials used include polypropylene, polyester, and polyethylene. These are all synthetic materials designed to enhance the fit of the nappy and the help stop leaks. The elastic strands in all Huggies nappies are made of synthetic rubber to provide a snug but gentle fit for baby. In addition, Huggies nappies feature an all-over breathable outer cover”
This ‘list’ is described in a promotional manner, however these sythetic substances and plastic ingredients are hardly reassuring when you take a closer look….
Sodium Polyacrylate- Ever noticed little gel balls on your babies bottom after wearing a disposable nappy? Welcome to Sodium Polyacrylate - A Super Absorbent Polymer that turns urine into gel and can absorb 100 times its weight in liquid. This is a substance which was banned from use in tampons in 1985 due to its link with Toxic Shock Syndrome. Employees in factories producing Polyacrylate suffer from female organ damage, fatigue and weight loss. No long term studies have been conducted to assess the risks of 24/7 exposure to this compound on a babies vulnerable genitals.
Due to its extreme absorbency, this chemical has been found to draw moisture from the skin, causing severe nappy rash and bleeding of perineal and scrotal tissue. Sodium Polyacrylate is also lethal to cats when inhaled.
Dioxin- The most toxic of all cancer-linked chemicals, and a by-product of the paper bleaching process. Dioxin has been known to cause birth defects, skin disease and liver damage.
TBT (Tribulytin)- This substance was found in Pampers® Ultra Dry nappies in May 2000. TBT is one of the most toxic substances ever produced, it damages the immune system and impairs the hormonal system. There is also speculation of a link with male sterility.
Xylene, Ethylbenzene, Styrene & Ispropylene - These are some of the chemicals which were reported to be released from disposable nappies in a study published in the Archives of Environmental Health (1999). Anderson Laboratories exposed lab mice to various brands of disposable nappies and found them to suffer from asthma like symptoms, including bronchoconstriction and eye, nose and throat irritation as a direct result. Xylene and Ethylbenzene are suspected endocrine, neuro and respiratory toxins; Styrene is a suspected carcinogen and respiratory toxin; Ispropylene is a suspected neurotoxin.
Male Infertility- In 2000, a scientifc study was conducted at Kiel University in Germany which indicated that the widespread use of disposable nappies, which heat the testes above body temperature, is a significant factor in the declining fertility rates in Western European males.
Nappy Rash- Reported instances of nappy rash rose from 7.1% to a whopping 61% with the increased use of disposable nappies according to a review of Proctor and Gambles own studies (The Landbank Consultancy Limited, 1991). How very handy for Nappy Rash Cream manufacturers!
So, we can see that the petroleum based plastic and wood pulp compounds of the disposable nappy are harmful enough to us and our world, but adding chemicals such as Sodium Polycrylate and Dioxin into the mix, as well as allergy causing irritants like fragrances and deodorants, we could potientally have serious problems. There has currently been no where near enough studies assessing the long term risks of the modern disposable nappy- especially because they are ever changing, and always being ‘added to’- so really, is it worth taking that risk?
So what are the alternatives?
- Eco-Friendly disposable nappies. Bambo Nappies are free from all unnecessary chemicals including lotions, dyes, perfumes, phthlates and chlorine
- Reusable Nappies- Cloth nappies contain none of the chemicals found in disposables
- Elimination Communication- No nappies at all!
By Laura
Cloth Nappies and New-Born Babies
Parents often struggle with what nappy to use for their new-borns, and many will opt for disposables for the first few weeks, even months. While this is not the end of the world, it can be easy to remain on the ’sposie path for ‘just a few more weeks’ until you reach a stage where you figure its not ’worth’ buying any cloth nappies as your baby is already a 1/4 of the way through infancy. And then thats it, another 3000 disposable nappies added to the landfill before you know it!
But in all actuality, cloth-nappying a newborn is pretty simple, and doesnt have to look overly bulky. Remember, women have used them from birth for centuries! You will also experience far less of the new-born ‘blow-outs’ using cloth nappies then you would with disposables- which is always a good thing!
A super cheap and cheerful option is the muslin cloth- this can be tri-folded into a pad and simply placed inside a newborn size nappy wrap (the MotherEase Airflow, or Thirsties are good choices) and any bulk will be minimal. The muslin has plenty of absorbency to hold newborn wee’s, but bear in mind that the tri-fold will not do a good job of containing that the lovely newborn poop we all know - however a good wrap, like the gusseted leg of the Thirsties will stop it going any further!
Another excellent option is the Diddy Diaper.
This is a fab little shaped cotton nappy, which is fixed with Nappi Nippas, or even a snug fitting wrap will hold it in place. The front can be folded down to fit smaller babies, and unlike the muslin cloth, will contain messes well. They are fantastic value at only £4.99 and will last your baby up to around 17lbs. The Diddy is our favourite newborn nappy, for its slim-fit, adjustability and value.
If you would like some more info on nappying your newborn, don’t hestitate to contact us, and we will be more than happy to advise!
Posted in Real NappiesBy Laura
