Green Baby

I'm very lucky to have kids that are pretty average in their output. But if you've got a super heavy wetter, the average nappy might not be enough to hold back the flood - especially at night. Sometimes it's not about buying new nappies, but using what you've got in a different way. Some people use cloth during the day but buy expensive disposables for night time when they need extra absorbency - but this isn't really necessary. Disposable nappies cannot be made more absorbent by adding inserts or boosters as easily as cloth nappies, and the plastic outer cover can lead to sweaty, rashy bottoms on hot summer nights.

Sewing Modern Cloth Nappies

Using modern cloth nappies (often referred to as MCN's) instead of disposable nappies can save over $700 a year in buying nappies, and over 2 tonnes of landfill waste that will take centuries to break down.

Need some help with cloth nappies? Come along to an Australian Nappy Network cloth nappy meet. On the first Monday of every month from 10am in the sitting room at Brindabella Baby. Fair trade tea, coffee, and organic Cocolo chocolate provided. Ask questions, or check out what other people are using.

Trying to raise a healthy, happy baby with as little environmental impact as possible doesn't have to be tricky. Here's the list of everything you DO need for a newborn baby, and nothing you DON'T.

Two week old baby in a terry square cloth nappy

Got a bag of soap nuts for the laundry? Soap nuts are an eco-friendly alternative to chemical laundry detergents in both front and top loading washing machines. But you can do a lot more with soap nuts than just wash your clothes. Make your own shampoo, head lice treatment, silverware cleaner, insect repellant, and lots more. Soap nuts don't lather like commercial soaps and cleaners, but the fruit of the sapindus mukurossi (soap nut) tree contain natural saponin - yes, soap. Soap nuts are also traditionally used in Ayurvedic treatments for excema and psoriasis.

Originally written by Emma Davidson for the Summer 2008 edition of The Nappy Wrap, quarterly e-zine of The Australian Nappy Network

Originally written by Emma Davidson for the Spring 2008 edition of The Nappy Wrap, quarterly e-zine of The Australian Nappy Network

Organic cotton used to be the fibre of choice for hippies. Now, it's so popular that Target and Just Jeans are using it in t-shirts and denim. But if you want a fibre from a renewable crop, made using natural processes, and completely biodegradable when it reaches the end of its useful life, there's a lot more to choose from.

• Better bonding between baby and parent - daddy can do it too!
• Less crying.
• Helps settle baby to sleep.
  

If you've been using cloth nappies on your baby, it makes a lot of sense for mum to use cloth pads too.

Celebrate being a woman, instead of dreading that time of month! They're safer, economical, better for the environment, more comfortable, and look nicer than disposables.