Finding a First Christmas Outfit

Well Christmas is nearly here, so I thought it would be appropriate to write a blog post about what your baby can wear for their first Christmas! After all, you can only celebrate your first Christmas once, so why not celebrate in style.

There are gorgeous dresses, appliqued singlets, shorts, but my favourite Christmas outfit has to have a Christmas modern cloth nappy - your baby can wear this nappy during December, and even after Christmas (you could put some shorts over the top if the nappy is too Christmas-y). On Christmas day, you can combine the nappy with a matching singlet or shirt, a dress, or if it's hot enough your baby can just wear the nappy by itself!

If you're worried about getting a good outfit ruined by your child's messy eating habits on Christmas day, why not consider a Christmas themed bib too? The biggest event on Christmas day, apart from Santa arriving and getting to open all the presents, is definitely the Christmas meal - whether it's brunch, lunch, or dinner, it has always played a big part in my family's Christmas tradition. Let your baby eat in style, and let yourself destress, knowing that their expensive Christmas clothes will be protected!

What's so great about raw silk liners?

There is a lot of hype about raw silk liners in the world of modern cloth nappies at the moment. They are being advertised as a natural product to promote healing of nappy rash, and to soothe sensitive skin, due to the sericin protein left by the silkworms. Sure, silk may have healing and antibacterial properties, but as a vegan, I am strongly opposed using products from animals, especially silk. Let me explain.

Many of you may have had silkworms as children, or perhaps your own children have brought some home from school, and you will have seen their life cycle. When the silkmoths are ready to emerge from their cocoons, they release an alkali so they can break through the silk, which then spoils the silk threads. To make silk which can be used to create fabric, the cocoons (with the live silkmoths/worms inside) are plunged into boiling water, killing the insects just so we can have a tiny bit of silk. Around 1000 silk cocoons are needed to make 1 silk shirt - that's 1000 tiny lives that have been sacrificed. Only each female silkmoth who has successfully breeded can lay approximately 500 eggs, so only a few survivors are needed to continue the silk production.

If that has made you feel something, just wait because there is more. There are breeds of silkworms which have been bred to make thicker silk cocoons to boost silk production, but because of the thickness of the cocoon it makes it difficult for the silkmoths to emerge. I had the misfortune to witness this not so long ago - I had some silkworms (I think I had about 8) and only 1 silkmoth emerged from the cocoons, and that was with my help - I had to help him out by carefully cutting open the cocoon. I had heard another silkmoth fluttering in it's cocoon, but I didn't want to hurt it by trying to cut it out, so I thought it would make it out by itself. Unfortunately, the fluttering stopped in a few days. I then researched into why this would happen, and discovered what I have already told you above. If only I had known what I know now so I could have helped the helpless silkmoths! It makes me feel sick that animals are breeded purely for human's selfishness.

What is your opinion on using silk?

Ways to build your MCN stash

If you are as addicted to modern cloth nappies as I am, you will want to know ways you can build your stash as cheaply as possible! Here are some ideas:

• Buy second-hand MCN's - there are groups on Facebook that offer this service, and you could also try Ebay
• Sign up to the newsletters of your favourite cloth nappy stores so you will be informed of their sales
• Try out some giveaway events, such as the Great Down Under Nappy Hunt - not only will you find out about many great businesses, but you could win some nappies!
• It pays to become a fan of cloth nappy businesses on Facebook as some hold regular giveaways for nappies and gift vouchers

Feel free to share your modern cloth nappy stash building ideas!

Using terry towelling cloth nappies

I will admit that I dislike using terry towelling cloth nappies - the folding, the pins, having to put a cover on over the top...it seems like a lot of work, especially now that I'm used to the convenience of modern cloth nappies! However, due to the recent rain, all my MCNs are currently still drying, so I've had to resort to my back up plan - old fashioned terry towelling squares. Even though they can be a pain in the bum, they really do have a range of benefits:

• Quick to dry
• Different folding methods mean they are truly a "one size fits all" nappy - can also be folded to boost absorbency
• Environmentally friendly
• Don't require soaking - simply dry pail like your modern cloth nappies

There's just something about using terry towelling nappies that makes me feel like a 1950's housewife!

Making messy mealtimes fun with toddler bibs!

When your baby gets to the self-feeding stage, you might become a bit reluctant to hand over the spoon in fear of getting food all over the high chair, the floor, your baby, and yourself! However, letting your baby self-feed when they are showing initiative is an important part of their development. You can at least minimise the mess they create by protecting their clothes with our range of toddler bibs. Our large-sized bibs with adjustable neck sizing not only look unique and funky, but also minimise the stress of your little one making a mess! Another handy tip is to buy a plastic dropsheet from your local hardware store - these are quite inexpensive, and will catch all the food and drink your baby can drop!

Using recycled fabrics for your cloth nappies

Here at Bubbalooba, we strive to use recycled fabrics where possible. This reduces our impact on the environment by reducing the demand for new fabric - to create fabric involves making the fibres (from natural sources like cotton or hemp, or from plastics to make polyester), turning the fibres into a yarn, turning the yarn into a woven or knitted fabric, and then dyeing, bleaching, or otherwise finishing the fabric! As you can see, this lengthy process would use a lot of electricity and chemicals. Instead of buying new fabric, we buy second hand fabric for our modern cloth nappies and baby bibs - this results in unique and limited edition products which are environmentally friendly!

Remove stains from modern cloth nappies

Staining was often removed from traditional cloth nappies from soaking in chemical solutions, however soaking is discouraged for modern cloth nappies. These modern nappies often have a built-in liner of microfleece or suedecloth, polyester materials which keep your baby dry and deter stains. Over time, these materials may become slightly discoloured and stained, so how do you remove those stains? My number one tip is to hang the nappies in the sun - the sun naturally brightens the fabric. You could also make a paste from bicarb soda and water, apply this to the stains, let dry in the sun and wash as normal.

Do you have any other natural stain-removing tips? I would love to hear them!