One glimpse at the title of this post and you'd be forgiven for thinking that perhaps 'Och Aye the Poo' is my apt and succinct description of Scotland's display in last week's football against England.
Alas, we'll save my cutting analysis of international sporting events for another time and place. What we are, in fact, going to talk about today is...nappies (no apologies for lack of translation). Here's the connection...
Och aye the Poo is an homage to our wonderful cloth nappies - known as TotsBots -
www.totsbots.com/ . This slogan came to me early one morning late in the pregnancy when I turned over towards Mrs T and woke her with the gentle words 'I just thought of what TotsBots's strap line needs to be... 'Och aye the poo!' And so it was, in our home at least. Y'see TotsBots is not just a Scottish company, but a company that revels in their national identity. Lest you think, though, that our choice of these bulky, colourful, cloth creations to house the delicate posterior of our son, smacks of some sort of warped jingoism on my part, here's how Totsbots came into our lives.
I doubt you'll be surprised to hear that, as with virtually all parenting/ child care item choices we make, many hours of research went into our choice of nappy. The barometer for a successfully nappy is my ability to use it. Just to be clear, they don't make an adult size nappy and thank the good Lord, neither I, nor Mrs T are in need of such unbecoming contraptions at this stage of our lives, so when I say 'use the nappy' I really mean my ability to get it off and on SJ easily and without incident.
We are very fortunate to live just minutes away from The Diaper Lab -
www.diaperlab.com/ an institution so devoted to the promotion of the use of cloth nappies that they have regular classes and many creative incentives designed to help cloth nappies become a realistic and affordable child care option. So committed were they in fact that they actually opened specially for me, Mrs T and our lovely OT Anna from UCP MetroBoston (of which more in a coming post -
www.ucpboston.org/) one Sunday back in I think April to help us navigate this strange new world of nappies.
The owner gave us our undivided attention for over an hour as I took nappies of different brands and designs on and off a charming, but not exactly life-like, Cabbage Patch Doll as we tried to determine which was the easiest to work with. The owner's patience, thoughtful comments and knowledge of her stock were amazing. Although it wasn't until several weeks later that we finally decided to go with the Totsbots, it seemed clear that on balance they had been the easiest for me to work with.
Now, it is true that Mrs T and I are glad of our choice of cloth on an environmental level. Also, due to the design and fore-thought that Totsbots have put into their cleaning regime, having to clean nappies regularly as opposed to throw them out has not proven to be a big deal. However, the choice was not made on environmental grounds, it was a pragmatic one based on usability.
So we've been using totsbots for several weeks so far, why are they good to use and how has it been to actually use them in the field? Well that's a great question. Here's the deal....
For the first week or so we had to use disposable nappies- the thick meconium poo that babies get in the first few days of life is too much for our cloth friends- you're glad you asked aern't you? The disposables were difficult for me to use (as anticipated) because the velcro tabs on the side are small and the area you have to aim at to attach to is also just small area of velcro. See below:
Compare that with the much larger/wider tab of a Totsbots nappy and you begin to understand the advantage:
Add to that the wide band of velcro to secure the tab onto that extends virtually the entire length of the front of the nappy and there you have it - one snug-fittin', put-on-able poo-catching devise.
Below, incase any of that was less than clear, are two videos. The first sounds like me auditioning for a mother and baby special of Blue Peter, explaining the advantages of the totsbots nappy and how to set it up ready for use. The second is of me actually changing a real life nappy for SJ - don't worry no poo appears in the video!
A disclaimer from a father feeling slightly guilty: Since SJ appears naked in one of these videos without his prior consent, I'm adding this particularly gorgeous picture below, hoping that it slightly makes up for it. Also, just because are son is ridiculously cute - Enjoy!
Preparing the nappy for use:
http://youtu.be/NUrki6uk9mk
The 'Special Way' to set up the nappy:
http://youtu.be/BpCLI6UNRDc
Changing SJ's nappy:
http://youtu.be/ZZKZKCVW6TQ
