How To Convince Your Partner Cloth Nappies Are A Great Idea.

When I started thinking about using cloth nappies I got much of the same response. Mainly older friends and family recalling their experiences of terry toweling nappies, safety pins and plastic pants.

All I can say is thank goodness for the internet. One quick search showed me how easy and simple modern cloth nappies looked.

My next step was to tell me partner of my intent to go with reusable nappies. To my surprise he nodded and said okay. However, a few months into my pregnancy, after a conversation with a friend who had tried to use them 10 years before and failed he was majorly put off.

I however, after all my reading and research was confident a lot had changed in 10 years and we could make this work. After all, even YouTube videos on cloth nappies from 5 years ago look outdated. Isn’t modern technology wonderful?

So, I ignored his concerns and order 3 nappies to have a look at anyway. And once again to my surprise he was sooooo excited about them. In fact scrambling to get them out of the box is a better description. Might have had something to do with the fact I ordered the Close Pop In Van print and the Alva Moustache’s. Nothing like a “manly” print to win over your man.

In fact he was so impressed by the fact they look easy, felt soft and were brilliant to look at he told all his friends at the Pub that afternoon. His 10 minute chat on reusable cloth nappies was clearly not their thing but I was proud never the less.

So what do you do if your partner isn’t so easily swayed but a funky cloth nappy print?

Tips for helping your partner get onboard with using cloth nappies.

Start by showing them a physical cloth nappy.

Pictures are all well and good on the internet but if they’re not interested to start with pushing a picture in front of their face is unlikely to get their attention. Like in my case the psychical product makes something seem real and tangible.

Don’t worry about wasting money, just buying a couple means you have a great excuse to just give one or two and go and if you don’t use them don’t worry, cloth nappies in good condition hold their value you and will be easily sold on on the pre-loved market.

Be prepare with all the answers.

If you decide to go ahead with using cloth nappies even if your partner isn’t fully onboard make sure you do some research and know roughly what your doing so you can prove to them just how easy they are. Before you know it it will be a habit and they will be putting on washes for you to. If your unsure what you doing and hit bumps in the road you may end up burying them in the garden after the inevitable “I told you so.”

Throw some nappy stats at them.

No one can deny the fact that a nappy taking 500 years to degrade is gross and awful. Put that into perspective, if Henry VII used a disposable nappy that went to landfill it would still be there. Gross right?

Compare the costs.

My partner did a little price comparison a while back. We concluded the amount we had spent on reusables (although I have probably spent a little more now with added extras) would cover the cost of roughly 9 months to a year’s worth of disposable, single use nappies, depending on whether you use a cheaper or pricier brand.

Well our daughter is 2 years old now so we are well and truly quids in. Plus all my nappies give or take 3-4 dodgy velcros are still in perfect condition and will be hopefully used on a second child. There’s a good chance many of them will still have life left in them then so can be passed on or sold on.

Think about that for a second. The cost of roughly 9 months worth of disposables for potentially 5 years +

Note that I’m not including the cost of buying newborn nappies here. Which can add up for the amount of time they are used.

Ask them to support you.

They may not be keen but if you’re the one in the relationship that will be staying at home for perhaps maternity leave or the majority of the childcare it is likely you who will be the one doing most of the cloth nappy work. Therefore just ask for their support. If this decision means a lot to you they should support you.

If your not the one that will be home more but this is still something that means a lot to you, talk it out and work it out. Are there times in the day you can help with the washing and other jobs? Make it as easy for both of you as possible. Both my partner and I work full time so we very much work it between the two of us. If one sees the nappy bin full they pop it in the machine, if the other sees it’s finished washing and they have time to hang it out then they do. If not it waits until one does have some time.

I hope you manage to get your partner on board with using reusable nappies because 9 times out of 10 when one is passionate to start using cloth it doesn’t take long for the other to be converted too.

Discover my cloth nappy series to gain all the knowledge you need to start with reusables.

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