re-usable nappies.our council sucks!

Gingham_Ribbon

IvanOpinion wrote:

Darn, all the good stuff is illegal

What about using a couple of sheets of 'bounty' - that stuff is supposed good, strong and somewhat absorbant - you could hold it in place with a few strips of sellotape

Ivan

I'll give it a go! :rotfl:

leftieM

Ah, it's good to see someone in Norn Iron asking about cloth nappies! Both of my kiddies are in them and they've been fantastic - don't listen to any nonsense about them causing nappy rash (a common myth). Also you don't get the poo-up-the-back syndrome that happens with disposables. And, if the superior performance wasn't enough, they are so cheap, particularly if you have more kids.
I also think Blooming Bottoms should be your first port of call. They have a stall at St George's Market on a Saturday and would be delighted to chat to you about the options available.
I never thought I'd end up raving about nappies of all things. I should get out more.....

thetope

glad to hear a first hand account of using washable nappies... when i'm ready to have kids i would deffo like to use them.

gingham ribbon you must have a huge baby if he is too big for nappies! maybe you should ask blooming bottoms if they have anything that would fit him (if that's not what you were using before)... good luck with the potty training.

Gingham_Ribbon

Actually the size of my son has been a problem since he was born. Bless him he's utterly perfect but I was so big when I was pregnant that my stomach muscles split so far that I could fit my whole fist in the gap sideways. I got a slipped disk from the birth (he got stuck and I needed a c section under general) then he grew out of his bouncy seat within weeks, grew out of his rear facing car seat at 7 months, was too big to put in the baby carriers in the supermarket trollies, I couldn't find shoes big enough when he was cruising so he needed to wear slippers outside. We couldn't find a travel cot big enough. It goes on and on.

According to the charts they give you at the docs, he is in the tallest 0.4% of the population but he is WAY above the line. He's just on the top line of the chart for his weight. He's about the size of a small 4 year old and he's only 21 months.

He wears age 3-4 or 4-5 clothes but I'm hoping some of them will fit him again when he is out of nappies because at that age they don't allow for the nappy.

We tried every type of nappy the lollipop advisor had, but they were all too small. And we can't afford an outlay for more washables as he's had terries and both sizes of kushies and he's potty training now. (Slow going) So a big outlay even if we could find some to fit couldn't really be justified. Especially as we're unlikely to have another whopper like him!

He is beautiful though. It's not his fault he's not catered for!

happymummy24-7

thanks for everyones advice.
LeftieM i shall get to st.Georges market asap,didnt know there was anyone doing that here,great.
Just so you all know it may have sounded like i was expecting the council to give me 'actual' money...hell would be freezing over before they'd do that...thay give you a voucher towards the cost of buying a certain type of re-usable and then you take part in a scheme so they can make sure you are really using them!!
Gingham ribbon your son sounds adorable,i bet he has a big smile and personality to match,my eldest daughter was exactly like that,now shes 6 but easily looks 10-strangers look at me funny when she does something childish..10 year olds should have more self control,lol.she is such a sweetheart though,never shy with the cuddles,unlike her skinny small 4 year old sister we have to hold her down for a hug!!
I will have a look at that website etc and will report back!
thanks everyone-Ivan im touched your still following this thread,lol bounty is put to much better use when moping up kids sick in my experience,lol
take care,laura

bribrian

6 of one & half a dozen of the other, think of all the flushing clean (using precious water) & all the washing (using water again & pumping chemicals into the ocean).................

leftieM

More like '6 of one, 1500 of the other'!

IvanOpinion

happymummy24-7 wrote:

thanks everyone-Ivan im touched your still following this thread,lol bounty is put to much better use when moping up kids sick in my experience,lol

... whereas I am just plain 'touched'

It is not a like-for-like comparison to compare our councils with those on the mainland. Over the years due to various political demands and pressures our concils have very little responsibility outside of parks, cemeteries, waste management and town centre management. Other responsbilities that mainland councils would have are devolved to an endless list of (expensive) government bodies (roads, housing, street lighting etc.).

Our councils would like to get similar powers back to those that mainland councils have however that would require significant changes to the political structure in Northern Ireland - some of which are planned .. but not all ... you know what is like if one side thinks the other side is getting something and they are not. Our councils therefore do not have the same sort of resources as their counterparts on the mainland.

Put some numbers to it. There are apporximately 20,000 births in Northern Ireland every year which would require revenue of about £5m plus administration (at least 20%). Therefore the cost to the rate payer would be about £6m every year - and that assumes a one-of payment rather than an annual payment (and remember it is something like 1 in 3 households in Northern Ireland that have to carry the full brunt of the rates burden).

Given that the Northern Ireland rate payer is being unsubtly told that their rates are likely to double over the next 5 years plus they are going to have to pay water charges on top of that, then one of two things might happen. Firstly, they may decide that to offer such services is above and beyond what the rate payer can afford or secondly they include Nappies as one of the new services - however others have very very long shopping lists of services that are going to eat into all this new revenue first (including more dog wardens, CCTV, free bus passes, more flowers on roundabouts, more frequent trimming of carriageways etc. etc.) - the biggie that is going to eat up much of the money will be waste management (including the introduction of computerised bins where the amount of waste can be monitored by household).

I keep saying that we are breeding the society we deserve .. we demand all these services because we are wasteful and because we want the councils to hold our hands and wrap us up in cotton wool so that we don't have to take responsibility for anything.

As bribrian has intimated what is the comparison between gallons of chemical filled waste water that has to be treated being flushed into the sewage system versus the cost of disposable nappies (I have no idea). The other side is that using disposable nappies is likely to cost several thousand pounds more than reusable therefore while there may be a higher initial outlay you will save in the long run ... why should the rate payer finance this?

Ivan

ginger_nuts

IvanOpinion wrote:

... :Dthe biggie that is going to eat up much of the money will be waste management (including the introduction of computerised bins where the amount of waste can be monitored by household).

Ivan

computerised bins ? when ? Tell more !

IvanOpinion

Currently on trial in Antrim borough Council. Not sure how the technology works but tags will be added to all bins so that they can 'weigh' how much rubbish each household is generating. Rumour has it that surcharges may be placed on households generatnig to much rubbish or not recycling enough ... if you use it then you pay for it. This may be done on a per household basis (no idea?) but may also be done withn a region ... so you might want to keep an eye on that very wasteful house up the road leaving 2-3 bins outside each week (they could soon be costing you money).

search this for 'tag' - this is just one url I had handy.

Ivan