Nappyneedz

It’s time for the June 2017 Cloth Nappy Hunt. If you haven’t taken part in a cloth nappy hunt before, then you might be wondering what I’m talking about. Hunt the nappy Twice a year, Nappyneedz, along side number of other great New Zealand businesses take part in an online cloth nappy hunt. Each of the businesses hides a special nappy icon on their website, find it, and you could win some really great prizes. Fortunately you don’t just have to blindly look around each website, there will be clues to help you find out where to look. This time, Nappyneedz is an extreme hunt. That means that the icon is even more hidden than usual and you’ll have to try extra hard to find it. It’s worth it though, as our prize this year is even bigger. Great Prizes This year we are offering a fantastic prize of a modern cloth nappy trial pack and a cloth nappy sprayer. The prize is worth over $100. We’ve also got a spot prize this time, which is one of our great me...

My blog post this week is a bit of  a personal one. I’m going to write something that might seem to be a long way off to those of you who are just starting your parenting journey, but believe me when I say it will be here before you know it: Last week, my youngest turned five. Lots of lasts I have four children, so this isn’t the first time that I’ve been through leaving playcentre, daycare, swimming and all of the other little things that we do before they start school. But it is the last time. Over the last two weeks we’ve said good bye to her swimming teacher, had a final session and playcentre and left the fantastic early childhood centre that all four of my children have been to. It’s been emotional. It really is the end of an era, the start of something new. I realised the other day that I’ve spent the last 8 years at swimming and Playcentre and our early childhood centre for six years. It’s a long time, but it really does go fast, so make...

Do you think outside the box? Parenting is hard. Modern parenting is a minefield! The world is changing all the time. It is a huge melting pot of cultures and styles as we all move around this planet of ours, taking our various histories and cultures with us. This is the same for parenting. And the many and various ways in which we nurture our children. Are we going to drown in our box? Western society has become very fast paced. With speed comes an increased volume of disposable items to help us along our way. It’s a little bit of a vicious cycle really – we work to provide things for our children because these things cost money. We use disposable items because its fast and easy. Then we are busy working to provide these things that we need… and so the cycle keeps on going. Or should we be going back to tradition? In writing this, I’ve done some research into some more traditional, re-usable items for modern parenting. And to be honest with you, until very recently I had no idea ...

Waste reduction is something that needn’t be hard work. You can take a few simple steps to cut down on the amount of waste that you produce. This week is waste free parenting week, so I thought that it might be a good idea to talk about some of the products that we have, that can help cut down the amount of rubbish you produce. Waste free babies It will perhaps be no surprise that one of the main things that we can help with, is reusable nappies. Disposable nappies produce a huge amount of waste. There have been a number of reports that have looked at the environmental impact of using cloth or disposable nappies. Something that a lot of these reports haven’t even considered, is the disposal of nappies. Single use nappies are made with plastic and chemicals. Neither of which are particularly good for the environment. Plastic from nappies stays around for a long long time. It doesn’t break down or biodegrade. Switching to cloth can make a huge amount of difference to the...

Waste free parenting week 2017 kicks off next week on the 1st of May. Nappyneedz has been a sponsor of this event for the past few years and this year is no exception. So what is it? How can you get involved? What do you need know? Read on. Waste free parenting week 2017 The week is run by Kate Meads, the Nappy Lady. For a week each year she holds events around the country and on line to promote sustainable living and parenting. This year, there are four events, taking place in Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. Tickets cost $19 each and with only 100 available for each event, they are soon snapped up. Your ticket gets you entry to the event, as well as the chance to win some great prizes. On line events If you can’t make any of the events, then on the 5th May, there will be an online event on the waste free parenting facebook page . Throughout the day, there will be a range of live sessions with various experts. You will also have the chance to win some fantastic pri...

Our menstrual cup tips and tricks will help you get the most out of your cup, no matter what brand you have. Avoid leaks and ensure that you get a comfortable fit by following these ideas. Menstrual cup tips and tricks Make sure that your cup opens fully once inserted. You can check that it has opened by running a finger around the edge, or twisting it slightly. The cup should sit low, but not outside of your body. If you find that you can feel the stem, cut it shorter or remove it entirely. The stem is to help locate the cup, not to actually remove it. To remove your cup, bear down slightly and break the seal by squeezing the bottom slightly. It should then remove easily. If your cup is not comfortable, it may not be the wrong cup. Try turning it inside out, some people find that they get a better fit this way. Keep the small, pin sized holes around the top of the cup clear. These help to create a seal and stop the cup from leaking. You can clear them by filling the cup with water, pu...

Deciding what age to toilet train, or at least to give it a go, can be a complicated decision. How do you know if your little one is ready? Is there a right or wrong time to try? Can you leave it too late? Here’s our top tips for knowing when to ditch the nappies. When to toilet train? There is no right or wrong age, it varies from child to child. When you think that they might be ready, give it a go, but don’t be worried if they don’t seem ready yet. Everyone will have an opinion on when you should stop using nappies, but really it’s down to you and your baby. Don’t worry about it too much, if your little one is ready then it will be fine, but if they’re not, that’s fine too. Try to choose a time when you don’t have to go out too much for a few days. Keep your little one in undies as much as possible once you start, to stop confusion. Take your little one to the toilet or put them on the potty regularly. Even if they have just had an acci...