Due to Covid-19 Nappy Leaks was unable to have our usual live audience, so we have a special guest, Keryn. She is Bubblebubs’ Cloth Nappy Support Specialist and comes across all sorts of questions from families starting out with cloth nappies through to those who have used it across multiple children. She calls in to join Vicki and Vashti, discussing with the ladies the top 3 questions she gets enquiries for. So if you are a bit shy to ask ‘What newborn cloth nappy should I buy?’; or confused about prefolds and want to know ‘How long will cloth nappy prefolds fit for?’; or simply confused about snaps and velcro and want to ask your favourite brand ‘Do you sell OSFM cloth nappies with velcro?’, this episode will give you the answers to those common questions.
Nappy Leaks: Live May 2020
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Andrew: Welcome to Nappy Leaks with Vicki Simpson and Vashti Wadwell. How are you doing, Vicki?
Vicki: I’m good Andrew, how are you?
Andrew: Doing fine. Doing fine. How are you, Vashti?
Vashti: Awesome thanks Andrew, how are you?
Andrew: Yes, I’m awesome as well actually. I’m just going to copy what everyone else says from now on. And Keren, how are you?
Keren: Awesome.
Andrew: Awesome.
Vicki: Unstoppable.
Andrew: Awesome and unstoppable. So Keren, this is the first podcast you’ve done with us, isn’t it?
Keren: Yeah, I think so.
Vicki: No way.
Andrew: Yeah, it is.
Keren: I was actually, the live one, I think I made a couple of words on it, but nothing of significance.
Andrew: Those words were mostly “hurry up”. So Keren is Bubblebubs Customer Service Rep. She answers all the questions…
Vicki: No, she’s not. No. She is…
Keren: I’m a Customer Service Specialist.
Vicki: Yeah, that’s it.
Andrew: Customer Service Specialist.
Vashti: Support Specialist.
Vicki: Support Specialist. She’s not just a rep, she’s amazing. She does like customer service rep, that’s like somebody you get on the end of Telstra.
Andrew: You’re wasting time saying that, because we’re going to cut all of that out.
Vicki: No, I can compliment people. I can say nice things about my staff.
Andrew: OK, we’ll put it in the out takes. I forgot what we were going to call her. What were we going to call her? Customer service…
Vicki: No, no, what is your title? It’s Customer service, or cloth nappy support specialist?
Keren: Cloth Nappy Support Specialist. That’s it.
Vicki: That’s it.
Andrew: I’ll have to write that down. Cloth Nappy Support Specialist.
Vicki: Yes, that is exactly and I think that sums your title up a lot more than just customer support.
Keren: I help everyone.
Andrew: So Keren is our Cloth Nappy Support Specialist. And she’s got…
Vicki: Yes, I’m happy with that.
Andrew: …a cool name like that because she’s very, very good at her job. And I asked her to come on the podcast because she’s actually, because we’re not, we can’t do any live episodes at the moment, because nobody would turn up for them, I’ve asked Keren to come on and actually ask the top three questions that she gets asked as a customer service rep.
Vashti: Can we just clarify why no one would turn up? Because that sounds really dodgy that you’re sitting there saying no one will turn up for our live episodes. It’s like nobody loves us.
Andrew: Because we’re in lock down, people.
Vicki: Yeah, we’re not allowed to have people. Restrictions while we’re recording this, restrictions are yet to be lifted.
Andrew: I’ll even post a picture of this set up, the girls are like a metre and a half away from me, and I’m really lucky…
Vicki: Because I’ve got a sore throat.
Andrew: …these microphones I bought have really, really long cables. And Vicki farts all the time.
Vicki: No, that travels more than a metre and a half, trust me.
Keren: Funnily enough, I know what contains those smells. An advantage of cloth nappies.
Andrew: So Keren, what’s your first question to the girls?
Keren: My first question is what newborn nappy should I buy? I get a lot of these questions with new families and they’re just really overwhelmed and not too sure where to start, really.
Vicki: Well without making it brand specific, because you know, you work for me, I say a two part system. Any two part system, preferably a fitted and a cover, if the budget stretches to that, over a one size system. If a budget doesn’t stretch to that, a one size nappy will suffice. You’ll just be happier with a two part system, and we know which nappy we love the most. But let’s keep it unbranded and just go with the two part fitted system, and people can work out which nappy you’re talking about.
Vashti: I think it’s really important though to work out what’s going to work best and that’s going to come in to what your family set up is. So if your family set up is that you want ease of use and quick and simple changes, then an all in one is the way to go. What’s going to work best for a newborn with all those explosive runny poos though is definitely a two part system where you have the nappy and the cover as separate. And I will say time and time again…
Vicki: You can’t beat it. It’s bullet proof.
Vashti: It is a Bam Bam. And I’m not keeping it unbranded on this one, because it is…
Vicki: I tried, I tried everybody, I tried.
Andrew: That’s a good objection Vicki, because she’s mentioning your brand.
Vicki: I know, I tried.
Andrew: We believe you.
Vashti: No, but the reason for that, I suppose you could do it, there’s the other one, what’s the other one…
Vicki: Tot Spots do a fitted…
Vashti: No, the Bamboozle has closures. There’s another one. What’s that one in America? I’ve shown it to you.
Keren: Thirstees do one, don’t they?
Vicki: Oh, a Sloom. A Sloom
Vashti: OK, let’s go Sloom. So it’s a fitted nappy that has no closures on it, giving you the most customised fit every single time. Raw…
Andrew: Is that a real thing? Because it sounds like it’s out of a Dr Suess movie.
Vicki: It is actually a real brand. Sloom.
Vashti: Sloom. Raw Nappies has just brought out a contoured prefold, which is basically a fitted nappy with no closures.
Vicki: And that’s what it is. It basically comes down to being a fitted nappy with no closures. That is actually what makes it.
Vashti: It means that you’ve got that beautiful snug fit around their legs because you’ve got the elastic to hold everything in, and you get the exact closure and the exact height that you need, every single time. So it is a very customised fit, especially when your baby is growing so quickly in those early weeks and months.
Andrew: So who had the best answer, Keren?
Keren: They were pretty on par actually…
Vicki: Just remember who pays you.
Keren: …they both recommended the same thing. I was actually a customer of Vashti’s three and a half years ago, I suppose…
Vashti: Vicki steals my customers.
Andrew: I was going to say, how come you didn’t end up working for Vashti? How come you ended up working for us?
Vashti: Because she lived on the Sunshine Coast and I didn’t open a store up there. That’s what I said, she lived on the Sunshine Coast.
Keren: Who knows where I live right now. [inaudible, 06:40]
Andrew: It’s cold there too.
Vashti: But you’ve got gorgeous autumn leaves down there.
Keren: Yeah, it’s beautiful. Anyway, I didn’t finish. You also sold me prefolds, which I didn’t gravitate to much at all really with a newborn. But then I don’t know, they have become such a useful nappy, I still use them overnight with my three year old. I think prefolds really have a good place and if I had actually looked into how to use them perhaps with a newborn, I would have got a bit more use out of them. But they’ve been extra inserts in nappies, and boosters and things. So I think that’s also worth noting.
Vashti: Prefolds are a little bit tricker with a newborn, and it’s about…
Vicki: Confidence.
Vashti: It is confidence, and it’s also about your budget. So if you have a lower budget, then prefolds are a better option than a fitted, because a fitted is more expensive, that’s all there is to it. There’s more work that goes into it. But the prefold is going to be able to do you all the way through. You’re going to be able to use it as extra boosting over your fitted, you’re going to be able to use it as a spew cloth and a burp rag in those early days, and then as bubby gets bigger an insert in an all in two or a pocket, or an extra absorbency in night a nappy. Prefolds are so multifunctional from birth through to toilet training.
Keren: So yeah, I always recommend people get a couple of them, just to try out, and if they don’t like them, they’re always going to use them further down the track as well.
Andrew: Right, so what’s your second question, Keren?
Keren: Funnily enough, about prefolds. How long will prefolds fit for? I didn’t realise that.
Vashti: Think we’ve answered that one, birth through to toilet training.
Vicki: Toilet training, you just change the fold, a bit like a flat nappy. Just change the fold.
Keren: So why are there sized prefolds then?
Vicki: In cotton?
Vashti: You can get sized prefolds in hemp and bamboo as well.
Vicki: Yeah, I think it’s more just a trimmer fit for your newborn babies, more than anything, and also the extra absorbency you get when the prefolds get bigger, is a bit of overkill for the newborn and you need it for…
Vashti: The toddler.
Vicki: …the toddler.
Vashti: I think it also means that OK, so an infant prefold you’re not going to be able to angel wing that on a toddler, whereas a size three or a toddler prefold, you can fold down and it’s going to be bulky on a newborn, but you’re still going to be able to angel wing it on a toddler.
Andrew: Cool, OK, and question number three?
Keren: This one’s sort of more Bubblebubs specific, but you can keep it unbranded, Vashti can answer in her way.
Vicki: In her Bubblebubs way.
Keren: No, no, no. Do you have a one size fits most with Velcro? So I get that quite a lot at Bubblebubs, and we don’t.
Vicki: We don’t, no. And we won’t, we won’t ever.
Keren: That’s up to you, Vicki.
Vicki: No, no, it’s never going to happen.
Vashti: So there are one size fits most on the market in Velcro, there’s lots of them. Tot Spots, Close Parent, Peekaboo, Gro Via, there is a lot of one size fits most out there. Itty Bitty does them. The list goes on. It really comes down to what your favourite brand is. The thing to remember with a one size fits most in Velcro is that while it is quick and easy to put on, if you’ve got a bubby that likes to undo their nappies, and they’re going to do it in a disposable as well…
Vicki: I found that picture.
Vashti: A Velcro nappy is really, really easy to take off.
Vicki: And paint with.
Vashti: Velcro sounds good for a toddler as well. So it’s something for them to play with which is why yes, it’s closer to a disposable, which makes it very easy and simple, but it may not be the best situation, it may not be the best product for your family because of the fact that…
Vicki: Having said that, kids do take poppers off as well.
Vashti: Oh yeah, Kylan could undo a side snapping nappy by the time he was 14 months old.
Vicki: Yeah, determined kids are going to do it.
Andrew: That’s not the important part. The important part is can he put a new one back on?
Vashti: No.
Vicki: They only ever take them off when they’re poopy. Why is that?
Vashti: Oh no, Kylan took them off all the time. Underneath onesies
Vicki: That is not an uncommon thing, to see kids that have take nappies off, underneath their clothes.
Vashti: A snappy nappy from underneath a onesie. Thankfully, not too often with poo. He was just, he was a Houdini. But yes, you can get one size fits most Velcro nappies, and there are a lot of brands on the market.
Vicki: And that’s why we won’t do one. Don’t need to reinvent the wheel, there’s plenty of amazing brands out there.
Andrew: I thought it was because you had PTSD, nappies with Velcro.
Vicki: There is that. But you know, what’s the point of doing something the same as everybody else? I’d rather be original.
Andrew: Fair enough.
Keren: And you have to clean Velcro. It gets stuff in it, even if you use the wash tabs.
Vicki: Yep, 100%.
Keren: It’s Velcro.
Andrew: Actually I remember the days when we did Velcro. You used to have these brushes that you’d sell.
Vicki: Yeah, and they stopped making them. They were actually, I’ve still got one, and they’re actually like this, a bit like a steel brush like the steel prongs on it…
Vashti: Like a cat hair brush?
Vicki: Yeah, yeah, very much like a slicker brush, yeah, just a smaller version, that was specifically made for Velcro and they stopped making them.
Keren: I’ve never heard of that.
Vicki: They were cool.
Vashti: First for me.
Vicki: Really? I can show you one now, there’s one over there.
Vashti: I’ve got your original Bubblebubs all in one Velcro nappies.
Vicki: They stopped making them.
Andrew: We obviously didn’t do our job very well if you didn’t buy the add ons.
Vashti: No. but I was one of those customers, I was like, can I pick up my nappies today?
Andrew: I remember those customers, wait, we still get them. I think we’ll finish there. Thank you, Keren.
Keren: No problem, thank you.
Andrew: Thank you Vicki.
Vicki: Thanks, Andrew.
Andrew: Thank you Vashti.
Vashti: Thanks Andrew, bye Keren.
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Andrew: Bye everybody.
Everybody: Bye.
Andrew: Vicki Simpson is wife and mother to three children, and owner and founder of Bubblebubs. Vicki has been making and selling cloth nappies through her website for 16 years. Bubblebubs is now one of the most recognised and awarded cloth nappy brands in Australia, and is currently expanding to other countries. You can find out more and contact her through her website, bubblebubs.com.au. Vashti Wadwell is mother to three children and has been using cloth nappies for 14 years. She is the owner of Australia’s first cloth nappy store, Nest Nappies, located in Brisbane, Australia. Vashti can be contacted through her website, nestnappies.com. If are finding the podcast helpful, and would like to make it easier for other parents to find, please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. I am your host, Andrew Simpson.
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