How reusable wipes can clean your conscience and your baby's bum

Becoming a new parent is overwhelming. Scrap that, being a parent can just be too big on some days.  All the "should do's" that get shoved on our shoulders can be leave us with a guilt that is paralysing. Especially when those "should's" are about sustainability. But is a way to overcome the guilt with a gentle nudge.

I remember a friend telling me before I had my first baby, that her midwife had told her that when your birth a baby, you birth a guilty conscience that you carry around with you forever. The midwife told her that you will have to make sure you keep telling yourself that you are enough. That you are everything your baby needs.It was a piece of parenting advice that stuck with me before I was even pregnant.

Yet it feels like you are fighting a losing battle. The endless choices we have to make as parents are hard and come with a heavy serving of guilt no matter what option you choose - how to feed, whether to go back to work, the way to wean and the list goes on. For infinity.

And now the huge problem we are facing as humankind, the warming up of our planet, is being placed on our shoulders. More should's. We should eat less meat. We should go on aeroplanes less. Some people say we should have less babies. Yes we can all play our part but the guilt is being put on the wrong shoulders. 

I worry daily about the guilt being put on parents shoulders. We are very careful as a business to not add to that. I felt so guilty each time I put a disposable in the bin. Mainly because my dad watched the bin like a hawk when I was a child and he still sits on my shoulder when I am near a bin. Physically and metaphorically! I know many of you say using reusable nappies eases your guilt a lot.

But there are parents who struggle with making the switch to reusable nappies. They think they are going to be hard work and find making the switch too big a leap. It's why we always say it is not all or nothing. But yet it can still be too overwhelming.

This is where reusable wipes come in. Reusable wipes are one of the easiest ways into leading a more sustainable life as a parent. 

Today, there is a Bill being read in Parliament, to ban the use of plastics in single-use wipes. Which is all well and good but them being made from single-use plastic is not the problem. The problem is that they are single use. Huge amounts of the planet's resources are being used to produce them, transport them and dispose of them. That is the problem. Especially when there is an easy alternative.

Our community and the cloth nappy community as a whole does such an amazing job of showing off reusable nappies and helping to make them seem easy and accessible. But there is still resistance. 

Maybe the key is to start with reusable wipes. They are easy to use, save loads of money and you never run out of them. Oh and they ease the guilt. Even if you are having a bad day, you can know you made a difference to our planet because you wiped your baby's bum with a reusable wipe. 

I do often think as I walk past our wipes in the warehouse, what a perfect gift they are for a new parent. A humble roll of reusable wipes saves them money, keeps their babies bum lovely and soft and helps unburden a little bit of their guilt.

And you never know, you have shone a light on a pathway into the beautiful world of cloth nappies.

PS I am terrible at selling stuff but thought it might be an idea to share the wipes gift set we sell which would make a perfect Christmas present for any parent.