As we celebrate the launch of our newest collection featuring our old favourite prints, we have taken some time to chat with some of the mums who had babies in cloth nappies at the time when the original print came out. First up we have Anna. Anna is the inventor of the infamous Axel fold.
Can you tell us a little bit about yourself – what years you were using nappies and how old your ‘baby’ is now?
I’m Anna, I live in Manchester with my husband Rob and our two boys. We used cloth nappies full time with our second baby, Axel, 2014 to some time in 2017-18. Said baby is 7 1/2 and in Year 2 now!
Which of our prints holds the most special memories for you and why?
It has to be the Go Bananas and the soldiers, since those where two of the prints Axel modelled for Baba+Boo.
What led you to start using cloth nappies?
I worked as a project officer managing environmental projects for a housing association. I took a group of volunteers on a trip to the recycling centre, and there was so much information on how damaging nappies are to the environment, and I came away horrified! I started reading up on it, and quickly fell into the pretty fluffy prints rabbit hole, and the rest is history.
What did you find to be the hidden benefits of using cloth?
It also introduced me to cloth sanitary products, which I use still to this day. Cloth nappies also look super cute.
Which misconceptions did you find people shared with you about cloth nappies?
That we would spend all our time and money doing washing. That we’d waste so much water it wouldn’t be any environmental benefit. That it would smell. That they wouldn’t stay dry, or we’d have to change him as soon as he weed. That one came straight from Pampers.
What did cloth nappies bring to being a parent?
We both found it very therapeutic folding them in the evenings watching tv. It felt good knowing we were doing something positive to offset our negative contributions to the environment.
Also am the proud inventor of “The Axel Fold”- our little trick to avoid leaks in the night! You can read how this trick works here.
Tell us the story of your favourite nappy print.
I’ll never forget Eve phoning me out of the blue, chatting away before saying “you have absolutely no idea why I have phoned you, do you?”! She was asking if Axel would like to model the new collection. We had the loveliest morning at the studio shooting the campaign. Axel’s serious little face had us all in stitches- approximately 200+ pics, and he (half) smiled in ONE.
Describe cloth nappies in three words
Pretty fluffy goodness!
What did you do with your nappies once your little one had potty trained?
I kept them for a long time “just in case”, but ultimately passed them to a friend who had two babies close together.
Favourite Baba+Boo collection? Why?
Obviously the one Axel modelled!
Can you tell us about your favourite cloth bum photo?
I have more than one...
