As you approach potty training with your little ones, it is normal to feel sad. Sad because it feels like a momentous end of era and it marks the passing of time. But it feels particularly sad when you think that this is the end of your reusable nappy journey. The washing of your nappy may have come to an end but your part in our community has not.
A week or so ago I was sat in my usual ‘perch’ working at home in my kitchen and I got an email from one of our customers, a customer who had touched our hearts last year and featured in our end of year blog ‘Year of Kindness’ – I knew her name instantly and smiled to myself as I recalled how she had made me feel during what I like to politely describe as a ‘challenging’ year!
Riah had got in touch to tell me that she was coming to the end of her cloth journey and was asking me if there was anything we could do with the nappies that would no longer be used by her little ones, particularly the ones that were at the end of their life cycle.
At the moment, we aren’t able to do what we would love to do with end of life nappies and that is to make them into new nappies. We just aren’t there yet but we’d love to be…. one day!
I suggested she might like to do something creative with them, some bunting or a memory blanket maybe, I had some made from my two daughters’ clothes and I cherish them, each little square holds a memory for me and can take my brain right back to the times they were wearing them – happy yet crazy times that are often a little blurry from lack of sleep and learning how to juggle all the balls.
Rhia loved this idea and I think she will be doing something similar but something she went on to say then really struck a chord with me, she said she was sad that she wouldn’t be a ‘cloth bum mum’ anymore.
I love that we all feel connected in this way, I still remember names of people in our community from many years ago, people that have helped lift us up, spur us on and keep Baba+Boo on our toes!! I will always view them as our community even though for some, their children are teenagers now.
You never really leave us you know, you’ve forged a special place in our hearts and we are here doing what we do because of you. Just because your babies are growing and not using our nappies doesn’t mean that you’re any less special to us. You’ve left your footprint in our hearts.
But not just in our hearts. You left your footprint on the mountain we climb to make reusable nappies normal. Your footprint may have just helped someone else take one step on their journey to using reusables. You've helped to build a community. Which you are still part of. And always will be.
Our community is at the heart of everything that we do and we value everybody who sees themselves as a part of it. You’re welcomed with open arms and a smile and we always want you to feel welcome, whether your babies are brand new or you’re packing them off to uni! We love reading the stories you share of the trials and tribulations of parenthood, you’ve made us laugh, you’ve made us cry and you make us proud too, proud that we have built this lovely corner of the internet, where nappies make us acquaintances and hearts make us friends.
What a lovely blog post, thank you for writing this.
Sobbing. Parenthood really is a series of all consuming phases and letting go of one phase to embrace another is sometimes really hard- sometimes not so much!!!
This blog struck a chord with me today too because when I went to pick up my children from nursery I recognised the new student- she had been one of my pupils many moons ago when she was 4 or 5. She looked so grown up that I nearly didn’t recognise her. Every time I see a pupil like this, it takes me right back to particular periods of my career and all of these lovely snapshots of memories come shooting back. I must have taught hundreds, if not thousands, of children and every one of them has left a little bit of themselves with me and taken some of my heart in return.