Holidays are somewhat different once we have our own cheeky pickles in tow right? Less relaxing days and peaceful nights; more running around after them and enjoying that much needed family time!
Now, you may be wondering whether cloth nappies are possible while you’re away or even whether they’re worth it at all?
Plus, of course, cloth nappies on holiday can feel a little daunting. Some parents are worried they'll have to hand wash soiled nappies while away and let's be honest, most people don’t want to be doing this, especially on holiday! But it is NOT always necessary thankfully.
Still, maybe you’d rather make the most of what relaxation you can get and leave those cloth nappies at home (you’d be totally forgiven).
But if you love your cloth nappies at home, you may want to give it a try.
Well if you decide it's what you want, this guide will give you lots of tips to help you get that stress free cloth nappy holiday.
Things to think about before you go!
Firstly, it’s a great idea to check what the weather is going to be like.
Not only can this influence the nappies you decide to take and the amount of nappies you need when factoring in drying time, etc if you are needing to wash nappies while away, but it could even potentially influence whether you decide to cloth or not. Constant rain may be a massive pain for getting nappies dry and that’s a headache you may want to avoid.
Then, thinking about the length of time could affect your decision too.
Short breaks can be much easier as you’re likely not even going to need to worry about washing nappies so you can just take enough of your usual stash, store the dirty nappies and deal with them all at home. Well this is what we’ve done with most of our weekends away so far.
However, a trip longer than 2 or 3 days and you’re going to need to start thinking about how you’re going to wash those bad boys!
This brings me nicely onto my next point: washing facilities!
Will you have access to your own washing facilities on site, whether at your hotel or rental place?
This could even be something you want to consider when looking at where you're staying. Otherwise, is there a launderette nearby that you could use?
Definitely things to consider.
What to take with you?
Nappies right! But what nappies?
You can obviously just take whatever you already have, especially for short trips when you’re not needing to wash. However, if you are going to be washing, remember, you may want to think about things like drying time or even nappies that you will be able to run through an intensive hot wash once you’re home if you are worried about being able to maintain your normal levels of washing.
In this instance, flats and wraps could be your friend as flats can even be put through a 90 degree once you’re home, and wraps have less fabric to affect. Not only this, but flats and wraps can be super helpful if you’re needing to save space too!
Now, you may be thinking “But I don’t have flats & I don’t really want to be buying ‘holiday’ nappies!” I totally get that.
If you don’t want to buy your own, you could look into hiring a flat nappy kit from a nappy library (feel free to drop me a message if I can help; as long as I have options available, I’m happy to pop a little kit together for you)!
In addition to those nappies, you’ll want to make sure you have your usual set up for out and about, including wet bags for dirty nappies, plus you’ll want something like an XL nappy pail to store all those dirty nappies in ready for taking home or wash day.
What about washing?
I hear you! The good thing is, if you’re away for longer & have access to a decent washing machine, you don’t need to do anything different from your routine at home.
There is always the option of hand washing if you want/need to but I know a lot of us would rather avoid this at all costs.
It’s not all or nothing!
Like I always say, cloth nappies are not all or nothing! Clothing part time is an option of course, whether you ignore clothing at night or even just take your beautiful nappies to use for the last couple of days before you come home. Then again, you’d be totally forgiven if you decide cloth nappies are the bottom of your list and you opt for disposables instead! Whatever will help make your holiday a magical time for you and your family…you do you!
Personally, we have used cloth most of the time when we have been away for the odd night or weekends. The one time I switched to disposables for the first day of a longer weekend, I regretted it very quickly. Let’s just say we had a poonami that really needed a full on shower off but being in the middle of Butlins, that wasn’t an option!
However, when we recently went on a week's holiday to Lanzarote, we opted for switching to disposables (taking a few wraps with us as protection to go over the top if Seth’s bum was horrendous). I made the choice that I didn’t want to have to be thinking about washing, etc while on our first proper holiday for years.
That was my choice for that holiday. I will make each choice about each holiday and trip away as they come and so can you.
Whatever you choose, I hope you have the most incredible holiday!
Becci x