All about nappies

I just wanted to follow up on the last post about nappy need.

In a time where utility prices are going up dramatically, as is food and fuel and rent, some 'necessities' tend to go by the wayside.

One thing I never thought would be sacrificed is a clean bum for your baby.

Unfortunately, that's just not true.

Now, I couldn't find any Australian statistics - which is disappointing - but Huggies did a study in the US and Canada and found that 1/3 American mums and 1/5 Canadian mums are running out of nappies for their kids because of financial hardships. 20% of mums are leaving their babies in nappies for longer to conserve them, 7-11% are just using more nappy cream and 3% are re-using dirty disposable nappies. That's just heartbreaking.

I don't want this to be a cloth v's disposable post. We use cloth part time for our son. Modern Cloth Nappies are a big outlay initially, but they save heaps in the long run. And there is the alternative of using the old fashioned terry flats. I think, what I really want to demonstrate, is the desperation of mums who are in financial hardship.

Which makes something like our little project all the more important. Organisations like Foodbank take donations of goods such as nappies. And yes, they are more expensive than your standard can of tomatoes or packet of pasta. But maybe once, before Christmas, you could spare a couple of extra dollars to give a baby a clean bum.

Just an idea

If you want to check out the huggies study you can find it here
We will be donating our food and other items to Foodbank. You can find them here  
And the only domestic nappy donation service I could find is here. If you know of another, or any information about Australian need for nappies or other baby items, I'd love to hear about it

Things to buy

So we're getting quite a big stash of stuff going and every week when we go to the shop, we think - what are we going to add this week. Can't say that we really have a plan of what we are going to get until we get there. But what we try to do is get multi-buy specials - so we get a discount when we are buying something for ourselves and we can put the extra into the box. Or if something just catches our eye as we wander around, we pop it in the box. Sometimes, because of super specials, we get two items in one week.

However, we did make a list of what we thought might be good to put in a hamper. So here it is - and, as you can see on the left, we have quite a few of the items.

Pasta
Pasta sauce
Rice
Tinned tomatoes
Tinned fish
Spaghetti
Baked beans
Chickpeas/legumes
Rice
Peanut butter
Vegemite
Jam
Oil
Cake mix
Jelly
Cordial
Juice
Washing powder
Dishwashing liquid
Toilet paper
Nappies
Shampoo
Conditioner
Pads/Tampons
Soap
Toothpaste
Crackers
Sweet Biscuits
UHT milk/powdered milk/condensed milk
Porridge
Sugar
Tea
Coffee
Milo
Flour - SR and Plain
Gravy powder
Tomato and BBQ sauce
Mayonnaise
Honey
Tinned Soup

We're trying to not just buy food, but also important household items that can be neglected when you're a bit short on cash. I have heard recently that, with the financial downturn, babies are being left in their nappies for longer because their parent's can't afford to buy them as often. Isn't that so sad.

Would love to hear your suggestions for additions to the list!

We've been a bit pre-occupied with exams and baby and work to update. All will be remedied soon! Box 1is full, so we've had to move on to a second box! And its not long til Christmas - every week and every item counts!

Be back soon!