The conversion to cloth

Cloth nappies have come a long way since my mother used them; I can still remember the smell of Napisan which was used to soak them. With my first two babies, I wasn't even aware that cloth nappies were an option. They certainly weren't on sale in Singapore and Manila a few years ago. But both my girls didn't rush into using the potty or toilet and I was aware of the mounting refuse we were creating in using disposables. Still I don't think I ever imagined an alternative.
But I have a very good friend, Ellen, living in Dublin who has a daughter, now 18months, and who is an expert on cloth nappies which apparently have made a comeback. So when I was pregnant this time I decided we'd try cloth as I had a bad consience about using disposables for another three years. However, as environmentally friendly as Norway is meant to be, there is only one brand of cloth nappies available in the stores; this is of the old-fashioned type my mother used that needed to be folded. I tried them but found them a pain in the arse (yes, it's a pun) and swiftly went back to disposables.
But thanks to Ellen's persistence and generosity in sending me lots of nappy samples, I finally figured out the cloth nappy thing - there are tonnes of options in the UK with many different brands and designs available. The ones I liked best are shown in the picture, fresh out of the post box, and are fitted nappies with elastic around the legs and velcro tabs for closing. They are soo soft - softer than a baby's bottom in fact ;-) It took me a while to find a Norwegian supplier and to swallow the price difference between here and the UK but as I couldn't organise delivery from the UK, the company in Trondheim was my only option. I'm really looking forward to not filling up bins laden with used disposables. And with three loads of laundry most days already, I'm not too concerned about more washing :-) It'll be worth it to have one more thing off my bad consience!