Testing, testing... Boots super dry nappies & parenting club plus the cost of nappies!

Boots Super Dry Nappies

Having a baby needn't cost a fortune - I should know as I have written budget baby articles and tips on buying second-hand gear (click here and here), but there are costs you cannot avoid or bring down – for us it was the cost of disposable nappies. 

There are valid arguments that reusable nappies are more eco-friendly and save you hundreds of pounds, but as I experienced problems breastfeeding and was exhausted (dodgy builders were renovating the house next door for several months and worked seven days a week from dawn to dusk) I had to go for disposables. I just couldn't face doing more laundry and having soggy nappies hanging off our radiators. 

I might have failed the nappy test, but I did earn my green stripes with clothes, equipment and nursery furniture (thanks to Freecycle, NCT Nearly New Sales and charity shops).

Cost of disposable nappies and potty training

I did a bit of research and it seems that the average cost for keeping a baby in nappies for the first two years is £800 (http://www.whatprice.co.uk). Another site put the average spend on disposable nappies at £791.70 over 2.5 years (http://www.bracknell-forest.gov.uk/env-real-nappies.htm). However our daughter was not easy to potty train due to her stubborn streak. We had an early victory while I was testing a potty-training set but then suffered a setback when she refused to use her potty. At the end peer pressure won the day as she agreed to go nappyless because a child at preschool had called her a baby for wearing a nappy. It went very well and there have been very few accidents as she was already three and a half, so perfectly capable to control her bladder. 

Of course being dry during the day doesn’t mean that a toddler won’t need a nappy at night, unless you are a fan of crinkly, plastic sheets. So Michela still wears a nappy at night. So far there have been a few accidents at night, but she once did a huge pee (toddler pee is fountainlike, we are not talking a little trickle). So for us nappies that can deal with a huge pee and don’t cost the earth are in!

I admit, I love Huggies but only buy them when in promotion. When they are not discounted, I buy any other brand that is affordable and reliable. I have been through various supermarket own brands but never tried Boots nappies before,

so I was curious to see how they would perform.

Boots Super Dry Nappies - the review

I requested a sample from Boots Press Office and tested the Super Dry nappies (size 5) in February (aptly there are 28 in a pack). I was quite pleased with their price so I was delighted when one of the nappies caught that big pee I mentioned earlier. While Michela’s pyjama trousers were nice and dry, the nappy had swollen to the size of a small ball. 

Boots Super Dry nappies are a good fit and the added flex mentioned on the packaging enables Michela to use the potty or the big toilet by sliding the nappy down as it were a pair of trainer pants. The nappies are easy to fit and change thanks to two strong, re-sealable tapes on each side (I say strong because putting a nappy on a wriggling toddler can be challenging and with some cheap nappies you might end with a torn tape and a useless nappy). Michela also likes the pretty animal designs, which are unisex, so OK for a boy too.

The Boots Super Dry Carry Packs are currently on offer at 2 for £7 (worth £3.99 each), which is really good value. And if you join the Boots Parenting Club and use your Advantage card, you can enjoy further offers on other baby products*.

Boots Super Dry Nappies in a nutshell

Good value for money, positive overall performance and the flex feature is a bonus for active toddlers and toddlers who are potty training.

*Boots Parenting Club

The Boots Parenting Club is open to all UK residents who are pregnant and/or have a child or children up to, but not including, their 2nd birthday. In order to be a member of the Club, you must have an Advantage Card. If you don’t already have one, you’ll be signed up for the Advantage Card scheme as part of joining the Parenting Club. For more information, visit www.bootsparentingclub.com. You will receive information and special offers.

Potty training nul points - greens rock!

Parenthood is a challenge, no doubt about that. Things become even more complicated with a toddler who wants to be indepedent and do things his/her own way. As a first-time parent I had my ups and downs but with the passing of time I have learnt to be philosophical: you might lose some battles but you definitely win others...

Take potty training, a controversial rite of passage that has inspired entire books. Experts say it's easier for girls than boys, some even maintain you can do it in one week... For all those parents who are struggling with it and feeling frustrated, just relax and go with the flow. I have found out that my three year old is not the only one still in nappies and that that pushy phase when she reached the age of two was so wrong (and it did backfire)... Also it's not true that toddlers need to be dry to go to preschool. Several preschools in Cambridge seem happy to take toddlers who are still using nappies. I think we are not far, as the photo shows, but I'm not going to be potty mad, the last thing I want is a battle of wills.

One battle we definitely won is that for healthy eating. Our daughter exceeds the five-a-day requirement by gorging on fruit and veg several times a day. Here she is trying greens for the first time, which, surprisingly, went down well. So she might not be out of nappies but she certainly eats well and doesn't crave junk foods. I suppose it helps that we don't eat much junk foods ourselves (crisps and chocolate are occasionally consumed when she is gone to bed - we are not saints) and that we treat biscuits or the odd piece of dark chocolate as treats. It also helps that she prefers savoury stuff, especially fresh bread, salami and pickles.

So the moral of the tale is that it's best to stop obsessing with things that are not working out and focus with what is going well. Each child is different and is fascinating to find out what they are good at. So please leave a positive message and let me know what your child is doing well...