MAKE AMAZING SAVINGS AT THE FANTASTIC TESCO BABY EVENT
Until the 30th September Tesco will be holding its third and
longest running Baby Event of the year, demonstrating its on-going commitment
to giving families the best value for money and the best savings across all
baby essentials. These great offers will be available in-store and online at
Tesco.com to offer parents and mums and dads-to-be amazing savings across all
of their favourite baby essentials helping the family budget go further.
This event will offer parents fantastic deals on everyday
products such as nappies, wipes, toiletries and baby food, helping to ease the
pressure on parent’s purse strings as they prepare to send their older children
back to school. In order to celebrate the launch of this Baby Event Tesco will
also be offering parents the chance to win a host of prizes every day on the
Tesco Facebook page, @TescoBabyClub Twitter and at www.tesco.com/babyclub
Lorna Dickinson, Tesco Category Buying Manager for Baby
said: “With this, our longest running Baby Event we demonstrate our on-going
commitment to helping families. We understand that basic essentials such as
nappies, wipes and formula can take a real toll on the family budget which is
why we are offering parents their favourite baby essentials at prices they can
afford. By running our offers both in-store and online we are doing what we can
to make parent’s lives as simple and easy as possible whilst rewarding their
custom with some great prizes we know families will love.” With great savings such as Huggies Super Dry Economy Packs, Pampers Wipes six packs and Johnson's Baby products at half price, parents can save on all their baby essentials both online and in store.
In conjunction with the Baby Event, Inside the Wendy House
is giving one lucky reader the chance of winning a £100 Tesco voucher. To be in with a chance of winning this great prize, simply fill out the Rafflecopter Entry Form below. Closing date is 12.01am on 28th September 2012.
Freddy is now 26 months old and getting ready to take his giant leap into big boy-dom! We are about to embark in earnest into the potty training stage. We have had a few false starts. I also thought that the Summer Holidays were not the best time to begin. We did so many outings, day trips and short breaks, adding the demands of a nappy-less toddler to the proceedings would have been a nightmare. I remember the frantic searches for toilets and the disaster of incidents involving soggy trousers only too well! I'm in no hurry to make my life more difficult than it needs to be until I am good and ready!
But with the kids back at school this week, me and Freddy will be at home throughout the day which is a great opportunity to try again. The lovely people at Boots are helping me out and have sent me some of their potty training products to try. I received a Potty and a Padded Trainer Seat...both in pink! Although Freddy is of course a little boy, in the name of gender neutral parenting I was perfectly happy to introduce Fred to his new pink accessories! After all they are only going to be pooped on!
The potty is a basic model which is a bargain at £3.05. You could keep one upstairs and one downstairs, have one in the car and a spare at the grandparents' house at that price! It is functional, a good size with wide back and sides for comfort. It's cheap and cheerful! Available in pink and blue...but remember you don't need to conform to gender stereotypes!!
The Padded Trainer Seat fits onto the adult toilet seat giving a comfy place for your toddler to sit. Freddy actually seems happier perched on the big toilet than sat on a potty for pro-longed periods. And although he is yet to perform, his confidence is encouraging. The seat is just £7.15 which is reasonable. My only concern is that the part of the seat that sits on the adult toilet seat is quite small, meaning that it can slide around so I wouldn't leave Fred unattended (lest he slid off the loo!) Otherwise it is a really good product, especially as it is so soft making it perfect for little botties to sit on!
Boots also sent me a Caryy Pack of their Active Fit nappies to try out. They are designed for both rest and play allowing baby to move freely.
The nappy has extra stretchy sides for a secure and comfortable fit, an ergonomically designed shape with elasticated leg cuffs that prevent leaks and allow movements. A super absorbent core locks away moisture keeping baby dry. They have a cute animal character design and velcro tabs. I was very impressed by the performance of the nappy and at just £4.99 for a pack of 26 Maxi size (for 15-40lbs) they are a good alternative to more expensive brands found in Boots. Hopefully our nappy days will soon be over, but until then I'm happy to use these on Fred.
To top it all, Boots are currently offering 3 for 2 on a range of thousands of mix and match baby products (the cheapest is free!) Full details can be found on the website here. And don't forget you can collect Advantage Points too! Another great reason to shop at Boots!
However much I love and adore my son, there are times when I'll happily hand him over to his Daddy. Such a time is when he has a loaded nappy! The contents of a toddler's nappy ain't pretty! Nor does it smell sweet! Dealing with nappies away from home compounds the problem...has anyone driven home with a stinking nappy in the footwell??
Thankfully Tommee Tippee have come up with an ingenious solution to nappy disposal, perfect when on the go! The Sangenic Wrap and Go Dispenser is a stylish clip on dispenser that attaches to a changing bag, car door or buggy, containing hygienic, anti-bacterial, scented wraps. They are on hand whenever you need them. No more rooting around for an elusive nappy sack at the bottom of your handbag, whilst struggling with a wriggly baby mid-nappy change!
The easy tie handles contain the toxic toddler waste eliminating 99% of germs on contact and are citrus scented to neutralise any stinky smell!
The bright blue, pink and yellow bags tear off easily and are thicker than the average nappy sack. They fit nicely in the dispenser and really do the job perfectly well! They give real peace of mind in terms of combating odour and eliminating germs! They are convenient and perfect for on the go nappy emergencies!
They are big enough for using with re-usable nappies, providing a smell free, germ free transporting solution to carry the nappy home for laundering.
With their good size, I think these will also be great for the early days of potty training. If there is a toilet training related accident, one of these bags would easily and hygienically accommodate a soggy pair of trousers and pants. This will be so useful when away from home.
Fits easily to bag, buggy or in the car.
Citrus scented, pink, big and strong anti-bacterial nappy wrap!
All Wrapped up!
The Sangenic Wrap and Go Dispenser and Refills aren't the cheapest option for nappy disposal on the market, but they certainly are very different, well conceived, convenient and easy to use.
The Sangenic Wrap & Go dispenser is priced from £4.99 and includes 30 wraps (15 per roll), refills are also available priced from £4.99 and includes 3 refills (15 wraps per roll). The Sangenic range is available from Asda, Tesco, Morrisons, Boots, Argos, Mothercare, Babies R Us, and Kiddicare.com Find out more about the range or buy online at www.tommeetippee.co.uk
I was very happy to be among a group of Mummy Bloggers invited along to visit the Pampers Plant in Manchester. I have always favoured Pampers above other brands of nappy for convenience, quality, reliability and comfort.
The plant situated in Trafford park has recently celebrated its 75th birthday. Over the years it has produced a vast array of Proctor and Gamble products, but for the last three years has been the sole manufacturing plant in the UK for Pampers. The employees are proud to work for this company. 30% of workers have achieved over 20 years service. The management system is based on respect and it values everyone for playing their part.
We were given a presentation by Chris the Plant Manager giving us a brief history of the plant. It was amazing to see how things have changed over the years. We learned how the plant has strong links to the community, involving itself in action for children, enterprise and in donating products and services.
What's in a Nappy?
We had the opportunity to study the structure of a Pampers nappy. They have a dual layer, with a cellulose top sheet over a core containing absorbent gel. This locks in moisture away from the skin. The back sheet is breathable without allowing liquid to escape. Pampers Active Fit uses much less pulp than previous nappies making it much thinner, and resulting in less waste.
Me and Financial expert Nicola Cairncross find out what's in a nappy!
We were shown a demonstration of the effectiveness of the gel. 300ml of liquid was poured onto the gel and it was fully absorbed very quickly. This means that the nappies have less sagging and are dry to touch very quickly. This makes baby comfortable and prevents nappy rash.
We were given a guided tour of the plant where we saw how nappies are made. The process was incredibly efficient and the machines were impressive. Long strips of raw materials whizzed by until being cut and sealed into individual nappies. The finished product was then packaged into packs and boxes and continued their journey across a maze of conveyor belts to be packed onto pallets by robots and ferried by automated carts to storage. The warehouse which stored the nappies was absolutely huge with thousands of units ready for shipping to the shops in the UK and for European export. It was incredible and the speed of the process from raw material to the finished product was impressively quick!
Along the route of the nappy, various Quality Control tests take place. We saw the test to check the strength of the ears of the nappy (the bit which does up around baby's waste) to see how easily they rip away. We also saw an absorbency test for the nappy core.
We also had the opportunity of meeting the experts from the Pampers Village Parenting Panel. This is a group of professionals selected from all areas of pregnancy, child development and family wellbeing. They are there to provide the latest information and advice to help parents through this crucial stage of their life.
The experts were all specialists in their field and happily answered all of our personal questions. They were all very open, friendly and approachable. I learned a lot about child development and managing finances from the Q & A over lunch.
The PVPP can provide up to the minute advice on fertility, pregnancy, baby development, skin, money, relationships, fitness, nutrition and sleep. So whatever stage you are at, Pampers Village can help. Check out the website for tips, news, forums and information.
There is growing concern about the use of disposable nappies and their impact on the environment, so I questioned Pampers resident scientist regarding this. P & G have worked closely with environmentalist Julia Hailes who says:
"I've been working as an environmentalist for over 20 years – writing books, making speeches and advising companies, including P&G, on what they should be doing. One of the most difficult eco-decisions I’ve had to make is whether to use cloth or disposable nappies. I chose disposables. Given that I'm a big campaigner on reducing waste this might seem surprising. But my view was that the environmental differences between the two products were not so great – and disposables performed better."
It makes interesting reading and offers a different perspective in the cloth vs disposable nappy debate.
I personally choose to use disposable nappies but because I manage my waste effectively, I never exceed the capacity of my grey bin that is collected two-weekly and that is with a family of five living at home. My contribution to landfill is not excessive and I try to offset the amount of rubbish we generate as a family by recycling, re-using and reducing in other areas. I only do two or three loads of laundry in a normal week and I never tumble dry.
Lou from Bloggomy has given me the chance to do a review on Bumgenius V4 One Size Pocket nappies from Green Jelly. I must begin by admitting that I have always used disposable nappies so this is right out of my comfort zone. I do try and do my bit for the environment in other ways, but I've never swayed on the subject of nappies. However, I am always willing to try new things!
When I had my first born 22 years ago the alternative was Terry nappies with safety pins, so seeing the new Bumgenius 4.0 nappy, I can see how far the alternative to disposables have come. The nappy looks really cute in a lovely pastel yellow colour with poppers and velcro. It is shaped to fit with padded inserts that fit into an internal pocket. The nappy can be adjusted to fit any baby from a 7lb newborn to a 35 lb toddler, using a clever popper system. The velcro does up snuggly around baby's waist making it a custom fit. Each nappy comes with two inserts, one for small babies and an adjustable one for larger babies. This nappy will last from birth right through to potty training, making it the only nappy you will need to buy.
The instructions for use are:
1: Adjust to size
2: Stuff
3: Use
As simple as that!! It does look fool proof! We put Bumgenius to the test with Freddy as our guinea pig! We used a Tots Bots Spunlace Liner which are 100% biodegradable and flushable.
As you can see we did OK as beginners. The nappy felt really soft with its breathable outer cover and stay dry micro-suede inner, and fitted very comfortably when properly adjusted. The fabric wicks moisture away from the skin and the insert was very absorbent . The leg cuffs didn't rub or chafe at all. I also thought it looked really cute! I love the idea of having coloured nappies that would co-ordinate with outfits!
As Freddy only did a wee, I didn't have to deal with a poo filled liner. (I don't know how an explosive poo would fair in a cloth nappy!) The idea is you just shake off the solids into the toilet, and then deal with the nappy by putting it in a bucket liner in a bucket. The used nappy can be put in the washing machine with the insert still inside as it will work itself out during the washing process. You need to pre-wash them in cold water and then wash them with a little powder. They can then be tumble dried.
It is a simple enough process and definitely much easier than the old fashioned terries!
These nappies will not contribute to landfill like disposables do, however they do generate a lot of laundry, so that has to be taken into consideration. The RRP is £14.99 each and it is recommended that you have 20-25 for full time use, which is a big financial commitment upfront. However across the life of the nappy, this will cost much less than buying disposables every week.
The Bumgenius is an award winning nappy that has been designed to do the job brilliantly. If you decide to use re-usable nappies then these are an excellent option, easy to use, comfortable and good looking. They are pretty easy to deal with and to wash and dry.
However, I still like the convenience and reliability of disposables. I wouldn't personally want to deal with a non-disposable nappy away from home and have to carry it around soiled. Freddy, now he is older, only uses 4 Pampers a day and we never exceed the capacity of our two weekly black bin collection. We only do three loads of laundry a week, and Freddy rarely needs to change his clothes because of nappy leakage.
Nappies contribute 4% of all household waste and 7 million trees are felled annually in their production in the UK alone. Disposable nappy companies such as Pampers are actively trying to reduce their manufacturing footprint by cutting down on the use of water and energy, reducing CO2 emissions and industrial waste. Nappy size and packaging has also been reduced over the years. Re-usable cloth nappies contribute to increasing laundry usage...energy, water and detergents, which has a personal environmental impact.
So, it comes down to personal choice, where the aspects of cost, convenience, confidence, eco-friendliness and environmental impact need to be weighed up. There are pros and cons to each. There are a growing number of parents who swear by cloth nappies and the designs available are really impressive.
If you choose re-usables, definitely check out Bumgenius from Green Jelly. I'll be integrating my Bumgenius into Freddy's nappy usage as I can use it again and again, so I'll get the best of both worlds. At 22 months old Freddy is on the verge of potty training, but we still have a few more months of nappies ahead of us. I can see the Bumgenius being useful and saving a fair few disposables from landfill!
