So where was I? Oh yes, travelling and then running out of nappies! Let’s reverse the clock a bit to when I was packing to go to Singapore.
I had packed cloth nappies, mainly Bubba J, ecoBumba and other various pocket nappies and bamboo inserts for their quick laundry turnaround and a few hybrid pocket AIOs from Baby Beehinds coupled with DIY bamboo trifolds for night use. A pack of Eenees flushable liners for quick poo disposal completed the nappy packing.
Essential when travelling with nappies - do not leave home without them!
In the first week all was fine. I used cloth nappies just like I do at home and out and about.
The only problem was that nappy change rooms in Singapore were usually not attached to toilets, so throwing out pooey liners into the toilet had to be done stealthily, well-wrapped up in toilet paper (which they did provide) and visiting the nearby ladies to get rid of them.
This also posed a problem to my toilet-aware toddler, she would wee all over the change table once her nappy is off. Usually she goes straight on the potty or toilet before a new nappy is put on.
Laundry-wise: We stayed at the YMCA One Orchard, where laundry is charged PER PIECE like a hotel.
But we found a little laundry place very close by that was filled with shiny new washers and dryers (self-service S$5 per load), and a drop-off washing service at about S$13.90 per load, including washing detergent, washed, dried and folded!! Best of all, you can drop them off just before lunchtime when they open, and then pick up around dinner time on the SAME DAY. Gold I tell you, I could use their service everyday here in Bunbury myself *sigh*
…until Chinese New Year arrived!
In Singapore, Chinese New Year is equivalent to Christmas here. It’s a time where families get together and extended family meet each other. It’s a time when downtown Singapore becomes very very quiet like a ghost town. Most places shut down for 2-3 days, and the little laundry place was no different. Except that they closed for 4 WHOLE DAYS.
I panicked. I checked with other laundry places had next day service, or worse: only collect after Chinese New Year is over!
Saw this little laundy place in Little India that was open during CNY, but just couldn't bring myself to travel by train, then walk for 10 minutes to get here! @ preetamrai
I don’t have enough nappies to last to the next wash day, let alone our clothing! What should I do?
What would you do?
What a challenging situation.
(I am from Singapore, relocated to Malaysia.)
- Handwash the laundry and find a place to hang dry
- Use the laundry service at Little India, pay them to collect & deliver
- Buy disposable inserts to use with cloth nappies (difficult since some online stores are closed during Lunar New Year too)
I tried handwashing a pocket nappy on the second day of the trip just to test it out. I had a few problems:
- nowhere to hang except the bathroom.
- aircon in YMCA room is shut off when the room is unoccupied, so no drying effect.
It took about 2-3 days to dry a 100% polyester pocket nappy shell and 2- layer bamboo insert!
Little India laundry service was self-service, which meant we had to be there for however long the wash cycles were, plus there was no dryer available, and the above difficulty in getting things dry.
Didn’t think about disposable inserts, now that’s a genius idea
I’ve tried Flip disposable inserts, worked well for my boy, good to use with one-size diapers with adjustable rise. Going to review them at MummysReviews.com. Thinking of trying GroBaby disposable inserts too. These inserts are certainly great for travels.
We left our entire nappy stash for day and nights at home one time when we went away… LOL so we made up teh bed with a garbage bag, then some towels, then fleece blanket and a sheet. That was for nights. Days we did some impromptu EC
Keen to hear how you went
HI Kristy, nice to ‘see’ you here
My goodness! I can’t think about leaving my stash just for 1 day, let alone days and nights!
The EC is great, in Singapore it was pretty easy to find a clean toilet with toilet paper.
A bit hard though when change rooms don’t have an attached toilet (like I mentioned how Bri weed on the change mat after taking off her nappy).
Another time she needed to poo in the change room, I had to use the sink and clean up afterwards! Good thing it was a firm stool… *phew* LOL
Interesting concept, didn’t even occur to me to get some disposable inserts.
I wonder how Flip and Grobaby inserts compare to each other?
There’s also Eenees compostable inserts (In USA they are call gDiapers), they are supposed to be flushable.
It would be interesting to compare all three and see how they fare, and then compare to a full disposable nappy.
Yikes,
what a conundrum, baby care in other countries really can be a hassle. I know I take for granted the fantastic parent rooms we have here in Adelaide and in Canberra where I have lived with babies.
A travel potty for on the go can help solve one of the hassles – they can be quite small – or, you can use a disposable nappy as a potty – open it, pee bub into it, then roll it back up again for another go later – they hold so much…