Cloth Nappies in Summary

My experience using cloth nappies has so far been very positive. It is very difficult to say which nappy is my favourite, since the suitability of each nappy has been dependent on Lucy's size and shape, which is always changing. If you were to ask me now, I would have to say I like the Nature's Child organic cotton fitted nappy the best, as it fits well, hardly ever leaks, is very absorbant (with 2 booster pads) and is easy to put on. However, as I mentioned in an earlier blog, this nappy didn't fit Lucy until she was around 4 months old! On the other hand, I have been able to use the Eenee Designs Pouch Pants nappy since Lucy was a newborn (initially she wore the small size; now she wears medium) and it has always fit quite well, with minimal leakage. So, overall, these two nappies would probably draw at being my favourite. All the nappies have their pro's and con's, which I will list below.

Nature's Child Organic Cotton Fitted Nappy

PRO'S
Made of sustainable fibre - very environmentally friendly choice.
Doesn't require a cover.
Very absorbant - can be customised by using 1 or 2 booster pads.
Easy to put on; velcro easier to do up than snap buttons; velcro does up at back so toddlers can't pull undone easily.
Relatively adjustable for size (only 2 different sizes needed as baby grows).
Often only the boosters need changing and can buy these separately (therefore don't need quite as many nappies).

CON'S
Quite bulky so doesn't fit tiny newborn (size 1 fits from around 4kg and would be bulky initially).
Booster pads take long time to dry.
Can be a bit firm against baby's body when done up properly (has never seemed to worry Lucy).

Eenee Designs Pouch Pants

PRO'S
Soft and gentle against baby's skin/body.
Easy to put on and do up - velcro tabs quick and easy to use.
Cost-effective - don't need to purchase as many pouch pants as you would other types of fitted nappies, as the outer pouch pants tend not to need changing so frequently (just the pads/pouches).
Easy to clean - pouches and microfibre cloth inserts are quick drying; the outer pouch pants are relatively quick drying.
Doesn't require a cover.
Versatile - can use with the biodegradable disposable pads or cloth inserts; adjust well to baby's changing size and shape.
The same cloth inserts can be used from newborn to toddler size - only the outer pants and pouch sizes change.
An Australian made version is available.


CON'S
Not made of sustainable fibres.
The microfibre cloth inserts must be folded before being placed in the pouch - not too hard to do but just an extra step (and harder for dad).
Three different sizes of the outer pouch pants are required as baby grows (though they fit very well and are not very bulky for a newborn). There are also 3 different pouch sizes.
Not as absorbant as the other three nappies (fine for younger baby but won't last as long between changes when older).

Baby Beehinds Bamboo Fitted Nappy

PRO'S
Made of sustainable fibres - bamboo and organic cotton.
Very absorbant - great night-time nappy.
One size fits all (though wouldn't have fit Lucy as newborn).
Relatively leak proof (need cover).
Fairly simple to put together and put on.

CON'S
Requires a cover.
Doing up the snap buttons can be fiddly and they make it harder to fit the nappy than velcro.
Takes longer to put on than others (due to snap buttons and the need for a cover).
Very bulky for small baby.
Require quite a few nappies as the whole nappy needs changing each time.
Takes a long time to dry.

Itti Bitti D'Lish

PRO'S
Mostly made of sustainable fibres - the pad inserts are made of bamboo (the outer is synthetic).
Nice, compact nappy for small baby.
Easy to put together and put on.
The outer nappy doesn't need changing every time - additional pad inserts can be purchased.
Very absorbant. Absorbancy can be customised by adding additional booster pads.
Available as an all-in-one (with pads sown in), which is very easy to put on and ideal if baby is in daycare.
Doesn't require a cover.

CON'S
Has tendency to leak, more than the other nappies.
Can be hard to adjust to fit when putting on, due to the snap buttons (velcro easier).
Pad inserts need long drying time.
Quite a few different sizes are required.

The number of nappies you require really depends on which ones you are using, on your baby (how heavy a wetter he/she is, etc) and also how frequently you intend to wash (usually daily or every second day). The websites which sell the nappies (whether they be for a specific brand, or sell a range of brands) generally have advice on how many nappies you will need.

I want to emphasize that the descriptions I've given of each nappy are based on my own experience, with my baby, so I would expect others to have different points of view. However, I hope my points might be helpful, especially when you consider your own baby and your own needs and preferences. Also, the nappies I have tried are only a few amongst the huge range of cloth nappies that are now available on the market (mostly via the internet). If you are going to be a full-time cloth nappy user, it's not a bad idea to have a few terry cloth squares (the Nature's Child organic cotton ones are great) on hand just incase you run out others. My final advice to any prospective cloth nappy user would be to try a few different types on your baby - that way you can see for yourself what they're like, can try them out for fit and also can have a few different types on hand for different situations (eg, the Baby Beehinds fitted bamboo is great at night-time, whereas, the Itti Bitti D'Lish is a more convenient nappy for outings). Please don't do what I did and purchase 9 of the one nappy type before your baby's even born, only to discover they don't fit for several months! Most of these nappies can be delivered to your door very quickly (the quickest delivery I had was the next morning!), so you don't necessarily need to have all your nappies stocked up before baby arrives.

Baby Beehinds

Baby Beehinds make a range of cloth nappies including, all-in-ones and the one-size fits all fitted nappy made of either hemp or bamboo. Below is the Baby Behinds bamboo fitted nappy. It is cleverly designed to fit from birth to toddlerhood (fits approximately 4-15kg), though it would be quite bulky for a newborn, and would not have fit Lucy as a newborn.

The bamboo fitted nappy is made of 60% bamboo, 30% organic cotton and 10% polyester - together with the Nature's Child organic cotton fitted nappy it's one of the greenest nappy choices I've come across. The outer part of the nappy fastens at the front with snap buttons, and can be adjusted to fit due to a variety of button positions, though I do find velcro much easier and quicker to fasten than snap buttons. It is elasticized around the legs to create a snug fit and help prevent leakage. There are two booster pads that snap in place on the inner side of the nappy outer - you can also get extra boosters. Since the nappy comprises 60% bamboo it is highly absorbant, making this an excellent overnight nappy - this is my favourite nappy to use at night and I've never had any leakage problems. The biggest downside is that it requires a cover, adding to the bulk of the nappy and the time required to change it. Baby Beehinds makes both wool (100% Australian grown) and PUL polyester covers, which come in 3 different sizes. I use the Disana organic wool cover or the Eenee pull-on PUL cover with the Baby Beehinds nappy, as I already had these and I only have one of the Baby Beehinds nappies at this stage. Another negative is the long drying time, though it doesn't take any longer than the Nature's Child nappy boosters or the Itti Bitti bamboo boosters.

The Eenne Nappy

Below is the Eenee Designs Weenee Pouch Pants nappy (www.eenee.com). It's the most versatile cloth nappy I've used. The Weenee Pouch Pants consist of a soft cotton/elastane outer, which fastens with velcro at the back and a snap in waterproof pouch (polyurethane coated polyester - breathable). A biodegradable disposable pad (it's completely compostable and can also be flushed down the toilet - see website for more details) or a microfibre cloth are placed inside the pouch, to hold the urine/poo. I purchased some of the disposable pads to try initially, when Lucy was a newborn, and used them in the first few weeks when on outings - they work well, are easy to use and also break up very easily when put into the toilet (they need to be torn in half first). Initially I didn't have the Eenees microfibre cloth inserts (I didn't know about them) so Mum bought some small flannelette nappies which she cut in half and hemmed (I needed them quite small for Lucy) and these made great cloth inserts once folded into rectangles. The microfibre cloth inserts are very absorbant, easy to fold and dry very quickly.

The main benefit of this nappy, apart from being able to use the disposable pads if desired, is the waterproof pouches mean that most of the time only the pad/cloth needs to be changed; the pouch needs changing less frequently and the cotton/elastane nappy outer less often again. For example, the nappy outer may last Lucy an entire day, with the pouch being changed two or three times (if it happens to get soiled or smells of urine). Not only does this make this system very cost effective (extra pouches can be purchased separately and the pads/cloth inserts are purchased separately), it also means less washing and drying. Of all the nappies I have, all the Weenee Pouch Pants components are the fastest drying - the pouches and cloths dry very quickly and the outers moderately quickly. Unfortunately none of the materials used to make these nappies are sustainable, unless you use say an organic cotton nappy as the booster (the regular organic cotton terry squares which I have are too big, though they may fit if Lucy gets past 12kg and needs the large size); with the medium size, which Lucy wears now, the Nature's Child Organic Cotton Fitted Nappy booster pad will fit, which is great. However, at least you need less of them, and the nappies also don't require the addition of a cover. Also, the nappies are available as either China-made ($24.95) or Australian-made ($29.95), so you can reduce the transport impact by buying the Australian-made product (most other fitted cloth nappies are made in China or India, generally in apparently ethically-managed set-ups).

The picture below shows the nappy outer (left - inner side showing), folded microfibre cloth (centre) and the polyester pouch (right). The nappy is very easy to put together (even easier if using the disposable pad) and take apart, though not quite as easy as the Itti Bitti D'Lish. It is very easy to put on (it's secured with velcro at the back), adjusts to fit very well, allowing for changes in baby's shape as she grows, and is soft and comfortable against baby's body. I have encountered the least number of leakages with this nappy - and usually then, only if the nappy's been left on for quite a while (eg, overnight).

The Weenee Pouch Pants come in 3 sizes (small: 3-6kg; medium:6-12kg; large: 12-16kg) and I was able to start using them when Lucy was still very tiny (just under 3kg). The pouches that fit the Pouch Pants come in 2 sizes - the small can be used for the small and medium Pouch Pants and the medium for the medium and large Pouch Pants, therefore extending the duration of their use for one baby. Eenee Designs also makes a product for newborns (2-4kg), called a Weenees Pouch Snibb, which works very well. It basically consists of a PUL polyester pouch with ties attached - it holds a pad or cloth and is secured with the ties at the front. It is very simple but great for tiny babies, and is also inexpensive and uses minimal extra materials (the cloth inserts can continue to be used as baby grows and the actual Pouch Snibbs are very small). I had 3 of these for Lucy when she was a newborn and I continued to use them for a while once I started using the Pouch Pants - all I used for the first four months or so was the 3 Pouch Snibbs (until Lucy was a bit over 4kg) and 3 of the Weenees Pouch Pants (+ 3 extra pouches), washing only every 2nd day.

Another excellent Eenee Designs product is the Little Eenee Swimmers. Lucy has been wearing hers (only one pair needed) since she started swimming classes at 6 months old, and they have been wonderful. No insert is required and the swimmers are cleverly designed to adjust to fit snuggly (no leaks wanted please!) as babies grow (small size is 6-12kg; large fits 12-18kg). No need for those disposable swimming nappies! I will endeavour to post a photo of the swimmers! In addition, Eenee Designs also makes waterproof training pants and waterproof overnight pants, for toddlers, and PUL polyester nappy covers.

The Itty Bitty Nappy

The nappy below is an Itti Bitti D'Lish (http://www.ittibitti.com.au/) nappy. I wish I'd discovered this when Lucy was a newborn! The Itti Bitti range was created by an Aussie mum who had a tiny baby and found there was a need for cloth nappies which fit small babies. The D'Lish type is particularly designed for little babies like Lucy who are lean and small as it is not bulky and is shaped around the groin area. Lucy was only 2.5kg when she was born, and even the ordinary towelling squares didn't fit! This nappy fits a baby from 3.5 to 7.5 kg and there is also a medium and large size (so you would need to purchase quite a few over your baby's nappy-wearing life if just using this system).




The nappy consists of a synthetic minkee (it's very soft) outer cover (left, below) and bamboo booster pads (middle and right, below) which snap in place, allowing them to be removed after washing, to hasten drying. Bamboo is highly absorbant and a very sustainable material. There are also mini-boosters, which snap onto the smaller booster pad to increase absorbency. The snap-on buttons are colour-coded so you can't mistake where they are supposed to attach (especially useful for husbands - Sooj would agree). All of the booster pads can be purchased separately, since the nappy outer doesn't need to be changed after every nappy change, reducing the number of complete nappies needed. The Itti Bitti D'Lish is also available as an all-in-one (mine is technically an all-in-two), with the boosters being sewn into the nappy so there's no need for any removal or replacement - handy if your baby's being left in day-care as it's very easy to put on.


I quite like this nappy for its convenience (it's very easy to put on so I tend to use it a lot when I'm out) and also its fit and lack of bulk, especially when Lucy was smaller. I have had some issues with leakage if Lucy is in certain positions (especially on her tummy or side) as sometimes it slips down slightly, creating gaps for urine to leak. This may be partly because of Lucy's shape - she is quite long for her weight so the nappy may not sit up as high on her waist area as it's intended to - so it will be interesting to see how the medium size goes. If Lucy goes to day care ever (perhaps next year) I will probably buy some of the all-in-one's just to take for that day.

Nature's Child Organic Cotton Fitted Nappy

This is the Nature's Child (www.natureschild.com.au) organic cotton fitted nappy. It consists of the outer nappy, with polyester elasticised sides to contain leaks, and inner pads, also made of organic cotton (see bottom photo). The nappy can be used with just the one pad, but I have always used it with the two (both provided with the nappy) as it fits Lucy better and is more absorbant that way. This nappy fastens with velcro at the back, which is apparently useful for inquisitive toddlers (I'm yet to find this out). Often only the booster pads need to be changed; the outer only needs changing if wet or soiled. The booster pads can be purchased separately so you can have extras (without purchasing an entire nappy) making the system relatively cost effective.

Unfortunately, Lucy did not fit into this nappy until she was around 4 months old (and I bought 9 plus 6 extra boosters before Lucy arrived!), though it's supposed to fit babies from newborn (around 4kg size) to 12months. There is a larger size (size 2) for toddlers. The nappy is quite cleverly designed to fit baby as she grows. It now fits Lucy well and I quite like it. No cover is needed, though I usually put one on for overnight use, just incase (either wool or PUL polyester). The organic cotton pads are thick and quite absorbant, though they do take a long time to dry. I rarely have leakage problems with this one - as with all nappies, if it's fitted well there's less chance of a leak. Other than the Baby Beehinds hemp or bamboo fitted nappy, this is one of the greenest nappies (for an Aussie to buy) I've come across.

Nature's Child also sells a cloth nappy liner (called a dri-liner) which helps to draw moisture away from baby's skin. It's made of light-weight polyester and is particularly useful for overnight. There are also various brands of flushable biodegradable liners. I have mainly used these when away from home for more than a day, as I don't then have my Little Squirt to hose off poo. They were very useful when we went away on holidays to Queensland recently!

The Good Old-fashioned Nappy

Below is a folded Nature's Child organic cotton terry square nappy. I've used these several times and they are useful to have as a back-up. The nappy is fastened using a Snappi which works a little like a bandage fastener to grap the fabric and hold itself in place - much simpler and safer than pins. Snappi's are widely available in shops (eg, chemists) and on the internet. There are many different nappy folds - which one you use depends on size, gender and shape of your baby. The Nature's Child website (www.natureschild.com.au) has some excellent nappy folding instructions (with diagrams).

One disadvantage of terry squares is the need to use a nappy cover. This could also be an advantage as I have found the chance of leakage is minimal with nappy covers (compared to fitted nappies that don't need a cover). The cover below is a lovely pure organic wool cover made by Disana. It's a beautiful, soft, comfortable cover. Unfortunately I managed to shrink one of them by accidentally popping it in with the ordinary wash! Although wool covers need to be hand washed, washing can be done less frequently (eg, once a week) - apparently when the lanolin in wool comes in contact with urine an anti-bacterial product is created.

Below is a PUL (polyurethane laminated) polyester cover, by Eenee Designs (www.eenee.com). Its similar to the old-fashioned pilchers however the PUL polyester is breathable. Although not as luxurious as the wool cover, it works well, is easy to wash, quick-drying and still has the bonus of breathability.

There are many other covers available, including both wool and PUL covers from Baby Beehinds (www.babybeehinds.com.au). I would steer clear of the old-fashioned PVC covers as they do not breathe so they create ideal nappy rash conditions.

Wiping bottoms

We have been very happily using cloth nappies since Lucy was born. Sooj has been begging me for weeks to write some notes on the blog about cloth nappies, ready for Sustainable House Day!

Firstly, I would like to point out that despite what some people will tell you, cloth nappies are a greener option than disposables, even biodegradable disposables . There was a study performed by the UK Environmental Protection Agency several years ago, which compared the environmental impact of cloth vs disposable nappies. In this study, cloth and disposables came out fairly even (though it seemed to disregard the environmental impact of thousands of nappies per baby entering landfill destined to survive for thousands of years). An updated version of the study was peformed and the results released in 2008. This study considered the methods of washing and drying cloth nappies, and found that cloth nappy use consumed less energy in the production and cleaning of the nappies compared to the energy used to manufacture the number of disposable nappies used in the same time frame, when nappies were washed in warm rather than hot water, and line-dried rather than tumble drying (the original study had involved hot water washes and tumble drying). However, the cloth nappy option is even greener if you are using renewable energy (eg, solar power or purchasing accredited Green power from your energy supplier) to power your washing machine, collecting some or all of your own water and using cloth nappies made of sustainable materials (rather than, for example, ordinary cotton which uses vast amounts of water and pesticides to grow). In our case, living in a sustainable home powered by the sun, collecting all it's own water which is recycled for use in the orchard, there was no question that cloth nappies (of any type) would have far less environmental impact than disposables.

Cloth nappy use has changed considerably since I was a baby thirty something years ago. Gone are the days of soaking in bleach, washing in hot water, folding and nappy pins! There is a fabulous and extensive selection of fitted cloth nappies available that make life much easier. Not only are they easier to put on your baby, they also tend to be far more absorbant than terry squares so they don't need to be changed quite as often. Having said that, I have half a dozen organic cotton terry squares (from Nature's Child) to use as a back-up, and they have still been no problem to use.

In addition to using cloth nappies, we use cloth wipes rather than disposable wipes (this includes for bottoms, faces and any other wiping of the body that's needed)! Below are 2 organic cotton wipes from Nature's Child - the larger one on the left is for bottoms; the right one is more of a face wipe as it is ultra soft. I also have some old face washers which I use, and they work fine as well. (The small, white round object in the photo is a biodegradable disposable wipe that is about the size of a coin; it opens out into a cloth with the addition of water. I used them mainly in the first week, at the hospital, then for the first few weeks on outings, but I've hardly used them since. They are an excellent disposable wipe option though.) Of course the other ingredient is plain old water! A much gentler option for baby's skin. I simply keep a dish of clean, fresh water near the change table. There are numerous natural or organic nappy ointments and creams available too. The bottom wipes get washed with the nappies so it's really no extra effort to use them; the face wipes are washed with Lucy's clothes (again, no extra effort).

Below is a cloth nappy user's best friend! It's called a Little Squirt and it's basically a small, high pressure hose that easily attaches to the toilet cistern tap (DIY installation) and is used to hose off poo, directly into the toilet. An Australian product I couldn't live without!

In the following posts I will talk about the different types of cloth nappies I have used, and provide more information about cleaning and general use of cloth nappies.

We went away to the Sunshine Coast (2000km drive in total!) for a conference for 9 days. All the animals were OK. Yoda got a transient cystitis (from stress) and Bo and Bernadette keep escaping their yards but all in all everyone was well looked after by our friends Fiona and Tam. I promise to not put up too many baby photos... but I can't resist. This is Lucy, happy to be having a posh lunch at Noosa!

We have lots of excuses for not keeping this blog updated (like how annoying the process of uploading photos on this is etc), but probably our best excuse is the arrival of little Lucy. I say little cos she was born at only 2.5kg but she is strong, healthy and quite big now. She's about to turn 8 months old and we're waiting with abated breath for her first words and first crawls! Today she gave a wave! Here she is wearing a beanie that was sent to her by her God-parents-to-be Rhys and Nina when they were cycling through Peru! Lucy has solids now... all prepared by Annette and she's enjoyed everything so far... home grown organic potatoes and pumpkin, loves banana, carrots and avocado. Enjoys her lentils as well! As for nappies, she uses a verious selection of organic cotton or bamboo nappies which are working really well. I will get Annette to post some information on how we're using it.
Rather than try to go through everything over the last 12 months, I'll just start with some photos. In the background on the right is the goose house and on the right is the chook house. They are situated in the orchard where approximately 25 fruiting trees are planted. You can see Rodney our rooster perched up on the compost bays. In the foreground is a chook tractor which I built to fit exactly a raised veggie bed. The little pullets inside are Jay Lee and Elizabeth. They were hatched and reared by Chloe my niece in Sydney and they are very very tame and easy to catch and handle so they make ideal chooks to put in the tractor during the day. At night they go into their own predator proof aviary.
Our newest arrivals are Little Bo (the brown Boer goat girl) and Bernadette (the purebred white Saanen Dairy goat girl). They are very cute and follow us around like dogs, but we have them either in a stable at night, yard by day or tethered near their favourite weeds! Bernadette will hopefully give us lots and lots of milk next year! Bo is just for company (she is a meat breed but I don't know if I'd be allowed to eat any of her babies!!!). Lucy loves all the animals.

Emy and Denny (the pair of Embden Geese) being ushered back into their house for the night.

I've said this before, but we promise to keep this blog updated!!!!

***STOP PRESS****

We are going to open our house up for the 2009 SUSTAINABLE HOUSE DAY. We had planned to enter last year but we were just too busy and not really ready.... we're not finished yet, but the property is presentable. Its on Sunday 13th September. I will prepare my tour of the property and list our various 'green' strategies and features of the house. I'll use this blog as a notebook and post the tour items.

Bye

OMG 6 months!!

I can't believe its been 6 months!!!
When I have a bit more time,I will update this very outdated blog!!!

Its Already November!!!

Hi Everyone!!

Its been a while again! July was pretty much a write off on the house front because we went to Byron Bay for a week then I went to Cairns for a conference and Annette went to Jervis Bay with Sarah for a week. Its going to be a busy year ahead... I'm now NSW State representative for the EVA (Equine Veterinarians Australia) so I'll have more things to organise!

Annette is doing well. She's now 26 weeks and has a quite a bump...but with a jumper on, its hard to see!! So far everything is going well.

The house is coming along at a slow but steady pace....now the kitchen and bathroom to paint and some pictures and things to hang up!

This past week I've been busy outside again.. We've started making the lab and store rooms in the Carport and the Shed... as with the house, we're recycling walls and timber from the old shed that was left stacked up outside by the previous owners.
and after 3days of excavator work, a week of burning off some rubbishy timber that can't be used or cut up for firewood and all weekend unscrewing sheeting and pulling apart timber walls, the area where there was a massive pile of old shedding etc now looks like this!! The excavator also sorted out the rubbishy piles of wood and so I now have another 6 piles of timber to cut up for firewood.
... and this afternoon, Annette planted out the apple and pear trees which will be espaliered on the wire trellis.... but I don't think shoveling a cubic metre (about 1 tonne) of compost and soil would get mum's approval!
Rhys and Nina have been back from the UK and visited us last weekend... they are now leaving again to cycle across the Andes in South America for 2 months followed by a 1 month trip to Antartica!!! bye for now!

Animals

I dropped into Gordon this week to deliver Gina's (dog) medication. Thought I'd put this up because in the background of this gorgeous Anatatolian Karabash (the dog) is mum's backyard and one of my early DIYprojects. The dog kennel housed two 50kg dogs, and it looks as good as the day I built it 12 years ago! (the MDF floor and walls are struggling but thats due to poor material selection.. I used what was available at a recylcers yard on the way back home from Wagga years ago). It's Gina's winter house... in summer she prefers the cool bushes, but she uses its shelter more in the cold weather. This little snake is a black bellied swamp snake. It was only 20cm long and I uncoverd it whilst making the chook house. Its not very dangerous.... rather cuteactually.

End of the Financial Year

Hi Everyone,

I'm forever appologising for the lack of updates! Here's a few photos from the past month... but they're not nearly as exciting as Bjorn's web album! I hired this one man auger for a day so that I could dig a few post holes in a hurry because I wanted to build the espaliared fruit tree trelis using left over concrete from the carport slab. In the background is my finished chicken house complete with gutterguard, gutters, and rain water tank... I'm now putting up a fence around the orchard and chook house...
The bed for the trees aren't done yet obviously... I need to clear the old shed stockpiles (I've spent about 7 hours on it so far and I'm only 1/10th of the way through it!!!) so that the bobcat guys can come in and excavate some dish drains along the boundary fence so that we can divert some of the rain water run off from our neighbours and also fix up the driveway.... then we can plant the fruit trees and train the branches onto the wires between these posts. The finished stable shed from behind... I haven't started inside yet... outside, I'll build a raised garden bed all along the shed.
June 15th was a special day, with Graham's 60th birthday and the birth of a new nephew.... Bjorn Enzo Nordling in Stockholm!
The carport slab which Bernie and I laid... my next job here is to enclose this using walls salvaged from the old shed stockpile... hopefully the wood is not too rotten! This space will be my garden shed... ie. storage for firewood, building materials, tools etc.

I've also finished installing the gutterguards on the new shed, but the real challenge will be fitting them to the carport because the roof pitch is so steep.

My new toy this week is a small MIG welder... I've read up on all the scary safety aspects of welding... I don't feel like dying with heavy metal toxicity, so I'll be careful! My first welding attempt today was a hinged jockey wheel on the trailer. It wasn't neat (and its probably not v strong either!) but it worked and it held up to a fair amount of weight today! I'm practicing welding so that I can make my horse yards adjacent to the stables.

Inside, Annette is still plugging away with the paint brush.. don't worry Tomo, the Low VOC (low volatile organic compound) is OK for her. I'm sure she probably contacts far more dangerous chemical and compounds at work.

ANNOUNCEMENT: We WERE planning on a house warming on the 26th July, BUT, with the latest rains, we've been set back again, so we are going to have to postpone :-(

We'll keep you all posted on a new date!

quick update

The rain is back! We did manage to get a few things done during the last few weeks. After much dramas, the builders have just about finished with the shed.... now for the fun of doin it up inside! Gerry has also just about finished painting the outside of the house. So now only some doors and bits and pieces, the kitchen and bathroom to paint.... hmmm never ending job for Nettie. Annette is coping well with her pregnancy. The nausea is going but her blood pressure is a bit low so she's light headed. The last week I've been working on the chooks' mansion which should be finished this week. Then next week I'll work on installing the 70m of gutter guards on the shed and carport. Will put up a few photos soon.

Mothers Day Announcement

The last few weeks have been pretty hectic.... whats new?!?!?! Outside, the rain has let up so that the slab for the shed is now done... just waiting on the builders now.
Inside, we now have the hemp curtains, which just leaves a few more little bits and pieces of painting left to do. We've also started hanging up pictures so the house is looking more like a home. The curtains are heavy and look great and we've made them to minimise heat loss through convection currents past the windows. The house is now fealing much more cozy at night. I've also finished the wire balustrade which looks great (and it was quite simple to put up)and Jerry who is a retired handyman is now painting the exterior of the house for us.
We've had afew guests. Annette's dad Harley and Pam stayed with us for one night last week and all week we had Janet Perry (a vet friend from uni who was locuming on the central coast) staying which was really nice.

Mum's birthday was last week, so Mary, Irwin, Chloe, Dylan , Elise, Mum and Graham came over for a brunch (except that due to a missunderstanding I didn't prepare anything!!! Annette made a quick dash to the shops) to celebrate Mothers Day as well. Dylan tested out how kid-safe our house was... the first thing he did was fall off the chair and hit his head on the bamboo floor... it seems that as well as being fire and water resistant and termite proof, it is impact resistant... good to see the floor didn't get marked! (JUST KIDDING!!!) Dylan sported a nice little bump on his forehead but recoverd enough to lead the Lim Dancing Troupe.... thats an Elvis move!
AND....
Mum is looking very happy 'cos we just told her that Annette is 11 weeks pregnant!

Canberra weekend and Josh's visit

Last weekend we made a quick trip to Canberra. After having a nice dinner with Annette's dad Harley and Pam, we stayed at Rydges on Friday night. The next day, we went to Clare (Nettie's school friend) and Vy's wedding celebrations which was great. Katie (far right) had a healthy baby 2 days later!
When we came home on Sunday, we fired up the combustion heater for the first time (It was installed on Friday). You can also see my entertainment centre! The living room is now finished (just the curtains to hang up).

And on Tuesday, my mate Josh (ex-flat mate from St George) came to stay. He's on a holiday for a few more days and is going back to Florida where he is doing a PhD.
Nettie made a very nice lamb shank pasta dish. The lamb was slow cooked on top of the heater and it was quite yummy!
Meanwhile, the rain refuses to go!! We've had 140mm in 3 days and its still going! So the concrete hasn't been poured yet and the shed construction is going to be hold for a while which is very very frustrating.
cya!