We reckon that 25 of our washable wipes are equivalent to one pack of baby wipes. This is on the basis that you’ll wash your Cheeky Wipes every other day, so washing 25 wipes x three times weekly equals 75 wipes.

However one of the good things about Cheeky Wipes is that you’ll use less Cheeky Wipes for a nappy change than ordinary disposable wipes. That’s because Cheeky Wipes are made from bamboo or terry towelling which grip the poo and swipe it away quickly, unlike disposable wipes which have a tendency to just smear it around. In addition you can wipe, then fold, wipe and fold again and wipe once more – so one Cheeky Wipe is more like 3 disposable wipes.

Here are the questions I ask which can impact your wipe usage:

How often does your baby poo?
Most wet nappy changes will just use one Cheeky Wipe (wipe, fold, wipe fold gives a good all round freshen up). Even the worst dirty nappy changes will use three (or four if it’s an ‘up the back’ one). But how often your baby poo’s depends on so much. For example some breast-fed babies only poo once every two to three weeks because the milk is so well nutritionally balanced.

How often do you change their nappy?
You might change a nappy every two – three hours religiously, or you might only change their nappy after meals or a poo. Everyone is different and what works for one family won’t work for another.

Is your baby weaning?
Once you start weaning you’ll probably find you use more Cheeky Wipes as they’re great for cleaning mucky faces, hands and eating areas. This continues right up until they’re at school when they gradually can eat a little more cleanly, but my 6 year old still often needs a Cheeky Wipe post mealtimes.

How often will you wash your wipes?
We work on the assumption that you’ll wash your Cheeky Wipes every other day. That’s because in most family households, you’ll have a wash going on at least every other day and you can pop your wipes in the wash at the same time. If you’re going to wash your wipes less frequently (with nappies for example) you’ll obviously need a few more wipes, so this is something to consider.

To give you an indication of wipe usage from personal experience, I made up 50 Cheeky Wipes last Friday morning as we were going to visit friends in the Cotswolds. They were used in the car en-route for the 6 year old, 3 year old and 18 month old to clean up after snacks. Plus they then cleaned up my little girl when she was sick all over herself just before we got there (and boy, wasn’t I glad that I’d made up all those wipes!)

The wipes lasted through nappy changes for my little girl all weekend and as face and hand wipes for the two boys post mealtimes and candyfloss on our day out. I finally ran out of my initial batch just as we got home on Sunday which I though was pretty good going.

In summary, if this is your first child just buy one set of wipes and see how you get on with them as you can always buy some extra later. If you’ve got more than one child, buy an extra set as they’ll be invaluable for hands and faces too, even if they aren’t in nappies.

Terry Towelling is better for poo

One of the best things about Cheeky Wipes is that they make cleaning your baby (after a poo, or their dinner) a faster job, because rather than just spread the mess around, they get it off in one go.  Now don’t get me wrong, bamboo is super for getting poo off.  But, in my opinion, nothing quite matches the grip of terry towelling on squidgy poo.  (Excuse me if I’m being too graphic!)  Terry towelling is a great all-rounder and it’s what I’ve used for the past 6 years before this new-fangled bamboo came along….

Bamboo is perfect for hands and faces

Bamboo is really, really soft.  Feel it dry and it’s really hard to avoid stroking it (like the top of a newborn baby’s head….)  When it’s damp and ready for use, it retains much of that silky texture and still feels much softer than terry towelling.

Also, bamboo wipes are less likely to become ‘crusty’ through limescale so if you live in a hard water area this is something to consider – although a capful of white vinegar in your wash will solve this problem anyway.

In terms of price, you will pay a premium for bamboo wipes, priced at £7.50 for 10, or £17.50 for 25, although they’re on offer for the next month at £7.00 for 10 or £15 for 25.  So if you are interested in picking some up, just jump right in there – and let me know what you think.

So if you’re interested in buying Cheeky Wipes, but would like to see them before you buy, you know where to look. If you’re a Cheeky Wipes stockist and your details aren’t on this page, just let me know!

Aside from this, we exhibit at most of the major Baby Shows (SECC, NEC, Excel & Earls Court) which are definitely worth a visit to get all your baby shopping done in one fell swoop – and save yourself some money!

(courtesy of www.rlv.zcache.com)

I sat down at my desk this morning and started working my way back through my emails, only to stop at this one:

 ’I'm another happy customer! I bought my Cheeky Wipes kit from Born in Bristol on the morning of the day my son arrived and I just wanted to write and tell you that I love, love, love our Cheeky Wipes! I am actually sad that they weren’t around for our first and second children. My third child is now 4 weeks old and we have used these wipes from the start. Even my husband who was a totally paid up disposable wipe fan has been converted and uses / raves about them. What a fantastic idea and well worth every penny.’, Natalie F

This has absolutely made my day!  As you all know (whether you work for someone else, work for yourself, or are a stay at home parent) it’s hard keeping your head down to the daily grind.  Feedback like this is just amazing, really motivating and reminding us again why we do what we do.

This particular piece of feedback is even more amazing because the lady in question has just had her third baby, so how she found the time to sit down at a PC and drop me a note is astonishing.

So, this is a plea to anyone reading this blog.  If you’ve had good service anywhere, or found a fabulous new product, then spare 5 mins to let the people behind it know.  It will be appreciated and you might even get a little something out of it yourself!

Cheeky Monkey Baby Wipes Kit

We’ve got together with Vicki Finn, the UK distributor for Monkey Foot Wet Bags to create a luxury version of our standard Cheeky Wipes Mini Kit (for cloth nappy users).

Like the standard mini kit, the kit contains all you’ll need to use washable wipes if you’re a cloth nappy user and already have a nappy bin and wet bag for using out and about. It contains:

• 25 terry towelling wipes
• 1 x fresh wipes soaking container
• 1 x bottle fresh wipes essential oil

However rather than our standard waterproof fresh wipes bag, the Cheeky Monkey Kit contains a Monkey Foot Wet Bag in red peonies or aquabud styles:

Monkey Foot Wet Bag in Aquabud or Red Peony

The kit is available to pre-order now for the special price of £25 (saving £1.99) and will be dispatched in 2 – 3 weeks.

 So I started using a cut up old towel and water instead…and then I added lavender to the water to keep them fresh and make them smell nice.  And then I started keeping them in boxes.  And finally I decided I wanted to use them out and about and what do you know, but I had a washable baby wipes kit on my hands!

  Anyway, I’m digressing.  I often receive emails from Mums who find that using disposable baby wipes makes their childs’ eczema worse.  Whilst switching to washable wipes won’t cure your little one’s eczema, washable wipes won’t irritate their sore and sensitive skin any further.  Used in conjunction with a good moisturiser and whatever your doctor prescribes, you’ll soon have them feeling better.  Which is better for all concerned isn’t it?

Tip no1: Check your oil / water quantities soaking ratio

For every 25 Cheeky Wipes, you’ll need approx 400 – 500 ml of cold water (depending on whether you’ve just taken them from the machine, or if they’ve been dried) and about 4 – 5 drops of fresh wipes oil.  Not adding enough oil is the most common cause of mustiness because the essential oils are mildly anti-bacterial and help preserve your wipes.

Tip no2: Check your washing frequency

Although we’ve taken our Cheeky Wipes (soaked in the mucky wipes oil solution!) to Glastonbury where they were fine in the box for 4 days, this isn’t really recommended.  You’ll usually have a wash going on every couple of days at least, so just chuck your wipes in every time you have a wash going on – every other day is ideal  Even if you have some ‘fresh’ wipes unused you can still wash them to freshen them up before starting over.

Tip no3: If all else fails….

If you’ve left your wipes in your fresh (or mucky wipes) bags and forgotten about them what then?  Well, try washing the wipes on their own with a cup of white vinegar.  That should do the trick but you might need 2 washes….