MIL obsessed with nappy free time

[MangoLatte87]

My MIL is obsessed with having DC (9.5 months) “nappy free”. I just don’t get it. We don't have any issues with nappy rash etc., she just believe children want to be nappy free and that DC “asks” for it. I find it unnecessary and pointlessly messy. Originally I didn’t have an issue with it, but her insistence on it has started to make me uncomfortable. Do other people habitually have small babies be nappy free? Am I missing something?

Yep mountains had loads of nappy off time. They loved it. Can you imagine how horrible wearing a nappy 24/7 must be? And the pleasure of being naked?

Mine also loved nappy free time! Great for their skin, even better for their comfort.

Nothing like a nappy free kick in front of a toasty but safe fire.

I've never even heard of nappy free time so mine certainly didn't have it. Not something I would entertain.

Mine is 1 now and we’ve never done it.

Fine when they're at the kicking around on top of an old town stage, once they can crawl around and get pee anywhere, I'm less keen. Mine did a lot of long baths at that age, which is by default, nappy free.

Possibly when your mil had babies, nappies were either expensive disposable or took a lot of washing, so nappy free time was normalised to cut down costs/washing time.

We only ever did/do nappy free time to sort odd bits of nappy rash - it’s a pain in the bum (pun intended) after they’re mobile! I had an aunty who insisted on it for her three kids - she was constantly cleaning up 🤢

Yeah we had loads of nappy free time. They seemed to love it. We had a combination of scruffy carpets and wipe free floors though. Come to think of it, it was my mum who suggested it so maybe it's a generational thing. Back then disposable nappies were expensive and cloth ones were a pain to wash!

Its better to do it before they get nappy rash. Do it after a poo to reduce the chances of pooing and out in the garden or on a non carpet floor if you can.

It can't be nice to have your bum encased in paper and plastic all the time so yes I did try to have nappy off especially around bath/bed time.
Not running around peeing everywhere though 😂

I think this dates back to the era when babies only wore thick and heavy terry cloth nappies, with sweaty rubber pants with elastic legs that cut in (like I had to wear). Nappy rash was rife, so time to air the skin and dry it was often necessary.

These days with much better disposables or smaller cloth nappies I think often there’s no real need, and we never bothered with DD. That said, there’s no harm letting the baby having a little kick on the changing mat if they enjoy it. I wouldn’t want a crawling or walking baby that wasn’t yet toilet trained doing it though!

At her house... fine and she cleans.
At your house ... no thanks

The first and last time I let my DS nappy free (for no particular reason but it was almost bath time) he proceeded to do the biggest puddle of wee all over the floor, then splash in it like it was the best paddling pool session of his life 🙄

I used to give my babies nappy free time when I could. As babies, when they were lying on the floor on a large changing mat or similar.

When they were toddlers, nappy free time was in the garden.

I can't imagine having to wear a nappy 24/7. They appeared to love the freedom of being nappy-free. They were super happy and smiley, and were particularly active.

What issue is it causing for you OP? As if it’s her house and she deals with any mess, I can’t see the problem. As pp say, it is good for their skin not to be in sweaty chemically materials 24/7.

Nappy free time is really good for them in my opinion. A break from the sweaty plastic is good for their skin, and the getting used to the sensation of wetting themselves is helping when it comes to potty training.

I think it's definitely a good thing for them but I have twins so we didn't do it much, I think only in the garden!

We do it but not for extended periods, it was easier in the garden over the summer. After baths is a good time and thankfully we’ve not had any accidents (yet). Mine have never had nappy rash, despite wearing nappies the vast majority of the time. Nappies are better nowadays.

I agree nappy off time is good, just becomes a problem when they become mobile .
You can more or less guarantee a large pooh will be making an appearance 😆😆

do it at her house!

I did this from birth

3 DC and never did it, 1 is potty trained now. Never had any issues with nappy rashes either.

Yes! My mum introduced this to all of her grandchildren. They loved it.

I did it with mine.

DM was also obsessed with this for some unknown reason. Ignore