Sustainable(ish) Online Festival 2020

I did it. On the 13 May 2020, I delivered what I hope was an informative, simple and galvanising talk for the Sustainable(ish) Online Festival on the topic of reusable nappies. For some, this is any other day in the office. For me, it was a big deal. I’d like to tell you why...⠀

A Beginner’s Guide to Reusable Nappies

In 2018 I fell pregnant with my son and by six weeks pregnant, my life changed irrevocably. I started being sick. Nothing uncommon there. Twice a day, three times a day, eight times a day, fifteen times a day. I lost count. My daughter was two at the time. By eight weeks, it was unmanageable. By ten, I thought I might die. By twelve, my GP told me I had hyperemesis gravidarum. Then my boss told me that if I didn’t commute into the city for a face to face meeting about ‘my absence’, there may be ‘repercussions with my pay.’ I was lying on my bedroom floor, retching into my daughter’s potty, too dehydrated to get to the bathroom (my phone on mute.) Of course, that person was wrong, but the despair was untold. I could accept one misinformed person. Accepting that almost none of the colleagues I had worked with for the past six years reached out was more difficult. I felt utterly alone. ⠀
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The nausea finally passed at 30 weeks pregnant. I used annual leave to stay at home with my daughter until my son arrived. When he did, there were no cards of congratulations. It was like one day I had died.⠀
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From the moment I fell pregnant, I lost that regular ‘grown up chat’ every week, the ‘water cooler’ conversations. I felt like I couldn’t talk to adults anymore. Making friends is hard, suddenly losing a whole network you thought you ‘belonged’ to was surreal. I resigned and looked for somewhere else I could belong. The sustainable living community opened their arms.⠀
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To every single person who listened to me talk, or has watched the playback, thank you. You gave me something you probably didn’t intend to - you returned some of my lost self belief. I now know I do have something worth saying again. Even if it involves the word ‘poo’.⠀
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Laura⠀
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A beginner’s pocketbook to reusable nappies

You may have heard in my talk that I’m offering you my Beginner’s Pocketbook to Reusable Nappies for free if you sign up to my Little Postcards mailing list. Following the publication of my book, The Joy of Reusable Nappies in October 2020, I updated the pocketbook to include excerpts from the book. If you have already subscribed, it would be my pleasure to send you the 2021 edition - just drop me an email. If you would like to subscribe, simply complete the form here.