Motherease or Tots Bots which is the best?

[vbab78]

Hiya, I am considering using reusable nappies rather than disposable but I am not sure which make is best.

The ones I have seen and like are Motherease and Tots Bots. Can anyone tell me the pros and cons of each to help me in my decision?

Thanks

I have both and would say tots bots are better, much more absorbant. There's not a lot in it IMO, MEOs also good nappies.

tots bots take longer to dry and you need different sizes - motherease are one size.

both are good and both are popular.

Get one or two of each and try them out.

Try one of each; you can always sell them and recoup at least some of your costs. IMO though, TotsBots are not good for tall skinny babies. ds tried TBs and if they covered his willy, then he had a builder's bum problem and if his bum was covered, his willy kept escaping at the front! We have settled on Motherease Sandy's and Bumbles which are higher in the rise. Hvae you tried the nappy lady website and questionnaire? V helpful and no obligation. www.nappylady.co.uk (sorry haven't mastered links) or kittykins (www.kittykins.co.uk) which rates each nappy by absorbancy etc.

Oh, should have said:-
I have 2 Totsbots size 2 and an Ella's house hemp nappy which were barely used. If you wanted to buy them...

I use both... though agree with waving about the tots not being that high in the rise...
Meos are slimmer although, they are supposed to be a birth to potty nappy and ds is 10 months and already only one set of poppers left! lol
motherease definitely quicker to dry...

re wraps though, would DEFINITELY go for motherease airflow

I LOVE Motherease Sandys..... they are SOOO soft (and come in 3 sizes i thisnk, and the large size is called toddlerease i think)

They are also S much more absorbant than MEOS tho i dont think much ebats tots for that!

I have both ME Sandys and MEOS and also 3 different types of tots (Rainbow, Unbleached and Fluffle). I bought my size 2s last week and have so far found the Sandys to be the nicest in terms of fit, absorbancy, softness etc. I also have bumbles which are a pretty perfect nappy IME and are really similar to tots but are one size and also cheaper! They are a brilliant night nappy because they can be stuffed too. Oh, also when I bought the MEOS I went for the organic 100% cotton ones which are really really nice.

Vbab,you are going to love cloth nappies.
I would say don't buy too many of anything until you have tried them on your baby. You might love Tots and Motherease, but on the other hand you might not get on with them.
I don't know if you did the Nappy Lady questionnaire, but, as far as I know, she always recommends Tots and Motherease, which is fine, but there is a lot more out there (that the Nappy Lady doesn't actually sell ).
I reckon you should try them both and also look at the second hand boards on sites like the nappy lady and UKParents to pick up some bargains.
I started off with prefolds, and bought individual cloth nappies until I had an enormous collection. The ones that have turned out to be my favourites have been American WAHM (work at home mum) nappies that I bought second hand. The thing is I had never heard of these nappies before, because they don't have the advertising that Tots Motherease, and Prefolds have.
I've started a nappy blog, because there are so many gorgeous nappies out there. Have a look here to see how other cloth users have got on with their nappies.
Whatever you choose, this is a fab place to come for support and advice on cloth.

I tried ME Onesize & didn't like it at all (too small? too thin). Tots Bot is good but too thick, in a way.

I just love Ella's House Bum Huggers at the moment, though, they are fab.

I would suggest contacting Lollipop, they have local reps. I went to mine's house and she was really helpful, had samples of all of the nappies so you can see and feel them and she even let me try them on DS (even though he wee'd in them all!). Stocks several different ones. I didn't feel pressured by her to buy lots either! For some reason theor website is down but if you call 01736 799513 they can give you local reps details

I use Motherease Sandys and they are fab IMO, easy to wash and dry (60 mons in dryer)

I've just been trying Onelife, very good. I believe they are Lollipop's own nappy so that might be why they are pushing them.

I have found the fabric on the Tots and Onelife don't spread the wetness around as much as the ME fabric (Sandy's seem to get sopping wet from bottom to top) so I prefer them but I haven't tried them on a newborn yet.

I read some reviews in one of the baby mags and decided to go with OneLife. I bought the Birth to Potty hamper (brand new and unused but at a saving of over £100 on ebay!) and am really hoping I get along with them now! In hindsight perhaps I should have bought one of a few different kinds to make a choice but in the earlier stages of pregnancy I was so keen to have everything ready. Oh well, baba will be here next week so fingers crossed they work for her otherwise I'll have to flog them on!

Lis x

i use both and prefer my motherease. they fit ds much better. the tots bots don't come high enough up, maybe hje is just tall? they're also bulkier.

I use Motherease and love them

Also agree re: the wraps, I use the Airflow wrap. I have recently won a Wee Notions pocket nappy and am looking forward to using that on DS. Although I have to agree with followthestarlover and say that DS is 12months and just has one set of poppers left And he is a chunky munky! LOL
Have you researched any particular nappy sites yet? I joined one a while back, it's www.washabums.co.uk and on there you can read reviews from Mothers who use the nappies, and some advisors from Lollipop post and advise onsite Sorry I'm not much good at doing links

oh pmsl i didn't realise i had already replied to this!

You can use the MEOS or OneLife from birth if you take out the snap in booster, then turn the nappy inside out and fold the back down. Sounds daft, but it really works!

I've had people using the OneLife on a 6lb baby, fitting fine, and it still fits on my DD who is 4.

I agree with the pps who advised trying a selection. Tots have great brand awareness and are very absorbent, but you have to buy bigger sizes (unless you can get nippa size 2s to last...!) But they are very bulky and take ages to dry. Motherease are more slim fitting, and you only need one size but the fit can be a compromise.

Personally I'd get some Tots and some OneLife as I think they are now better than MEOS as they are more stretchy, but then I would say that, wouldn't I?

Using totsbots size 1's which are great for absorbency - but getting a bit tight now round dd's chubby thighs (although they should fit for a few more months in theory).
Have abandoned the tots wraps because - the edges get wet and this wets the clothes. The motherease wraps have a better fit and are more waterproof. But dont like the fact that they are imported from canada - for eco reasons - whereas tots are from scotland.

another vote for both onelife and tots here! my little man , now 5 mths has been in a mixture of tots sz1 and onelife since he was born with a few muslins and newborn terries added in in the early days. I have some MEOS from my DS2 left over and they are a much tighter fit on my DD (now 2 & 1/2) than the onelife. She used to wear onelife or MEOS during the day and tots at night.

Tots take a lot longer to dry than the onelife/MEOS and I have to say the onelife dry slightly quicker than the Motherease.

I also got mine from a very helpful lollipop woman. I have just had a look for their website and it has changed a lot since I last looked. maybe that's why it was down before. I'll try a link lollipop

I would suggest getting in touch with one of the agents that come to your home before you buy as I made a lot of expensive mistakes when buying for DS2.

I've tried MEOS and Tots, and definitely prefer Tots. Have an average sized chubbyish boy though. I have had size 1,2 & 3 though. We didn't use the size 1 up to the max weight - quickly moved on to size 2's. We've been using the size 3's for ages as well, and I still don't think he's 'officially' big enough for them. We've had no problems with leaks in any size.

I only use ME Airflow wraps now (Tots are rubbish). Again, the sizing doesn't seem too important - he can fit in M/L, L and XL at the same time with no leaks.

Definitely prefer the organic ones - nice and soft. I use cloth liners rather than fleece, but it all depends on what suits the baby.

Buying a few of each is a good suggestion - we only had 5 Tots to start with (some Kushies, some Motherease One Size (MEOS), some Motherease multifit (which we still use when we need a slimmer nappy), and a few others , but sold on what didn't agree with us, and upped our Tots collection. The only problem is the addictiveness - I have at least 80 nappies across the three sizes now , but they will easily do the next baby, and still be saleable (the size 1's at least).

I bought a lot of mine second hand - the nappy lady website in particular is full of people who tried cloth, but didn't get on with it for whatever reason, so you can buy almost new (or even brand new sometimes) nappies for a fraction of the new price.

I think it depends on your baby. I bought both MEOS and totsbots for dd. I swore blind that tots were the best for the first 15 months of her life and said I didn't think much to the MEOS.
Now, however, dd is 21 months a little more grown up and she is growing out of her totsbots and the MEOS seem to fit her better. They are also better under the types of clothes she wears now.

I think there isn't much in it TBH.

I also have both but love meos. dd is only 7 weeks old so I love the adjustability and as dd1 is very tall and slim, I don't think they'll get too tight for dd2... I just wish I'd used cloth on dd1.
I chose meos as I can't really afford the expense of buying different size nappies as they grow.
I put a slinki minki on her at night and I absolutely love them...thet;re soooooo cute!!