Cloth Nappy Gurus - tell me which one.....

[BabyValentine]

DD is 9 months (17-18lb) and we use a mixture of cloth and disposables. She is now growing out of her Size 1 Rainbow Bots and I need more nappies.

I have used mainly Rainbow Bots (not bamboo) with velcro fastening and attached liners (one coloured terry, one fleece - never did understand that bit but also have a few others (presumably Tots Bots) which came with the eBay purchase. I'm not sure what they are but they're white and seem less bulky (maybe bamboozle?). I also have some Bambino Mio flat nappies (Sz 2), but DD has pretty runny poo sometimes and these seem to leak quite often (or perhaps I'm folding them wrong).

My feelings on cloth thus far are:

I do not mind the washing, drying, scraping poo from under my fingernails etc. but I do have a problem with

a) the bulkiness of the nappies I have used so far (and I thought Rainbow Bots were meant to be slim!)

b) the softness of the nappies. I have used white vinegar as a softener and they are still quite scratchy and irritate DDs creases!

So far, I favour the pre-formed over the flat, and might prefer poppers this time as I find bits of nicely washed poo in the velcro . I dry over a hanger in the kitchen, but can put the nappies outside if required and I'm not really bothered about drying times.

As for wraps, I am using bambino mio velcro at the minute but would prefer as thin and soft as possible without losing waterproofness (ha!). I did have a nice poppered naturebabies wrap but DD rapidly grew out of it.

Does anyone have a nappy suggestion to suit me and DD? I am itching to buy a couple to try - tell me which, and I promise to buy them tonight.

Thanks, BV

PS I use biodegradable, flushable liners.

...and I'm happy to buy a few different types to try before I bulk buy (after convincing DH of course)!

I would definitely go for a bambinex bamboo nappy (trim fitting and soft). I also think they work well at night with an extra booster or two.

A bambinex terry nappy (made from microfibre) will stay lovely and soft, I love mine , but will be fairly bulky.

I found my little kiwi quick flips fairly trim and used them overnight too.

Wraps wise, I like Mother-Ease airflow (they have poppers) but they don't do many designs. If you want something a bit funkier then go for a Weenotions as they work just as well tbh.

Thinner fitting than rainbow bots doesn't leave you a lot of options. tbh for most shaped nappies there isn't much in it anyway. I used size rainbows for the same reason and moved over the ellas house day nappies as they were the only thing I found that were thinner (I too don't like the bulk of cloth nappied - or velcro either!). EHDN no good for you though as they are hemp and not very soft.

The really obvious choice IMO for you would be a pocket nappy. They are thin fitting - thinner than a rainbow bot if you don't - have a V heavy wetter who requires a very boosted nappy. They stay soft as they are fleece lined and you can use microfibre inserts which are soft. The whole thing will be very quick drying. No wrap required of course. Since you r DD is 9 months you could get away with using a btp without having the bulk that you get with one on a newborn.

The downside of pockets is that you have to experiment to find the one that suits your babies shape - since you are happy to try a few and buy just the odd one to experiment at first I would say pockets are ideal.

Good ones to try (based on what is reliable for most) would be

bumgenius - loved by loads but velcro
wonderoo - make sure you get the newer 'hiphip baby' version not the older ones which leaked badly then fell to bits (not many around these days )
fuzzi bunz - quite similar to wonderoos but not btp

Avoid Mommy's touch unless you have the money to experiment - they do leak for a lot of people

I like Pocket Bots - they are fab with very funky prints. You'll have to google the website. They are popper fit too

Insert-wise you could use your prefolds (bit bulky but great at night or long journeys). Otherwise I think GAD inserts are excellent. Bumgenius should come with their own, so do wonderoos but they are totally rubiish and fell to bits within a few uses for us - get GADs instead!

Thanks NMM and BBM. I do find the sheer choice a bit overwhelming - every time I read a cloth nappy thread there are new names - and of course, for every person who likes one type, there is someone else who hated it. I guess we all have babies of different shapes and sizes.

However, based on your suggestions I will merrily do some investigative surfing tomorrow. (I lied about buying tonight - forgot I was going to book club .

I have had beer and it has gone to my head Erm, will advise in the morbning!

at Flame's 'morbning'....wish I had a beer

im with mousey on this but then im a pocket fanatic and my online shop is mostly pockets lol - bumgenius are the most fool proof and favoured by most my pocket ladies along with greenkids, both these are velcro fastening and btp so an economic option though perhaps not dependant on how anti velcor you are - at 9 months i would think wonderoos would fit cannier than on a newborn - i also used gads in mine but of late have had the wonderoo microterry sets and the quality seems much better and also there on 3 for 2 this month so a canny buy......

another vote for pocket nappies, based on what you like/don't like so far. you can get some gorgeous prints as well

I have a few pocket bots that are great and some happy heiny prints (velcro). if I was using them all the time though, I might go for plain and practical

kissaluvs?

ds used sandy's extra small, but is too big and sandy's small were huge! practically the same size as dd's sandy;s large.

kissaluvs are quite slim, imo

I have used various cloth nappies and really like the Thirsties shaped/sized nappies here:
www.kittykins.co.uk/cloth-nappies/type/5/
They are slimmer fitting than the Rainbow Tots, fast drying, really soft, absorbant and really easy to use.
I have never found trapped poo a problem with the velcro - I also use paper bio liners.
Only downside I can see is cost (used my discount from local council when I bought them).

another vote for bumbenius here

ooo how about if your into shaped a new flexi tot.... Ive just got my stock in of these - very slim and soft ..... id still prefer a pocket though lol!

Flexitots if you liked the Rainbow Bots these squish down smaller and are a lot slimmer, they've got a lovely soft bamboo velour inside which stays soft too.
Or go for an Itti Bitti D'Lish, they're very slim fitting - it's an AI2 where the absorbent bits popper into the wrap and the top one is fleece lined, also you can get extra pad sets to keep the costs down.

ilovemydog - DS has just gone from sandy's XS to small - the small are a quite a loose fit but still work very well.

I'm so impressed I'm going to replace my entire size 1 stash with almost entirely sandy's (still can't quite commit to one brand - nappy hussey that I am )

btw - I loved my dogs too...I miss them

Big bad - know what you mean about being a nappy tart. Oops, am I talking out loud??? I just cannot commit....

Another nappy tart here. Think bumgenius is my favourite.

pocketbots - I have 2, I don't like them. the fleece inner encroaches onto the outside because it is wider than the laminate IYSWIM. This means the moisture wicks round to her clothes.

Bumgenius have laundry tabs so hopefully no poo in the velcro. Never heard of that one though.

Another vote for Itti Bitti D'Lish - they are the trimmest cloth nappy out there, hardly any bigger than a 'full' disposable IYKWIM. Also they are very economical. I wash with Bold 2in1 which has a different softener included which doesn't reduce absorbancy. I used to use vinegar but didn't like the smell after a while.

Thanks for everyone's replies. So far I like the look of Itti Bitti D'Lish, Bumgenius, Fuzzibunz, maybe Kissaluv. There is just SO much choice! I can well understand those that put themselves about a bit in the nappy arena, ILMD and BBM

DD (courtesy of this morning's 8mo check) is 17 lb 10 and shorter than the average bear, so low-rise shouldn't be a problem. Incidentally, my poo-velcro issue is not a big one - I have only used a couple of poppered nappies, so I can't really commit either way. T'was the blueberries that did it. Could always pick the bits out with tweezers. Or p'haps surf MN instead...

I loved my dog, too...I miss her

Fuzzis then you can use some of your prefolds in them.

My favourites are bambineo,

these are bamboo so soft and very absorbant, although take a little longer to dry.
they are nice and slim, in fact the size two looked too small and i questioned if they would fit, but actually fit really well,

i have been converted to these from motherease and tots bots

Another vote for bumgenius - they seem not much bigger than disposables even on my little baby (3 months) and I've had no poo in the velcro yet!

My new favourite nappy is the Itti Bitti D'lish. It's super trim and very cute. They take a while to dry (or rather the snap-in part does) but stay nice and soft with out tumbling at all.
I'll go find a link..

here
I insist you get at least one to try

another vote for little kiwi quick flips. Staple in our nappy stash. Brilliant absorbency for the size. Wouldn't recommend a flexi tot though. Saw one and if looked and felt like a runners shorts (the outer is a really funny fabric . The inside is lovely but really a nappy is only a sack to poo in...