Teddys or Bumgenius? (or another brand altogether?)

[ChateauMargot]

Have just had my tailored report from the Nappy Lady, which has been immensely useful though quite a lot to get my head around. She has suggested Teddys as my first option, and Bumgenius as a second option. Do any MNers have experience with these, and strong opinions/advice either way?

Many thanks!

How is it possible that I am expecting DC3 and do not understand any of your post ChateauMargot?!
I have never heard of the Nappy Lady, Teddys or Bumgenius!

Do you mean Bambinex Teddies? If so, I used them (amongst others) with DC1. Plus points are that they dry amazingly quickly and stay supersoft; containment was also very good, esp with a Motherease wrap. Minuses, from my point of view: being microfibre, they're less absorbent than other nappies (or maybe my DS just peed like a racehorse); they're sized, so you will need to buy quite a few over the time that you will be using nappies (rather than birth-to-potty, which I am using quite happily with DC2); once weaning was well underway, I found that getting poo off the fluffy material was sometimes pretty grim - flushable liners helped!

Haven't used BG so can't comment, but I know lots of people really rate them.

I had some bambinex bamboo ones. The entire nappy soaks like a terry - ones with a removable pad are better and much quicker to dry. I liked flips and itti bitti.

i love my Bumgenius, easy to use, no massive leaks and DD seemed happy in them, the Flips are also great :)

I have one Bumgenius, which is fine, but I prefer TotsBots Easyfit which is similar.

Bumgenius is microfibre, so not that absorbent (TotsBots are bamboo). The leg holes adjust by poppers, so if DD's leg are between sizes, then they are a bit leaky. On the TBs the leg hole is elasticated so no "in between" sizes. No leaks (even on liquid baby poo), all fab so far, have been using them about a month.

Mothercare were selling all their cloth nappies half price and 3 for 2 recently, may be worth seeing what they have.

I used thenappylady and she is fab! Her advice was spot on and I've been really happy with the nappies she suggested for me. DS is now 5 and I will be using the same set for DC2 (due october).

I use Bumbos which are very reasonably priced with motherease wraps.

I loved my bumgenius when my DD was younger & will be using them again. I never had any leaks & they washed & dried really well. The only con I found was the size, my DD is quite long & tall so they didn't fit very well past 19 months. But 0-19 months from the same nappies felt like good value to me.

Haven't used Teddies but use BG and love them. Have used BG from about 4 weeks post-birth (had a c-section, so wanted to minimise the washing til I had healed a bit!). They're very fast drying (we have no tumble dryer so that's a big one for us) and fit well through each stage (DS is now nearly 23 months).

Also have some Tots Bots easy fits and they're also good, but I prefer BG. We also bought some BG Flips once DS was weaned onto solids (and the poo was a lot more solid) and they're great too.

I would recommend poppers over velcro when it comes to fastening, as the velcro is very shabby now. We've got DC2 on the way and I doubt the velcro will last another couple of years (we have BG v3s, so had no choice between poppers and velcro).

This time we're planning on Bummis prefolds and motherease wraps for the newborn stage. I'd also recommend Tots Bots Bamboozles and motherease wraps for nighttime use - my DS used to pee like a racehorse and no probs with leaks (the BG need boosting with bamboo inserts for nighttime use).

Really helpful, folks - thanks!

Oo I've had exactly the same recommendation from The Nappy Lady so v interesting post thanks - I thought I might just order a couple each of these plus a couple of the totsbots to start off with so I can give them a whirl before committing lots of money to just one type. I have also had a glowing recommendation of Little Lambs by a friend, and found that they offer a really reasonable trial pack of 4 nappies on their website so have also ordered that too for when baby first comes...

Just a bit of a concern - have been told that micro fibre nappies can start to smell over time - can anyone verify this? Part of my justification for going down the reusable route is cost - especially if I can reuse for a second baby - but seems pointless if they need replacing quite soon...?

All cloth nappies can start to smell - it's usually due to a build-up of washing powder, which is easily solved by strip washing. I've had to do mine a couple of times so far (DD is 6mo) and they are a mix of microfibre and bamboo.

By strip washing I assume you mean just washing without any detergent? Good tip, thanks BenderWilfer...

just to throw a totally different idea in, I love my charlie bananas as a really slim fit, quick dry pocket nappy. DS is very happy in them. But I've never used anything as reliable as a Bambino Mio nappy - seriously nothing gets through the buggers, he's lasted up to 6 hours in one!

good luck and don't bulk buy yet. I bought LOADS of little lambs and didn't get on with them at all in the beginning, which was a big waste of money. Now a total of 15 nappies (various brands but mostly CB's) gets me through full time with regular washing.

Ooh I like this thread.
We've taken the plunge and gone for reuseable naps for second bub (due April) having used disposable for DS. Researched lots, but have gone for BG freetime. Am just wondering from lowimpact's post whether they'll be suitable for when little one is very small? Any thoughts/advice gratefully received as I'm new to this Thank you

With regards to smelling, I pre wash mine with a few drops of tea tree oil. Seems to work

I love my BGs and use them on my 5 month old with only leaks being at night. i'd say maybe try the sample pack from 'fill your pants' when the baby comes and see what you like best. I've never strip washed my bgs and they dont smell after using them about 4 months.

I used The Nappy Lady as well and while I found them very pleasant and helpful, their recommendation was for bambinex teddy. I bought the 20 or 24 or whatever it was and to be honest I didnt like the microfibre. It was soft and fluffy and dried in no time so if thats what you want I'd say they are grand. But they are also bulky and have less soakage. I returned 10 unused ones and swapped for 10 bamboo ones which although they take longer to dry have far more soakage and are less bulky. They are still soft and cute and all that. I wish I had realised in advance and swapped the whole lot for bamboo.

With the teddies I do have, I use bamboo boosters which helps absorbancy at least. Flushable liners are the way to go I think. I have ones you can reuse a few times and have tried samples of various types but flushable is handiest.

I do find you need to be committed to your reusable nappies or disposable gets very tempting!!

i agree with low impact mama on poppers vs velcro - and even if the velcro doesn't give out, by 6 months-ish baby can undo velcro - not a problem in winter with layers of clothes on top but a pain in summer or around the house...