Cloth nappy recommendations

[Lookingforwardtoourrainbow]

So DH and I are keen on using cloth nappies for our next little one. Has anyone any brand recommendations please? Tia

Also keen to know recommendations

I just came across www.thenappylady.co.uk on another thread. You fill in a questionnaire and they email you with recommendations and advice. Apparently it's all independent. Just filled it in myself, so yet to know how good it is!

I must have tried at least 100 over 10 years and 4 in nappies. Here are the types:

Fitted: an absorbent nappy made from cotton, bamboo or manmade materials. They need a separate waterproof cover, called a wrap, so take slightly longer to put on, but they are less likely to leak and usually cheaper.

All in one: absorbent nappy and waterproof cover in one. Usually sewn in. Easy to put on, but can take longer to dry depending on type. Usually more expensive. Often need absorbency boosters. Harder to dry as most waterproof covered shouldn't really be tumbled.

AI2 All in 2: an all in one but the absorbent insert can be unattached, for drying, and to change absorbency or fabric. Often have choices of inserts. Usually expensive but you buy inserts separately, so it can be more economical if you reuse the cover and just change the insert if nappy is only wet.

Pocket nappy: basically a waterproof nappy cover with a pocket to put the absorbent insert in. Usually microfibre inserts. Quite cheap, usually has a built in fleece liner.

Terry nappy: an old fashioned square, but used with a nappy wrap instead of old fashioned plastic pants. Do up with a Nappi Nippa instead of pins. Easiest to wash and dry, cheapest by far, folds are very easy and there are tonnes of choice to suit each baby.
You can get rainbow colour packs.

Prefold: a rectangle of cotton, you can just pad find it into a waterproof cover that has a gusset. Very very cheap, easy to use, can be a bit bulky, and can leak if cover isn't very well fitted to legs.

Liners: liners are optional. You can use disposable to help poo disposal, but these are useless for pre-weaning poo. They aren't very popular. You can use fleece liners, which keep babies skin dry. You have to shake poo off them into the toilet. Breastfed baby pre weaning poo can go straight in the washing machine.

Bumgenius elemental all in ones are my absolute favourite. They are very absorbent, have never leaked, slimmest out the lot, lovely bright colours and prints, and they can be tumble dried. Bumgenius also do Freetimes which are the microfibre version. Ever so slightly bulkier, less absorbent, but really comfy and come out of the wash almost dry. Great if you don't have a tumble dryer.

I also really like Grovia hybrids (AI2) you just snap in the insert to make it an all in one. Great prints, slim, and easy to use. Also expensive.

Personally I despise pockets, they are just a huge chore to stuff. Much more of a nightmare than Terry squares.

Other brands to look at are Close pop in, Totsbots, Bambino Mio, Milovia, Little Lambs, Motherease.

Do it! Reusable nappies are so much better all round than disposables and really aren't hard to get used to. The nappy lady questionnaire is a great place to start but remember she will only recommend the types/brands that she sells . "Cloth bum mum's fluffy advice and chat" is a great Facebook page with lots of helpful cloth nappy users who just love to help. Slapinthebass has pretty much got it covered^

Firstly don’t buy loads the same - different nappies work for different babies, and you’ll probably have preferences for certain types too, not necessarily what you think will be easiest before you try them. Is there a nappy library near you where you can hire a trial kit? If not get a selection preloved (there’s loads of nappy Facebook groups if you use Facebook) and see what you prefer then buy more. My personal preference is pocket nappies as you can increase the absorbency by adding different boosters- little bloom are the cheapest cheapies but they do the job.

Thank you all so much, great advice! I think looking at them I like the idea of the fitted ones for when baba is very little. They seem (to a complete novice like me) to look like a more modern/easier to use version of the terry towel but with a cover which appeals to me. Would probably move to the all in ones when a little older perhaps. Must admit I would like to be able to use the tumble drier when necessary so a separate waterproof cover is ideal for that reason too.

I did like the look (and price) of the Little Lamb fitted ones but all my other children have always leaked around their thighs with the disposable ones (never got on with Pampers as used to irritate their skin but tried lots of others...Aldi or Asda being winners for us on that scene) so really like the idea of the ones that are adjustable around this area with poppers further down for those with a smaller thigh circumference if anyone knows of any?

Madratlady - great idea re a nappy library. Not sure if there's one near me as we're quite out of the way but will look into it.

Quite a lot of websites out there with quite varying prices...gosh this is a minefield but I'm 99.9% certain it will be worth it.

Out of interest....does anyone use the disposable wipes also? I'd need to keep some wet wipes for when out and about but don't mind the idea of these at home.

:)

I am currently using a mix of totsbots, Mio solos and little blooms. I went with the little blooms purely as they were much cheaper but I love the pretty prints, have had no leakages and I find them pretty simple to put together.

I’ve been a big fan of cheeky wipes since my little one was born four months ago. They are much less of a chore with using reusable nappies because they all go in the dirty bucket together and they clean bums so much easier than disposable wipes. I’ve just started taking them out and about too and they are no hassle at all.

Thanks @LampShadeHeid Where did you get the little blooms ones from? They have been suggested above also but I can't seem to find them on the net.

Daft question I know but with the wipes....how are you planning to use them whilst out an about??? Do you have to carry water everywhere? Sorry if that sounds horrendously silly...my pregnant brain is struggling to wonder how they might work if dry. We go on lots of countryside walks around where we live etc so not always somewhere available to get fresh water.

I bought them from eBay. They aren’t advertised as little blooms but there’s a label on them. I prefer the Velcro fastening for a more snug fit, just be careful when washing that the Velcro tabs have been stuck down (there’s little bits to fasten it back on itself inside) or they’ll all stick together and can damage the tabs.
rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F222576344544
I bought the extra charcoal insert so there’s more absorbency.

If you buy the cheeky wipe starter kit it comes with out and about bags (clean and dirty). I just take out the clean bag, the wipes are already moist having already been presoaked in the tub. check out the cheeky wipes website as it explains the whole system really well.

Little Bloom are Ebay. They are very good. Alva are the same; and Tiny Nippers and TJ's cloth nappies, but not sure if the latter two are still going.

As for cloth wipes, if you are using cloth nappies they are actually easier. Otherwise you end up fishing them out of the washing machine! I use an electric wipes warmer with them at home, which is especially nice for newborns. Out an about, you just put wet ones in a mini wet bag or Tupperware box. I got my wipes bag from Sports Direct, the red Karrimor one; for a couple of quid. Obviously it's not advertised as a wipes bag.

Do you have a nappy library near you? This would be a great place to go check out the different kinds of nappies and chat to the ladies there. I'm off to my local one this week, I'm very excited ( and clearly need to get out more)

Iv also done the nappy lady questionnaire but personally could price it up a lot cheaper than she was quoting.

I'm on a Facebook cloth nappy group which is proving really useful as loads of people with all sorts of recommendations etc from their current experiences.

We are going to be clothing ( is that a word) immediately from birth so are looking at lil joeys for the first few weeks as they have a hand cord care button down option. But that may change after the library visit !

Here's a link to help you find your local library:

www.uknappynetwork.org/find-a-library.html

Also.. this lady uses both cloth nappies and wipes and iv found her videos helpful:

www.mamalina.co/tag/cloth-nappies/

Little & bloomz are also sold on amazon too 😬

@kmreeve Lil Joeys are amazing newborn nappies! So incredibly tiny but they worked well for us for the first few weeks.

For newborn with used muslins and terry squares (jo fold) with wraps. We had some Mio wraps, Little Lamb size 1, Motherease Rikki and Motherease Airflow. I bought a variety as I bought secondhand. If I was buying new and had a good budget I would go straight for Motherease Rikki personally.

Daytime we use Little Lamb pockets mostly and they work perfectly for us. We have a few Mio Solos and I don’t rate them at all tbh - not very absorbent! Peiple also rave about Totsbots Easyfits but We don’t seem to get on with them as he’s a heavy wetter.

For nighttime (or if I know I need a nappy to last a while) we use Totsbots Bamboozles or Cottonbots (don’t know if these still exist, they were preloved and I haven’t seen them since but they are very similar to the Little Lamb fitted nappies); or Motherease Sandys or One Size. I can get a good 12 hours out of any of them if he doesn’t poo! Again, our wraps are a totally random mish mash of secondhand! I’m planning on investing in a few bigger size Rikkis and Little Lamb size 2 though as they work best for us.

My personal favourite brand is Tots Bots for ease of use, they dry quickest and I love the prints. The Easyfit range is for 8lbs+, they are over sized on a newborn so look quite funny but work very well so it doesn’t matter. It isn’t worth buying their teenyfit range unless you’re expecting a very tiny baby (under 7lbs I’d say) because they only fit until they’re 10lbs I think.

Bambino Mio and BumGenius also do similar styles of nappies and I’d recommend both those brands too. I much prefer all in ones to the two part systems, they’re just easier to use especially for first time parents.

My least favourite brand is the close pop in range. I’ve tried a few different ones on two of my DC and both just leak straight through.

My top tips:
A LOT of parents buy reusables when pregnant then can't be arsed once the baby comes - so second hand on gumtree and ebay can get you some real bargains and they are often new or very nearly so. Saves a lot of money!
Don't get distracted by pretty patterns too much. You're looking for speed of drying and ease of washing. Ones you have to disassemble with pockets and stuff are grim when they're covered with two-day-old poo.
It's a chore to reassemble them too after washing so think about how easy they are to take apart and put back together.
Agreed cheeky wipes are good. We use white ones for bums and coloured ones for hands and face.
We use motherease with snap-in boosters and fleece liners. Fleece liners are a good idea, the poo peels off them or you can sluice it off holding it in the toilet as it flushes. They also wick moisture away so reduce nappy rash.

Also - get yourself a nappy bucket. Ours (totsbots) has a mesh bag, you pull the drawstring and drain off water over the loo, then open drawstring and stick the whole thing in the washing machine. Much nicer than having to put yicky nappies in washing machine one by one.

Thank you so much ladies. Really really helpful advice. Definitely something we are going to go for. Had 3 with disposables but to be honest not only are these negative environmentally we found we had to be careful as many caused irritation (especially with our youngest who has very sensitive skin) and with 3 weekly bin collections around here we already struggle with non-recyclable waste.

I've had a look for a nappy library but the nearest one is 1hr drive away from me so may prove difficult just at the moment.

The Little Blooms look fantastic budget wise but @HoustonBess makes a really good point about having to disassemble them if they've got pockets so may avoid, unless you don't have to with these ones?

The nappy lady has recommended the Little Lamb ones or terry nappies with a wrap. If I can get the hang of folding the Terry's I think these would be a really good option as like the idea of them being able to dry flat, no taking apart/putting back together etc. Might get some Little Lamb ones too for on a night or for at weekends when DH is around to help (not sure he would like having to faff with Terry's).

You've all convinced me with the cloth wipes too! Love the idea of the mesh bag. Will deffo check out Ebay also and see if I can catch any bargains over the next few months. The nappy lady has recommended about 20 nappies and 5 wraps.

Last question....do you find soaking in Milton pre-wash helps get stains out? I will be breastfeeding again all being well and find the yellow poop a nightmare to get out of white vests so worried about white terry towels suffering the same fate!

Pregnant with our first so just following to soak u the knowledge

I'm looking at doing muslin nappies from birth-ish and getting some little lambs size ones to try one before committing to buying loads. With motherease rikki wraps, a few small ones I think as I hope to start early.

Be carful with presoaking in Milton as it will deteriorate the pul on wraps etc.. a pre wash in the machine and hanging in the sun ( when we have it) will help with stains.. but using fleece liners will greatly reduce staining issues.

Thanks @kmreeve. Was going to go with charcoal liners but am leaning more towards the fleece liners now.

I used cloth with all four kids and tried out t lots over the years. I think FuzziBunz one size were my favourite because they adjust very nicely so they aren’t bulky on a new born (they adjust with elastic and buttons like maternity clothes rather than poppers like other one size nappies).

Also recommend you look into clyou baby wipes. I liked Cheeky Wipes and Little Lambs.

Also used to get lots of things from a website called “Fill your pants”.

I really like Alva pocket nappies. Cheap, cute, fit well and dry quickly.