All-in-one cloth nappies! Help!

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I am keen to use cloth nappies for my baby due June, and trying to work out where to start. I have done an assessment with the Nappy Lady which was a good start, but now I'm having doubts about the different elements and the amount of faff involved, and wondering if I should opt for al all-in-one nappy instead of the traditional ones with wraps, liners, boosters etc. There are lots available on Nappy Lady so I am a bit overwhelmed by all the options! I have 2 main questions:

1. Has anyone use all-in-one cloth nappies and what would they recommend? I need quick drying (or ability to be washer dryer dried) as I have no outside space.

1. Is it a good idea to wait and start them after a couple of months or does anyone recommend starting from newborn, Day 1?

I did get a few all in ones for my nappy bag when out and about. But I preferred the the regular ones with covers and liners for home use.

We started them from newborn. I wouldn’t wait at all. You’ll get addicted to the convenience of disposibles and then have not motivation to get a system going.

Bumgenius freetime are a very quick drying all in one. They dry pretty much overnight inside. I don’t know if they’re suitable for nighttime use or not though as I only do days. I think people often use 2 parters overnight for better absorbency...
Personally I waited for a few months as the new mum overwhelm can be quite a lot to handle already but lots of people do manage from birth just fine. If you did want to try from birth then you would probably need a different nappy to start with as ‘one size’ nappies are too big for newborns.

If you need quick drying avoid bamboo - it's more absorbent and takes a while to dry, especially in winter. You want a lighter fabric like cotton and you can always use boosters. All in ones are great, I use a mix of them and two parters. Might be worth getting a couple of each to try to begin with and then see what you get on with best

I used totsbots but they take AGES to dry. We have some close popins that don't take so long but they do require poppwring back together.

Get some disposables for the first couple of weeks. Get used to having a baby first and then go for cloth. We've used cloth earlier with our second but not overnight because he was getting too wet.

I use all in one's on my 2 year old. I like Bambino Mio solos or tots bots easifits. Both are an all in one. You may find that birth to potty nappies don't actually fit from birth and baby has to grow a bit and chunk up before they fit decently. If you're concerned about leaks etc, 2 part systems might be the way to go.
In the early days, it won't matter so much as they're awake so often, but when they start going through the night, you'll want something more absorbant I e a two parter like little lamb bamboo or tots bots bamboozle or similar.
I use mio solos in the day. They dry pretty quickly as they're microfibre and I boost with Bamboo triple layers from little lamb. One of those does my 2 year old well for 3ish hours. At night I use little lamb bamboo nappies boosted with 2 Bamboo boosters and their bombproof wrap.

There is a helpful Facebook group called cloth nappies UK that you might want to have a look at.

Personally, I always find the nappy lady suggests expensive combos.

Do you have a nappy library near you? It's worth a look as they're really handy for seeing what's what and how things work.

I'd go from pretty early on, as you get into the routine of it better. With my toddler, I used disposables for the early days, because, well, meconium

Even with all in one's you may need boosters - depends on absorbency and how much your baby wees - and liners, at least once they start weaning.

I used bambino mios to DD1. Waiting to use then with DD2 but shes only 5 weeks and her legs are still too skinny so we get leaks.

Loved our bumgenius nappies.

Another vote for Bumgenius and Babino Mio here. I also used Bumgenius 'flip' nappies which are a reusable 'shell' that you place the washable liners inside at home - at night I just stuck 2 liners in. That made cloth nappies really economically and honestly it was no extra hassle at all. My nappies went through both my boys beautifully and are still in good enough condition to use for the new baby we're currently expecting.

I used tots bots and tumble dried them. I used from about 3ish weeks. I loved them. I rinsed poop of in the flush on the toilet popped in a bucket and washed them at the end of the day. My advice is to not make it complicated! Once you have all in ones sorted then think about the more complicated ones.

Pockets might be better if drying is an issue. You’ll be able to tumble the inserts dry and the shells will dry much quicker than an AIO. I’d also highly recommend a heated airer! Little Lamb one size pockets make up the bulk of our stash. They aren’t very exciting and don’t come on loads of beautiful prints but they are fairly cheap and have worked really well for us.

For nighttime a two part system is much better once you stop needing to change baby overnight (usually once they stop pooing in the night) as they’re much more absorbent. We use a Motherease Sandys or One Size with a Disana wool wrap or Motherease Rikki at night.

Have you joined the Nappy Lady Facebook group? It’s a really supportive community.

I find close pop ins a great all rounder. Good absorbency, bamboo but the soakers dry reasonably quickly or can be put in drier.

Whether you can use them from newborn depends on the size of your baby - much under 8.5 lb or so and they'll likely be too big, like most other birth to potty nappies, so it depends whether you want to invest in a separate set of newborn nappies or not. Also you have to change so often in the first few weeks.

Re: newborn nappies. We used cloth from birth and used muslins with a size 1/small wrap, which had we found easy enough. DS was in BTP nappies by three weeks (he was just shy of 9lbs at birth). The great thing about newborn poo (and any poo before weaning) is that you can literally just throw it in the wash.

Peachi baby is a great new brand which I’d recommend for drying time, ease of use and they’re not bulky.

They’re birth to potty so you can buy with the intention of using from newborn. And if you don’t end up using them until a little down the line you aren’t wasting money.

We barely used at newborn stage and worked our way up. (There is enough going on with a newborn tbh!!)

I used bambino mio solos and really liked them xx

I use the bambino mio AIO - no faffing and you can easily add a booster should you need to add some extra absorbency. They're definitely the easier brand to use!

I used close pop in with my girl when she was tiny and put all the inserts in the dryer with no problem at all.

You get a lot of no-dryer recommendations, but mostly because of the eco-issues. Bamboo can take the dryer.

I hung the wraps to dry - and that was quick.

I would just reassure you about the faffing. If you are a bit organised it's fine. I used two part nappies, when each load came off the airer, I would fold them up with the boosters and liners already in so they were ready to use. Then the only extra thing is to put the wrap on over the top but that's a few seconds, you can normally re use the wrap if the nappy has done its job. For drying a cotton nappy with separate wrap is good as you can finish a few off in the dryer.

I liked snap in ones or pocket nappies - they go on in one piece like a disposable, but split into layers for speedy washing and drying.

Might be worthwhile seeing if your local NCT has a nappy library - different brands suit different lifestyles and indeed different baby shapes. Rent before you buy is a good option.

I love teddy nappies with a mother ease wrap. They are virtually dry coming out of the washing machine and stay all lovely and fluffy. Overnight we use terry squares artfully folded with a hemp booster and the same wraps. No leaks, and this is after 4 babies. We have never tumble dried pur nappies, no need. Good luck, love a big fluffy cloth bottom!

i'm due in july with twins and we're hoping to use reusables. my plan is for two parters though as they seemed the most affordable option for two - i've got a few newborn wraps and some muslins, then will upgrade to terry squares and BTP wraps once they're a bit bigger. terry squares are fine for tumble drying which was one of my main concerns and cheap enough that we can have plenty in stock for two babies. we have got some disposables for the hospital/first few days just until we figure out which way is up on a baby though!

i found the nappy lady's recommendations were helpful to give me an idea of my options, but crazy expensive to actually buy the systems she recommended. there's lots of good advice & recommendations on some of the FB groups - they're not selling preloved atm due to the lockdown unfortunately, but it's worth checking them out to get advice from other cloth bum mums.

I only really use all in ones with a booster because they’re the easiest and most convenient to use. I have a few pocket nappies too which are similar. The two parter nappies are best for newborns but beyond that, all in ones are the way to go imo. I like Bambino Mio.