Pros and cons

Right I am kind of getting the concept of the various types, (I don't necessarily mean brands, even just the difference between all in ones etc...)of nappies but I have a favour to all of you!!!

What types of nappies did you use and what would you say are the pros and cons? This way I feel I can make more informed decisions.

Thanks
X

With izzy we used terry squares and little lambs from birth then from weaning I used a mix of pockets and fancy fitteds. With Leon I didn't feel the love for terries I couldn't be bothered to fold them and love love love our fancy fitteds and wool. We also have little lamb pockets which I like.

Terrys are very versatile, very cheap and quick to dry

Fitteds are similar but easier and cost more

I like two parts for newborn especially woollies.

Pockets for older baby are good for relatives, childcare and for out and about

I think this illustrates why you need to just try out a few....

Im gonna say almost the opposite of Sara! This time round im.not feeling the love with fitteds so much. Ben soaks through them so quickly and wakes or cries when he feels how wet they are. They were beautiful and soft for the first week or so when they arent feeding so much but now they only last 1-1.5hrs. I love fitteds on my older babies.

For ben at the moment, ll sized pockets are the thing. Bamboo absorption with full fleece lining dryness and double gusseted! However I dont think they would fit the average newborn. Probably more from 10-12lb. Non gusseted pockets wick quickly for us

To be honest will probably use disposables for the first 3 weeks or so and then introduce cloth as I remember how many nappies you go through at first and as I am limited to only tumble drying as a means of drying (other than the sun if we have good weather) I don't want to spend the first month freaking out trying to get things dry quickly. X

Good idea. It gives you a chance to play with different types and gradually build a stash that works for you!

With Ed we used disposables until about 10 weeks. We settled for fitteds and wraps/wool for him. He is quite a heavy wetter so this worked best for him.

For oscar, we started with muslins, then muslins and boosters with Terry nappies for night time until about 4 months then fitted nappies with wraps. By 6 months he wasn't weeing so much so we moved to pockets and i love them.

i have found that my fitted nappies still look almost new but my pocket nappies (the few we had for Ed), elastic has started to go etc.

[clothmama]

Pockets:
Pros:

• Great for out and about as they are slim and compact and go on easily much like a dispo so great for other people looking after your baby. They were always the nappies I had stacked in my change bag .
• They dry quickly - you pull them apart and the outer is dry very quickly. This means they can be stuffed with extra inserts if you want to minimise the number of nappies you own (not sure why you'd want to do that ) . Good if you have limited drying and dont' want to use a dryer.
• Easily customisable to your baby and the situation - if you know they are having a bath in an hour you can just pop a thin insert in or if you have a heavy wetter or know you are out and about for a long while in the car or something you can put lots of hemp and bamboo in.
• Generally a slim fitting option, good for under jeans and other slim fitting outfits

Not so Pros

• They don't have the double protection like a two part system which may be preferred for heavy wetters, nap times, and overnight.
• Fit can be an issue on some babies, particularly those with skinny legs. Much of this can be mitigated by finding brands that suit your baby. This can also change over time. 90% of the time I loved my Fuzzi Bunz on Louis and they were so reliable but there was about a 6 week period where his shape was changing where they just didn't fit!

All in One - AIO / All in Two (AI2):
Pros

• Very easy - no inserting anything, clipping anything on, having separate cover and nappy - just attach to baby and you are good to go ! Sometimes it is really nice just to grab a nappy off the pile and put it on without having to do anything with it AI2's will tend to have some small simple attaching / poppering etc to do - this reduces the dry time significantly

Not so Pros

• Very slow to dry as you may have layers and layers of absorbent material to dry
• Ability to customise to your child's wetness levels so you may end up with a nappy that is bulkier than it needs to be or a nappy that isn't absorbent enough
• If the PUL layer wears out the whole nappy is kaput even when the inner is still perfect at doing it's job

Fitteds with a separate cover:
Pros

• Fitteds come in a huge range of styles and shapes and colours and materials and thicknesses and you are sure to be able to find one that suits your baby!
• You have a very reliable system as there is the nappy with it's leg gusset / elastic and then the same again for the wrap so it makes it quite bomb proof for those lovely poo'namis

Not so Pros

• Can be fiddly and / or confusing for a new cloth user, particularly with a wiggly toddler!
• Some styles can be quite bulky, particularly overnight nappies (as you would imagine!)

Flat nappies with a separate cover:
Pros

• A really economical choice - a pack of 6 terry squares can be a similar price to one fitted nappy. Prefolds are a bit more but still very economical and require less origami skills than terry squares!
• Very very quick drying
• Can be folded to suit your growing changing baby, customising the fold you use to the if your baby is a boy or girl (where you have the most padded bit)
• Can be use for years later as cloths!
• Can be used as inserts in pocket nappies (I had a few newborn sized prefolds that were a perfect fit)

Not so Pros

• Can be fiddly needing to fold them every time
• Don't contain poos as well as other types of nappies as they don't have elastic at the legs, although a good fold and a good cover can help dramatically with this

I think all types have a place in a nappy collection. I will have some fitteds with PUL and wool covers for thier reliability. I'll have pockets for thier slimness and quick drying. I'll have a couple of AIO / AI2 for lazy days or when being babysat. I'll have terry's and some prefolds for quick drying and a cheap way to have a good number of nappies so I don't need to stress about having enough clean and dry and so I don't need to wash too often! I hope that helps @clothsister !?

Also, our AI2's have snap in inserts and trying to keep the insert and liner in place whIle trying to snap it closed on a baby determined to escape is a nightmare. Much easier if everything is contained in a pocket (you can get fitteds and pockets with a pocket).

Prefolds

Pros
Fast drying
Cheap
Different folds for different needs
Can be boosted

Cons
Little bulky
Need a waterproof cover

I love prefolds and use them most of the time I like the sized covers so I can get a good fit.