Here’s a quick review of the nappies I bought – although it’s still very early days! Iris is my first baby. She was 8lb 15 oz at birth (4050g) and 20 inches (51 cm) long. She’s a breastfed baby. She’s now four weeks old and has been in cloth from being six days old (when we got out of hospital).
I’ve found that all the nappies we’ve tried have been excellent in terms of reliability and absorbency. We’ve only had one leak and one blowout so far (the leak due to inadequate stuffing of a pocket and the blowout because the fleece liner was left poking out of the top of the back of the nappy – doh!). So I can’t compare the nappies in those terms. I have tried to comment on drying speed, fit and cuteness, if appropriate.
Our stash:
10x Little Ewe muslin squares - I never got the hang of our muslin squares: practising on a doll just doesn't prepare you to nappy a squirmy, crying newborn! So they've been relegated to burp cloths. Handy, though. (Which means I have three Motherease Rikki Wraps in small up for grabs, if anyone is interested - never used.) Dry in a flash and cost-wise, can’t be beaten. But my folding skills are lacking and they’re certainly not easy for a non-cloth user to get to grips with.
15x organic rainbow Tots Bots size 1 – these are our real workhorse, although they give her an enormous bee-like behind (not a slim, trim fitting nappy yet). I think they will fit her for a long time. Not the prettiest wraps, but bright enough nappies. And, so far, no leaks. I like the Tots Bots fleece wrap for night time, but DH is not good at remembering we have it, so it doesn’t always get used. I got these from the Clean Green Nappy Machine as a bulk buy – they worked out very good value due to the discount. They dry reasonably quickly (because of the flap), although they can be a little hard if left to line dry. A spell in the dryer seems to soften them up well enough.
1x Motherease Sandys small – this is our bamboo nappy. I love the silky feel of it, but it takes forever to dry. This is one of my fave nappies, as it’s poppers, with good size range and a nice fit on her – quite slim. I use a Nature Babies Classic medium PUL wrap with it and it seems a good combination. I would definitely like more of the Sandys nappies, as I think they’re good value, if a little dull.
1x Wee Notions small – this is working well, although it's not going to last many more weeks: she's on the middle popper already. But I like the hemp insert I bought with this nappy – it means it’s nice and absorbent and dries in a reasonable time. Mine is a beautiful cow print velboa nappy, so gets top cuteness marks! DH finds the poppers a little fiddly – probably because the nappy is so tiny. Not the cheapest nappy in our stash, but worth it for the cuteness factor.
1x Pocket Bots Plus small - thank you to the lovely ladies who suggested a Mothercare smart nappy insert would work well with this nappy. I bought a pack and we've not had a leak since. Again, not going to last many more weeks, but it gets top cuteness marks as you get to choose your fabric and pattern.
4x BumGenius One size - DH loves the ease of the one size pockets we have and they fit very well, even at this age, which I was kinda surprised about. However, the aplix fastening can be a little uncomfy when breastfeeding if Iris is undressed! They’re not the cutest nappy in our stash (we have green and yellow ones). And the microfibre insert that comes with the nappy has to be poppered down to fit the smallest fitting, meaning that the nappy can be a little bulky. I think we’ll use these a lot, meaning that they should be good value for money.
1x Fuzzi Bunz small – I like this nappy: poppers don't scratch boobs. It seems like it will fit her for a while yet, as the poppers give good growing room (I sound like my Mum – growing room!). We have a zoo print, which I think is cute. And the microfibre insert that comes with the nappy doesn’t have the popper issue that the BumGenius has, so it’s a slimmer fitting nappy. I think that she’ll soon outwet this insert quite quickly, though.
1x BumGenius 2.0 AIO small – I find it hard to tell when this nappy is wet. And I’m not a fan of its drying time. I wouldn’t buy this nappy again, although it’s perfectly slim and functional. It’s quite plain, so doesn’t score highly for cuteness. It’s not what I think of as a good buy (quite expensive), although it’s really easy for a non-cloth user to use.
1x Prorap AIO small – ugly, but functional. The pull out makes it nice and quick drying for an AIO, but the lack of laundry tabs mean I have to remember to turn it inside out to wash, to prevent it sticking to other nappies when washing. Not nice with breastfed poo. It’s a fairly slim fit and good value for money.
1x Upsy Daisy Nappy small – I never even got around to pre-washing this before use. I decided that I didn’t like the front opening to the pocket, but it is a beautiful nappy (it's a minkee pocket in huckleberry gelato, with blue aplix fastening and has a hemp fleece insert. Oh, and it's white on the inside.). So this is also up for grabs, if anyone is interested. (According to the website, a small should fit 5-20lbs, waist 6"-18.5" and rise 11"-13". It has poppers on the front so that the rise can be adjusted.)
In summary, I prefer poppers, DH prefers aplix. I’m liking shaped and pocket nappies and don’t think I’ll buy any more AIO or flat nappies. Sized nappies are more expensive over the birth to potty options, but I think that they give a better fit, particularly in terms of slimness: I’m happy to have to buy more nappies once Iris starts to outgrow her current stash. I like having a range of nappies for different situations – for wearing around the house, for night time, for when other people are caring for Iris; there’s no one single nappy that’s right for every occasion.
I hope this epic post is of use to someone.
Nichola
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