I’d not used reusable nappies prior to having my second baby, Tom at the start of May 2021. When I found out I was expecting I was looking forward to giving reusable nappies a go this time. They’re a great way of reducing single use waste as a parent and nappies are definitely a ‘baby essential’ you can’t do without! We’d moved house just 2 weeks before baby arrived and had a washing machine so we had everything we needed and no excuses not to get going with cloth this time. That coupled with having built up my cloth nappy knowledge whilst working at the best reusable nappy retailer over the past few years, it was a no brainer for me. Many people are put off using cloth nappies on newborn babies and decide to wait a few weeks but after diving in I really think it’s worth giving them a go!

Different types of nappies

The jargon and terminology can be quite daunting and overwhelming for a cloth nappy newbie but fear not it really isn’t as complicated as it may first appear. If there is ever anything you need to know or don’t understand the cloth nappy community are a really helpful bunch and most cloth bum parents will be more than happy to help encourage you to make the swap. The Babi Pur Hangout group over on Facebook is a great place for cloth nappy chat and advice. If Instagram is more your ‘thing’ Babi Pur have their own page dedicate to reusable nappies over there.

These are the different types of newborn nappies I used and what I liked about each of them

• Hybrid Nappy e.g. Pop-in – Also known as all in two nappies. These have a waterproof outer shell and separate, removable absorbent inners which you secure with popper. One big advantage of this type is that as long as the shell isn’t soiled you can reuse it. You can just change the absorbent inner rather than the whole nappy. The separate parts also makes for a quicker drying time.
• Pocket Nappy e.g. Baba+Boo. These have a waterproof outer with a fabric pocket layer inside. The absorbent inserts are stuffed into this pocket. They’re super simple if you want to add extra boosters, the Baba + Boo ones come with 2 boosters. I love how lovely and soft the fabric pocket feels against babies skin on these.
• AIO (All In One) Nappy e.g. Tots Bots Teenyfit. This is as the name suggests a nappy where everything is in one piece, these are most like disposables in that sense. The Teenyfits were great for the super early days for us. I love how easy they are to use. They do live up to their name and are really teeny, perfect for smaller or slimmer build babies.

Is it worth getting newborn nappies, can’t I go straight into birth to potty size ?

For me this was a definite yes if you’re looking to cloth from birth or shortly after. My little one was born at 8lb 2oz so not teeny and we still got a good 16 weeks of use from our newborn Pop-ins. Birth to potty sizes would have definitely drowned him in the first few weeks. The newborn Baba + Boo which didn’t fit until later on were a perfect fit for him at around 4 months old. It depends on the size of your little one as to how long they’ll be in them of course but if you do tend to have bigger babies I’d definitely recommend the Baba+Boo newborn nappies for longevity.

How many nappies will I need?

This depends on a number of things including how often you plan on washing, drying times and the amount of nappy changes in a day. If you’re looking to cloth full-time 25-30 nappies should cover 2-3 days worth of nappy changes. I had a stash of 14 nappies, mostly Pop-ins plus a few extra soakers so that I could reuse the shells.

A final note

I’m a big believer in that it doesn’t have to be all or nothing with cloth nappies. Even a nappy a day saves 365 nappies from going to landfill if you piled those all up that would make a considerably sized pile heading for landfill. When life is hectic and everything is new in those hazy, sleep deprived newborn days don’t feel any pressure to strive for perfection and just take your time enjoying your new squish!

If you’ve got any questions please do get in touch with me over on Instagram (there’s a cheeky little discount code over there for you too) and I’ll do my best to help.