Reusable Nappies for Night Time
We are Lauren and Sarah, Mama and Mummy to our 22 month old son. We have used cloth nappies on our son from birth, and have been asked by Babipur about why we use them. Here’s our tips for using cloth nappies, and a solution for reusable night nappies!
Why we use cloth nappies
Our main reason for using cloth nappies was the environmental impact that disposables have. It takes 200-500 years for a disposable nappy to decompose, a fact that we were pretty horrified by. Especially when you consider around 8 million disposable nappies are going into rubbish bins in the UK every day.
The more we researched cloth nappies, we found out there were many other benefits to using cloth over disposables:
- More reliable. The fastenings of cloth nappies being adjustable mean it is easier to get a much better fit than standard size disposables. In our experience they are less likely to leak.
- Safer – unlike disposables, cloth nappies don’t contain chemicals, and are breathable.
- More comfortable – we much preferred the idea of our baby wearing a soft fabric nappy than a plastic-like disposable one.
- More economical. Not having to buy disposables has saved us money. Although it’s hard not be tempted to buy all the beautiful prints! We also never run out!
- Cloth nappy wearing children are said to potty train more quickly. We are unsure how proven this is, but our son started telling us when his nappy needs changing at around 20 months.
Our cloth nappy journey
We started our cloth journey using all in one, and two part wrap and insert nappies, which are still our favourites for daytime. Our most used are Milovia, Baba & Boo and Totsbots Easyfits as they are very reliable and so simple to use.
Trying out different types (we recommend only ever buying one of each style before you know what works for you). You can always sell on ones you don’t get one with! It’s definitely the way forward rather than buying lots of the same style in one go. Also work out a wash routine you are happy with (the Babipur washing guide can be found >HERE<).
We pop our used nappies in a wet bag that hangs on our change table, then every couple of days they get popped in the wash. We pre rinse then wash at 60, with washing powder and occasionally a scoop of Violets mineral bleach. They then dry on a drying rack, unless we we lucky enough to be able to hang them outside!
Night time nappy leaks
We have found using cloth very easy once you find what nappies and wash routine works for you. However, one issue we had for a while was night time leaks. This is something that many people considering cloth nappies are a little worried about. Although, having used disposables a couple of times when we’ve been away in holiday, we can definitely verify that cloth are more reliable!
The key with cloth nappies, day or night, is finding what works for you, so we tried some different options for night time. We were recommended by Babipur to try a wrap over a cloth nappy, which was a system we hadn’t used before. They were a perfect solution!
The perfect reusable night time nappy solution
We use a TotsBots Bamboozle – a completely fabric nappy made from bamboo. This means it is breathable, antibacterial, extremely comfortable due to it being soft and stretchy, and super absorbent.
You need a waterproof wrap over this nappy, and the Totsbots Peenut wrap works brilliantly. But our favourite is definitely the Close Pop In nappy wrap. The wrap is simply a soft, waterproof outer cover, with stretchy Velcro fastenings, that goes on like a nappy. This is our top combination for reusable night nappies that really works!
Close Pop-in wraps
They are suitable from birth to potty, and although quite large in size. They can be poppered down to make them a better fit for tiny ones. We like the large size as it’s easy to make sure the fabric nappy is completely enclosed. It also seems very comfortable for our little one. It’s great to have a night time solution that works for our 22 month old, but would work for a small baby too.
Like the Close Pop In nappies, it has a double leg gusset. This makes the wrap much more comfortable for our little one than other wraps we’ve tried, which as great as he seems to move around a lot in his sleep! The wrap also has a breathable waterproof layer, and leak stoppers – all of which mean it is pretty fool proof. We have never had a leak with this nappy, and I imagine that would be pretty impossible.
Beautiful prints!
You can also use it during the day with an insert. Like all Close products, the nappies come in beautiful prints, including this beautiful ‘Dewi’ daffodil print which is exclusive to Babipur.
As unimportant as it seems, the lovely prints definitely make nappy changes a bit more enjoyable!
We would recommend anyone using or wanting to try cloth nappies to try a Close Pop In wrap. They are so reliable, very comfortable for our little one, and it looks so sweet on him. It’s one of the most useful nappies we have in our stash!
