It has been said that the hardest thing about using real nappies is choosing which ones you like best! Unlike with disposable nappies, there’s a vast range of real nappies to choose from, which is great because there are nappies to cover every budget, function, and taste possible.

The downside of all this choice is that it can be a bit overwhelming when you come to choose what nappies will be right for you. Please don’t let this choice put you off using real nappies – the bottom line is that most well known and tried nappies do what they are meant to do, so don’t worry too much about their finer points! Having said that, it can be fun to find out about the variety of real nappies available, trying different types and picking your favourites.

The range of designs and clever features you will find reflects the passion and ingenuity of real nappy designers, usually parents themselves who have been bitten by the cloth nappy ‘bug’! If you look around you will find whole chat rooms and parenting forums dedicated to discussing cloth nappies – I have yet to see one about disposable nappies, which I think reflects how thoroughly rewarding it can be to use cloth nappies.

There are basically three groups of real nappies available: two part systems, all-in-ones and pocket nappies (a cross between two part systems and all-in-ones).

Two part systems comprise of a nappy to absorb wetness and a separate outer wrap to keep everything inside. The absorbent nappy may be flat and folded into the desired shape (e.g. prefold or terry square) or shaped to fit around your baby.

All-in-ones are shaped to fit round your baby and come in one single piece with the outer wrap permanently attached to the absorbent inner nappy. Just one piece to put on.

Pocket nappies have a ‘pouch’ in between a non-absorbent stay-dry inner layer and a waterproof outer wrap. Absorbent material is placed inside the pocket to soak up wetness. Two parts, but just one piece to put on.
Each type of real nappy has different pros and cons, and many people find that having a few different types works best so that they can choose which suits the occasion best at the time.

Other choices you will come across are one-size and multi-sized nappies and wraps, and velcro-type fastenings or poppers. One-sized real nappies are adjustable so that you can adapt the nappy to fit from birth to potty training. With multi-sized nappies you will need to buy several sizes (usually two, sometimes three or rarely four, depending on your babys’ size at birth, build, growth and when he or she potty trains) from birth to potty.

Most babies potty train in the day earlier than at night and can be in night nappies for a long time after they are dry during the day. You may well need to buy a set of XL nappies for this stage, but you will not need many (maybe 3 nappies and 1 or 2 wraps).

There are a number of factors to consider when choosing your real nappy system which we’ll cover in our next article.

Author Bio: Carl Fletcher writes for Bumfluff Babies, the number one online retailer of cloth nappies, nappy bundles and nappy accessories.

Category: Parenting
Keywords: real nappies, reusable nappies, cloth nappies, all in one nappies, pocket nappies, real nappy system