Here at Bambooty we are often asked which nappy is the better nappy to buy? In our opinion there is no 1 right answer to this question. Different styles of nappies have different characteristics that will be more appealing to some than others.
One Size nappies which last from day dot through to potty training, also known as OSFM (One Size fits Most) or BTP (Birth to Potty) nappies will save you more money in the longer term. They are often slightly more expensive to purchase in the beginning however with the one nappy usually seeing you all way through to potty training, you don't need to keep spending money to buy the next size up.
OSFM or BTP nappies are bulkier and fiddlier in the early stages, however newborn babies grow so quickly it isn't an issue for most people for very long and a lot of people feel the long term cost savings out weigh a few months of fiddle.
Sized nappies often provide a neater fit, particularly in the early stages. This means they are less bulky, meaning more comfortable and fit better under regular baby clothes that often cater these days to plastic or paper nappies full of chemical absorbers.
Sized nappies are often easier to change with fewer snap options to remember or consider (for those who aren't doing 6-10 changes a day) and often easier to prepare for use, especially All in One nappies. Bambooty Sized day time nappies, called Easy Dry come packaged in their own little wet-bags for out and about.
The only down side to sized nappies is that you need to keep buying the next size up as they grow. You can hang onto them for future siblings or alternatively, if they are in good nick, believe it or not you can often sell them on and get some money back!
Here are a few more tips about the different size options to help you in your journey of cloth nappies and babies -
One Size Nappies
One size nappies can be either more or less reliable than sized nappies for the new born stage. One size nappies that actually fit from day dot (Bambooty Easy One Size nappies fit from as little as 2.5 kgs) are often more reliable with more absorbency in them as they need to cater for older children with a larger out put as well. You can often of course remove some of the absorbency too though to make them less bulky so more comfortable and easier to fit under clothes.
When looking for a OSFM nappy, checking that the nappy will have a good fit around the legs is crucial, as new born babies usually aren't born with much in the way of muscle or fat on their little legs. New born babies are often lying on their backs as they spend soooooo much time feeding and sleeping (we hope), so a nappy that is not bulky at the back is better for bub.
(Now that I think of it, I wonder if that had anything to do with parents being encouraged to put us on our tummies to sleep when I was a baby, so that we didn't end up with wonky backs due to bulky nappies!)
Back to the topic - Some OSFM nappies will fit from very early on as our Easy One Size nappy does, starting to fit from as little as 2.5 kgs, some you will need something to use in the mean time until they are large enough to give the nappy a good fit so not going to be leaking on you.
For our OSFM or BTP cloth nappies, (Easy One Size) once the baby is roughly 5-6 months old (or earlier if they are speedy growers), there really isn't much difference in bulk compared to using the sized nappies. Our One Size nappy style is a higher rise nappy than our sized nappies, so they will come up higher around the waist. This can be a positive thing too, as it can potentially give you better protection if needed.
Sized Nappies
Moving onto our sized nappy options, we have Day time sized nappies Easy Dry and night time sized nappies Easy Nights.
Easy Dry nappies are an All in One, Modern cloth nappy, designed to be so simple to use anyone can give cloth a go! They come in the 3 sizes, Small/Newborn, Medium and Large. These nappies are seriously simple to use, however still give you multiple options to customise depending on whether you have a boy, a tummy sleeper or a bub who prefers the natural fibres next to her or his skin.
Easy Dry nappies each come packaged in their own single nappy zippered wet-bags. This means when out and about you don't need to smell the nappy that you changed 3 hours ago, again at the current change, each one stays zippered separately. Stay tuned for a post on the many wonderful things that wet-bags are ideal for...
Easy Night nappies are again All in One modern cloth nappies, which means that in spite of having a super amount of absorbency to last all night long, they are still very easy to put together and put on :D First off there is no putting together, they already are together! 4 flaps of absorbency which can again be customised for tummy sleepers, boys, or having the natural fibres on top.
Easy Night nappies are available in 3 sizes as well, how ever the sizes are slightly different. They come in a Medium, Large and X-Large. They do not come in a new born nappy as newborn babies are or should be changed every 3 hours at most, even during the night. Usually by the time a night nappy is needed, babies fit into the medium night nappies.
There is also an X-Large size in the nights, as bed wetting up until the ages of 4,5 or even 6 are common (and considered perfectly normal by medical practitioners too). The X-Large nappy fits up to roughly 22kgs, depending on body shape and wetting habits too of course. Often people who haven't even used cloth nappies for most of the time will swap over to cloth for the night time nappies once potty trained during the day. Babies don't poo while they are sleeping so usually this 1 nappy a day is an easy one to get used to :)
Heavy wetting babies can or are often better off in Easy Night nappies during the day as well, for longer lasting protection. Having said that, we do recommend for adequate hygiene standards, nappies should be changed or checked every 2-3 hours. This is based on the hygiene standards set out by the Government for Accredited Child care centres, where from experience it is every 2 hours.
If you have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask them in the comments below or feel free to add in your 2 cents worth as well, if you prefer sized or one size and want to share your experiences :D