Cloth Nappy 101 - The different types

Once you dive down the rabbit hole of cloth nappies, it can be so incredibly overwhelming to know where to even begin when it comes to what to buy first. I hope this post makes things a little clearer for you, and that you feel a little less overwhelmed. Please feel free to leave me a comment below with any questions you might have along the way, I could talk all things cloth for days!

Cloth Tip #1: Not all cloth nappies are created equal. There is a reason some are more expensive than others, and there is a reason why some brands are voted number 1 time and time again. I’m going to share my favourite brands and types of nappies in this post, but as always, bear in mind these are the nappies I’ve had first hand experience with and have used over the past 2.5 years with two kiddos.

Cloth Tip #2: the best way to start is just to start! It can be soooo daunting in the beginning, especially when it comes to putting that first nappy on, but just start! The worst that can happen is baby is comfy enough to leave you a lovely surprise in the nappy, and then you just whip it off and start again. And now you will have had experience with two nappies and suddenly it doesn’t feel quite so overwhelming.

Sizes

There are two ‘sizes’ of cloth nappies; newborn & OSFM (one size fits most).

Newborn Size:

Newborn size generally fits until about +-5kgs or around the 4/5month mark, all depending on the size and chunk of your baby. For flats, the newborn size is 50cm x 50cm.

OSFM (one size fits most)

This is the ‘regular’ size nappies, and unless stated, most people refer to this size when talking about nappies. Most babies fit into OSFM from around the 5 months mark, some sooner and some later, all depending on your baby’s body shape, chunkiness & weight. Most OSFM nappies will last until potty training, due to the snaps that can be ‘opened/closed’. Everly, who at 2 is currently potty training, wears OSFM nappies for nighttime & naps, and is still wearing the same nappies she wore at 6 months old. Aaron moved into OSFM from about 5 months. When babies move from baby to toddler, they generally slim down, and you might find you are tightening up your nappies again and that they can go on to fit much longer than you had thought they would. Here are some photos of Everly to show you how OSFM grows with your baby:

The same nappy at 8 months & 14 months:

The same nappy at 6 months & 25 months:

The different Types of cloth nappies

There are lots and lots of different types of nappies on the market today, and it is always suggested that you build of a stash of different ones to try before committing to one type or brand. This way you’re able to get a feel for them all, and you can get more of an idea of the types that you prefer, as well as what fits/works for baby. When I first started out, I bought a lot of my nappies pre-loved (second hand) from the South African Cloth Diaper Buy/Sell/Trade Facebook group, and this way I was able to build my stash on a budget. I also bought some of my nappies in the UK & Canada when I had family who could bring them over to me.

There are SO many different brands out there, and to help you, I’ve linked my favourite ones below. My recommendations are purely from experience, and there are lots more great brands out there that I haven’t tried so do keep that in mind when you start your cloth nappy journey.

All-In-One (AIO):

The most expensive type of nappy, but also the most convenient & the most like a disposable with the ease of which they go on and off. They are ready to go on the bum straight from the washing machine & don’t need any fancy assembly. These are the easiest for first timers to use, and the ones that Dad’s/Grannies usually reach for first. If you don’t have a budget to consider, then AIO’s are the bomb! I found them to not be absorbent enough for my daughter until about a year, after which I would still boost with an extra padfolded small sized hemp flat. They are very trim, and great when out and about but they do take long to dry because all the parts are ‘sewn together’. I loved using AIO’s from about 15 months, and they became my most used after that. My favourite brands of AI'O’s are Biddykins, Smart Bottoms, Grovia & Thirsties. You can buy Grovia nappies here in SA through Biddykins & Little Sams.

Pocket:

A sleeve type nappy that you ‘stuff’ with different inserts (namely microfibre, hemp or bamboo) depending on much much/little absorbency you need. Come in a huge variety of prints & designs, they are quick drying (because the inserts and the cover are separate) are very affordable & you have control over the absorbency as you can add/remove inserts as you need.

Downside to them is it can be a pain to ‘stuff’ the nappies and they aren’t suited to night time (because you need A LOT of absorbency for nights). I love pockets for day time wear, and my daughter (2 years old & day time potty trained) uses these for her naps with a hemp & a bamboo insert as they are my most absorbent ‘day’ nappies). My favourite brand of pocket nappy is Biddyins.

Snap-In-One (SIO):

Basically an All-In-One nappy whose inserts ‘snap in/on’ as opposed to being sewn on. These have all the convenience of an AIO but they dry quicker because the inserts wash separately. My favourite SIO nappy is the Grovia O.N.E (which you can buy here in South Africa through Biddykins & Little Sams).

Another lovely local SA brand is KylieCo which makes GORGEOUS custom designed nappies, but they are on the pricier end at about R450 a nappy. Although they are beautiful (and their squishiness & prettyness justify their hefty price tags, I don’t find them to be as absorbent as my other nappies).

All-In-Two (AI2):

These are generally made up of a waterproof cover with inserts that lie/clip into the cover. In this way they are similar to SIO’s but their shell (the waterproof outside part) is able to be re-used in between nappy changes because you can simply give it a wipe unless it has been heavily soiled.

My favourite brand of AI2’s is Buttons Diapers (available here in SA through TinyHiney & Smitten Baby Boutique.

Fitted:

A full absorbent nappy that needs a waterproof cover. They come in different fabrics (usually bamboo cotton or hemp) and are an amazing night nappy. They do tend to be bulky (but this is the case with all night nappies) and are either snap-less (which means you need to use something like a snappy to close them) or they come with snaps/velcro for easy clipping open/closed. They take a while to dry, but are very absorbent. My favourite fitteds are:

-daytime: Pokkelokkie Dawnpatrol

- nighttime: Pokkelokkie Sleepy Dust & Sloomb

Hybrid Fitted:

Usually made by WAHM's (work at home moms) and they have a water-resistant layer (fleece) sewn in but do need a cover to be fully waterproof.

These are my least favourite nappies because both of my kids have been heavier wetters and so the beautiful prints that these nappies can come in are always going to have to be covered by a waterproof cover, and then I don’t see the point in having such a pretty nappy that you will never see. If you have a light wetter, you would get away with using these with no cover. In saying that these are my least favourite nappy, the fish print below has been one of my favourite nappy prints and has gone on both of my kids. I think there is a time and a place for hybrids, and as I mentioned, if you have a light wetter you could get away with not needing a cover.

I bought the nappy below preloved on the South African Cloth Diaper Buy/Sell/Trade group.

Flat:

These are the ‘old school’ nappies that our mums and Grans used to use (remember the ‘terry towel squares’?, but these days they come in lots of different fabrics. - The fabrics that are popular today are just trimmer than the old terry towelling nappies, and of course there are loads of different colours around nowadays. Flats are just that, a flat layer of fabric, cut into a square, that you fold and then secure with a snappy or a pin. They usually come in 3 sizes: newborn/small (50cmx50cm), medium (60cmx60cm) and then OSFM or large (70cmx70cm). I LOVE flats and have used them on both of my little ones from birth. They are the most versatile nappies for the newborn stage, and they make the best night nappies because they are trim, super absorbent and can be easily boosted. I use flats for both my kids at night, with a fleece cover for Aaron, and with a nice stretchy blueberry coverall cover for Everly.

My absolute favourite flats are Pokkelokkie hemp flats (the blue ones pictured below). I am STILL using Everly’s old newborn sized flats to boost her night & day nappies, and they are still going strong on Aaron.

Prefold:

These are similar to the flats as they are also square/rectangular, but they have an extra absorbent middle layer (basically the middle of it has already been boosted and sewn together) giving you more layers for absorption. They are fastened with a snappy/pin & need a cover. They can come with ‘wings’ cut out (making it much easier to fold onto baby, and I love using these on Everly at night and have done so since she was about 15 months old. These are easier for Dad to work with that a plain flat. My favourite prefolds are the winged help ones from Kanini (but mine are very well used as you can see from the pic below, and they have little holes from being fastened with a snappy).

I fold the bottom of the nappy up (pictured on the flat) to make it a bit smaller for Everly, and then padfold another small sized hemp flat in the middle before folding the sides over. I then put another small padfolded hemp flat between the nappy & the cover, and this is what I do for Everly for nights. It’s a very bulky nappy but works like a bomb for 12-13 hours of wear.

Well done if you go this far without feeling totally overwhelmed! As I mentioned in this post, it can seem very daunting but once you become familiar with all the different types, it all starts falling into place. The best advice I can give is to meet up with a cloth nappy mommy in your area who can show you the ropes and then you can see first hand how things work. It’s not as scary as it seems, and everyone who uses cloth nappies that I have come across is so happy to help you troubleshoot/share tips/troubleshoot/give advice.

Next I’ll do a blog post on the different types of inserts, which are the most absorbent, and my recommendations on which ones to use when. Stay tuned for that!

And, as always, leave me comment below if you’d like to as me anything cloth related.

Biddykins All-In-One Cloth Nappies - A review of these Easy on & Easy Off cloth nappies

We are on to our second baby in cloth, and have been using cloth nappies for nearly 2 years now. I started with newborn cloth for Everly (she will be 2 in September) and went straight onto newborn cloth with Aaron (who is 5 months old now) and I’ve loved every single moment! We have used more disposables on Aaron than we did on Everly (mostly because #2under2 is no joke and traveling with two babies in nappies is just crazy), but Aaron is in cloth about 85% of the time, and Everly is in cloth 99% of the time when we are at home.

Here are my other posts on cloth nappies that you might enjoy reading, with a post on newborn cloth, how to wash cloth nappies, how I store dirty nappies and a detailed post on the nappies we used and loved for Everly over her nearly 2 years of being a cloth bum:

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While I was sent some of the AIO’s pictured here in this post, all thoughts and views on them are my own. I have spent thousands of rands of my own money on Biddykins throughout the past 2 year s(I also LOVE their pail liners to store dirty nappies in, and am a firm lover of their breast pads!) and so you can rest assured that although I was given the pretty nappies in this post, my review is 100% honest.

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I mainly used flats, pre-folds, fitteds and covers for both my babies until they fitted into their OSFM nappies (this was at about the 5 month mark with Everly and when we get back home next week I will start Aaron with them), and then I moved onto pockets, snap in ones (SIO) and my all time favourite nappies, all-in-ones (AIO’s).

While it’s really hard to recommend one type of nappy to anyone (this is mostly because each baby’s shape is different, their output is different and changes as they get older, if they are tummy sleepers, how sensitive their skin is, what climate you live in also affects how often you wash & dry nappies…the list goes on!) all in one nappies are a firm favourite for lots of moms because of how easy they are to use. While they don’t offer the most absorption (newborns wee A LOT and need to be changed more often than say a 5 month old because of how much and how often they wee) I loved using them on Everly from about month 6 - 9, and then again from about a year to now. All-in-one nappies are just what their name suggests, they have all their parts built into the nappy so there is no stuffing inserts like you do with pockets, no folding like flats, no added covers to put on…you literally just snap them on. They are the closest to disposable nappies and so Dad’s & Granny’s love them.

If all-in-ones are so amazing, why doesn’t everyone use them?

There are only really two downsides to AIO’s…they are the most expensive of cloth nappies, and they take a long time to dry.

You can’t stick them in the tumble dryer (although you can do this with some brands, always read the label!) but I often stick them in for about 20 minutes if I’m running out of nappies.

If you don’t have a budget, then drying time won’t be an issue for you as you can buy have enough to cover 2 - 3 days of wear and over wash day. I always recommend that people buy a variety of nappies when they get started, and to always have a few (3 - 5 is a nice amount) of AIO’s in your stash so you can get a feel for them. Also, as your baby becomes a toddler, they tend to use less and less nappies in they day, and then AIO’s are wonderful! They are also great for traveling and being out and about because they are so quick and easy to put on. Once you’ve given them a good try, then you can add more to your stash.

I wouldn’t personally recommend AIO’s for the newborn stage, simply because you go through nappies at such a rate, and getting a good fit around those skinny legs to prevent leaks is much easier to do with flat and covers. Also, as you can end up going through 10 - 15 nappies a day, it would cost you a small fortune to buy AIO’s that really would only last you a few months at most. That’s why I recommend buying OSFM (one-size-fits-most) all-in-one’s to use once your baby is about 5ish months old.

In terms of worrying about leaks…you can also add more inserts/flats to an all-in-one nappy to increase the absorption. Everly is now 22 months old and I mainly use AIO’s. I just pad fold a newborn sized hemp flat underneath the inserts for her nap time, as that’s when she really needs more of a boost to prevent leaks.

We have gone through our fair share of leaks with AIO’s, but this has mainly been due to not fitting the nappy properly, and then troubleshooting when she has increased her output during the day and over nap time. Both my babies have been medium to heavy wetters, and so we have definitely not been able to use AIO’s for nighttime. Everly is in all-in-ones 70-80% of the time during they day, with the other 20-30% of the time being in pockets as the covers dry super fast and I can tumble dry the inserts.

My favourite brand of All-in-one Nappies

My favourite brand of All-in-Ones are local South African label, Biddykins. I always rave about Biddykins to my friends because they are well priced, great quality, and the prints are AMAZING! I own about 10 girlie print pockets, and then about 10 girlie print AIO’s, and that’s not even counting Aaron’s collection!

Here are a few photos of Everly rocking her pretty Biddykins AIO nappies:

The Biddykins AIO’s have the following features:

• a tummy strip that help prevent moisture creep along the tummy.

• various insert layers, size and positioning are carefully researched to offer the best possible blend of absorbency AND trimness, ensuring that the inserts fit INSIDE the nappy, regardless of the size adjusted setting! Being custom designed, they are able to periodically tweak the size of the inserts slightly as they continue to work towards achieving the optimum combination of trimness & absorbency.

• a 5-layer bamboo blend top insert, which includes a suede-cloth "StayDry" layer, ensures baby feels dry and comfortable.

• a 4-layer bamboo pure lower insert ensures maximum absorption whilst remaining as trim as possible.

• the suede-cloth "StayDry" lining that continues right up to the back elastic not only keeps baby feeling dry, but also ensures that 'everything' is contained within the nappy.

Price wise, the plain one-coloured nappies are R130, standard prints are R140 and then there are a few special print nappies that are R150 each.

We love our all-in-one nappies, and I can’t wait to get out my boy stash for Aaron when we get back home to the farm next week. We’ve been using disposable nappies while traveling (one has to be practical sometimes), and I’ve missed my cloth SO much! If this sounds like a strange concept, I urge you to give cloth nappies a try. I am 100% sure you will become a #clothconvert in no time at all!