Our Cloth Nappy Stash

Well we don't need nappies now, so that's good :)

So this is what our stash was...

These are my honest opinions on what I've found by using the cloth nappies in our stash.  Because every child is shaped differently and each parent has their own likes and dislikes this is just what we've found works and doesn't for us.  Just because something doesn't work for us, or I don't like a design, doesn't mean that it won't work for you.  Something to take into account is we have 1 child, and started with cloth when she was 2.  So we have no experience in cloth on a child younger than 2... so somethng that fits a 2 year old is not going to give you an accurate look at how it would fit on a younger child. And as we aren't planning any more children <snippity snip!> we didn't have to consider the wear & tear on nappies or getting various sizes.

I'm even including pics as I can get them....  If your nappies are shown here and you don't want them to be (for copyright reasons or whatever) please let me know and I can remove them).

I much prefer pocket nappies to other systems.  I found them the most convenient and easiest to use - for both day and night.  But I did have some fitteds.

Note:  I refer to any form of hook and loop tape as "velcro", even though it may be "touch tape", "velcro" or some other brand.  Its just easier that way and everyone will know what I am talking about.

Baby Beehinds (Fitted)
http://www.babybeehinds.com.au
Wow! Fit like a glove and very absorbent.   The Hemp (BBH) was the most expensive nappy I had (at $26 plus postage), but I really really loved it - and not just because it has purple snaps and overlocking ;)  If I were rich (or we were having more children), I'd have more of these.  No more bulky than a disposable really, so it fit her clothes nicely too. the overlocking faded to blue though :(  I liked it so much I ended up getting her 2 purple and 2 pink Bamboo ones (BBB) to use over night, even though we didn't need any more nappies and I had heaps of pockets that were working fine :)  I did have to boost them more for night though.
 

Bits for Bots (Pocket)
http://www.bitsforbots.com
I just had to have these because they are purple.  At first I thought they weren't going to fit, because they looked so small, I panicked when I got them out of the mailbag!  but they did fit, really well actually!  The reason they look small is heaps of elastic (for a snug fit).  The first day we tried this my mother was looking after her and didn't change her nappy all day.  So even after 7 hours in the same nappy (*shudder*) we had no leaks, wicking or rash!  So thats the best testament of how well this one can work!  And the colours are great!  However about 5 months later the coating on the Entrant waterproofing started rubbing off, so we stopped being able to use them over night.  Shame, as they were great nappies!  I don't think anyone uses entrant (a type of PUL) in nappies anymore though (because of this problem), so I'd be confident buying another of these.
 

Bum Wear (Pocket)
http://www.bumwear.com
Much smaller than the other nappies I had, but still fit well... a more hipster style which worked well under her buddha belly.... Wouldn't fit nighttime stuffing though, so they were day use only.  Occasionally we got a little wicking in the leg ruffles if it was on too long.  But my favourite nappies of all the ones we have had (we had 2 the same).  I was very sad when she didn't need nappies for day any more, because we had to retire these!   They are very soft - I think it must be a cotton jersey PUL, so it's like a t-shirt material with the laminate on it.  It did seem very fragile and easy to tear/puncture, but it held up well (just a bit of fading, perhaps from being used as a swim nappy)  I sometimes used them as a cover for the BBH or as a swim napy.  They were our showing off nappies - so pretty!
 

Funky Bumz ("Semifold" fitted and Cover)
http://www.funkybumz.co.nz
It is an interesting design!  It comes as a sort of triangle shape (like you would fold a terry square into when doing the "bat" fold) with elastic for the legs and with velcro to keep it all together.  You wrap the 2 ends over which secure with velcro and a front velcro part holds it all together.  At 2 when I got them, my girl was obviously starting to get a bit big for this one, as the rise was quite low (on her pubic bone!).  There is ample (too much) room in the back of the legs, making it an odd fitting (couldn't bring it further forward at the front bacause of the wideness of the back).  Without the cover the velcro rubbed on her thighs, and the side velcro has no fold over launderying tab, so they tend to stick to things in the wash.  I imagine these would be better for younger kids because I can see the idea would be great but I just couldn't get it to fit right.  We gave away the nappy and kept the cover.  So I wasn't very impressed with the nappy to be honest, but the cover has been brilliant!  Very handy over other nappies too!  It had an odd fit when she was 2... it was very high in the waist and just looked a bit big and odd.  The fit was ok, no leaking, it just looked different to the fit of other nappies.  Mostly I think because there is a seam all around the nappy about 2/3 the way up where it goes from being 2 layer fleece to just one.... and it sort of poofed there when she was smaller...., but from about 3 onward until we didn't need them just after her 4th b'day, they fit perfectly, and didn't look odd.  The cover is almost like a pair of shorts (they have leg cuffs a little bit like a knited soaker has).  I'd definately recommend these, and I liked them because there is no fastening - they go on like shorts (elastic in the waist)  So I imagine its more comfy for tummy sleeping without the extra tabs and things.
 

Green Bums (Cover)
www.greenbums.com.au
A very cool and interesting design!  Rather than having the PUL in the whole cover, it had a strip down the centre, and the rest is microfleece. Nice and breathable!  The PUL is folded over at the ends to keep any wetness in, and it also works to keep a folded terry flat contained if you use the cover with just that (Very handy!).  The only thing I don't like about this cover is that the PUL layer is shorter than the cover, so it sits higher, which pulls the front of the cover down.  Not sure if they are still made that way, but it was a bit annoying (only a visual thing, still worked perfectly).
 

Green Kids (was Green Nappies) (Pocket)
http://www.greenkids.com.au
A purple nappy..... what a surprise!  hehe.  This is a "Dreamytimes" nappy, that goes from birth to toilet training (supposedly).  When we got it, it only *just* fit for over night with the boosting, so we eventually had to retire it as she outgrew it (I have a largish child though)... it was very snug though :)   So lovely and soft as its made from fleece.  Shame it got too small.  I was always sceptical about fleece nappies (being leakproof), but they are just about as good as the PUL ones.  So this nappy changed my mind about fleece.
 

Little Hoppers
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Little-Hoppers
Our first nappy.  A pocket with snaps.  It opens at the front, which confused me at first (I wasn't sure if I should do it up at the front or back LOL)  I used to prefer the velcro closure to snaps, figuring it gave more adjusting room, but I prefer snaps now... I think....  Well fitting.  Unfortunately almost all the snaps (metal) fell out eventually though, so I had to replace them.
 

Nappies Covered (Pocket)
http://www.nappiescovered.com.au
I have bought a ton of nappy making fabrics from here and they are great.  I won a pocket nappy in an opening special draw!  The nappy is fantastic as a night nappy.  Nice and big but well fitting.  Easily holds many layers of stuffing.  Sturdy design with strong velcro closures.  This one is Rose Fleece with a lavender/pinkish cotton PUL with flowers on it.
 

Nice Nappy (Fitted)
http://stores.ebay.com.au/Nice-Nappy
I bought 3 of these on ebay really cheap to see how they worked.  They have the standard thin velcro that doesn't go all the way to the ends of the under part, so they undo all the time because they aren't made for a bigger child.  They have fold over laundry tabs but are useless- not large enough and too close together. They hardly hold any wee, so we used them when we were expecting a poo or if we had nothing left.  Not long after I got them I gave one away and threw the others out once we had enough nappies. They have a polyester (felt looking) inner core, which works like a sponge.  It will soak up liquids, but when you press the nappy it pools. I found them useless really.... I preferred a terry flat.

Peace Pocket
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/peacepockets
Its really well elasticated so it was a nice snug fit, trim and there was plenty of adjusting with the snaps.  Sturdy too!  I love the print, its very cute.  Of course it was a  favourite for both of us :)
 

Thumbprint behinds (Fitted)
http://www.thumbprintbehinds.com
I liked the way the tabs were long enough we don't have to have the velcro showing (one tab goes over the other), but I ended up having to add snaps to stop the wing droop.  She loved her "baa appy"!  and it was the same fabric as some PJs I made her :)   It did tend to give her a big baggy bum though, and was quite big (handy because it needed more boosting), but slipped down cos she had a belly. It kind of got bigger as she did (I assume the fabric and elastic lost some stretch).
 

Whizz Kidz (Fitted & Cover)
0-whizz-kidz-0 at ebay
I got a nappy and cover as a gift.  Purple cats, how very cool!  A very high fitting nappy.  Instead of one thing of velcro closure it uses 2 rows of smaller ones. (works the same, just an interesting way to do it).  Nice and soft.  The cool thing about this nappy is the printed flannel is inside the nappy too!  Most have boring white inside.  The fleece cover is nice and large (so it fits over every nappy!).  Good if you want a very high rise nappy.  We used the cover more than the nappy, because we had very few covers, and we used it over the BBB for nights.
 

Others
We also had 3 flannelette fitteds I bought off ebay.  No idea who the seller was.  2 of them were the same, a fold out section attached to the back.  They fit well but weren't very absorbent..... and the other was a bit too small and used that sew on snap tape... and the snaps wouldn't hold tight enough. So I tended to use that nappy (unsnapped) inside one of the larger fitteds to give it enough absorbency :)

My Nappies
And some of the early nappies I made...

I made mostly pockets.  Starting with the wee weeka pattern, and then moving on to my own... experimenting a bit with some other things.  15 all up.  The most recent ones I made her was 3 pocket nappies made from Dora the Explorer fleece :)  and I made matching flongies and nighties too :)