I love reusable nappies. The environmental and cost implications drew me in, the cuteness factor keeps me coming back for more. It also helps that cloth nappies stopped my daughter's terrible nappy rash.
People are generally surprised when they see how far reusables have come – no more large white squares in stinky Milton.
Tots Bots nappies are suitable for a baby from about 10lbs to 35 lbs and has a built in super soft waterproof layer. The bamboo core provides added absorption, keeping baby skin dry.
Many reusable nappies are now also much smaller than their forerunners. The Version 2 Tots Bots are slimmer fitting, making wearing age appropriate trousers and skirts possible too. They also have a softer and stretchier finish, meaning there's a better fit and less chance of leaks.
Inside the nappy you can add a flushable paper liner, which if wet can be washed and reused, and if dirty can be disposed of.
In days gone by, used nappies were wet-pailed in the aforementioned Milton, but now they are popped in the laundry basket and washed along with normal washing (or on their own) at 60C.
My biggest surprise in using reusable nappies is how little they smell. Of course, a dirty nappy smells like a dirty nappy, but with disposables my daughter quickly smells of urine and chemicals – not really the baby-smell we were after – whereas in cloth, I have to actually check to see if she is wet.
The most important thing to remember about cloth nappies is that you might have to try a few before you find one that perfectly fits your little one, but for us Tots Bots did the trick.
The major disadvantage of reusable nappies is the initial outlay, which can quickly become expensive with individual Tots Bots nappies costing £14 - £18 depending on retailer. Fortunately you don't have to buy everything at once – we started with five that we only used during the day, and progressively built up our collection.
I think it's only fair to warn you, as someone did for me, that cloth nappies are very addictive – once you've changed to cloth, you'll never want to go back
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