Fat legs, thin legs, big tums, small bums … Babies come in all shapes and sizes, as do nappies. And then there are individual soiling habits. Given that fit and absorbency are so critical for performance, it’s difficult to predict what style, size or brand of nappy will suit your baby best, and the one your best friend swears by may not work for you.

You could buy a single nappy in each of the styles you like to see which suits your baby best, buy trial packs with a few different styles, or look in to a cloth nappy library so you can try before you buy.

You can go old school with terry flats, or a more modern take with prefolds. There’s fitted, pockets, all in ones (AIO), all in two (AI2). Sized and one size fits most (OSFM).

You can spend up big and go with the top brands, or spend a little less and still get good quality nappies. Just be mindful going for the cheapest of cheap otherwise known as china cheapies (cc’s) can sometimes end up costing more than planned.

Buying nappies can be very confusing and with so many options it’s no wonder parents can end up turned off using cloth and return to disposables. Ill share with you my experience and the reason why I don’t think CC’s are the best option. (sure they are cute but they weren’t great for me)

 When I was pregnant with my first baby I was adamant about using cloth, I also had no idea of the amazing variety available. I bought what I knew from growing up with cloth, I bought 2 dozen terry squares and a bundle of pilchers and other covers. I also grabbed a few terry fitteds (fluffies) from a few supermarkets, these were all the things I grew up watching my mum use on my younger siblings. Then when I was pregnant a friend and I headed of the the Pregnancy, Babies and Children expo when I was suddenly bombarded with a range of Modern cloth nappies ranging in all shapes and sizes as well as price. So I do what anyone at the expo does I went shopping.

In the end I bought 3 Bambootys and there started an addiction. Once Mitchell was born I also realised how unprepared I was and uneducated with Modern Coth. I live in an area where during winter and early spring it’s cold, oftern wet and not a huge amount of sun, my new lovely all in one bamboo nappies were taking a week to dry. What to do…. I’ll google some other brands and buy more.

I found some on ebay what a bargain 20 nappies for $75 and free delivery caching I’ll get them. I received my cute and lovely cheap BabyLand nappies straight from China, I washed them and they dried overnight (how good is microfiber I thought) when I started using them I figured it’s just like the bamboo ones it will take a few washes for them to be fully absorbent. So at first we just excused the leaks. But over the next month we found we were changing everything on every nappy change, man o man I was going through clothes at a very fast rate. We couldn’t trust the nappy overnight or out and this then stopped us with any cloth. If 1 brand leaked they all probably leak so we’ll just use them at home.

All of a sudden we find ourselves buying a box of disposables a week, first for sleeptime and out, then when it’s raining. Before we knew it we were using disposables almost all the time.

I still loved the idea of cloth and was increasingly frustrated with the use of disposable, the constant full bin and the smell it was horrible. I started looking again and this time I went with more research under my belt I bought some second hand nappies to try different styles. This time I have Cushie Tushies, Pop ins, Babybehinds to name a few, wow what a difference it made. We started again, I found quickly we both preferred Velcro closure over snaps as Mitchell was skinny and the snaps either were too tight or too loose. I also liked pockets as they seemed to be more husband friendly, here started the process to Mitch’n’Moo.

(I love both old school and MCN)

I have had many friends try cloth and CC’s and most end up giving up. Choosing the right nappy for you is always trial and error go with a few types till you know what works for you, get trial packs of new nappies; but buyer beware you get what you pay for. Cheap may just be cheap and nasty, second hand may have been used more then you know, the elastic might be going and the PUL leaking. Buying new you get the benefit of warranties and support. With my next baby on the way I have bought new (except prefolds from friends) I look forward to full time cloth from the start and know this time the nappies I have will work.

When you find the right nappy it just makes sense.