I’ll start this by saying that I LOVE Motherease nappies. I bought mine 5 years ago and they’ve been used by no1 son, no2 son and now my GG is using them. They’re simple to use, wash well and dry easily. Plus they very rarely leak – even with no 2 sons explosive fruit poos, which is saying something. When I was looking at cloth nappies all those years ago, I knew I wanted a birth to potty nappy from a cost perspective and Motherease were recommended to me.

They’re a very simple nappy, with poppers to close on your baby. They come with a pop in booster which you’ll need from 3 months or so and you can add an overnight booster to them easily. I’ve always used fleece liners as I think it helps prevent nappy rash and must make things more comfortable for bubs.
The ‘Rikki’ wraps that Motherease produce are recognised to be one of the best. For those of you unfamiliar with cloth nappies, the wrap is the outside layer that stops the wee from soaking into their clothes.  The Rikki wraps close with Velcro and are so easy to put on.

So if Motherease nappies are so great, why am I even considering anything else? Well the only teeny tiny drawback to Motherease nappies are that they’re pretty bulky . This wasn’t so much of a problem for my boys, but even they struggled to get trousers to fit over their nappies. However with my GG, it’s impossible to get any trousers to fit. And although I love her in little dresses, because the nappies come down almost to her knees, it’s really not a good look.

I tried some Kushies that I’d bought a while ago for my Mother-in-law. Kushies are an All-in-one (AIO) type nappy, that is, the wrap and inner bit are all integrated in one. They close with Velcro, so you just open them, wrap it round the baby and close it.

They were OK. Because the inner part is layers of flannel they’re really absorbent. They didn’t leak much but they took forever to dry on the washing line. If you were tumble drying each time that might not be a problem, but I like to get my washing out when possible – it’s cheaper, more environmentally friendly and getting them in the sunshine helps keep them fresh and clean. The other downside was that for my GG, they were still really bulky.

So although I like the AIO type nappy in principle, Kushies weren’t for me.

Next on my list to try were the new Totsbots Easi-tots which are a Birth to Potty all in one nappy. There are lots that I like about these. They’re VERY pretty to look at, with the outer layer being white stars on coloured backgrounds, really cute. They’re also very neat fitting because they’re made from Bamboo which is very absorbent but can be finely woven.  They’re also made in the UK which is a bonus.  The last big plus is that they wash well – washing clean easily without staining.  However, I found that they leaked around the legs on my GG – perhaps she has daintier legs than her Mother!  I also found it a bit annoying to pull the outer bit out of the inside of the nappy for washing.

So, I thought I would compare these to another very popular Birth to Potty all-in one – the Bumgenius v3.  These nappies have pretty coloured outer wraps like the Easi Tots, however these are a pocket nappy which is then stuffed with a micro-fibre insert.  Again, there’s a lot of good to say about these – they’re a snug fit and easy to put on.  But for me the major downside is the washing instructions.  Firstly, you can’t use any baby bottom cream because you could damage the nappies.  Secondly, the recommended washing instructions are ‘rinse, cold wash, then warm wash’.  So they really need to be washed for about 4 hours to get them clean – not good from a timing perspective or environmental perspective.  Lastly, if you don’t follow this onerous washing routine and have a messy poo-er in your family, the micro fibre inserts tend to attract poo particles from the wash, so they come out of the machine speckled with poo fibre.  Gross.

But….you’ll be glad to know that I haven’t given up on finding the perfect slim fitting, leak proof, easily washable nappy.  In fact we’re currently testing Itti Bitti D’lish nappies as we speak and will have an update shortly.  Watch this space!