Birth To Potty Pack, Newborn to Toddler
Product Review (submitted on September 21, 2010):
I knew that I wanted to try to use cloth nappies with my baby. I was doing all my cloth research when my water broke 5 weeks early! So right before heading to the hospital I ordered the birth to potty pack because this system had the best reviews. The nappies arrived soon after we came home from the hospital. Since I was in a rush to use them, I only did two hot water cycles before putting them into circulation. Even with just two hot washes, the nappies were absorbent and had quilted up nicely. I hated the idea of wasting so much hot water for just 1 stage of nappy inserts, so I washed the Newborn and Infant stages together. Good thing too, because my full-sized preemie outgrew the newborn size in about a month. I went to pack away the newborn diapers, when I realized I can use the smaller diapers as a "catch pad"/bib for breastfeeding. I'm currently on the Infant size and I'm using the Crawlers and Toddler sizes as tummy-time drool mats, drool mats for naptime, lap pads, and as changing pad liners. The use as changing pad liner was an epiphany after reading so many bad reviews for changing pad systems that required special liners that ultimately end up rolling and bunching in the wash. I received some name-brand washable lap pads as a gift, and they were really small and only lasted two washes before falling apart because they're just two pieces of felt glued together; what a waste! These Real Nappies have turned into so much more than just nappies, and this set really is everything you need to nappy your baby!
Every 2 days I use detergent and the tiniest amount of the Nappy Fresh to wash soiled nappies on a cold water+extra rinse cycle, and then I add all of baby's clothes and other laundry for a second warm water+extra rinse cycle. Haven't had any staining or odor issues yet. I only wash the covers if they get pooped on, and air dry the other covers by building and rotating through all 6 covers in a day.
My baby hates wet nappies, and will cry the instant his is wet. When you feel the nappy, there's never any question if it's wet, versus with disposables we're always poking the nappy over and over again to figure out if that's the reason baby's crying. People have told me the cloth nappies will make potty training easier because baby will know when the nappy is wet, versus with super absorbent nappies, babies tend to sit around in them for longer periods of time. When my baby was sick and having diarrhea, we went 48 hours in disposables, and in that short amount of time he got nappy rash. When we switched back to the nappies, the rash went away. We've never had to use nappy cream (why add more chemicals to your baby's life?).
These cloth nappies have far better workmanship than other prefolds out there. I wanted a few extra inserts so I bought some prefolds and covers from other companies for comparison. I found that the Real Nappies are a little narrower in the crotch so baby's legs can be closer together (how is baby supposed to crawl with a huge nappy in the way?) so I joke that they are European cut. The sewing is tidier and doesn't unravel. For the covers, I love that the fabric is soft and there's no exposed PUL (other companies have an exposed polyurethane liner, almost like pizza parlor tablecloth, and it tends to get sweatier). We've had some close calls, but have not yet had any blow outs (#1 nor #2) even though there are no gussets. The edges of the velcro can be sharp, but aren't nearly as sharp as other wraps I've tried. Keeping the insert pulled all the way to the top edge will help keep the cover from rolling inward and cutting into baby's belly.
The one thing I didn't figure out until later: Since you're doing cloth nappies, why not do cloth wipes too! They can fit into a nappy warmer or tupperware. Just add water and a few drops of natural wipes solution!
I'm a first time mum and I'm no crunchy-granola-hippie, I'm really more of a consumer. But I wanted to provide my baby with the healthiest options I could afford. I never planned to "go green" but after trying these nappies, I can see how easy it is to make my household healthier by reducing the amount of chemicals and trying to choose greener products. While the initial investment is upfront, in the long run, I will spend less on nappying my baby.
I love these nappies.
(Posted on 6/22/10)
