Personalised Advice on Reusable Nappies

Detailed nappy advice specific to YOUR requirement

For detailed advice on real nappies, specific to you and your baby, we offer:

ONLINE ADVICE - complete our Questionnaire for advice via e-mail
PHONE ADVICE - call 01244 346 797 (if no one answers please leave a message - we may be busy in the stock room)
ONE-TO-ONE ADVICE - if you live in the Cheshire area call us for an appointment.

Real Nappies for beginners

Why use reusable nappies?

Modern washable nappies can be made from a wide variety of different fabrics including the traditional cotton, super-soft bamboo, and quick-drying man-made fabrics such as micro-terry and micro-fleece. They also come in a great range of colours and are designed to make a far more comfortable and natural alternative to disposable nappies.
Reusable nappies can be fastened with either poppers, velcro or ’Nappi Nippas’, making them nice and easy to put on. Gone are the days of the old nappy pin!
Used in combination with nappy liners and waterproof covers they provide a convenient and relaiable alternative to disposables. Parents are often suprised to find that real nappes are more successful at containing solids than dispoables.
Experience also shows that babies in reusable nappies tend to potty train around 6 months earlier than those in disposables.
Even just using washable nappies part time will have a significant effect on the volume of waste you throw away each week - helping to releave some of the pressure on our landills.
Washing terry nappies below 60 degrees in just a small amount of detergent and minimising the use of tumble dryers ensures that reusable nappies have less effect on the environment, in terms of carbon emissions, than disposables.

Financial information

As an example, if you’re planning to use real nappies full time, a newborn will need around 18 nappies, plus 4 waterproof wraps, nappi nippas, nappy liners, and a bucket. A full kit, including everything you need, will cost around £200. By the time baby is potty trained, real nappies, including washings costs (electricity, water, washing powder) will have cost between £300 and £450 depending on the brands used. Also remember that these same nappies can be used again on siblings. They also have a very good second hand value so you may well be able to sell them on once you’ve finished with them!

Disposable nappies will cost between £700 -£900 per child.

If you’re planning to use real nappies on more than one child the savings are substantial.

The different reusable nappy types:

Shaped, Sized Nappy

(eg. Tots Bots Bamboozles, Flexitots and Organics, Bambinex Teddy and Bamboo)

Available in a range of different fabrics
Snug fitting with elasticated legs.
Requires a separate waterproof cover (wrap)
By having two layers (the nappy and the waterproof wrap) containment is very good.
Fasten with either velcro, poppers of Nappi Nippas (the modern equivalent of the nappy pin but far easier, and safer, to use).
Usually available in two sizes.

Birth-to-potty

(eg. Easy Peasy Bumble, Motherease One-size. Many ’pocket nappies’ will also fit from birth to potty such as bumGenius One-size, Wonderoo and Blueberry Onesize)

Designed to last from birth right through to potty training (although they can sometimes be quite bulky on newborns!).
Snug fitting with elasticated legs.
Requires a separate waterproof cover (wrap), but the two layers allow for very good containment.
Usually fastens with poppers to allow resizing of the nappy.
The fact that they fit baby right through to potty training makes them very economical.

All-in-one

(eg. Tots Bots Easyfit, bumGenius, Itti Bitti)

Ideal for quick changes
A shaped cloth nappy with waterproof cover built in
Snug fitting with elasticated legs
Fastens with velcro or poppers
Can come in different sizes or as ’birth to potty nappies’.
All-in-ones are generally more expensive than other brands, but still work out cheaper than disposables.

Pocket Nappy

(eg. bumGenius One-size, Wonderoo, Blueberry)

Effectively a pouch nappy used to hold a prefolded pad/insert
Can be prepared in advance effectively making it as easy as a disposable
Fastens with either poppers or velcro
Generally quick-drying
Can vary degree of ‘boosting’ for different children/times of day

Traditional terry towelling nappy

(eg. Little Ewe)

A terry (towelling) square requiring simple folding
Requires a separate waterproof cover (wrap)
Once folded terry is gathered to form nappy and safely secured with Nappi Nippa (no need for pins!)
Easy drying of both cover and terry
Can fit from birth to until potty training by varying fit although they are now available in smaller sizes for newborns.
Very economical
Also available in bamboo

How to use real nappies

On the inside of the nappy (between the nappy and baby’s bottom) you place a ’liner’. This is a paper-based slim layer which allows wee to soak through but not pass back to baby’s skin, and for the solids to be easily removed from the nappy. You simply pick it off the nappy and throw it down the toilet leaving a relatively clean nappy, ready to be stored in a nappy bucket before washing.

On the outside of the nappy you place a waterproof wrap (fastened with velcro or poppers). The nappy itself will become damp once baby starts to wee and so this waterproof layer is needed to stop the nappy leaking out onto clothes. The wrap is very thin and doesn’t add to the bulkiness of the nappy.

Summary of the different nappy characteristics

For more general advice here’s a summary of the different terry nappy types:


Quick drying (if no tumble dryer)	Wonderoo, bumGenius, Bambinex Teddy, Easy Peasy Bumble
Organic/natural fabric nappies	Tots Bots Organic, BumGenius Organic, Tots Bots Bamboozle, Bambinex Bamboo, Motherease Onesize,
Slim fitting nappies	Wonderoo, bumGenius, Tots Bots Bamboozle, Flexitots, Bambinex Bamboo, Itti Bitti D’lish
Economy nappies	Easy Peasy Bumble, Little Ewe Squares, Motherease One-size
Luxury nappies	Blueberry, Itti Bitti D’lish

Terry nappy kits available from Lizzie’s Real Nappies

Starter Nappy Kits - provide everything you need to get up and running - nappies, wraps, liners, buckets - the lot!

Trial nappies -give you a feel for the fit, absorbency, drying times etc and allow you to try different nappies before making any decisions.

Multibuy packs - special offers on the most popular real nappy brands.

Personalised Advice Questionnaire