A cloth nappy has three layers:
We will look at all these in detail below. For now we will just point out that there are nappies which combine two or three of these layers in one like a disposable - these nappies are sometimes known as "all-in-ones". There are also pocket nappies which sometimes use all these layers in a slightly different way. However, most cloth nappy users choose liners, nappies and covers separately for reasons given below.
The main purpose of a liner is to catch poo, making disposal easy. Some liners also keep the baby dry. You should use a fresh liner at every nappy change.
Our overall favourites are fleece liners - plain old polyester fleece, like your warm ski jacket is made from. Polyester fleece (NB: not cotton fleece or fleecy, which is a polycotton mix) does not absorb moisture which means it always sits dry next to the skin. We'll explain: it allows urine to pass into the nappy but does not let it pass back to the skin unless the nappy is totally saturated. The absorbent nappy will hold on to the urine while the non-absorbent fleece liner will not.
Fleece liners also make poo disposal VERY easy. Nine out of ten times poo will just roll off them if you hold them over the toilet. It is astonishing how dry their skin feels with fleece liners, even when you're changing the wettest "splat" nappy first thing in the morning 12 hours after the last change. If your concern is keeping the baby dry, then fleece is the liner for you.
Finally, they are the cheapest option. You can buy them for a few dollars each, but a trip to your local fabric store will get you all the fleece you need for around $10, and all you have to do is cut it to size as fleece doesn't fray, so you don't even need to stitch it - just wash it once and go! Tips on choosing fleece and making your own liners are here.
The key advantage of paper liners is that they are disposable. However, it is important to realise that very few paper liners are flushable. The only flushable ones that we know of in Australia are Weenees (available from Target, or see www.eenee.com). The disposable liners that you see in supermarkets have to be disposed of in the rubbish. As far as we can see this does away with most of the advantage, but some people like them.
Paper liners do reduce the amount of moisture next to the baby's skin, but nowhere near as effectively as fleece. However, the ability to drop the liner, poo and all, in the toilet can be just what the doctor ordered when outside the home or when your baby is producing horrible, pasty poos. (But if you use the "disposable" but non-flushable ones you can end up carrying parcels of poo around until you find a bin - which is hardly ideal.)
For a couple of years Elizabeth used paper liners on her son because he produced dirty nappies like you wouldn't believe several times a day. They were so awful that fleece just was not workable, so paper was a real saviour. Then she discovered the Little Squirt which allowed her to switch to fleece, but she still uses paper on odd occasions when she is expecting a foul nappy at an inconvenient time.
Deborah has been more lucky with her daughter's bowels! After using flushable and disposable liners for the first few months she made the switch to fleece liners and will never go back. The main reason is the performance of fleece liners but the next is the shape. Through buying some and making her own she has been able to select hourglass shaped liners which are ideal in fitted nappies since they do not scrunch up in the way that rectangular liners can.
These liners are made of 100% knitted polyester, and they come in a large triangle shape. They are very similar to fleece liners in that they provide excellent dryness, and are good for poo disposal. They are not that easy to track down - try your local chemist, or even your local supermarket for brands such as Bobabies and Little Wishes. While some are comparatively cheap, others are very expensive in comparison to fleece, without offering much advantage in performance.
There are some other liners available - some made from exotic fabrics like silk (which is excellent for very sensitive and very damaged skin) or various types of synthetics. But the main choices are fleece, paper and polyester.
By flat nappies we mean the ordinary nappies that you are probably familiar with: plain old squares of either terry towelling or flannelette. Americans also use a version called "prefolds" which have extra layers of fabric sewn into a panel down the middle. They are rectangular in shape and made of cotton twill.
Flat nappies have several advantages. They are the cheapest option, they dry extremely quickly and are very versatile, both as nappies and beyond their nappy-ing days. Terry nappies will usually fit from birth to toddler, but it will be quite bulky on a newborn or young baby. Flannelette is slimmer-fitting and thus quicker to dry and better at the beginning, but doesn't have the absorbency to cope with a toddler. It is also slightly cheaper than terry. As both are so cheap, you might choose to buy flannelette for the first 3 months or so, and then move into terry once your baby is a little older.
Prefolds have one advantage over flannelette and terry in this regard. Prefolds come in different sizes - typically you would need 2-3 sets of prefolds to go from birth to toddler. The sizing means that you obtain optimum fit and absorbency at each stage, but of course means more expense because you need several sets. However, as they are so cheap to start with, this is not crippling, and it does provide a good middle option between flat nappies and fitted nappies.
Terry nappies are extremely versatile - different folds can be used to suit boys and girls, newborns and toddlers, big poo-ers and big wee-ers and so on. The good old triangle and kite can be useful, but there are folds that are better than that out there - sadly largely unknown, even to helpful grandmothers and hospital midwives. (The best source for different flat nappy folds is here on The Nappy Lady's website). There is basically only one fold for prefolds (with slight variations - see here), however. But all flat nappies are fantastic general purpose cloths for wiping up spills and vomits and grime of all sorts. One is useful in every nappy bag as a general purpose cloth which can double as a nappy if you get caught out.
The main problems with flat nappies are complexity and fit. As with all things, folding a flat nappy is a breeze with a bit of practice, but it can be daunting when you first start. It is even harder for those who might not be changing your baby often, such as grandparents or babysitters, and is virtually impossible for those with limited use of their hands. Personally, we like terries a lot but prefer to take a shaped nappy outside the house - you never know where you might have to change the nappy, and doing it standing up on the back seat of a bus or on a sandy beach is easier with a fitted nappy than one that you have to fold.
The other point is fit. A good, neat fold should provide pretty good containment at legs and waist (when combined with the outer cover, it should be better than a disposable). But if the fold is not very neat, or in cases of extremely runny poo, the elastication of a fitted cloth nappy will provide better protection. However, if the fold is done well, the difference between a flat nappy and a fitted one is marginal - it just requires care when putting it on.
Terry nappies and some (but not all) prefolds are best fastened with a "snappi". This is a plastic, T-shaped device with hooks on each end. The hooks have teeth which catch the loops of terry towelling, and pulling each end of the "T" tight will fasten the nappy and should leave the snappi looking more of a "Y" shape. (Information on this is coming soon.) Flannelette nappies can be fastened with safety pins or clamps.
Another option - popular in the US but not so common elsewhere - is "padfolding". In this case a flat nappy (usually a prefold) is folded into a rectangle shape but not fastened at all. It is simply held in place by a close-fitting cover, usually one that fastens with a hook and loop tape (like Velcro or Aplix). The advantage of padfolding is that it is faster than pins (although not much faster than a snappi). However it doesn't give nearly as snug a fit at waist and legs, and this could be a problem with anything but the most solid of poos. Pad folding is particularly useful at night time when you do not normally expect poos but could use the maximum absorbency available from a flat/square nappy. A normal pad fold provides eight layers in the area where it is needed the most, while a kite fold for example provide three at best.
Flat nappies are ideal for those with limited budgets or limited drying facilities.
These are nappies which work like disposables do - they have an hourglass shape when folded out and once they are on they are in roughly the shape of underpants. Shaped nappies have extra layers of cloth sewn into the areas which require most absorbency, and are brief at the hips and thighs where it is not needed. They will also typically have elastication at back and waist which provides extra protection for poo leakage. If you want a nappy that is truly bomb-proof, then a good quality shaped nappy is the answer - nothing can compare.
Shaped nappies are similar to disposables to fasten - just pull the nappy through the legs and fasten at the front (though there are some side-fastening versions available). Fastening can be with a snappi, Velcro or poppers - each of which is very simple to use. This makes them very suitable for changing nappies in difficult circumstances, or for use by occasional nappy-changers. They are also a real blessing with crotchety 11 month olds that spend the entire nappy change trying to crawl off in another direction.
Another nice thing about a shaped nappy is the trim fit - no matter how well you fold a flat nappy, it's going to come some way down the thigh, whereas a shaped nappy will be closer to the line of underpants.
The only real disadvantages of shaped nappies are (1) the cost - they are more expensive than flat nappies (but still a fraction of the cost of disposables); and (2) drying time - as they have extra thickness sewn into them, and elastication which crumples them up, they can take much longer to dry. However, absorbency generally goes hand in hand with drying time so it is important to work out your priorities. You need a good idea of what is most important and what is least important. Furthermore, the increased absorbency should mean that you won't need nearly as many as you would if you were using flat nappies. So, you either buy fewer nappies and wash more often, or you still buy 20 nappies (the magic number that is often recommended) and wash less frequently.
On the whole shaped nappies are the best option for all but the most cash-strapped. They are so wonderfully easy to use and so amazingly reliable that it is hard to adjust back to anything else once you have used them. And there is no point going for the cheapest option if you just get frustrated and revert to disposables. However at $10-$25 each, shaped nappies are the most expensive cloth option. You may choose to strike a compromise and buy just enough shaped nappies to get you through the day, and use terries as back-up when you do more than the usual number of changes in a day.
Within the fitted nappies category there are sized nappies (one of the more expensive options but almost always the best performer), all-in-ones (that include a waterproof outer - the most expensive version that doesn't have a "secondary line of defence" in a separate cover) and pocket nappies (which require 'stuffing' with anything absorbent and are thus very versatile as day or night nappies).
The term "cover" is here used for what is commonly called "pilchers" in Australia (or a "wrap" in the UK and USA). A cover, as the name suggests, is the outermost layer of a nappy and this is what prevents the moisture in the nappy leaking out onto clothes. Obviously, then, a good quality cover is a key element in making cloth nappies work. Many people complain that cloth nappies require changing every hour or so. This is invariably because they have not used a good quality cover.
Unfortunately most of the covers available in Australia are just so much garbage - literally! Most of them ought to be banned from lovely little baby bottoms! These horrible things fall into two categories. Most common in Australia are PVC covers, yet we consider it one of the most inappropriate materials in our climate. It is admittedly a good watertight material but as you can imagine it is entirely airtight as well. Could there be anything more uncomfortable than wearing your own personal sauna on your bum all day - especially in hot weather? Sometimes they cover the PVC in cotton so that it looks pretty but it does not make it any less a sauna! It is the most inappropriate fabric for the Australian climate; a truly bizarre product!
Quite apart from the sauna effect, PVC can also be quite rigid and is sometimes said to "cut thighs to ribbons". (This is quite an issue when your babies have lovely, fat, pudgy legs.) It is extremely cheap but it often falls apart after a few washes. If you must use PVC then look for brands with soft binding at the legs to minimise marks on baby.
The next most common ones are made out of 100% acrylic; hardly a comfortable fabric in hot weather and not particularly water-resistant either. They are usually in the pull-on-pants style which is disastrous when trying to remove a very pasty, pooey nappy as it gets smeared everywhere!
So much for the bad stuff, let's get onto the good covers…
A good cover is absolutely crucial to making cloth nappies work. It does not matter how good your liner and nappy is, if the cover is of poor quality then you will get leaks and your baby may be hot and uncomfortable. Covers may be made of fleece, wool, nylon or polyester. Nylon and polyester are commonly laminated with polyurethane and have become know as PUL covers (polyurethane laminate). We will begin with the PUL option as we think these are the best all-rounders.
A PUL cover is made of cloth but the inside of the cover is laminated and looks like a wax waterproofing. This provides a high degree of water-resistance whilst in most cases maintaining breathability. It wears well when cared for properly - we both have $20 Mother-Ease covers that are going strong after daily washing for 2 years, and Elizabeth's are now happily protecting her second baby's bottom. They can usually be washed with the nappies and dry in minutes. They easily cope with very wet daytime nappies, and even with the 12-13 hour sodden, dripping overnighters.
Fleece and wool covers both work quite differently from PUL. With PUL, the cover is supposed to contain the moisture, while still allowing a little air to pass through to prevent things getting too "steamy" inside the nappy. Fleece and wool allow much more air in and out of the nappy and this air-flow causes evaporation of moisture from the nappy. So instead of just containing the moisture, they actually get rid of some of it - which makes them particularly good for use overnight when large amounts of wee are produced. It also makes them the coolest option as the cooling effect of the evaporation makes the cover a personal, bum-sized air conditioner.
Of course, fleece and wool both also act partly as a barrier to prevent leaks as well (especially with leg elastication) and since fleece and wool do not hold water (as with fleece liners) they work well. One word of warning; wool is only made water resistant by the presence of lanolin. Wool covers need to be relanolised every now and again by soaking in a diluted lanolin solution. It sounds like hard work, but given they only need washing every 'now and again' they are actually incredibly easy to use and maintain.
The only time when fleece and wool covers are not a great choice is when there is not much air-flow, eg very long periods spent in a car seat or a pram. In that case there will not be much evaporation going on. As they are not technically water proof (though highly water resistant) you could get leaks - unlike with PUL covers.
There is another nifty thing to point out with woollen covers. The lanolin in the wool has an interesting effect - it actually breaks down the elements in the urine so that the cover rarely needs to be washed! Yes, it sounds icky but it really does work. Frequency of washing depends on the frequency of use but as a guideline:- if you use wool at nightime only then you can expect to have to wash it roughly every four to six weeks (unless it gets soiled) and relanolise it every eight to ten weeks. And the best bit is that the covers tell you when they need to be washed - there is no guessing! In the meantime, though, it is incredibly effective and no work at all! More information about how wool covers work coming soon.
There is no need to change the cover at every nappy change. It is usually enough to put a clean cover on at the beginning of the day and use another one overnight. You may even find that you can go 24 hours in one cover. Unless poo makes contact with the cover you can therefore get away with 2 covers, but you are much better off to have 1-2 extra up your sleeve for emergencies and to allow time to wash and dry the cover in between. Wool however cannot be used for two consecutive nappies because the fibres need to 'air'. You can alternate between two wool covers throughout the day, or just use one for nighttimes.
Finally, a quick word about all-in-ones, pocket nappies and sizing.
An all-in-one nappy, as the name suggests, has the nappy and cover all in one piece. In terms of usage, an all-in-one most closely resembles a disposable nappy - you simply fasten it once and bob's your uncle. (You may have to insert your own liner, however.) This has particular advantages for infrequent nappy-changers or when changing under pressure.
However, there two disadvantages. The first is the cost - they are much more expensive than any other cloth option. Using all-in-ones exclusively is too expensive for most. In any case, we would not recommend all-in-ones as a day-to-day nappy because of the lengthy drying time. The outer layer of an all-in-one is naturally designed to prevent moisture passing through it, and as this is a built-in cover it means that it takes an age to dry by limiting air contact on the outer layer of absorbent fabric (which is in contact with the waterproof fabric). If you use all-in-ones you will need many, many more nappies to account for the longer drying time.
For these reasons, most people who use them have only one or two which they keep for times when the extra convenience of an all-in-one really pays off - for instance, to keep in the nappy bag for changes out and about; or for use by a reluctant babysitter.
This is one last type of nappy which we will mention just for the sake of completeness. These nappies are a cross between a shaped nappy and a flat nappy.
They work like this. Usually you put the nappy on the baby and then the outer cover. With pocket nappies, there is an outer and inner layer with an opening at a seam which allows you to stuff the nappy with whatever absorbent fabric you choose. You can fill this pocket with a pad folded flat nappy, a booster pad or even a tea towel! This means that you are using a flat nappy (to stuff the nappy with), but there is no folding or fastening involved. And in the meantime you have the advantage of elastication at the legs and some kind of easy fastening such as Velcro or poppers. Sometimes pocket nappies are effectively all-in-ones in that the outer layer is also a waterproof layer. This means that no separate cover is required. They are incredibly versatile since the stuffing determines their absorbency and consequently can be easily used as a day AND night nappy.
Pocket nappies provide a very easy-to-use option, especially for less competent nappy changers. You can simply stuff the nappies ahead of time, and anybody can manage putting these on! The all-in-one types can also be left unstuffed and used as a cover on a normal nappy, so they are quite versatile. The downside is the cost - this is a more expensive option than most other nappy types, and if you use them stuffed, then you need a new one at every change (you do not just change the stuffing), so you need quite a few. The other disadvantage is that where high levels of absorbency are needed, the pocket can become "overstuffed" and this distorts the shape at leg seams, which can lead to leaks. This is most likely to be a problem overnight, and typically only for heavy wetters.
Some nappies are "birth-to-toddler" while some come in different sizes. It is fairly unusual (especially in Australia) to find a terry in small or large sizes although these are more common overseas. Most flat nappies are therefore suitable for both newborns and toddlers. Shaped nappies, on the other hand, will either be sized or birth-to-toddler. The birth-to-toddler nappies are usually fastened slightly differently as the baby gets bigger.
The great thing about sized nappies is that they provide optimum fit at all times. This also makes them by and large the most absorbent nappy at all stages. However, you will obviously have to buy a new set of nappies as your baby grows and this has to be factored into your costings.
The obvious advantage of birth-to-toddler nappies is that they are cheaper, and in most cases they will last to potty training. However they are often more expensive at the onset which can be a bit confusing. They do usually work out cheaper than buying sized nappies so do not be bewildered by the initial cost. Unfortunately if your child is larger than average and/or toilet trains late, then they may simply outgrow the birth-to-toddler. For most people this is not the case, but there is always a small risk that you will have to buy extra nappies at the end. There is no doubt, though, that they are extremely convenient. Elizabeth has used the same nappies (Totsbots) on her (large) 3 year old son and newborn daughter. Be aware that there is a trade-off with birth-to-toddler though: as they incorporate enough cloth to suit a toddler, they will be bulkier on a newborn. Once you've used them, you will probably be comfortable with this, but it can look out of proportion at first on a newborn. The other thing is that even the best of the birth-to-toddlers will start to look a little skimpy on a large 3 year old.