We've been looking at the various different brands of cloth nappies recently, we really like the idea of cloth - granted you have to wash them but the savings can quickly mount up.

Our local council offers £25 towards the cost (claim back) of purchasing cloths nappies.(alot of councils do this so check out your councils websites some offers upto £75!)
so we popped over (1hr30min drive) to Kiddicare in peterborough to see if they had any there we could get a good look at, play with and feel.

We had a demo of:
Tots Bots (all in one, birth to potty)
Bambino Mio (2 part; two sized inners and 4 diff sized wraps)
The Pop in (v.similar to Bumgenuis style all in one, birth to potty)
Onelife (2 part, birth to potty inner, 4 diff sized wraps)

they all cost in the region of £235-£295 for the birth - potty packs which are designed to have enough nappies to keep you stocked up between washes.

the ones i really didn't like were the mio, it was really basic, but was only held together by velcro, not really toddler proof, don't want my little one to be taking their own nappy off!

Tots bots were really soft and bulky and would take ages to dry, they're made with bamboo but i thought it would be an ideal nightime nappy.

the pop in was a little disappointing the boosters didn't fit as nicely as they did with other brands, also it was velcro only fasteners.

the ones we liked the most were the onelife, the were really easy to put together, they size up and down really well (when you know how to fold the tops) and the wraps have poppers on the lady doing the demo said they're least likely to master the poppers but if they do at least there is the option to put the wrap on back to front so the poppers would be on the rear.

they all use liners (to catch the poops) most of them are flushable as well.

although we were always looking to go cloth as when i stop work for maternity our income drops significantly. so if i'm Breastfeeding and we're using cloth nappies the baby will be fine and we don't have to worry where the money for the next pack of nappies/tin of formula will come from.

we talked to our friends about the cloth nappies, they are avid disposable nappy users and we showed them the leaflets we got, their comment was have you smelt a dirty nappy, it's not going anywhere near my washer!!

they spend near on £12 a week on pampers.
the onelife bundle on kiddicare is £235 it would take 20weeks of full time use for them to pay for themselves.

now we know and have discussed that not all situations would allow us to use cloth ie if we're out and about for a day we might use a couple of disposable nappies but if the main usage is our cloth ones we save tonnes.

we also decided that the first week or so we would use newborn disposables just whilst we find our feet as this is our first child.

our decision is not just environmental or money related. it's the ease, tell me if i sound delusional, but running out of nappies at a crucial moment is not an idea of fun. with cloth nappies they are always going to be available, if you see your getting low just put the washer on you wash more often with a baby anyway. it just seems sensible and practical to me, i'm sure not everyone will agree.

anyway, i'll stop rambling now feel free to comment and thanks for reading :P

I used terry's with my daughter and loved them, those and the nappy nippers only cost about £30 and lasted from about 2 months till the end. friends though I was mad, but family and nursery were really supportive. I saved a fortune and didn't find them any bother, not only did I always have things around to wipe up any spills, Charlotte's nappy rash went completely in the first week and I had space back in the bin.

were definitely washing again, but are trying to decided if it is worth spending more on the posher ones of just going basic again with more terrys. if we go with the terry's our council grant pretty much covers the cost!

Thanks Charlottesma, i'm glad i'm not the only on who sees sense in cloth.
Granted Disposables are totally convenient, and i wouldn't hesitate to use one where necessary.
but it does reflect our throw away culture. i hate the thought of sending tonnes of nappies to landfill.

Interesting to hear how you got on hun, thanks for sharing! I'm planning on going to see a Nappy Lady rep in a few weeks to get a demo of the different types she stocks. I think she does trial packs so I may get a few different ones and see which work.

I'm undecided about going for disposables for the first week or so after birth.... I'm a bit worried I'll get addicted to them! I shouldn't do though. Is it sad that I'm actually excited about learning all about reusables????

Speak to the nappy lady hun or join a cloth bums forum for "real" advice There are soooooooo many more than the ones you have looked at. The cost can vary sooo much and can be altered according to your needs

I have done tonnes of research into the different nappies, i've been reading reviews for months. the one's i've mentioned are the one's i have had the benefit of touching and playing with.

i did start off liking the onelife, then the bumgenius and now i've gone full circle again.
i won't be buying till at least september so i might still change my mind. i believe that some antenatal classes will demo cloth nappies too.

it's not sad, they're actually funky in comparison to the old terry style ones.

the problem is there is a huge variety and everyone has different preferences.

i use bambino mios and i love them!! i agree, they're not very toddler proof but which nappies are?! all the disposables they can get in, and kiddies are clever, they'll get into things like the bumgenious and totsbots too! i find that the bambino mios are so quick to dry, they're not as chunky as the totsbots ive got and they dry in half the time. also the tots bots, you need to tumble for a bit to keep them soft!

Although I haven't had any demos I have been researching too and my favorites at the moment seem to be the bambino mios and the mothercare smart range, they are 2 part, prefold and the insert can either be reusable or disposable. This means that if you're out you can use disposable knowing that you're not throwing away as much as a complete nappy. The downside of these is they only come in white!!

tbh i found i wasnt really bothered about the colour of the nappy...they're under the clothes most the time! i was dead into all the pretty colour wraps for the BMs, but now i just get the white ones cos they arent gona be seen by anyone!