Have you thought about giving cloth nappies a go but don’t really know where to start? Not really sure about what’s available out there? What it all means, looks like…works? No idea what will work best for you, or your baby for that matter? Yep, I totally get that!
I still remember not knowing what our options were. I remember people mentioning things to me, but I didn’t really know what they were on about so I ended up just buying a bundle of a brand of nappy that I had been lent & had heard about (even though I hadn’t actually managed to get the ones we’d been lent to work, ha). You guessed it, I still couldn’t get them to work.
That’s when a lovely lady, Cerilyn, suggested that I just buy a few nappies, one each of three different brands, try them and then buy more of what actually worked. Well, it was great. I actually found a brand that we fell in love with. It fit great and we started having some real success!
It wasn't totally smooth sailing still. I'd realised the importance of trialling different options and found out that I could hire a bundle from our local council for free. Well, unfortunately, it was utterly pointless! I had no support or guidance so didn't really know what went with what. Then realised most of it was either microfibre which I already knew wasn't the greatest, or it was just older or naffer options. Lets just say, I found absolutely nothing of use and felt incredibly disheartened but I went back to the trusty nappies I had bought from Cerilyn and continued from there.
Fast forward, we have lots of those nappies now, but others too (you wouldn’t want to find that the one brand you have suddenly stops working for some reason, leaving you with no nappies that work for your little one at all). We have different brands, different styles, different types, all from trial and error! Some we tried and didn’t get one with so well, some we had great success and loved for different reasons, meaning we now have a stash that we can switch between or adapt as needed.
So, back to the main reason for this blog…why you should trial a range of cloth nappies before beginning to build your own stash.
This important idea of trialling nappies before investing in your own has come up time & time again when helping families on their own cloth nappy journeys, whether appreciation for the opportunity to trial a range of quality nappies through my hire kits, to frustration from others who had bought a load of nappies that they now couldn’t get to work, hoping for support and guidance to help them cloth successfully.
Here are the key reasons trialling nappies can save so much time, money and even a whole heap of frustration:
1. Gives you a chance to give the whole ‘cloth nappies’ thing a go before committing yourselves
We all know that feeling: do we, don’t we? Will they work, won’t they?
Thinking about giving cloth nappies a go is no different and lots of people tend to get put off with the thought that they need to fork out a load of money before they even know if cloth nappies will work for them. Well, by trialling a small range of cloth nappies, it gives families the opportunity to get stuck in and give them a go, see what they’re really like and how they will fit into their lives…all before spending a ton of their hard earned money.
2. Find what best suits your baby
Babies come in all shapes and sizes! Just like us, what fits and suits one baby, won’t necessarily fit and suit the next so trialling a range of nappies allows you the chance to find what actually suits your baby personally. Plus, not only this, babies also come with a real variation in pee output so you also need the chance to play around with different material combinations to find what best suits baby so that you’re not getting leaks galore or having to change their nappy every hour or so (ain’t nobody got time for that)!
3. Find what best suits you and your lifestyle
Plus, it’s not just baby you want to be finding the best solutions for. It’s for yourself and your lifestyle too! Yes, you can think about what you think you want from research: velcro/poppers, quick drying, convenience, more cost effective? But honestly, what you think you want vs what actually works for you can end up being quite different (I thought we’d be velcro all the way but don’t have a single velcro fastening nappy insight now). Trialling a range of nappies, again, gives you the chance to trial lots of the different options out there to find out what truly works for you too.
4. Get incredible support along the way
It doesn’t only have to be about trialling the nappies either! If you hire a kit or buy a small trial kit, not only do you have the chance to give them all a go to figure out the above, you also get incredible help from yours truly. With lots of tips and guidance to get you started, you can also get in touch at anytime with specific questions or problems you may be having…no need to struggle through it alone, trying to work it all out for yourself; that’s what I am here for; to help, to support and to make it a positive switch over to cloth nappies!
5. Knowing what you’re buying is actually going to work for you and your baby!
Once you’ve had a go with the whole range in your kits, finding out which options best suit you and your little one, you’ll feel sure you know which nappies you’ll want to be including as you grow your own set of nappies, your own stash.
That’s not to say you need to go and buy your whole stash in one go there and then! It’s not all or nothing so most of us continue to build up our collection over a little time (spread the cost out) and build up how much we use them as we get more and more confident!
See, trialling cloth nappies before committing to buying your own stash is incredibly helpful! Don’t make the same mistake as me (and lots of other families too), one that I really regretted!
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