Gear Thursday: Real Nappies Diaper Review

A bit ago we made the switch to cloth diapers...I forget when exactly but if you really care you can probably check out my infographics because I mention it on one of those.

Any way when we made the switch I learned a few things about cloth diapers:

• They are easier to use than you'd think.
• You wind up touching a lot of pee (because you have to get the liner out of the cover.)
• The first few times you experience poo in a cloth diaper you will want to throw it away.
• You won't throw it away because they are expensive - upfront cost, but are cheaper in the long run.
• You will do a shitload of laundry...not sure if that's a pun but if it is then the pun is intended.
• The one size fits all cloth diapers are bullshit (see above re: pun)
• There are a shitload of different kinds of cloth diapers (see above re: pun.)
• If you don't have a good diaper pail bag the room will smell craptastic very soon (see above re: pun)
• It's obnoxious to basically make the same pun over and over again.

With all that being said we're glad we made the switch. Like I said in my crappy list they are easy to use. The learning curve is small.

When we were looking at starting the cloth diapers we found that a lot of so called "one size fits all" diapers didn't fit all sizes. They'll have snaps, straps, velcro or some shit to fit snugly but you will inevitably get a leak.

A long, long time ago I was contacted by Real Nappies to do a review of their diapers so since we were ready I took them up on the offer. I was sent an Infant Size Intro Pack which includes a diaper, diaper cover and a liner.

When I first opened the pack I was a little worried...they looked a little old school because they are the pre-fold style. Basically that means they have one of those flat diapers that you fold and put in a cover.

We set out to try them on Miloh. Following the instructions for a boy we folded the diaper. There are different folds for boy or girl for obvious reasons. There are videos on how to fold correctly...I didn't feel the need to watch them because it seemed easy enough, and I think it was. (boy video. girl video)

After folding you tuck the diaper in the cover, put the cover on and wait for your kid to pee. You can do things while waiting. Things like: tummy time, feed a bottle, read a book (to your baby or in another room by yourself), put your baby to sleep, make brownies and send them to me, or many other things.

Once that kid of yours is ready to be changed you get ready to touch pee...this happens with all cloth. With the Real Nappies you take the diaper out of the cover and slap a new one in and start the whole process over until you get your kid going in the toilet.

I think they say you can use covers 4 times before washing. That's actually really nice. It cuts down on washing and cuts cost because the diapers are relatively inexpensive.

All in all we were happy with how the diaper worked. It was way easier than we thought it would be, fit well and didn't leak.

The only negative was that Miloh got really crabby when he peed because these aren't as wicking as disposables and some cloths we've tried. But I should mention it was the first cloth he tried so he was getting used to non-disposables. Also they say that as you wash the diaper part they get more wicky and such. And most importantly one of the benefits of cloth diapers is the kid knows it peed...this awareness helps toilet training.

All in all I think that Real Nappies are a good thing to check out...they seem quite affordable to the competition because of the multi-use cover and they aren't to hard to figure out.

Learn more on the Real Nappies site or check them out on Amazon.

In case you're a cloth diaper freak I'll have another review in a few weeks...