This seems to be a big one. How do you find that mysterious brand that is going to suit your baby? What if you spend loads of money on a stash that doesn’t work? Should you buy a stash of just one thing, or loads of different types?

Let’s get one thing straight, there is no ‘the one’. I believe almost anything can work with the right booster.

I totally worried about getting the ‘right thing’ when I was pregnant. I’d bought 20 of the exact same nappy. Had I wasted my money? Absolutely not, in fact I still use those 20 every single day. No one worries if that bumper pack of disposables is going to suit their baby, because the chances are they’ll be fine. No one worries that sleepsuit isn’t going to fit their baby’s shape. Why? Because essentially all disposable nappies are the same, all sleepsuits are the same. And essentially all cloth nappies are the same.

During my 18 months of using cloth nappies I’ve tried a LOT of different nappies (check out the ever-growing reviews section). Yes some have suited my baby better than others, some I have liked more than others. But if I’d only had that one nappy brand in my stash I could totally made it work. 

When you think about it, finding ‘the one’ nappy would be impossible. Each and every day I find brands I’ve never heard of. You’d never be able to test them all no matter how hard you tried.

I can totally see how people get overwhelmed with the choices. My local council offer a choice of trial packs from one of three leading brands (which is fantastic!). Just those three choices seems to cause enough confusion.

So my first piece of advice; buy something you can afford and like the look of. Fall for the pretty prints.

Second; don’t give up, don’t sell your entire stash because they “aren’t working for you”. Troubleshoot what is causing you issues. Check you’ve got a good fit, post some photos on one of the many cloth nappy Facebook groups for some friendly help. Sometimes the simplest of tweaks can make all the difference. Make sure the absorbency matches your baby’s output.

Which brings me nicely onto the third thing; invest in good inserts and boosters. That doesn’t have to mean expensive. Swap out microfibre where you can and use a cotton prefold. Prefolds are cheap and absorb so fast. Counteract compression leaks with a natural fibre. This doesn’t even need to involve spending money, old flannels or cut up tea towels do the job. Hemp boosters are amazing and will generally solve most problems, although they are a little more expensive.

You don’t need to try all the nappies to be successfully using cloth. You don’t even need to try more than one thing.

The most successful cloth users, the ones that run into the least problems, are the ones that buy one or two types of nappies and use them exclusively for 2-3 years.

Of course if you want to try the new shiny thing then do so. But it really isn’t necessary. And continually changing your stash, or buying new nappies, is going to cost you significantly more.

I love trying new brands and reviewing them. It’s great that so many different options are available. But that doesn’t help those new to cloth. Please don’t be overwhelmed by all the options. If you’re struggling to get something to work for you then DM me on Instagram and I’ll try to help.