Cloth Diapers Birth to Potty Pack

My husband and I are new to cloth diapering and wanted to try a simple system that would be very easy to use.
With our first child we only used disposables and didn't really know how much cloth diapering had changed. This time, we not only wanted to help the environment but we needed to save some money as well making this an easy decision. We liked the idea of not having to wash an entire diaper (pocket, all-in-one, etc) each time it was dirtied and the price is very reasonable for the amount of items it contains.

I can't comment on how well this system works because our newest arrival isn't here yet but I can say....

-The wraps have a thick feel to them and seem to be very well constructed. Similar wraps feel a bit plastic-like to me and these are thick and soft....
-The velcro tabs are nice and strong and can make the diaper very sung which is great for the tiniest of babies. Most of the others in the newborn/xs size seem big to me. My oldest was a preemie and since my newest isn't here yet I wanted something that could be made very small just in case. :)
-The pre-fold inserts are very soft and quilt up nicely in the wash. I can't comment yet on how they hold up as far as leaks go, but my soon to be 4 year old son wanted to wear the training pants that came with the pack overnight ( he usually wears Pull-Ups to bed). He woke up completely dry and asked if he could wear them again. They must be super comfy :)

-I will say the customer service is amazing. I had a question about the pack and received a response right away. They also upgraded my shipping to 2 days with me asking or having a complaint!! I couldn't believe it when I saw the huge box at my door only a few days after ordering it!!
My husband was very impressed with how much came in the pack for the price. He is excited at the thought of not having to buy diapers each week!

We are very excited about our REAL NAPPIES and we will try to comment again after we give them a real test drive!!! Hope this helps to make your decision a little easier.....

(Posted on 12/1/11)

My son is 2 months and we have been using cloth diapers since he was a week old. We love them! I decided to do cloth diapers while I was still pregnant because my husband just started law school and I knew money was going to be tight. At first my husband thought they would be hard to do and that I was creating too much work for myself which would just lead to me being super stressed. He now denies that he ever thought that and loves when other people ask about them so he can talk about how easy they are. Really, it has been pretty easy and the little bit of extra work that comes with cloth diapers is definitely worth the money saved (not to mention that you won't be putting diapers in the landfills). We have never had any problems with leaking- a problem that I did encounter several times during his first week while he was in disposables. I thought disposables were supposed to be able to absorb more liquid, but cloth has done a much better job! I like that they come in four different sizes to make sure you get the best fit possible as your baby grows. I bought a few one-size-fits-all covers to go with my Real Nappies system just because I liked the different colors, but I have noticed that the leg openings don't quite fit around my little guy's skinny legs the same way that Real Nappies do. The birth to potty pack came with a dvd that explains how to fold the cloth diapers for newborns, boys, and girls and also has a lot of other helpful information.
When I first decided to use cloth diapers I was reluctant to share that with other people because everyone just tried to tell me how hard it was going to be (except for the people who have actually used cloth diapers--they all love them), but now that I have done it for a couple months and know for myself that it isn't as hard as everyone says it is, I'm proud to tell others that we use cloth diapers. I would recommend Real Nappies to anyone that is considering cloth diapers. And I can't wait to test out the 2 child guarantee when we have another baby. My guess is that these diapers will probably last for 3 and possibly 4 children.

(Posted on 9/7/11)

Just wanted to send a quick update to say that even after 9 months, we still love these diapers. No matter how my son's movements change, these diapers have kept up with him. We've never had any issues with the quality of the diapers and the Nappy Fresh works great (I use it with Country Fresh powdered laundry detergent, which I like much better than the ever-popular Charlie's).

Now that he sleeps for such a long time at night, I do put him in a disposable at night, but I cover it with one of my Real Nappies covers to make sure we don't have any leaks.

I highly, highly recommend them and am so glad I found them when I was searching for a cloth diaper set up.

(Posted on 3/23/11)

I purchased the birth to potty pack for my son, hoping to save money and yes the environment by using cloth diapers. From what I have seen from friends and others - these are the best. High quality, easy to use, very helpful instructions - we never felt lost or overwhelmed trying to use cloth. They are absorbant and baby never has any problems with rash unless we put him in disposable! We had one minor flaw on a diaper, and customer service was able to replace it with multiple options. I am very impressed not only with the quality of diapers, but with the quality of customer service. I'll tell everyone to use Real Nappies!!

(Posted on 1/27/11)

I have been cloth diapering since my 2 1/2 year old was born and now also have a one year old. After buying the 6 pack of Snugwrap covers from Real Nappies to try out, I have sold my whole diaper stash and bought this birth to potty pack, which comprehensively covers everything you will need to cloth diaper for the whole time your baby is in diapers. So I am coming from the perspective of having tried many. MANY different types and brands of diapers, covers, and diapering products over the last 2 1/2 years, and I can attest that Real Nappies surpass the quality of any other prefold/cover I've tried. And if you are reading this and are considering cloth diapering and wondering which TYPE of diaper to use, I would recommend prefolds/covers instead of flats, fitteds, pocket diapers, or all-in-ones. The only thing easier to clean than a prefold is a flat, and flats aren't very absorbent and require a lot of folding. Prefolds are just as convenient as the fancy types of diapers out there; it's actually easier in my opinion to lay a prefold on a cover than to stuff a pocket diaper, and the convenience you get in the diaper change with an all-in-onediaper I promise you will more than pay for with the inconvenience of trying to get them clean and waiting for them to dry! And with prefolds you don't have to baby your diaper to try to preserve the leg elastics or closures; if your baby is sick you can wash their diapers in hot water without worrying about if it will damage them. Also, you certainly can't count on fitteds, pockets, or all-in-ones to hold up for more than one child, but prefolds definitely will. The prefolds in this real Nappies package are soft, quilt up beautifully after one wash, and are thick and absorbent, and I have a flash-flooding super-soaker toddler who is in the crawler size diaper, and to keep him dry, it has to be VERY absorbent! The Snugwrap covers provide a great fit over the range of sizes, are very adjustable, and seem extremely durable with the sandwiched PUL. The leg and waist elastic is gentle and does not leave red marks, and if you pull the edge of the diaper up to the edge of the cover when you put it on the baby, the waist won't roll down and let the velcro scratch baby's tummy. I also love the Splashwraps; they are very similar to other Aplix swim diapers I've seen but Real Nappies is the only company I've ever seen that thought to include a swim diaper in a diapering package. The wet bag has a thick, durable string closure with a toggle and is a thick PUL, and the training pants are soft, absorbent, and waterproof. The flushable liners are soft, not papery, and really do a great job of pulling moisture away from baby's skin and keeping solids off the diaper so the mess can just be flushed; it's so nice to not have to spray off poopy diapers anymore! And the Nappy Fresh has worked great for us, even at getting ammonia out of my toddler's nighttime diapers, which has been a challenge in the past. Having tried so many other diapers and diapering products, I can definitely tell you that the only thing cheap about this package is its extremely reasonable price! And the price is even better when you consider that this product is guaranteed to last for two children, which is an unheard-of warranty for cloth diapering products. So if you have 2 kids and you pay $499, it's really just $250 to cloth diaper each child from birth to potty training, which saves thousands off not only disposables, but also over other cloth diapers, which are more expensive and/or whose durability is not guaranteed. My only regret about Real Nappies is that I didn't find out about them2 1/2 years ago! :)

(Posted on 12/3/10)

I have been using this kit with my baby for almost 7 months, along with reusable cloth wipes, and have been extremely happy. This being my second child (used disposables with my first), it is so nice to know that I will never run out of diapers or wipes. The convenience is a huge plus in my book.

I really cannot think of any "cons" to this diaper system except that Real Nappies does not sell the "Nappy Fresh" cleaner in the US. I have been using "Tiny Bubbles" with a scoop of "Nappy Fresh", and it has been fine, but I'm running out of "Nappy Fresh" and have not found an alternative. Ok, second "con" is that I didn't realize the bulk of a cloth diaper would be so significant that it would cause the baby's clothes to be ill-fitting. She basically has a bigger booty due to the bulk, and I've had to move her up a size in some clothes to accommodate this.

I added Snappy Clips to my diapers to ensure a good fit. We are now into using the bio-liners and they are terrific, too. I wash the load of diapers about every 3 days (was more frequent when my baby was younger...more like every 36-48 hours). Overall, I'm extremely happy with this purchase.

(Posted on 8/20/10)

I've had the Birth to Potty pack for a couple weeks now and I highly recommend it.

Before I bought the pack I tried out a couple different prefolds and the Real Nappies system was far and beyond the best. Their diapers are slightly bigger than the average diapers, so I can fold them better for more absorbency (and my little guy needs that).

Even more importantly, their covers are the best! Many of the other covers out there are made from material that will leak over time (I tried some that my friend had used on her son), but the Real Nappies do not. The Real Nappies covers also offer more flexibility to size the diaper cover correctly to fit your baby best and to cover up the diaper itself.

I love that I don't have to count dollars every time my son soils a diaper; he's gone through three diapers on the changing table (probably because we didn't wait long enough for him to be ready for the changing), but I don't get frustrated because we're not using expensive disposables. Plus, when we used disposables in the early days after his birth, they leaked at least once a day. The Real Nappies have rarely leaked and then only when he made it very, very wet (could be avoided with some booster pads - the only thing I think I'll need that's not included in the box).

I recommend getting the top-up pack or some extra covers for your newborn if you're breastfeeding. We go through eight covers in two days. (I wash the covers if he gets them dirty, super wet, or by the 3rd/4th change.) I also recommend cutting the diaper liners in half (across the width of the liner) because you don't need the full liner for a newborn.

(Posted on 7/26/10)

I knew that I wanted to try to use cloth diapers with my baby. I was doing all my cloth diapering research when my water broke 5 weeks early! So right before heading to the hospital I ordered the birth to potty pack because this system had the best reviews. The diapers arrived soon after we came home from the hospital. Since I was in a rush to use them, I only did two hot water cycles before putting them into circulation. Even with just two hot washes, the diapers were absorbent and had quilted up nicely. I hated the idea of wasting so much hot water for just 1 stage of diaper inserts, so I washed the Newborn and Infant stages together. Good thing too, because my full-sized preemie outgrew the newborn size in about a month. I went to pack away the newborn diapers, when I realized I can use the smaller diapers as a "catch pad"/bib for breastfeeding. I'm currently on the Infant size and I'm using the Crawlers and Toddler sizes as tummy-time drool mats, drool mats for naptime, lap pads, and as changing pad liners. The use as changing pad liner was an epiphany after reading so many bad reviews for changing pad systems that required special liners that ultimately end up rolling and bunching in the wash. I received some name-brand washable lap pads as a gift, and they were really small and only lasted two washes before falling apart because they're just two pieces of felt glued together; what a waste! These Real Nappies have turned into so much more than just diapers, and this set really is everything you need to diaper your baby!

Every 2 days I use Charlie's Soap and the tiniest amount of the Nappy Fresh to wash soiled diapers on a cold water+extra rinse cycle, and then I add all of baby's clothes and other laundry for a second warm water+extra rinse cycle. Haven't had any staining or odor issues yet. I only wash the diaper covers if they get pooped on, and air dry the other covers by building and rotating thru all 6 covers in a day.

My baby hates wet diapers, and will cry the instant his is wet. When you feel the diaper, there's never any question if it's wet, versus with disposables we're always poking the diaper over and over again to figure out if that's the reason baby's crying. People have told me the cloth diapers will make potty training easier because baby will know when the diaper is wet, versus with super absorbent diapers, babies tend to sit around in them for longer periods of time. When my baby was sick and having diarrhea, we went 48 hours in disposables, and in that short amount of time he got diaper rash. When we switched back to the nappies, the rash went away. We've never had to use diaper cream (why add more chemicals to your baby's life?).

These cloth diapers have far better workmanship than other prefolds out there. I wanted a few extra inserts so I bought some prefolds and covers from other companies for comparison. I found that the Real Nappies are a little narrower in the crotch so baby's legs can be closer together (how is baby supposed to crawl with a huge diaper in the way?) so I joke that they are European cut. The sewing is tidier and doesn't unravel. For the diaper covers, I love that the fabric is soft and there's no exposed PUL (other companies have an exposed polyurethane liner, almost like pizza parlor tablecloth, and it tends to get sweatier). We've had some close calls, but have not yet had any blow outs (#1 nor #2) even though there are no gussets. The edges of the velcro can be sharp, but aren't nearly as sharp as other wraps I've tried. Keeping the diaper insert pulled all the way to the top edge will help keep the diaper cover from rolling inward and cutting into baby's belly.

The one thing I didn't figure out until later: Since you're doing cloth diapers, why not do cloth wipes too! They can fit into a diaper warmer or tupperware. Just add water and a few drops of natural wipes solution!

I'm a first time mom and I'm no crunchy-granola-hippie, I'm really more of a consumer. But I wanted to provide my baby with the healthiest options I could afford. I never planned to "go green" but after trying these diapers, I can see how easy it is to make my household healthier by reducing the amount of chemicals and trying to choose greener products. While the initial investment is upfront, in the long run, I will spend less on diapering my baby.

I love these diapers.

(Posted on 6/22/10)

I'll share what I was looking for, so you can better get what you need out of this review. Having used other cloth diapers with all sorts of bells and whistles, I was looking for plain, simple and straight forward. No finnicky wicking material, no special washing instructions, no need to strip, or handle carefully. I wanted the old fashioned, very economically priced, get the job done sort of a diaper. When I read that they were used at maternity wards in New Zealand, I figured I'd probably found what I was looking for, and I have.

I was initially concerned at the lack of leg gussets, but have been pleased and relieved to find that they function perfectly without them. I think perhaps with some of the thinner inserts out there, the leg gussets become more necessary. But, as these are meant to fit firmly against baby, that doesn't pose a problem with these and I have not had leaking issues apart from my occasional lapses by leaving the diaper on too long between changes. You do have to make sure you've got the diaper snugly fastened. I pull up and out towards baby's side with the front of the diaper as I cross the tab over to fasten which nicely snugs down the legs and waist at the same time.

I have had the whole gamut of issues with previous diapers that I have tried, and these are far superior in function, at a fraction of the cost. Add to that a two child use guarantee out of your diapers and you really can't go wrong.

We've used the first two sizes so far. I did find that they were easier to use and fit better as my baby got a little bigger - the second size was easier, but the first size worked too. The liquid poo fold works like a charm.

As pps stated, you need to make sure the insert is fully stuffed into the leg gussets and isn't sticking out anywhere around the legs or waist.

I also noted that the velcro tabs were stiff and kind of sharp. I have solved this problem by making sure the insert is completely forward in the cover, so it doesn't fold over and tuck in at the waist, thereby preventing the tabs from coming into contact with skin. I line the insert up with the very edge of the front of the diaper and then stretch the back out so that when the diaper is put on, the insert stays close to the front and not the back.

They seem pretty sturdy and have held up well. The writing on the labels has come off, but the cover itself seems virtually unchanged by multiple washings.

We have a essential pack and a top up pack for this size, yielding 5 covers and loads of inserts. I never make it through all the inserts but I do occassionally run out of covers and have to use a disposable while I do the wash. I think if I were more on top of my laundry, that wouldn't pose a problem, but I think to essential packs instead, with 6 covers is how I'll go for the next size.

It really seems like you can't beat the price. If you're doing cloth diapers to be economical and functional, then this is a good match. If you want the latest bells and whistles, flashy colors, and don't mind spending a pretty penny for what could turn out to be a flop, then this wouldn't be your best match. I kind of wanted a sure thing without much that can go wrong, and not much of a financial investment in my experiment. It worked out great!

(Posted on 6/21/10)

I was new to cloth diapering when our son was born and didn't know where to start, how many supplies I needed, how long the diapers last etc etc. I knew I wanted to use a prefold and cover system, so when I stumbled upon this complete pack I snapped it up and haven't looked back.
This set literally contains everything you need for cloth diapering, from the time your child is born to the time they're potty training, and the cost is a drop in the bucket when compared to what you would spend on buying disposables for 2+ years.
The cotton diaper stays fluffy and super soft and unlike other brands, I haven't had any rashing or chafing with the Real Nappies PUL cover.
I was excited to see that Real Nappies also offers a two child guarantee on all of their products, so if you're thinking about cloth diapering, this Birth to Potty pack is a great investment.

(Posted on 3/1/10)