Nappies, nappies, nappies! Ok so this may not be the first thing that comes to mind when venturing out travelling with your baby, but it’s probably one of the most important as no one wants to lug around disposables, or be left with nothing to cover yourself from an explosion whilst hiking a mountain.
I’ve spent time with the local Bristol Cloth Nappy Library expert, Sarah Smith, who has given me a crash course in the best types of nappies to use whilst travelling!
Our situation:
1. Cannot fill the motorhome with disposibles #NOSPACE
2. Do not want to fill the motorhome with disposibles #NOTECOFRIENDLY
3. Have no washing machine
4. Need reusable option that are easy clean and quick drying!
So if you find yourself in a similar situation, and need an easy to clean, quick drying option, then this is the blog for you!
So there are many types of cloth nappies, too many to name on this blog. It’s insane how many options there are. It became apparent that I needed to use cotton nappies as these would be the quickest drying material available. Microfibre and Bamboo are fab materials for absorbency, however they would take a very long time to dry without a tumble dryer to help out. So I had a few options to try out, here goes with my own personal experience. Obviously every child is different and wets differently too. Boys generally pee alot more than girls (so Im told) so need extra absorbancy!
Terry Towels
Terry towels are old school. They are cotton pieces of toweling and were used by our parents and parents parents as the option of choice. They come with all sorts of folding options and in my tests are the quickest drying option around. However, when you have a wriggle bum like Ethan, there was no chance of getting this safely and securely on him. He will not sit still for even a disposible nappy without screaming and moving so I had to immediately discount this option in the form of wrapping it up whilst putting on. If you don’t have a wanabee escapee artist, these may work for you! Or you can insert them into a wrap and they work better. Although I don’t find them a very soft option when you dont have a tumble dryer to fluff them up.
Motherease
Another old school option that aren’t used a lot these days, however have fantastic soaking power. I found these nappies kept Ethan dry throughout the day and night. I did use them with a disposible liner (for the poop) and a little lamb bamboo insert to help with absorbancy (makesure you place this under the cotton liner as a backup to the cotton). This nappy is used with a wrap to help keep the wet in. The only downside to this one is drying time, it pretty much took 24 hours to dry!
Tots bots Cotton/Microfibre mix
Ethan stayed dried throughout the night with Tots bots cotton/microfibre mix, and he slept from 7pm-8am! I decided to try this without any extra inserts as well, and they worked. I handwashed the nappy, and placed it outside to try. It took around 8 hours to be truly dry which isn’t bad at all in comparison.
Bamboo Tots Bots
This was a wildcard, and basically an ‘I told you so’ from Sarah. They took an age to dry and definately not the best option for life on the road. Bamboo inserts are great and due to their thin design, they dry in a few hours, but as this tots bots is thick and bulky it was the opposite.
So after a trial of the above, our verdict is to use the Tots Bots Cotton with any wrap you can find. As Ethan is a wriggle pants, we use velcro wraps for ease. Oh and don’t forget to use biodegradable liners, they really do help when you are in the middle of nowhere with a very pooey nappy! I wouldn’t suggest flushing the liner itself as it may block the escape route, but instead place it in a biodegradable nappy sack and place in the bin at your next stop.
If you find any better alternatives, please do let us know! Cloth nappies are changing and innovating by the day it seems so we would love to hear from you if you have found some more great options!
