Regular readers will know that I used Bambino Mio reusable nappies more or less full-time from when Lara was about 6 weeks old, to 18 months old. We had a bit of a wobble just before Christmas because Lara was making the nappies too wet and the liquid was soaking through. I've tried a few other brands and honestly, none of them cope either. We resorted to disposables. Bambino Mio came to the rescue to help me try and move back to cloth nappies. They sent Lara some of the extra large cotton nappies and a pack of the MioBoost extra absorbent inserts. So... did they work? Have we moved back to reusables? Read on...
Bambino Mio nappies tend to get a very mixed press. I call it the Marmite effect. You either love them or hate them. We loved them. Lots of mums complain that they are unable to cope with newborn, sloppy poo and that it leaks out of the side. I never found this a problem. In fact, I had far more problems with disposables during the early months. I found the innovative Bambino Mio system to be incredibly easy to use (dare I say easier than the all-in-ones I've tried since?) and, once I'd got my head around the need to sluice sloppy poo off nappies before it caused permanent staining, I found them astonishingly easy to clean and to fit into my daily routine.
Bambino Mio nappies have a three-step nappy system. On the outside you have a waterproof cover which you can re-use for several nappies in a row as long as they don't get wet or dirty. On the inside you have a square of thick cotton which is folded to add lots of absorbency. And over the top of the cotton nappy you place a thin liner.
I love the nappy covers. They are honestly the easiest of all of the nappies I've used and, having used them since the very first weeks of Laras life, she got used to them and very kindly didn't rip the velcro open! The wraps have some gorgeous designs including this new heart design which is soooo Lara! We tended to live with 5/6 wraps and around 18 nappies so that we could do a turn-around every 3 days. The wraps didn't get much reusage when Lara was at the childminders as both childminders were very unwilling to re-use them. One of the perceived downsides to the wraps is that you have to spend money on new wraps as your child grows. Actually, I see this as a big postive. It means that the nappy wrap is a good size for your child at one particular time and is well-fitting. I struggle with nappies that expand using poppers because I can never find exactly the right size of Lara's waist, or legs. I never had this problem with Bambino Mio.
The cotton nappies are the crux of the nappy system. You can fold them in several different ways to provide absorbency where you need it. Until recently I had always opted for a simple rectangle, folding the nappy twice to provide a triple-thickness. I could have the nappies pre-folded so that I could quickly slot one in during a nappy change. Since Lara started wetting through the nappies, I've tried folding the nappies with an extra thickness at the front. The latest Bambino Mio cloths that we have tried look ENORMOUS and aren't really designed for the size of nappy cover Lara currently uses but they do provide extra absorbency so we haven't had any accidents. The only down-side is that they make the nappy so bulky that most of Lara's trousers won't fit over the top so we reserve these nappies for in the evenings when Lara is in chill-out clothes ready for bed.
Bambino Mio nappies are undeniably bulkier than most other cloth nappies we have tried but this was never a problem for us. We soon learned to buy a slightly larger size of trousers for Lara to accommodate her lovely squishy big bum.
As for liners, you can use any brand of liner you like, but the Bambino Mio ones are available in my local supermarket so that suits me fine. I learned not to use a liner until Lara started weaning because sloppy poo just slips through, or squidges out of the sides and the liner makes this worse. Now Lara is on a fully-fledged adult diet we use the liners with great success.
MioBoost
Right from the very beginning I have used an added absorbent booster in Lara's nappies overnight. A tip off from a good friend made me seek out some terry and some bamboo inserts which I folded into the cotton part of the nappy. I'm convinced that the extra absorbency helped with Lara's sleeping patterns during the night. The MioBoost absorbent boosters come in a set of 3. They are incredibly soft and have a slight shaping to them to help them sit inside the nappy. I didn't find them any less absorbent than my existing inserts but I'm not sure I noticed a great increase in absorbency. I did however like the fact that they are a lot better made and therefore likely to stand the test of multiple washes better than the two or three different types of insert I have tried before. I also think that at around £6 for 3, I think they are great value.
All in all, I have found both the bigger nappies and the new MioBoost have given me the confidence to start using resuable nappies again but that I still have to change Lara's nappy almost immediately after she has wet it. Thank you Bambino Mio for convincing me to give them a try again!
