Frequently Asked Questions
General
One size fits most, means that our nappy is designed to fit most babies. Of course babies come in all shapes and sizes. Thats why we have tested our nappies on new borns, crawling babies, walking babies, chubby babies, skinny babies, long babies, our nappy is designed to fit the majority of babies.
If you are having trouble with the fit then please get in touch directly or join our super helpful Facebook community group for tips!
1. Safe for Baby
Disposables contain dozens of harsh chemicals that can cause irritation, rashes and chafing, theres also been cases of sharp plastic being found sticking through next to babies skin, our cloth nappies are safe, and an allergy free option for your baby.
2. Safe for the Environment
Cloth helps reduce your carbon footprint and cuts down on excessive waste. Disposable nappies are the third largest single consumer item in landfills, and represent about 5% of solid waste. In a house with a child in nappies, disposables make up 50% of household waste.
3. Cost Efficient
At first, reusable nappies may seem more expensive but in reality, it's an investment especially if you go on to use the same cloth nappies for subsequent children. Bear Bott nappies grow alongside your baby because of the four rise settings!
4. Easy to Use
I have to say I was surprised how quickly using cloth becomes second nature, Harry’s gran and grandad manage perfectly too!
The low hip poppers on Bear Bott nappies help with stability when changing a wriggly baby. If your worried about washing and drying then don't be. I regularly add muslins, bibs and other baby clothes after my initial prewash has been done to save on water and electricity - aslong as no fabric softener is being used!
When it comes to drying, our nappies are designed to dry quickly. Seperate our All in Two covers from the inserts and either dry on a rack infront of radiator (not on direct heat) or outside on the washing line.
Our nappies can also go in the tumble dryer if required for short periods of time and on a low heat.
It depends how old your baby is when you start using cloth how many nappies you’ll need, here is our rough guide if your washing every two days!
Newborn. | 20 -24 nappies
6-12 Months | 14 -20 nappies
12- 24 Months | 12 -18 nappies
Potty Training | 4 - 10 nappies
Our nappies are a great option for during the day (night nappy options to come!)
Our All in Two covers can be reused for 2/3 changes - as long as baby hasn't pooped and the suede cloth inner isn't very wet, just snap out the used insert, and snap in another fresh insert.
Of course our All in Two can also be used like an All in One nappy system - which is how we use them as I like to rotate beautiful prints frequently!
- Babies under 4 weeks - change every two hours during the day, and before or after every night feed - whatever suits you.
- Babies under six months - you should try to change every 3 hours during the day, and before or after every night feed - whatever suits you.
- Babies and toddlers over six months - change approximately every 3.5-4 hours during the day.
- Babies over 12 months will usually need changed 4-5 times within 24 hours.
- Change as soon as possible after a poop, regardless of age.
Of course this is a guide and common sense should prevail regarding changing reusable nappies, if you notice redness then please change your babies nappies more often.
Lets face it, your baby is going to poo, in the beautiful clean white nappies, but whether using reusable or disposable this would be the case. Even with disposable nappies, solid poos are meant to be flushed down the toilet. However not many people know that or they overlook it and it goes in the bin, unfortunately that's not what's meant to happen!
Here’s what to expect when dealing with poo and reusable nappies.
New born poo, for breastfed babies, is very runny but it’s also water-soluble so can go straight into the washing machine!
Have a formula-fed new born baby?
You still don’t have to do anything drastic.
If it’s pasty, you can easily rinse the insert (cold tap water or flush the toilet and use the flush force) before popping the soiled nappy in your dirty nappy storage (I keep my nappy bucket in the bath tub) to wait for the next load of washing.
Cloth nappies are really easy to use for a new born because you don’t have to do anything with the poo.
Once your baby starts solids, the consistency of their poo will change and become more solid. When you find a solid poo you will need to flush it down the toilet.
If you have a bidet at home you can use that or you can install a nappy sprayer to your toilet for a low cost (it works like a bidet). I use the force of the water flushing in the toilet to help lift off poo, hold onto the insert tightly!
Our stay dry inserts are relatively easy to get poo off!
Another way to avoid touching solid poo is to use a liner. Reusable (watch this space!) or disposable, Simply place a liner on top of the insert to catch the poo, then shake poo into the toilet. Any disposable liners should be placed in the bin once the poo has gone down the toilet!
When I first looked into cloth nappies and baby products I looked into all feasible options, unfortunately the textile industry in the UK is limited unless I opened my own factory which just wasn‘t an option for a small start up business. I also discovered if I was to start my own factory that most of the fabrics used to create cloth nappies are sourced from overseas. This led me to look at my other options and I received samples from many manufacturers in Europe, China and India.
I chose our manufacturer in China based on the stand out quality samples they sent me, the communication I received was second to none. They are a SEDEX audited factory with 15 years experience in the textile industry using OEKO-TEX 100 standard approved materials. Most importantly their employees have a great work life balance and we make sure they are paid well for their exceptional work.
I have built a great relationship with the team working there, they are very open and also honest with any feedback they have on my nappy design, which was greatly appreciated, I hope one day to meet them in person, for now we are in contact regularly via Skype video!
I wrote this because our products being “Made in China” can be seen as a negative, but I found a team I truly stand behind, the products are hand made by people who take pride in their work and care about the end product because we care about them. I hope that comes through and our customers feel assured they are receiving the best quality from an ethical manufacturer.
We will always strive to better ourselves as a company as we grow.
The waterproof layer of nappies - generically known as PUL can be thermally bonded (heat process) or solvent laminated (chemical process)
Our PUL is manufactured using heat and pressure (thermally bonded), no harsh chemicals are used in the process of making the waterproof layer that makes up our nappies.
Thermally bonded PUL is more common as it has a softer hand feel, has stretch and is thinner, whilst still standing up to washing and wear.
It’s important to note that not all Thermally bonded PUL is created the same, ours can be washed at 60 degrees and tumble dried on low and is covered by our one year warranty.
TPU is a marketing term to distinguish the process being used to make the PUL.
*PUL stands for Polyurethane Laminate.
*TPU stands for Thermoplastic Polyurethane - TPU is the clear film that is heat bonded to PUL, it’s not a fabric by itself.