Modern Cloth Nappies! Affectionately known to those in the know as MCNs. Foraying into this world of MCNs, the first thing you will notice, besides the amount of choice out there, is that these nappies come with their own lingo. Talk to anyone who has been an avid user of MCNs, for any length of time, and you will swear that they are talking another language to you.
Some examples are:
- OSFM
- AiO
- Ai2
- Front snaps
- Side snaps
- PUL
- Minky
The list is endless!
But where does that put someone who is a first-time cloth nappy user, or in my case, someone who the last time they used cloth nappies, the choices were between, white or coloured squares, baby pins or snappi's, and what colour covers should I go?
The great thing about modern cloth nappies is that there is a wealth of information out there that can help you make your choices. You just need to know where to look. I started with Facebook groups, specifically Mummy based Facebook groups, who very quickly pointed me to all the groups dedicated to MCN reviews as well as buy swap sell groups (and OMG the re-sell value of MCNs!!! Well that was an eye opener for me)
I can’t stress strongly enough the importance of looking for people in the know…. Otherwise, like me, you may make the mistake of unknowingly purchasing a China Cheapie (CC) #yesanotherMCNterm.
Unfortunately for me $100 later and I quickly found out the difference between quality over quantity. Sadly, many people fall into this trap, thinking that they have found a cheaper cloth nappy (woohoo look at me researching and finding cloth nappies for less than half price), but inevitably what can happen is too many people become disillusioned that modern cloth nappies don’t live up to the hype and give up on using them so make sure you look for independent reviews of different brands at cloth nappy reviews and product review.
I am here to tell you, when you find the right cloth nappy that works for you, they absolutely do live up to the hype, and then some! I have had my beautiful girl in MCNs for over 6 months now, and they are as much as fashion staple in our wardrobe, as her pretty dresses and cute hairbands that stop people from mistaking her for a boy!! I am particularly in love with Bubblebubs Candies and have found myself getting rid of all of my other brands and stocking up on the new ones, each print release has me somehow needing even more.
The manufacturers of Australian cloth nappies are some of the friendliest, most helpful people that you will find. They offer their advice willingly and out of their own time. They are in the MCN review groups; they don’t just help with their own brand, but come to the aid of all mums in dads in need….it really is a beautiful community to be a part of.
So, whether you are just starting out, or re-inventing your idea of what a re-usable cloth nappy looks like I was, just remember, we are in an information age, arm yourself, and you can’t go wrong!