Can I use cloth nappies on a newborn baby?

February 11, 2019

One of the questions I am often asked is can I use cloth nappies on a newborn baby? There’s no reason why you can’t use cloth right from birth, in fact in many ways it’s the best choice. Here’s our guide to using cloth from day one.

Using cloth from birth

Can I use cloth nappies on a newborn baby?

Cloth is a great choice for a newborn baby. Unlike disposable nappies, you can easily see when your baby is wet and judge how often they are both weeing and pooing. Many hospitals choose to offer cloth nappies from birth for this very reason.

What are the best cloth nappies for a newborn?

I usually recommend cotton prefolds or flat nappies for newborn babies. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly these nappies dry quickly, which is great when you’ve got a newborn. They are also really easy to use and being cotton they are a natural, breathable fabric.

Starting out with cloth

Using cloth nappies needn’t be hard. If you’re looking to use cloth nappies on your newborn baby, then think about giving pre-fold nappies a go. These are breathable, a natural fabric and quick drying. You’ll need a nappy cover to go over the top. We would usually recommend a sized cover, particularly for a newborn. Although there are plenty of one size fits most, or birth to potty options on the market, most of these just don’t fit well from newborn. They can also be very bulky on a tiny baby. For this reason, a cover like our newborn ecobots cover is perfect. It has double leg gusset to hold in everything and a little notch cut so that it won’t rub the sensitive umbilical stump.

You don’t need many accessories or add on bits when first starting with cloth. To begin with you will need between four and six covers, the nappies themselves, between twelve and twenty, is usually enough. You can use these smaller nappies as boosters later on. The nappies themselves will need washing at every change, but you can reuse the covers throughout the day if they are just wet, as you can wipe them down. For newborn babies, you won’t need nappy liners, as these tend to just spread things around until your baby is on solids and their motions also become more solid.