It’s no secret that I love Baba & Boo. It’s not just their super woman founder, Eve, that makes me love them either. They really are a star of the nappy world for me. Unpretentious, “does what it says on the tin” type nappies. I may not love every one of the prints and colours that they release, but that’s fine, there is something there for everyone I think, whether you are a fan of brights or muted nappies, you can find it with Baba and Boo.
They are pocket nappies, which means that they have a pocket at the back of the nappy that you stuff the pads inside. The pads are a bamboo and microfibre blend, 70% bamboo and 30% microfibre to be precise. You could argue they could do with some more bamboo in there and ditch the synthetics altogether but no one can deny that they seem to have found a pretty robust combination with the current blend.
They are on the bulkier side when it comes to reusable nappies, so if you are after something super slim they probably aren’t going to be your thing. But if you are used to the added bulk of a cloth nappy then it really shouldn’t be a problem for you. You could slim them down by using just one booster or their new slimline boosters but then you are compromising the fantastic absorbency so you have you ask yourself if it is worth it just for a slightly slimmer silhouette.
Absorbency wise, most babies will get around the four hour mark with a fully boosted Baba & Boo, some even longer, and a few might even last all night in that combination. The fleece lining keeps baby feeling dry and avoids any rashes that could occur otherwise. I tend to reach for a Baba & Boo at naptime, or if I am heading out for the day and don’t know when I will next be able to change a nappy easily. Of course there are those for whom the fit just isn’t quite right, one downfall of pockets is that they have an upper limit on how much absorbency you can stuff in before the fit is compromised and they start to leak, when this is the case its usually time to start thinking about another style of nappy like a two-parter, for example.
For best results when cleaning you will want to pull out the pads before you pop them in the wash. This can be a tiny bit fiddly but one trick I have found is to stuff the pads in with the label at the top, so you can hook them out again using the little label as a pull cord if that makes sense. I just pull the pads halfway out and roll them up inside the nappy before popping in the wet bag until wash day.
Baba & Boo one size nappies are birth to potty, but they will be a tad loose on a newborn, hence their specific newborn offering. The newborn Baba and Boo is great though, fitting pretty well right from birth and through until about four months. Handy for easy changes when you are feeling the newborn fog and as they come with two inserts as standard, you can start with one and then progress to two either for long sleeps or when baby starts wetting a bit more heavily.
The main difference between the one size and the newborn pocket is that the one size uses popper fastening whereas the newborn is hook and loop (aka Velcro). I think this is where Eve has really demonstrated that she knows babies! Newborns haven’t yet picked up the ability (or the sense of humour) to repeatedly pull their nappies off as soon as you put them on, so hook and loop is just fine. Once they get to about eight or nine months, the poppers are great as a solid fastening that they shouldn’t be able to pull off themselves (without a bit of effort).
Now lets talk about the price. At £16.95 I think these are a solid investment. If you need to replace boosters later you can pick up a two pack for £4.50. This makes them a really reasonably priced nappy that you can afford to bulk out your stash with. Added to that they are super easy to use to appropriate for childcare, grandparents, you name it most people should be able to get to grips with a Baba & Boo without too much effort.
If Baba & Boo wanted to really make their nappies amazing they could start thinking about more sustainable materials – oh wait – they have, with their hemp booster they are moving into not just super absorbency but also being kinder to the planet, too. Who knows what might lay in the future for Baba & Boo but as a company that puts kindness at the heart of everything they do, it’s good to know that when you buy their nappies you are supporting happy working practices all the way along the supply chain.
I recently asked Eve about the source of the bamboo for their nappies – it’s a blog for another time, but her reply sums up part of why they are such a good company for me:
Our bamboo is harvested from a sustainable source, and the process to turn it into the fibre we use is ‘closed loop’ which means any waste is reprocessed/reused rather than ejected into the environment.
Bamboo production is far from ideal, but it is moving in the right direction. Is bamboo 'better' than cotton? For me, that is still an unequivocal yes. Could bamboo be better? Also a yes, which is why it's really important for customers like yours to keep asking these questions; for retailers like you to ask me the difficult questions; for me to challenge my factory manager; and so on. – Eve, Baba & Boo.
So let me know, what do you think of Baba & Boo nappies? Is there another brand that is your go-to all-rounder? I would love to hear from you. Tag me on instagram @loving_by_nature_ or comment below.
