One Size Fits All (Mother-ease One Size)

Member Name: cookie334

Product:	Mother-ease One Size
Date:	26/11/08 (73 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: No need to buy different sizes, economical, ecological, works well

Disadvantages: Takes a while to dry and can be bulky on a newborn

Motherease make a variety of cloth nappies. The particular nappies I will be reviewing will be the Motherease One Size nappies.


** The Nappies **

As the name suggests, the nappy is designed so that one size fits all, meaning it should last a baby from birth right through to potty training, eliminating the need to buy more as the baby grows.

So, does it work like that?

Well, from my personal experience, these nappies do their job well from birth, with minimal leakages. The only slight issue is that they are very bulky on small babies. I have to say I was warned about this when I bought them, so I was prepared, although I didn't see it as too much of a problem. After all what's a bit of extra padding? Well, now I know that because of that extra padding, it is difficult to get trousers the right length for the baby to fit around the waist. Therefore, yes, one size does fit all, but chances are you will have problems getting clothes to fit at the same time on smaller babies.


** The Design **

The Motherease One Size is a shaped nappy, meaning that there is no folding involved or pins required (phew!). Being one size, Motherease have obviously had to make these adjustable and they have the ability to adjust both length ways to expand with the babys height, and width ways, to expand as the baby fills out. This is done with what they call poppers, or what I would call plastic studs to give a better description. On a smaller baby, the nappy goes on in the same way a disposable would, but folds back on itself, so there is a double layer at the front. There are then 4 poppers, to enable you to fasten the nappy slacker or tighter, depending on the size of the babys waist.

When the baby is tall enough to use the nappy without folding down the front, there are 6 plastic poppers on the other side, to give up to 3 additional sizes.

So does it work and are there enough sizes?

I'd say the design works very well indeed. The nappy has had a snug fit on my daughter since birth and even when she went from a podgy baby to a skinnier toddler, the nappy fit her needs very well indeed.


** Washing and Drying **

The Motherease One Size nappies are made from a mix of 85% cotton and 15% polyester. The label says to wash them on a 70 degree wash and they can be put in a tumble dryer if required.

So, how do they wash up?

Pretty darn good, in my opinion. I do not have a 70 degree cycle on my washing machine, so I have always washed these at 40 degrees with no problems what so ever. If you have and are happy to use a tumble dryer, drying them shouldn't pose any problems either. There may be an issue if you need to dry these nappies by alternative methods. From my experience, they will take almost a full day in summer to line dry, despite my garden being a sun trap (although I am in Scotland). Drying on a radiator will work, but can cause them to go slightly hard and crunchy, which is not ideal on a babys bum. Drying on an airer will work fine too but will take even longer than line drying.


** Additional Features and Information **

I should mention that around the legs are slightly elasticated and I have found this works well in enabling the baby the freedom to move around as much as any other nappy would.

In order to use these nappies, you will also require an outer wrap to go over the top. I use Motherease Rikki Wraps which work well with the Motherease One Size nappies and are available in small, medium, large or extra large sizes.

About 20 of these nappies with 4 or 5 wraps of each size is more than enough to keep you going with these, doing 2 washes per week. Obviously with a newborn an extra wash a week may be necessary.


** Cost **

The cost of a Motherease One Size nappy is £7.50 each and £8.25 each for the wraps. You can also buy a starter set, containing 20 nappies, 4 or 5 of each sized wrap, nappy bucket, mesh wash bag, wet nappy bag and some paper liners for just under £300.

These prices are assuming you buy from Motherease or other big nappy retailers. However, if you shop around, you can get hold of them at a considerably cheaper price. At the time I purchased mine, I bought 20 nappies, 10 boosters, 5 each of the small and medium wraps and 4 large wraps for £150 brand new on ebay. Because I use a mix of these and other nappies, I have since sold half of them and the boosters for the same price, which means in effect, the nappies I am using didn't cost me anything. So it is definitely worth shopping around.

You will also find that cloth nappies do not loose a lot of their value and can be sold second hand for a high percentage of the original price. With that, and the fact the Motherease One Size are a very popular choice of nappy, I have found these to be a good investment.


** Summary **

Overall, I think Motherease One Size nappies are a fantastic cloth nappy and very economical too. They do everything they're supposed to do and they do it well. However, they loose a star for me, due to the fact they're so chunky on a newborn. Obviously, there is no solution to this, because being a one size fits all, the extra material is required for bigger children. But it is still a very small flaw in an otherwise great nappy.

I would highly recommend these, but would also suggest having a few smaller, faster drying nappies for newborns and emergencies.

Summary: A great nappy that does the job