Best Newborn Nappies - the Definitive Guide.

Congratulations! You have a little one on the way and you’re now researching the best newborn nappies, right? Great news, you’ve come to the right place!

In this definitive guide we've compiled results on this very topic by surveying hundreds of super mums across the globe. Which nappy do most think is best?

What you’ll learn in this guide about nappies for newborns:

1. Cloth or disposable nappies?
2. What brand of disposable nappies do mums use?
3. What are the best disposable nappies for newborns?
4. Why Rascal & Friends?
5. Why Huggies?
6. How many nappies per day?
7. How many newborn nappies do I need?
8. Cost of disposable nappies per week.
9. Best cloth nappies for newborns?
10. What are the benefits of cloth nappies?
11. How many cloth nappies do you need for a newborn?
12. What are the best baby wipes for a newborn?

1. Cloth or disposable nappies?

It’s a question that most mums ask - should I use cloth nappies or disposable? Although it’s well known that reusable nappies are cheaper and better for the environment than disposable ones, they’re nowhere near as time efficient. However, disposable nappies are now becoming more biodegradable. 

In this case study, we found 85% of mums opted to use disposable nappies for their newborn, while 15% went for cloth.

2. What brand of disposable nappies do mums use?

• Huggies.
• Rascals.
• Pampers.
• Treasures.
• Kirkland.
• Honest.
• Baby Wise.
• Earth’s Best Tendercare.
• Dryups.
• Thank You.
• Tooshies by Tom.
• Mamia (Aldi Nappies).
• Baby Love.
• Little & Brave.

3. What are the best disposable nappies for newborns?

We found the most popular disposable nappy brands for newborns are: Rascals, Huggies, Pampers and Treasures. In fact 45% of mums said Rascals were the best, 44% said Huggies, eight per cent said Pampers and three per cent said Treasures.

4. Why Rascals?

• Good fit.
• Super soft.
• Great ethics.
• No nappy rash.
• Great value for money.
• All natural (no nasty chemicals).
• Newborns stay dry all night long.
• They are the most absorbent. “We found that other brands of nappies have got thinner and thinner and don't hold as much.”
• High rise nappies that don’t leak. “The nappy is higher at the back providing great coverage and absorbs more without being bulky. We had too many fails with so many other brands during poo explosions! Finally we found Rascals are explosion proof! To this day I have not had one leakage while using them.”

5. Why Huggies?

• Often on sale.
• No nappy rash.
• Trusted most well known brand.
• Easiest nappy to buy (reliable and always available).
• The small size is a great fit for newborns in the first few weeks.
• Previous success - mothers have used them in the past with other newborns.
• It’s what the hospital most commonly provides, so most continue to use them afterwards.
• Less leaks. “The pocket band feature on the nappy at the back stops explosions.”
• Wetness indicator feature that changes colour when it’s time for a nappy change. 

6. How many nappies per day?

We found that most newborns go through eight nappies per day. 

7. How many newborn nappies do I need?

We asked mums how many nappies they buy at a time for their newborn and found most buy 41-60, 81-100 or 100+.

Why do mums buy 20 or less nappies at a time?

• Cloth nappies are used.
• Unsure of what size to buy, so they buy nappies in smaller numbers.

Why do mums buy 21-40 nappies at a time?

• Easier to store.
• Don’t want to be stuck with too many extras. “At the newborn stage we didn't know how long he would fit the newborn size, so we never bought too many in one go. He is older now (11 months) so we buy 100 + at a time since he fits into the bigger size for much longer.”
• That's all they have room for when doing their shop.
• So they don’t have to go back to the store every other day.
• Cautious of buying too many because babies outgrow sizes quickly.
• Stocked up on nappies initially so they didn’t need to buy much after the baby was born. 

Why do mums buy 41-60 nappies at a time?

• Size of the packs available.
• Enough nappies to last one week at a time.
• Most affordable option at the time, and most often the size of pack that’s on special.
• Fewer go to waste if baby quickly grows out of that size.

Why do mums buy 61-80 nappies at a time?

• Ten day supply.
• Cheaper to buy in bulk. “Would rather have more than be caught short one day, especially if the baby gets an upset tummy and as a result goes through more nappies than on an average day!”
• Convenience. It‘s easier to buy in bulk as shopping with children and a newborn is difficult. 

Why do mums buy 81-100 nappies at a time?

• Better value.
• Carton size available.
• So they’re not always having to buy more and leave the house.
• They live out of town and can never have enough nappies.

Why do mums buy 100 or more nappies at a time?

• Bulk buy discounts (most economical option possible).
• Fewer supermarket trips.
• Have multiple newborns (i.e. twins or triplets).
• Have a premature or small baby that is in newborn size nappies for longer (3-4 months).
• Costco (wholesale) box sizes come in packs of 150-190.
• Peace of mind knowing they have plenty of nappies on hand.
• Approximately a two week supply of nappies.

8. Cost of disposable nappies per week?

Ninety per cent of parents spend $40 or less on disposable nappies per week. The amount spent varies depending on the brand of nappy purchased, and how many the baby goes through. 

9. Best cloth nappies for newborns?

The most popular brands of cloth nappies our mums use are:

• Alva Baby.
• Baby Bare.
• Baby Beehinds.
• Bambino Mio.
• Bambooty.
• Bare and Boho.
• Bear and Moo.
• Best Bottom.
• Blueberry.
• Bubblebubs.
• BumGenius.
• Bummis.
• Close Pop-In.
• Designer Bums.
• Fudgey Pants.
• GroVia.
• Itti.
• Lil Helper.
• Pea Pods.
• Real Nappies.
• SHP Nappies.
• Tots Bots.

10. What are the benefits of cloth nappies?

• They contain no nasty chemicals.
• Less waste. Cloth nappies are reusable and therefore more environmentally friendly.
• Cloth nappies are the most cost effective option in the long term.
• Variety hire packs of cloth nappies are available for you to trial before buying.
• Absorbency of cloth nappies has gotten better. Some last 12-14 hours overnight, even with heavy wetters.
• Ability to change the liner and reuse the shell, provided there is no poop explosion in cloth nappies like GroVia.
• Cloth nappies are getting easier to use. The likes of built in velcro straps, adjustable snaps, domes or fasteners such as snappis make changing nappies much easier than having to use old fashioned nappy pins.
• Brands like Close Pop-In cloth nappies are designed to work like disposables with great leak protection around the legs, and are super easy to pull apart to wash and dry.

11. How many cloth nappies do you need for a newborn?

Seventy eight percent of parents buy 10 or more cloth nappies for their newborn.

12. What are the best baby wipes for a newborn?

Our survey found Huggies to be the most commonly used wipes for newborns. Water Wipes came in second place. 

• 30%   Huggies.
• 21%   Water Wipes.
• 8%     Silk Water Wipes.
• 7%     I Make My Own Cloth Wipes.
• 3%     Pampers.
• 3%     Kirkland Signature.
• 3%     Pams.
• 3%     Curash.
• 3%     Little Ones.
• 3%     Tooshies by Tom.
• 2%     Little Genie.
• 2%     Aldi.
• 1%     Cub.
• 1%     Babywise.
• 1%     Gaia.
• 1%     Johnson and Johnson's.
• 1%     Joonya.
• 1%     Thank You.
• 0.5%  Baby U Goat Milk Wipes.
• 0.5%  Babyganics.
• 0.5%  Aleva Bamboo Wipes.
• 0.5%  Dymples.
• 0.5%  Honest.
• 0.5%  Little & Brave.
• 0.5%  Precious.
• 0.5%  Rascals.
• 0.5%  Seventh Generation.
• 0.5%  Swisspers.
• 0.5%  ThinkWise.

Written by Nikki Clarke.