I was delighted to be given the opportunity to test out Bum Genius V4 nappies for the website Babykind.co.uk.  As soon as I found out I was pregnant I was insistent I wanted to try and use reusable nappies with my daughter as I’m sure they have to be much better for the environment. I know some people say that it is debatable because of the hot washing involved in cleaning the nappies…but I know I would feel much ‘Greener’ if I could avoid sending countless disposable nappies to landfill…each and every day!

When I was about 6 months pregnant I set about investigating all the different options available to me if I wanted to use reusable nappies with my daughter. There was so much variety and it was a hard decision to make when I had to decide which ones to buy. In  the end I opted to buy a pack of 5 Tots Bots All-In-One Easyfit ‘Birth to Potty’ nappies. I think I paid around £80 but I got cash back through my local council ‘real nappy’ incentive scheme and this meant I ended up paying around £10 a nappy. I didn’t buy them through Babykind though…I bought them from another website. (I wish I had known then about the trial kits that Babykind offer…read more about them later).

I must admit my decision to buy this particular pack of Tots Bots nappies was swayed by the fact that the nappies came with a polka dot outer design! I also liked the fact that they were supposed to fit my daughter from newborn right up until she was potty training. In the end, as soon as I had my daughter I started to use disposables as it was much more convenient because of how many dirty nappies I would have to change in a day…about 10 if i remember correctly! * Wow, I’m pleased those days have gone! 🙂  * 

I constantly kept putting off using the reusable nappies I had bought as I didn’t look forward to the prospect of having to wash them. When I came to use them when she was about 3 months old I encountered a problem….they didn’t fit her very well!. I could get them on her but I found them too tight at the legs and on the back and I just didn’t think they looked very comfortable on her. I couldn’t believe I had spent all that money and then wasn’t happy with my choice of nappy. I knew there was more varieties and brands  available but I didn’t want to have to go and spend more money and then find they too didn’t fit like I imagined they should. In the end I sold the unused pack of nappies at an NCT sale and made about £25 back on them. I really wish in hindsight that I had tried out more versions of real nappies as I would have loved for my daughter to be a cloth-bottomed baby. This is why I was so delighted to be given a second chance at using reusable nappies. Thank you Babykind!!

 Before the nappies arrived I was convinced that I would prefer the aplix fastening as it would be easier, quicker to do and I’d be able to get a better fit on my daughter. Therefore when they arrived and I tried the nappies out I was so surprised to find that I got on much better with the nappy with the poppers. I’m not sure why, but for some reason the aplix fastened nappy seemed tighter on my daughter’s legs. I used the aplix version a couple of times and found that my daughter didn’t seem too comfortable in it due to the tightness around the leg. I then tried her in the popper fastened nappy and was pleased that she seemed to be much more comfortable in this one. She didn’t get any marks on her legs from the popper fastened nappy and I found the generous sizing perfect for my daughter.  I stopped using the aplix nappy and instead started to use the popper nappy instead. I used the nappy about 3 times each week and the rest of the time I continued to use disposables.  Although 3 times a week doesn’t sound a lot that means  I was avoiding chucking away 12-15 nappies a month which equates to about half a pack of nappies! This means that even this part-time use of a reusable nappy is saving me money and helping the environment at the same time.

Unlike the Tots Bots nappies that I originally bought, these Bum Genius V4 nappies really do seem to be suitable for a child from ‘Birth to Potty’. As I mentioned I personally found the popper fastened nappy to be a much better size for my 20 month old daughter but if your child is a bit skinnier you may find no problems with the nappy leaving marks around the leg. My daughter is big for her age and so I am pleased that I could happily use this V4 popper fastened nappy on her without it being too tight. 

 The Bum Genius V4 nappies are called ‘pocket’ nappies and all you have to do is put the one layer of nappy on your child. You don’t have the hassle of folding nappies and putting on waterproof covers or waterproof elasticated pants. The Bum Genius V4 nappies can fit children from newborn up to potty training and this is because of the combination of poppers on the front that allow you to alter the size of the nappy. To put a Bum Genius nappy on your child all you have to do is make the outer nappy the right size using the poppers, insert your choice of absorbent pad insert into the pocket (the nappy comes with a newborn sized insert and a one-size insert) then pop the nappy onto your child. You don’t have to use nappy liners with these nappies but I did as I thought it would make the baby changing process much quicker.  I used some biodegradable flushable nappy liners sent to me by Naturebotts and I thought they were excellent. The flushable liners help to keep your child dry and they contain the solids so all you have to do is remove the liner and it flush it down the toilet. I will be doing a separate review of those in the near future. 

 When you need to wash the nappies they can be washed in a washing machine at 40C or 60C (if needed). I found the nappies really easy to wash and they came out of the washing machine nearly dry! They dry very quickly when pegged outside or hung up in the house. The nappies must not have fabric softener in their wash and as I always use fabric softener in all of my loads, except towels, I found that as I only had one reusable nappy to wash I had to either wash the nappy on it’s own (not good for the environment), hand-wash it (I don’t have the time to be doing this) or wait until I had enough towels to wash with the nappy (not sure if this is all that hygenic though?). I think the best thing to do is to either buy enough reusable nappies to go full time ‘Green’ or just  buy 5 or 6 nappies, enough for a day , and then go part-time ‘cloth bottomed baby’. If you do this you won’t end up like me with just the one nappy to wash and having to leave it until you can wash it with other things.

Both nappies sent to me are identical apart from the fastening and colour.  The Popper fastened nappy was sent to me in a colour called ‘ Noodle’ which I would describe as a pale yellow colour. The aplix fastened nappy was sent to me in a colour called ‘Sweet’ which I would describe as a very pale mint/blue colour.  The nappies are also available in the following colours:- Blossom,  Butternut,  Grasshopper, Sweet, Twilight and White.  My favourite of those colours is the bubble gum pink ‘Blossom’ colour. So lovely and girly! 🙂

If you decide you would like to try washable nappies you must have a look at the washable nappy trial kits that Babykind can offer. They offer three different trial options:-

In conclusion, I don’t hesitate in recommending these Bum Genius V4 nappies to you… I would personally recommend the popper fastenings as they are not as difficult to use as you first imagine. The Bum Genius nappies cost £14.99 each and although you are looking at quite an expense buying 5 or more nappies at once you could really save some money in the long run.  Disposable nappies are convenient and I’m very grateful for their existence but they are not good for the environment and they do cost SO much money!  If I am being honest I think I will be sticking to disposables for the near future as my daughter is now starting to potty train and so I find I am already using less nappies per day. Also I have been sent out an Imse Vimse washable training pant from Naturebotts which I am currently testing out and I will review that in the near future. Now I know it is cheeky but I am going to be asking Babykind if they too want me to test out a washable training pant as that way I can try and be even greener and use both reusable pants and hopefully avoid the need to buy disposable ones! If I have more children I will definitely try and use washable nappies from the beginning…even if it is only part-time. They would help me to save money and if I once again take advantage of my local council cash back scheme I would be able to get a good deal on buying them in the first place. Although I love the sound of the nappy trials from babykind so I could always try one of them.

Babykind have a wealth of useful information on their website …one page I think you should read is the  guide on how to choose which kind of cloth nappy to buy – if you would like to read it please click here.

I am very impressed with the fair delivery charges from Babykind. If your order is under £20 then standard delivery costs just £1. For orders of £20 up to £35 the postage charge is £2.00 , for orders of £35 to £70 the charge is £3.00 and for orders over £75 the postage is free. I think the pricing is very fair and that would definitely encourage me to buy from them. If you wish to have your order sent by express delivery they can do that for a higher P+P charge.

Babykind stocks a wide variety of washable nappies from many different brands, nappy accessories – such as wetbags and changing mats, Baby Clothing – such as organic babywear,  Toys and much more.

If you would like to visit the Babykind website to buy your own Bum Genius V4 nappies please click here.  If you have any questions regarding washable nappies you can contact Babykind on 0845 094 2275 or by email on :- contact (at) babykind.co.uk