Product: Cosy Dry Nappies (pack of 22) Extra Large
Price: £3.74 per pack (current offer £2 packs for £7)
Available from: Wilkinson’s
Suitable from: All sizes available
Initial Reaction: Now my daughter is potty trained, she only wears nappies at night – we have yet to tackle that particular transition! I’ve tried all different brands and also washable nappies in the past. I’m not particularly brand loyal, and am willing to try whatever’s on offer now that we only use a minimal amount of nappies. I hadn’t tried these own-brand ones for Wilkinson’s before, but have used supermarket own-brands in the past, and found they’ve performed well. The first night we used them, I was disappointed to find the first nappy leaked, and left her with wet pyjamas. We put on a fresh one, and an hour later she was awake again with wet pjs. I’m really not sure why, because after that, we continued with this packet and never had any further problems.
Pros: Good value. Seemed comfortable. Generous fit – in fact I usually pick the biggest size for my daughter who’s nearly 3, but in this case I think we could have gone down a size. Good absorbency: on nights when she slept through without a change, the nappy had contained all the wee.
Cons: The initial leakage was a worry, but as I said, this only happened with the first 2 of the 22 nappies in the pack. From my daughter’s perspective, she would have liked a different picture on each, like you get with some packs!
Value for money? Yes
Overall Reaction: Pleased with how these compared with other ‘own-brand’ nappies.
By Liz
This will be updated as we test new nappies.
If you have a range you would like the Panel to test email Carol at newmummy@live.co.uk
Product: Sainsburys Little Ones 'Explore' Nappies in size 5.
Price: £4.25 for 24
Available from: Sainsbury's Supermarkets.
Initital Reaction: I don't ever use supermarket brand nappies so was slightly cautious about trying these, especially since Caleb has relatively sensitive skin.
Pros: They are reasonably priced, cute design and very very soft. We found them very absorbent too and comfortable to wear.
Cons: I found them slightly bulkier than our usual nappy and not quite as good a fit round the leg. They also took up a lot more room in his changing bag because of bulkiness.
Value for money: I do think these are reasonable value for money but thought maybe 20 in a packet wasn't as many as I'd have expected to find in the packet.
Overall Reaction: We did like these nappies regardless of how bulky we found them. They're a good alternative for daytime wear if money's tight but you still want dryness for your little one. They definitely left Caleb's bottom dry for the few hours he would normally wear them. However I'm not sure I'd be as confident putting them on him overnight as our usual nappies as he can sleep a long time and after a few hours he seemed slightly uncomfortable. For daytime use they're definitely a great cheaper alternative.
By Julie
Price: £4.99 for 30 but prices vary depending on size.
Available from: Sainsbury's supermarket
Suitable from: They come in a range of sizes from birth to junior+
Initital reaction: Inititally I was impressed with these nappies appearance and how incredibly soft the outer layer was although when I did take them out the packet they looked huge compared to other size 5 ones.
Pros: They were incredibly soft and comfortable. The appearance was very cute and simple. The price is very reasonable. Enviromentally more friendly.
Cons: They were very bulky on baby. Not quite as absorbent as other nappies we've tried and left his skin a bit damp. The size you would normally chose you'd need to drop a size for these as they are huge.
Value for money: I'd say this nappy is reasonable value for money.
Overall reaction: We did like this nappy. It's so soft and as a daytime wearing nappy it's definately more than acceptable. They weren't as dry as some of the nappies we have tested but as long as you weren't having your baby in them for extended periods of time I think they are fine. As an Eco friendly version for those of us who are looking for that side of things then I think they're a very reasonable cheaper option.
By Julie
Product: Sainsbury's Little Ones Dry Nappy size 5
Price: £4.10 for 30
Available from: Sainsbury's supermarkets
Suitable from: various sizes suitable from birth - junior+
Initial reaction: Initially we thought the packaging on these nappies wasn't that attractive but the design of the actual nappies was very cute and Caleb loved the green.
Pros: These are extremely well priced and reasonable. They were fairly absorbent and cute design on them. Neat and compact for nappy bags and changing boxes. They were well sized and fitted perfectly.
Cons: The outer layer isn't quite as soft as some of the other nappies we tried and seemed to itch a bit round the waist and legs.
Value for money: We thought these were pretty fair value for money and great as a more reasonably priced option for mums on a budget.
Overall Reaction: We liked these nappies a lot. They had good absorbency and in the few hours Caleb had them on his skin was very dry and he seemed happy enough in them . I think for people on a tighter budget these are a very reasonable alternative. A big thumbs up here.
By Julie
Product: Pampers Easy Up Pants.
Price :They retail in around £6.49. It may seem slightly more expensive to some people but I've used Pampers for both kids and swear by them.
Available from: They're widely available from mostly all chemists and supermarkets which is very handy.
Suitable from: They are suitable from whenever you're little one shows the first signs of being able to potty train.
Pros: The pants were super handy for pulling up and down easily when I was taking him to the toilet and we loved them when Daddy took him swimming as they're a lot easier in a changing room to pull on rather than lying a squirming toddler down to try and put a nappy back on. They kept him super dry too with accidents and as Caleb is only starting out we had lots of them. They're lovely and soft and the cute design is fun.
Cons: The only down side I can find to pampers is the price. They are pretty steep price wise and in this current financial climate that's not always a good thing. People are always looking for a bargain. Top tip though would be find out where the offers are and stock up.
Value for money: Personally though I love them and generally stick to Pampers for nappies and pants regardless of the price as I believe they're worth the money. I've yet to be persuaded otherwise.
Overall reaction: We love pampers and use them mostly all the time and as Caleb's at the stage of thinking about potty training I thought this was a great opportunity to try out some pants.We were super grateful to be asked to try these pants out and loved them. Lets hope the potty training goes well.
By Julie
Product: Mamia Ultra Dry nappies
Price: £4.99 (quantity varies depending on nappy size)
Available from: Aldi
Suitable from: size 3 from 9lbs up (we reviewed size 4 and 5)
Initial Reaction: When I saw that I’d be reviewing nappies from Aldi, I’ll admit, I was sceptical. Aldi is renowned for being very good value (some might even say ‘cheap’), and I was worried that this would translate into poor quality products.
Superficially, there are some differences in quality. The stretchy tabs on these nappies didn’t stretch as much as my usual brand, and the outside of the nappies has a more ‘papery’ feel than what I’m used to. However, these differences really didn’t affect the performance.
Pros: What I loved most about the nappies was the illustrations on them. I tested size 4 on my nine month old baby and size 5 on my two-year-old. Size 4 featured a big blue giraffe both front and back, and size 5 a yellow lion. This meant that it was very easy to spot the right nappy in my changing bag when we were out and about.
My children are both eating solid food now so I didn’t test these with runny baby poo. But I used them day and night on both kids and didn’t have any problems. The baby is a heavy wetter overnight, but with a fresh nappy at bedtime, changed first thing in the morning, he was fine. I think the broad tabs helped everything stay in place. There were a couple of occasions when I needed to undo the tabs and do the nappy back up, and again there were no problems.
Cons: The nappies had quite a strong synthetic smell, which wasn’t very appealing.
Value for money? Definitely! There are 48 nappies in the size 4 pack, which works out as just over 10p per nappy. I usually pay around 14p per nappy for my preferred brand, and that’s when they’re on special offer. Buy a smaller pack at full price and they could work out at nearly 20p each – which seems madness when these Aldi nappies do just the same job, for nearly half the price.
Overall Reaction: The nappies don’t have the high-tech appearance of the branded nappies I usually use, but they performed just as well. Next time I’m in Aldi I’ll happily stock up.
By Kirsty
Product: Boots Newborn Nappies
Price: £1.85 for 24
Available from: Boots
Suitable from: Newborn
Initial Reaction: As these are so cheap I wanted to see how they compared to the eco-friendly brand of nappies we usually use both in terms of absorbency and comfort.
Pros:
- Cheap compared to other brands
- Easy to use
- Soft
- Each nappy has an umbilical cut out around the naval area to prevent rubbing and allows your baby's skin to heal.
- Absorbent
- Didn’t cause nappy rash
- Bleached without chlorine gas and the wood pulp used is from certified forests
- Good at containing runny poos (sorry, but it’s good to know)
Cons:
- Not bio-degradable (may not be a concern for everyone)
Value for money? Definitely and with a special offer of 2 packs for £3.50 it makes them even cheaper and even better value, plus you get advantage card points.
Overall Reaction: These nappies were great to use, as we were still waiting for our little ones umbilical cord to drop off the cut out area on these nappies meant they did not rub as much. This is a really well thought out feature I’ve not seen on other nappies. They are very absorbent and soft which meant no nappy rash. Other than the fact they aren’t environmentally friendly I have nothing bad to say about these nappies and the price makes them super value too.
By Ellie
Price: £5.98 for 32 nappies
Available from: Boots, Mothercare, Tescos, Waitrose and Sainsburys
Suitable from: newborns
Initial Reaction: First of all, I just love the whole ethos behind the Swedish ECO-friendly brand, with even the fuss-free fresh packaging is based on natural and renewable materials. Naty make a range of ECO friendly products including disposable bags, bibs, nappies and wipes, body products and even sanitary towels! When I had my first child, I was debating whether to use disposable nappies or cloth diapers as I was worried about waste, the effect to the environment and baby’s skin. At the time, it became difficult to find any easily accessible natural or eco-friendly alternatives and after some research I was advised that standard disposal nappies were the way forward. I have heard horror stories that some throw-away nappies have caused baby’s delicate skin to burn and blister due to the chemicals contained inside the padding to absorb liquids.
Pros: The nappies are hypoallergenic, contain aloe vera, chlorine free and best of all they are made from biodegradable materials. The nappies are quite thin but fit Isobel comfortably well and look a lot less bulky than my usual brand, but most importantly, they were absorbent and worked fabulously at night. We experienced no leaks; which I believe is down to the snug fit.
Cons: Price
Value for money? The only down-side, like most natural products, they are slightly more expensive than my usual brand, but personally I think they are worth the extra few pence. Given that the cheaper brands of nappies frequently leak, these would be cost effective in the long-run.
Overall Reaction: Are pricey but worth it in my opinion but the cost maybe off-putting for some parents. I am extremely happy to find these bio-degradable nappies and I hope that other brands will follow suit and become more caring to the environment in future. I would highly recommend this brand and will be continuing to use the ‘pull-up’ versions in the near future.
By Catherine
This will be updated as we test new nappies.
If you have a range you would like the Panel to test email Carol at newmummy@live.co.uk
