Boosting Newborn Modern Cloth Nappies

There is no doubting that some babies love their milk, and when it comes to their nappies they can outwet almost anything quite easily. This can be super frustrating, but is easy to fix with some absorbency tweaks.

To use cloth leak-free, just remember this formula: absorbency requirements are proportional to output (whoops, giving away my day job here!). Mathematics aside, what does this mean for us in reality? It means  that we need to change frequently (2 hours is normal for cloth) and if outwetting by 2 hours we need to add more absorbency to the nappies. This is known as "boosting".

Boosting newborn nappies can be a little bit tricky as they are so tiny compared to one-size-fits-most cloth. Regular one-size inserts (known as "boosters", because you are adding them to existing absorbency to boost the absorbency) don't usually fit in them and even most newborn boosters are too long to fit into an all-in-one. So we have put together these nifty ideas to help you boost your newborn nappies using things that you may even already have at home! Let's get started...

Hack #1: A regular cotton washcloth

​Everybody has these, and if you've had a baby shower you probably have even more than ever before. They are soft and thirsty and excellent on so many levels; not just for bath time but for hands, faces, popping into your bra when you breastfeed, as washable baby wipes and most importantly, for boosting your cloth nappies. Just fold them to fit. You need to make sure that the leg elastics can still make good contact with bub so folding lengthwise into 4 is a good starting point. You may be able to fold them into thirds to fit nappies that are slightly wider through the crotch area. Just pop into the nappy and fit to your bub. You can pop a fleece liner over the top of the face washer if you love fluffy stay dry layers. Sorted!

Using a cotton washcloth to boost newborn all-in-one nappies

Hack #2: A soft, floppy one-size-fits-most nappy insert

Bamboo terry is your friend here! It's soft and floppy and lovely and stays soft even after line drying it in the hot summer sun.  If you're after something economical then check out Alva 3-layer bamboo inserts. They are made from 3 layers of 330gsm bamboo terry and they fold up so easily. You can fold them to fit into your newborn-sized nappies and then when your hire has finished and you've moved onto one-size-fits-most you can use them to boost your OSFM. Magic!

Using a bamboo terry insert to boost newborn all-in-one cloth nappies

Hack #3: Sew your own

This hack requires a little time, and as a parent time is not always on your side, but it is a really great option if you want a booster that's going to fit perfectly into your nappies. You use 2 layers of ~400gsm bamboo fleece (Bamboo Fabric Store sell it, among others), just draw inserts of the right size & shape and overlock together. You can lay them in flat or fold to suit, and if you want to preserve an existing stay dry layer such as in the Grovia AIO pictured below, just pop your booster underneath.

A handmade bamboo fleece booster is perfect for this Grovia newborn all-in-one nappy

We hope that these ideas have been helpful for you. We'd love to hear of any others that you have tried and tested- share your cloth love in the comments!