The NapNap Voucher now has a new "gifty" look.
Even better to give to new parents: choose the value of your voucher between £5 and £50 and the box design you prefer (3 to choose from). Voila!
Then relax and wait for your friends to show you the beautiful cloth nappies they chose for their baby.
The NapNap Voucher can be exchanged in over 25 stores in the UK. Who else can give you such choice?

Of course, you can still add the voucher to one of our original and eco gift boxes: we have some ready to go or you can make your own.

Now there is no excuse to look somewhere else than Really Eco Baby when you need an eco gift. 

Well hello. Here we are! Did you know that the NapNap team themselves are always really happy to help with any questions you might have about cloth nappies? We have six children between us and they have all been (and two still are) cloth bums. Of course.
We have a number you can call any time: 08454 636327 or you can email either Rebecca (rebecca@napnaphq.com) or Steph (steph@napnaphq.com) with any query, no matter how small or ridiculous it may seem.

We also run a monthly nappuccino in North Hertfordshire and we have one coming up very soon. It really is a great way to find out a bit more - see the nappies in the flesh.... so to speak.

And it is also a good place to meet others who have taken the cloth nappy route. Sometimes it can be a bit glum being the only one in your group of friends to have taken the cloth route. So come along for a bit of cloth nappy solidarity!

For more info on cloth nappies go to our cloth nappy information pages.

For more info on the NapNap Voucher, the perfect gift to give people the cloth nappies of their choice, click here. NapNap Vouchers are sold on our sister, online store, Really Eco Baby.

All the nappy retailers we work with offer an advice service. See them in all their glory here.

Our website is full of information about cloth nappies. We have a great photo gallery, an amazing interview and an extensive list of nappy retailers accepting the NapNap Voucher.

But the other day, a friend of mine, a mum, complained she had to buy yet another pack of disposable nappies when her son was almost potty trained.
She knows what I do (and that I would not give her a sympathetic look) and admitted she didn't know why she never tried cloth nappies. She is conscious of the environmental impact of disposables but worried she would….mmm… get her hands dirty. She just did not give the matter much thoughts and as a summary, here is what she was worried about:

1/ cloth nappies are also called washable nappies because, well, you can wash them. Yes, in your washing machine. Washing machine are great at washing all types of clothes (and cloth) and let's face it, they do work very well. So let them do the dirty work!

2/ No, you do not put poo in your washing machine. Why? Because we put a thin soft liner inside the nappy. When you change your baby, the poo is on the liner and you just have to tip your nappy above the toilet and flush. You do not even need to touch the poo. The great thing is that you avoid a smelly bathroom bin or a trip to the outside black bin.
Also check our "how to wash cloth nappies" section.

3/ Once you buy your nappies, you do not have to buy anymore. Ever again. Actually that's a bit of a lie: some people do buy more than they need but just because they love them. But really, you can use the same 20 or so nappies for your next child.

4/ They really are cheaper. Lots of councils run schemes, sometimes giving as much as £50 cashback. That's £50 worth of nappies for free. You can ask for a NapNap Gift Voucher for your birthday, Christmas, or baby shower then choose the nappy of your choice. So, yes, cloth nappies have an initial higher cost but there are ways to ease the financial strain. After that, you will never have to go through that nappy aisle at the supermarket again. Bliss!

If you think about getting started with cloth nappies, we highly recommend you attend a Nappuccino, which is a free event where you can see what cloth nappies look like and ask questions. NapNap runs Nappuccinos in North Herts but check in your area or contact us and we can get you in touch with the right local advisor.

Shaped nappies are also known as fitted nappies. They are called shaped or fitted because they are shaped to fit easily around your baby. So-called because you can get non-shaped nappies - think terry squares - that you have to fold to fit around your little one's bottom. Shaped/fitted nappies are easier - they most often fasten with poppers and/or velcro and just go straight on. They are shaped for a perfect fit.

Shaped or fitted nappies are a two part system. The nappy you see pictured above is a Tots Bots Bamboozle, available at Cotton Baby, and it is the absorbent inner nappy. You also need an outer, waterproof layer, know as the wrap or cover. Ella's House are another type of fitted nappy.

Other shaped or fitted nappies are:

Ella's House (available at Nappy Go Lucky)
Super Softees (Tees Real Nappies)
EccoBots (Natural Nursery)
Little Lamb (from Little Lamb)
Bamboo Loveables by Nature Babies (from Green Mums)
Lollipop nappies (Baby Tiponi)
Diddy diapers by Nature Babies (Cotton Baby)
Imse Vimse (Softbots)

Two-part systems are very popular for the following reasons:

Cost - going for a good quality two-part system will often be cheaper. The inners (the absorbent part) range from around 5-10 pounds. The Diddy Diapers for example, from Cotton Baby, are going for 6.99 at the moment. And whilst you do need some covers or wraps, these can be very economical too. Furthermore, you only need a few covers (see the note on washing below) so what some people do is stock up on lots of standard fitted inners (20 for 100 pounds) and splash out on some funky wraps like Blueberry Coveralls (available from Millies) - prettiness without having to spend too many pennies (so to speak!).
Containment - now everyone has a different tale to tell about nappies which really do contain everything without fail. And some people do swear by pockets or all-in-ones. However, the general consensus is, if you want to have 100% containment, two-part systems are the way to go. Everything stays in the absorbent inner and there is even a cover on top of that to keep everything safe. No poop in leg gussets etc etc. To quote Ms Cheeky Wipes: hard to beat ME Sandy w/wrap...bulky but leak (and bomb) proof! (ME -> Motherease)
Less bulky washing - this is the thing that does it for me. I do have a whole range of nappies (perks of the job ha ha) but with two in nappies, I like the fact that, with the two-part system, covers can be used a couple of times. It is just the fitted inner that goes in the wetbag (or bucket if you prefer). 
Absorption - there are some nappies that have an 'insert' type inner part. This might be a strip of cloth that sits or poppers to the cover. Close Parent, Pop-in Nappies are one such nappy. But with fitted nappies the inner part is bigger - it goes around the whole bottom. Therefore there is generally a bit more cloth and thus there's a bit more capacity for holding the wee. 

Hope that all makes sense. I should stress, we love all types of cloth nappies and they all have their advantages.  This is what Sarah at Nappy Go Lucky says:"(I) like two parters for night time but prefer pockets/AIO for day time use as they generally slimmer and less faffy!" Yet I find I tend to reach for the two-parters most of the time.

So it will come down to personal choice and what is important or what works for you. Which is precisely why we came up with NapNap Vouchers. Why don't you buy one for a friend and let them try cloth nappies themselves? Or ask for one for yourself. They are available at Really Eco Baby, our online store.

Go to our FAQs page to read other posts on the different types of cloth nappies.

Please leave a comment below on your tips, questions or thoughts on fitted, shaped nappies.

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Wetbags wetbags wetbags. I started hearing about wetbags about 18 months ago and they are one of those things that make SO MUCH SENSE that you wonder why people didn't twig sooner. Well, they have of course been around for donkeys years, but it is only recently that they have become a cloth nappy necessary accessory.
What is a wetbag?
A wetbag is not wet! But it does contain wet nappies and is waterproof... so in a way it is wet (inside) but dry on the outside.
Why are they so great?
Back in the day, washable nappies conjured up thoughts of nappy pins and nappy buckets. Buckets are still used by lots of people and I confess, I do have one into which my more 'interesting' nappies go to soak. However, all my 'just wet' nappies go in the lovely big zip-up wetbag that hangs in the bathroom, away from little inquisitive fingers.
Wetbags - convenient for washing
When we are ready for a nappy wash, we simply push the nappies into the washing machine by turning the wetbag inside out. The bag then goes in with the wash.
Soaking nappies?
You really don't need to soak your nappies (although I do soak my shaped inners if they have had 'the treatment'....). If you pop your nappies in the washing machine from a wetbag, you can run a rinse cycle to wash out the wee (etc!) and then run a normal wash. In fact the rinse cycle 'method' is generally held to be the best way to wash nappies.

Out and about - cloth nappies on the go
I can't believe how much money I spent on little biodegradeable disposable bags for my first daughters' nappies. [I'm a bit sniffy about 'biodegradeable stuff now - found out why here.] Now I have a small collection of medium-ish wetbags that come out and about with me and are more reliable, cheaper in the long run, and are much prettier. Oh look, I just listed the reasons why cloth nappies are the way to go - cheaper, better, and prettier. Wetbags are definitely part of the club! 

Give a friend the gift of cloth with a NapNap Voucher. Worth 10 times the value and more! Available from Really Eco Baby.

The wetbags pictured are from Nappy Go Lucky and BumFluff Babies respectively. Wetbags are available from lots of different companies and come in all shapes and sizes. See all the lovely companies that we work with by going to our Use One page. Yes!! You can use NapNap Vouchers in all these places.

For more info on cloth nappies go to our Washable Nappy Information page. 

So our giveaway is now over. We had quite a few Speedy, Tina, Terence and Shelby. My daughter would have called her Tinker obviously but some of my favourites were Harriet Hardshell, Tootles the Turtle and Bernard. 
For some reason it seems to be easier to choose a turtle name than a baby name ahah!

So thanks for all the great entries, you have lots of imagination.
However, the winner was simply picked randomly from all the answers so I am proud to announce that the winner is Alexandra Byford who named the turtle Myrtle the Turtle.
Alexandra won the new generation pop-in nappy, clap clap clap!

For everyone who did not win, do not despair, we have a few treats up our sleeve:

• Firstly, we decided to extent our sale at Really Eco Baby until next week. If you have a pregnant friend, a baby shower or any event coming up, Really Eco Baby is the place to find the perfect present. We stock treats for babies: fairtrade and organic cotton clothes with up to 50% off, treats for mummies: organic creams, hampers, and even treats for the rest of the family. You can find popular and quality brands such as Little Green Radicals, Ella & Otto, Ava & Luc, Akamuti, Weleda and much more.
• Close Parent have been so generous with NapNap that they gave us not one but two new nappies to giveaway so if you have not won today, you will still have another chance next week. Check the Potty Papers and our Facebook page for more details soon.

Tip for next week competition: you might want to know what the NapNap Voucher is ... To give you a head start: the NapNap Voucher was created so you can share the cloth nappy love. You know that cloth nappies are great so give a NapNap Gift Voucher to your friends and they can choose a cloth nappy from a list of more than 20 retailers. Add a little something from Really Eco Baby and you have the most original and lovely gift for new parents. And just in case, they do not use it, YOU can use the credit at our Really Eco Baby store so you have nothing to lose!
You can find more about why the NapNap Voucher is probably the best gift voucher around here.
I think you are all set for next week's giveaway!

Now that we are up-and-running, friends are getting really interested in NapNap. They are asking what we do exactly and I find I give a different answer every time because we do lots of different things - run green parenting events, sell the NapNap Voucher, give information on how to reduce the footprint your little one is inevitably going to make on the environment, promote washable nappies and much more. But, having had two babies in the past 2 and a half years, my favourite 'thing-we-do' is summed up by saying that we have given mums the opportunity to get really useful baby shower presents. And green and ethical baby shower presents to boot. Take the NapNap Voucher - I wish I could have asked for one of those because then I would have been able to try out a couple of different types of nappies before going for a big buy. Then there's the chocolate (I ended up being spooned honey when in labour to keep my energy up. If only I had had some Rawr chocolate to give me the boost I needed) and the organic fairtrade baby grow speaks for itself.
So make your bump work for you ladies. If people ask you if you need anything, don't say no. However superfrugal you are, you can't turn down a NapNap Voucher. Useful and ethical - what more could you wish for!