About the absorbency

Inserts are the absorbent part.  They are the fabric that you put inside the pocket to soak up the wetness and ensure the nappy doesn't leak.  

There are three types of inserts here at Bear & Moo; Bamboo, Microfibre and Hemp.

Bamboo

Bamboo inserts are a great place to start for adding extra absorbency. 

You can buy these separately and then pop them into the pocket behind the microfibre insert to get longer out of your nappy.  They are super thin so don’t bulk out the nappy too much.  They can also be added into the layers of a Luxe nappy if you need more absorbency there too.

The pros:

• Bamboo is a natural fibre
• It's incredibly absorbent
• It can sit against the skin too, so you could put it on top of the nappy rather than in the pocket if you really wanted to

The cons:

• It can take longer to absorb, so if your little one holds on and lets go all at once, it may not cope with such a large amount of liquid at once

Microfibre

All our One Size Fits Most reusable cloth nappies come with a single microfibre insert as standard.  This is enough to get you started.  They are 4 layers of microfibre.

The pros:

• Affordable
• Quick-drying
• Absorbs quickly

The cons:

• Not as absorbent as other fabrics
• Can cause compression leaks (if it's really wet and gets sat on, it can squeeze out a bit like a sponge)
• Cannot go directly against the skin as it wicks the moisture away so well that it can remove natural moisture from baby's skin too, causing irritation - so only put these inside the actual pocket

Hemp

Hemp is a natural fibre and is one of the most absorbent insert types on the market.  We don’t recommend using them on their own as they’re incredibly slow to absorb, but that makes them the perfect night time booster (or day time if your little one is a super heavy wetter). 

The pros:

• Hemp is a natural fibre
• It's incredibly absorbent
• The most absorbent option

The cons:

• Very slow to absorb
• Most expensive

With all my children I have found that a single microfibre insert has done us well the majority of the time.  I will sometimes double them up, but not regularly.  Many other people have found that a single microfibre insert isn't enough and they have regular leaks.

So what's the answer?

Double up!

Mix a quick absorbing insert (microfibre) with a more absorbent insert (bamboo or hemp) for the ultimate in inserts.  Will this guarantee you'll have no leaks?  Absolutely not.  There's so many factors that we can't guarantee that!  But it's definitely a great place to start.

If you choose to do this, the order to put them in is microfibre, then bamboo, then hemp (or whichever combo you’re using), but still put them all inside the pocket.  The microfibre will absorb quickly, and then slowly filter through to the bamboo and hemp, meanwhile nothing is touching the little one's skin. 

Also, a quick note.  There are other types of inserts on the market including cotton and charcoal.  These all vary in absorbency and quality so feel free to do your research on these too. 

Looking at our large nappies?  Same thing applies - we have a single microfibre insert as standard, and you can add a large bamboo insert if needed.  We don't have large hemp at the moment but you can always use our standard size to help with absorbency. 

Still have questions?  Flick us a message and we'll do our best to help!