Are Pampers Active Fit Britain’s Driest Nappy?

Like every new mother, I was inundated with advice – mostly unsolicited – about everything baby related.

Some of that advice I took to heart (“get the best baby mattress you can afford”), some of it I puzzled over (“sleep when the baby sleeps”) and some of it I ignored completely (“you absolutely must use a wipe warmer”) – after always thanking the advice-giver for their thoughtfulness, of course.

One piece of good advice that I got was about buying nappies. This came from a number of people and was always something along these lines: “Don’t skimp on nappies – you get what you pay for and the cheap brands will always let you down.” At least one person just flat-out said: “Use Pampers. Don’t bother with anything else.”

While this seemed like sensible advice, and the idea of poop and wee leaking everywhere made me feel nauseated (at that point, I hadn’t been hardened by the constant flow of these substances through my child).

So, I tucked this information away in the back of my brain for future use. However, I was set on using cloth nappies and had already invested in a lovely set in gorgeous bright colours that I knew would look adorable on the baby when she arrived.

But, as with so many other things (breastfeeding exclusively and not using a dummy, for example), Pumpkin had her own thoughts about how she would be raised – and cloth nappies were NOT part of her plans. Her poor little bottom broke out in a rash every time we used them – we tried washing them in different detergents, extra rinses and even changing her every hour – and it got to the point that she would just cry as soon as we put on one of them on her.

So, we switched very early on to Pampers and have been unfaithful to the brand just a couple of times – only to quickly come crawling back to its absorbent and dry dependability.

Since I was already a staunch supporter of Pampers, I decided to take part in the Britain’s Driest Nappy Trial, not because I needed convincing of the brand. Rather, I was curious about what made Pampers nappies different and just how dry they could keep my baby.

Pampers sent me a pack of their Active Fit nappies – I usually buy their Baby Dry line, so it was also interesting to try something new. In the box I received, there were also instructions for putting the diapers to the test.

The Active Fit nappies look and feel pretty similar to the Baby Dry version – just in different colours and patterns. The giraffe was my favourite design.

I gathered up everything I would need for the trial.

This included a nappy

150ml of water

A timer set for 1 1/2 minutes

And a piece of tissue

The first step was to open the nappy up and place it on the table in a bowl shape – similar to how it would be if it were on the baby.

Next, I was instructed to pour in the water.

150ml, according to Pampers, is about two to three pees. They say that this is the amount of wee that a baby is likely to produce before you notice that they need to be changed. That was a surprise, because it seemed like a lot of liquid!

Then I waited one minute and 30 seconds.

Almost immediately, I could see the nappy starting to puff up as it absorbed the water.

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When the time was up, I laid the tissue across the nappy.

Then I pressed fairly firmly.

The tissue came back completely dry – except for a couple of drops where the elastic on the sides had gotten wet.

This was actually really impressive to me. The wetness really was completely ‘locked in’.

To see how much the nappy puffed up, I placed the wet one next to a dry one – there was a significant difference between the two.

Now, before I went on to the final step of the trial, I really wanted to see what the nappies were capable of. The information that Pampers sent over said that the micro-pearls inside the diapers can absorb 30 times their own weight. This, the instruction sheet said, was equal to three small bottles of milk.

So, I poured in two more 150ml bottles of water – for a total of 450ml – and waited another minute and a half.

The nappy really puffed up, and I was surprised to find it was still almost completely dry to the touch. I even took it over to Hubby who was watching football to show him.

I must admit that it was slightly damp, but I think at this point that’s to be expected – I was really pushing the nappy to its limits. And, let’s be honest here: if your baby has peed nearly half a litre out and you’ve not changed his or her nappy yet, something has gone terribly wrong.

As the last part of the trial, I got to take the nappy apart and see what was going on inside. With my trusty kitchen scissors in hand, I started cutting through the middle of it.

This got a bit messy, as I think I had over-absorbed the micro-pearls and they came tumbling out of the nappy. But, everything felt completely dry to the touch, showing once again how well they hold in moisture.

If I hadn’t already been convinced that Pampers is the best nappy brand out there, the Britain’s Driest Nappy Trial would have convinced me. It also reminded me that dryness isn’t just about convenience for me – it’s about baby’s comfort too. I know that sounds obvious, but it’s easy to forget.

According to Dr Ellie Cannon, the Love, Sleep and Play expert at Pampers, “A super-absorbent nappy will pull wetness away from [a baby’s] skin, reducing chaffing.” This makes me think that it’s Pampers that I have to thank for that fact that Pumpkin has never had a nappy rash since we switched from cloth nappies.

She goes on to explain that dryness is also a major factor in ensuring a good night’s sleep for your little one. “A nappy which absorbs the wetness and locks it away from [a baby’s] skin will help them to sleep through. And we all know that when a baby has slept well, they wake up happy and ready for the day,” she says.

Again, I think Pampers may be at least part of the reason that Pumpkin has slept through the night consistently since she was about three and a half months old. And she almost always wakes up with a big smile and bright eyes (which is more than I can say about myself!)

So what do you think? I’d love to hear your thoughts on the Britain’s Driest Nappy Trial, and your experiences with nappies in general.

And if you’d like to learn more about the trial, check out #BritainsDriestNappy on Twitter – there are lots of other mums who are taking part and you can see what they have to say. Two that I recommend are KiddyReviews and Happy Healthy Mumma.

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This post is an entry for #BritainsDriestNappy trial sponsored by Pampers. Learn more at facebook.com/PampersUKIre.

Disclosure: I worked with Pampers and BrtiMums for this post. I was sent a pack of Active Fit nappies to try for the review purposes. All opinions are my own.