The concept:
Rainbow Tots cloth nappies are the cutely coloured versions of the original Cotton Tots. Made from a relatively lightweight, short-looped terry, the nappies have a sewn-in foldable booster and are designed to give a good fit through the elasticated waist and legs, be quick-drying and relatively slim-fitting. Tots Bots recommend these for daytime use, and the white and unbleached versions for night and for heavy wetters.
Rainbow Tot nappies in use:
The short-looped terry gives a nice, light nappy but doesn't compromise on absorbency. The sewn-in foldable booster is a nice thought, making the nappy easier to use, wash and dry: The booster gives the absorbency of a thicker nappy while washing better and drying more quickly and you an fold it however suits your baby best. While Tots Bots recommend these nappies for day, rather than night use (the white and unbleached versions are recommended for extra absorbency at night), we've used the Rainbow Bot at night several times quite successfully although we'll probably opt for a different nappy when our little one gets to the stage of sleeping as long as ten hours (and if...).
Important both for containment and comfort, we found that you could get an excellent snug fit thanks to the elasticated legs, back and adjustable fastenings. While the nappy never left any red marks on baby's skin around the edges, it was great for containment. As with other long-loop terry nappies, these can get a little hard when line dried, depending on your water. With a fleece lining this probably doesn't matter, but if you're bothered by it then you can simply scrunch the nappy to soften it, iron it or give it a quick whirl in the tumble drier. Another option to keep the nappies soft is to use a tablespoon of vinegar in your rinse cycle every few washes.
On the subject of liners, our size one Rainbow Tot came complete with a sewn-in fleece liner, as well as the foldable booster, for added convenience. Some people may not like fleece liners, but we're big fans, although we think we'll stop using them in the daytime when it comes time for potty training.
Thanks to the attached-but-free layers, the Rainbow Tot is a reasonably fast drying nappy for the absorbency it offers, but shaped terry nappies do take a lot longer to dry than pre-folds. For smaller newborns the size one will seem a bit bulky at first, and might not fit so well under those teeny-tiny newborn vests that aren't cut for cloth. But that's a fleeting, and aesthetic, issue. Before long the nappy will seem far more in proportion to your growing baby, the cut of clothes should be come less of a problem and it'll stop looking as though the nappy is wearing the baby.
Rainbow Tots nappies work as a two-piece system with the Tots Bots wraps, but you can use any other nappy cover you like that fits.
