Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge vs Avery Row Changing Mat: Wipe It Clean for £20 or Wash the Cover for £54

COMPARISON · CHANGING & BATH

A changing mat is the piece of nursery kit you will use more than almost anything else. Eight to twelve changes a day in the newborn weeks adds up to well over two thousand changes in the first year, and every one of them happens on whatever surface you picked before the baby arrived. It is also one of the cheapest things on the list, which is exactly why most parents grab the first one they see and never think about it again.

That works fine until the first proper blowout. That is the moment you find out which kind of mat you bought: one you can wipe down in thirty seconds, or one where the cover comes off, goes in the machine and leaves you changing on a towel until it dries.

The two mats in this head-to-head sit at opposite ends of that question. The Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge is a classic wipe-clean PVC wedge with raised sides, usually around £20 to £25. The Avery Row Baby Changing Mat is a padded organic cotton cushion with a zip-off, machine-washable cover, at £54 for most prints, with some older designs reduced to around £35.

We compared both on published specs, retailer listings and the feedback parents share with us about wipe-clean and fabric mats, then looked at the things that matter at 3am: how fast you can clean it, whether the baby stays put, and whether it fits the top of the drawers you already own.

Lil' Bubba's verdicts

• Best Overall: Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge Baby Changing Mat · 8.0/10 - raised wedge sides, wipe-clean in seconds, and less than half the price
• Best for a natural-fibre nursery: Avery Row Baby Changing Mat · 7.5/10 - soft organic cotton against skin, and the whole cover goes in the wash

Quick comparison

	Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge	Avery Row Baby Changing Mat
Our rating
Typical price	£20 to £25	£54 (some prints from £35)
Size	69 x 44 x 8 cm	64 x 50 x 11 cm
Surface	Non-toxic PVC	GOTS organic cotton cover
Filling	Foam	Polyurethane foam in an organic cotton casing with a water-repellent coating
Shape	Wedge with raised anti-roll sides	Padded cushion, no anti-roll sides claimed
Cleaning	Wipe clean only	Zip-off cover, machine wash at 30°C, no tumble dryer
Spare covers	Not needed	Sold separately

How we picked the two

We started from the changing mats parents add most often to their BubsNest registries and looked for a pairing that answers a real question rather than two near-identical PVC wedges in different prints. Clair de Lune is one of the most widely stocked wedge mats on the UK high street. Avery Row is the mat we see most often on registries built around organic cotton and muted nursery palettes. We checked current UK prices across retailers, read the manufacturer specs for size, materials and care, and weighed them against the recurring themes in what parents tell us about living with each type of mat. Nobody paid to be included.

What to look for in a changing mat

Raised sides matter more than padding. A wedge or raised edge does not make it safe to step away, but it does stop a wriggling baby sliding towards the edge while you reach for a wipe. If your baby will be changed on top of a chest of drawers, sides are the feature to pay for.

Measure the top you will use. Most changing tops and dresser changers are designed around mats of roughly 70 x 45 cm. A mat that is wider than the top overhangs, and an overhanging mat can tip. Check the depth too: an 11 cm cushion sits higher against a changer's rails than an 8 cm wedge.

Decide how you want to clean it. Wipe-clean PVC is the fastest option after a leak. Fabric covers feel warmer and softer, but anything that gets through needs the cover off and in the wash, so you either own a spare or change on a towel while it dries.

Think about temperature. PVC feels cold on bare skin in winter and can get sticky in a warm room in summer. Many parents solve this with a muslin or a washable liner on top, which costs a few pounds and works on any mat.

Plan for the long run. You will change nappies for two to three years. Covers fade, PVC can crack at the seams after heavy use, and both types are cheap enough to replace. Do not overspend expecting a mat to last through a second child.

Never leave a baby unattended on any changing mat on a raised surface, whatever the shape. If in doubt, change on the floor.

1. Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge Baby Changing Mat / 10 · Best overall

This is the changing mat most UK parents picture when they hear the words: a foam-filled PVC wedge, 69 x 44 x 8 cm, with sides that rise towards the edges so the baby settles in a shallow valley. It comes in a long list of prints, from dashes and gingham to ducklings and dinosaurs, and it is stocked by most big baby and homeware retailers, which keeps the price honest at around £20 to £25.

The appeal is speed. The surface is wipe-clean only, so a leak, a wee mid-change or a smear of nappy cream is gone with a baby wipe or a damp cloth, and the mat is ready again before you have finished doing up the poppers. The size lines up with most changing units and dresser tops, so it should drop straight into the space you already have.

What parents love

• Clean-up in seconds. We hear repeatedly from parents that the moment they valued most was the first big leak, when a wipe-down was all it took and nothing had to go in the washing machine.
• The wedge keeps baby central. The raised sides stop a newborn drifting towards the edge, and parents of wrigglers say it buys them the extra second they need to grab a clean nappy.
• Fits standard changers. At 69 x 44 cm it sits neatly on most changing tops without overhanging.
• Cheap enough to own two. At this price a lot of families keep one upstairs and one downstairs, which saves carrying a baby up the stairs for every change.

What to know before you buy

• PVC feels cold. Bare skin on plastic in a chilly room can bring on a howl. One parent told us they simply keep a folded muslin on top through the winter months.
• It cannot be washed. Wipe-clean only means no machine and no soaking, so anything that gets into a seam or a split has to be dealt with by hand.
• Not built to be heirloom kit. Like most PVC mats, it can split along a seam after a year or two of heavy use. At this price that is a replacement, not a disaster, but it is worth knowing.

Best for

• Parents who want the fastest possible clean-up after leaks
• Changing on a chest of drawers or changing unit, where raised sides help
• Families who want a second mat downstairs without spending much
• Anyone who would rather not run an extra wash every few days

2. Avery Row Baby Changing Mat / 10 · Best for a natural-fibre nursery

Avery Row comes at the changing mat from the opposite direction. Instead of a plastic surface, the outer cover is GOTS-certified organic cotton in the brand's woven prints, such as Greenhouse Gingham. Underneath, a polyurethane foam inner sits in its own organic cotton casing with a water-repellent coating, so a leak should not soak straight into the foam. The cover unzips and goes in the machine at 30°C on a gentle cycle.

It is a slightly different shape to most UK mats: 64 x 50 x 11 cm, so shorter, wider and deeper than the Clair de Lune. The listing describes it as soft and padded but does not claim raised anti-roll sides, so think of it as a cushion rather than a wedge. At £54 for current prints it costs more than twice as much, although some older designs are reduced to around £35, and spare covers are sold separately.

What parents love

• Warm and soft on bare skin. The theme we hear most from fabric-mat families is that babies protest less when they are laid on cotton rather than cold plastic, especially on winter mornings.
• The whole cover washes. Rather than wiping around seams, you unzip the cover and put it in the machine, so it comes out properly clean.
• Organic materials throughout. GOTS organic cotton on the outside and an OCS organic cotton casing on the inner appeals to parents keeping plastics out of the nursery.
• It looks like part of the room. A parent shared that it was the one piece of changing kit they were happy to leave out on display.

What to know before you buy

• A leak means a wash day. When something gets through, the cover comes off, and because it should not go in the tumble dryer you need a spare cover or a towel to change on until it dries. Budget for a second cover from the start.
• No raised sides. There are no anti-roll sides listed, so a rolling baby has less to stop them than on a wedge. Hands on, always, and consider floor changes once rolling starts.
• Check the fit. At 50 cm wide it is wider than many changing tops designed for 44 to 45 cm mats. Measure before you order.

Best for

• Parents furnishing a nursery in organic cotton and natural materials
• Babies who hate the feel of cold plastic
• Floor changing or wider dresser tops, where the extra width is welcome
• Gift-givers looking for something that feels special rather than functional

Head-to-head: where the difference really shows

Cleaning. This is the whole decision. The Clair de Lune is clean in thirty seconds and never leaves the changing station. The Avery Row is cleaner afterwards, because the cover goes through a full wash, but it takes the mat out of action unless you own a spare cover. If you change on the go between rooms and do not want extra laundry, the wedge wins easily.

Comfort. Avery Row wins on feel. Cotton is warmer, softer and less sweaty than PVC. You can get most of the way there on the Clair de Lune with a muslin or a washable liner on top, which costs a few pounds and takes most of the sting out of the cold-plastic complaint.

Security. The Clair de Lune's wedge and raised sides keep a newborn centred. The Avery Row is a flatter cushion with no anti-roll sides claimed. Neither makes it safe to turn away, but on a high surface the wedge gives you more margin.

Fit. At 69 x 44 cm the Clair de Lune matches standard changing tops. The 64 x 50 cm Avery Row is wider, which is great on the floor or a deep dresser and awkward on a narrow changer.

Cost over time. Two Clair de Lune mats, one for each floor, still come in under the price of one Avery Row. Add a spare Avery Row cover and the gap grows further.

How to choose

Choose the Clair de Lune Anti-Roll Wedge if you want the practical default: raised sides for changing on furniture, the quickest clean-up after a leak and a price low enough to buy a second for downstairs. Put a muslin on top in winter and you have most of the comfort of a fabric mat for a fraction of the cost.

Choose the Avery Row Baby Changing Mat if natural materials matter to you, your baby hates cold surfaces, or you mostly change on the floor or a wide dresser. Buy a spare cover at the same time so a leak never leaves you without a mat, and measure your changing top first.

If you are torn, there is a simple test: picture the first 3am blowout. If your instinct is to wipe and go back to bed, buy the wedge. If it is to strip everything and start fresh, the cotton cushion will suit you better.

Add it to your Nest

Not sure yet? Add both to your free BubsNest registry and let friends and family pick, or save the one you prefer and we will keep an eye on prices across retailers for you. A changing mat and a spare cover make a thoughtful, useful pairing for anyone asking what you still need.