Cloth Diapering Advice for Newborn

We've done cloth diapers for both of my girls (2.5 years and 5 mos). For the newborn stage, I did prefolds - which ARE really easy and VERY inexpensive. You just need about 2 dozen prefolds (they're about $1 each), 4-6 covers, and some "snappis" (they hold the prefold on). I also invested in about 6 fitted diapers - kissaluvs were my favourites because they fit for the longest and hold up too. Meconium doesn't stain really, if you launder properly, which I think is pretty straight forward. I got most of my good advice and products from zannadu.com, they lady that runs it is local to MA (I think in Natick?). She does diaper workshops for free, and also sells diaper stuff on her website. She has LOTS of good guidence. I've also liked angelbunz.com for prices and inventory. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Not sure what other advice you've gotten but we love gDiapers. Sometimes you have to wait a few weeks for them to chub up to fit in them well, but check them out. I buy cloth inserts for mine (www.nappyshoppe.com) to make them more affordable. So cute and easy as cloth diapering goes! There is a great Yahoo group called "gDiapers" that is so helpful about this and other cloth diaper issues and they have a database where you can buy the gDipes inexpensively as well.

Hi,

I agree with many of the posters. I liked the prefold flats and prowrap covers for newborns, very basic, inexpensive and have a cut out for the umbilical cord. Depending on how big the baby is he or she might not be in the first size for very long. So you might want to just buy a couple of the newborn size and more of the next size up and if it's a small baby order a few more of the newborn size.

I also like the bumgenius 3.0 (although it was a little to big for my daughter at first, and she was 8 lbs at birth) She is now 21 pounds and they still fit well. It is nice to have a few all in ones or pocket diapers for when you are going out or someone else will be changing the diaper.

We have tried a lot of diapers and covers and I really like the Thirsties covers best, and prowraps are fine (but only come in white) and Bum Genius, Thirsties and fuzzi bunz for pocket diapers. I really did not like the Bum Genius organic all in ones.

I also like the Kushies swim diapers.

I order from Maine Cloth diaper company and really have had good luck with them.

If you have the energy check out Craig's list or the diaper swap site.

I started cloth diapering my DS a month or two after he was born. I had purchased a couple of "starter" packages with different all-in-ones from a couple of different websites, just so I could get the feel of different ones. Overall, I decided to just go with pre-folds and a cover (the Bummi Super Whisper Wrap was really good for the early days, since you don't have to pull it off over the legs). I've used pre-folds exclusively since then, now with just the Bummi Whisper Pant cover. I think the pre-folds with a Snappi are the best economically, and they're nearly as easy to use as the all-in-ones. You probably need 1.5 - 2 dozen for the early days anyway, so at $20-something a dozen (along with a few covers), I think those make the most sense. My favorite site is www.greenmountaindiapers.com but I know there are lots out there.) Good luck with #3!

I like the bummgenius all in one one size fits all. Never had a leak with them and they can be used for along time. Whatever you decide on I would bet one size adjustable ones they are more economical than having to purchase several different sizes this way you have a one time expense.

I use Fuzzi Bunz for my kids. I bought many in sizes small, medium and large. They are cheaper if you buy them used from diaperswappers or craigslist. Good luck,

L.

I recently read about this place in Somerville (The Diaper Lab) that supposedly has a great variety of cloth diapers.

http://diaperlab.com/

L.,

Does your diaper service have a plan for multiple babies? I only had one baby but used cloth the entire time. I wouldn't have changed a thing (no pun intended).

There are tiny cloth diaper for newborns. Ask your service. I'm assuming you have a service and are not purchasing them on your own. For baby's health, I thin it's worth the investment AND it's better for the environment.
C.

Haven't read your responses, so maybe I'm duplicating info here. But diaperswappers.com and diaperpin.com are both great places for cloth diapering info, reviews, tips, and previously owned diapers for sale. If your 2 year old is still in diapers, you may want to consider simplifying with one-size diapers so that both kids can use the same diapers. I'm personally a huge fan of wool diaper covers with prefolds, but wool isn't for everyone, and it is more expensive.

Hi, I don't know if this will help a lot or not, but my daughter is now 6 weeks old and I've been cloth diapering for most of it. We did use disposables in the beginning because I'd heard that meconium stains. And as I'm building up my stash I do use them when they're in the wash.
Anyway, my caution to you is think about how big your baby might be. My daughter was 9 lb 4 oz and was too big for the newborn diapers. What we've been using successfully are thirsties size small, small happy heineys and bumgenius one size. The bum geniuses are very bulky but they get the job done. Maybe try diaperswappers.com to get some used and inexpensive newborn diapers just in case you have a big baby. Even if he/she isn't huge when born he/she will outgrow them within a few months.
hope this helps.
Congratulations and good luck!

I cloth diapered my newborn from the time she was about 2 weeks old. She was 8 and a half pounds at birth. I loved the BumGenius All In One diapers. Either the one size fits all, or the 2.0 that come in different sizes. The 2.0 worked out really well for the newborn. They leak alot more now that she is older, but they did great for the newborn stage.

Hi L.~
We cloth diapered DS2 from the beginning...bought a variety of diapers & covers to try. We bought 2 dozen infant prefolds, 6 small size contour diapers, 2 newborn diaper covers (bummis) & a bunch of bummis small sized covers. Here's what happened:

DS2 was over 9 pounds at birth, so he really didn't fit in the Newborn covers. (THese would have been useful tho, they have a cut out for the cord stump). We had problems with diaper covers covering/rubbing against the cord stump, so for the first few weeks we used the stretch fleece contour diapers with a snappy (& no cover), changed alot & were OK with a few seepy diapers. After a few weeks, we started using mostly prefolds with a snappy & a cover. We found that, in the first few months, we needed to snappy the diaper under the wrap for it to not leak. Now @ 4 months he's in a prefold & doubler, just in the bummis wrap--no more snappi. He's just beginning to outgrow his infant prefolds. We also have some BUm Genius 3.0 pocket diapers which we love (& use for nightime/travel), but they didn't work for even our very big newborn. We started using them @ about a month old.

So, here's what I'd recommend: Assuming you still have your diapers from 2nd child...I think the infant prefolds were worth the cost. They really decrease the bulk on a new baby & we're planning to use them as doublers as we go up in size. Depending on your baby, I think a few newborn covers might be useful...but buy them from someplace that will let you exchange them unopend/unused in case you have a big baby:) We loved the super soft fleece contours when DS2 was brand new...but he's already out of them size-wise - so not the best investment. I do think the bummis small diaper covers were a great buy - he's been in them from a few weeks old & will probably fit them for another month (until 5+). The Bum Genius are awesome, but not so much better than prefolds that I would recommend replacing a system you may already have. I'm sure you'll get some other great recommendations! Enjoy.

I agree with Jennifer; the Green Mountain Diaper website is really helpful. She has a lot of good ideas and advice about using cloth diapers. I've used prefolds and Bummis on my daughter since she was about a month old. Never even used Snappis with them, and they've always stayed in place, without leaks. When she was little the covers could be reused if they were just wet, but for a poopy diaper, sometimes the cover got dirty as well, so it's good to have plenty of covers; at least 8, depending on how often you wash them. (I would sometimes wash a few covers by hand if I wasn't ready to do a big diaper wash in the machine.) Prefolds are certainly the most economical way to go, and you can fold the prefolds different ways to get the best coverage. Enjoy your new baby, and hats off to you for choosing cloth!