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C99
01-10-2003, 01:53 PM
So last night, I spent about 2 hours looking through CD sites to decide what I wanted to get and then spent all night dreaming about the damn things. I think I have CD overload!

Anyway, I know that everyone has a different experience of what works for them and their babies, but I need some more help here. I've already read the existing CD threads.

From what I've read, I'll need about 36 diapers to start CDing from the beginning. My husband is scared that CDs will be an inconvenience, so I am veering toward buying fitteds and AIOs for the first 3-6 months, even though I know that these will create a more expensive system than CPFs.

This is what I was thinking for my initial outlay, but I don't know if it's not enough, too much, or if my baby will outgrow them too fast to make the economic argument viable:

- 12 Kissaluvs, 12 CPFs, 4 Bummis whisper wrap, 4 Kissaluvs doublers, 1 Stancinator Deluxe Fleece and 12 Kissaluv wipes.
- 6 pack Fuzzibunz w/ JoeBunz inserts OR 6 pack starter kit of MotherEase Sandies w/ covers
- 5 Kushies Ultra AIOs + 2 Bumkins AIOs OR 12 pack of Bumkins AIOs

If you've read all that, thank you. Now to my two main questions:
1. How long will the newborn/small sizes last before I have to reinvest in larger sizes?
2. How much should I expect to spend initially?

Also, what are Kissaluv wipes and why do I need them?

Thanks for your help!
Caroline

nohomama
01-10-2003, 03:41 PM
I can't answer your question entirely but I can comment on what I have experience with. Here are my observations:

36 dipes will mean your doing laundry every 2 1/2 to 3 days.

I wouldn't bother investing in doublers for a newborn. You'll be changing your baby 10 to possibly 14 times a day. Your newborn would have to have some pretty amazing kidneys to warrant a doubler.

How quickly your baby outgrows a newborn size diaper will depend on your baby. You'll get more wear out of a CPF than a fitted or AIO. Lola wore a small/regular CPF until about 6 months. You might want to consider getting some of your fitted or AIO dipes in small rather than newborn and buy a dozen more small/regular sized CPF to make up the difference. I just bought a dozen seconds of Kissaluv size 2. They're great diapers and fit Lola well, but it her case she probably could have worn a size 2 before she was 20#. There's always a chance that your baby would fit into a Kissaluv's size 1 before s/he reaches the weight limit. This likely wouldn't be the case with the ME Sandies. I don't have experience with the FB or the Kushies and Bumkins AIO so I won't speculate about those.

As I said, I don't have experience with the FB but I would recommend ME Sandies and ME Airflow covers.

How much your start-up costs are depends on a number of factors...new vs. used or seconds, fitted/AIO vs. CPF, etc.. For new, expect to pay $20-$24 for a dozen CPFs, $9-$15 for a fitted diaper, about $12-$20 for an AIO, anywhere from $8-$18 for covers (less for Bummis/ProWraps, more for fleece/wool covers), and $10-$12 for a dozen wipes (MUCH less if you make your own). Beth posted awhile ago about total start-up costs for cloth diapering. Do a search if you're interested in that.

The Kissaluvs cloth wipes are nice but not a neccessity. There are cheaper cloth wipes available or you can make your own or use inexpensive wash clothes instead.

HTH,

mama2be
01-10-2003, 04:28 PM
Caroline,

As you know I can not give any advice on this since I am in the same boat you are. But did want to tell you that I noticed a lot of people (including the owners of these diaper companies) recommending Prowraps covers to me for newborn. I only pass this along because they are inexpensive. I was thrilled I was being turned on to somehting that didn't cost much...and then it was recommeded to me to buy their "seconds" which I did at $3 each. For that price you wouldn't have to change your planned stash...just maybe try some...

I came right out and asked a few days ago on the parentsplace board if anyone had trouble with the Prowrap covers that are seconds...and everyone gave them a thumbs up and seemed thrilled with them, only one gal said "once in a blue moon" she has heard a dissatisfaction in them and it was because they ordered white and might have gotten blue etc...but not the quality.

Anyway wanted to pass that on...

egoldber
01-10-2003, 04:30 PM
Hmm, well a number of people use CPFs until their babies hit the medium sizes, because the mediums tend to last for a long time. That is definitely one way to do it.

Are the items you listed buying in the newborn or small size? If so, I would steer clear of the Kushies AIOs and the Fuzzibunz. The main advatange of the FB is as a nighttime diaper for babies that are sleeping long periods at night. Your baby isn't likely to do this for some time. I have also heard bad reviews on the cmbination of Kushies AIOs and breastfed newborn poops. I also wouldn't worry too much about doublers yet. Little babies poop so often that you are changing them every hour or so anyway.

I'd get the 12 Kissaluvs, the 12 CPFs, and 12 ME Sandies plus a couple AIOs to try. I would also get a ME Airflow cover and a ME Rikki wrap cover. The general consensus is that ME covers are about the best out there.

My 17 month old can wear either a Kissaluvs 1 or 2, so I would definitely start with the 0's. The Kissaluvs are very stretchy and can last for a long time. Apparently the all fleeece ones are much stretchier than the fleece/terry or terry ones.

I have 1 Kissaluvs wipe that I got as a freebie in an order. It is a nice thick terry cloth wipe. Personally, I prefer cheap baby washcloths. Also, I have 4 dozen wipes and I really like having that many.

HTH,

csa12
01-10-2003, 05:04 PM
I am a newbie to CD as well and wrestled with the same questions of how much to spend and what to get for the longest time.

Now while you will get more specific and useful advice from experienced users, for what it's worth I'll share with you my reasonings for what I did. I decided to try to keep a balance of not spending to much for the newborn stage and but trying as many different kinds of diaper setups as possible. The hardest thing for me was to set a budget limit so I wouldn't overdo it.

After looking at various diapers and covers, I set my budget at $150. Like you I realized that 36 diapers, 6 covers plus some fleece liners are all that I would need for the newborn stage. I have also decided to make my own wipes to use with homade solution which seems really easy and cheap (at the very least I can just use water and a handi wipe/wash cloth). Based on what other CD users have said I will primarily rely on prefolds, but also got a variety of interesting covers and some fitteds to try out and see what will work for now as well as for later stages. Here is what I got:


-24 bleached, prewashed CPFs in infant size
- 3 snappis
-10 Kissaluvs size 0 ( I hear these are great for newborns, but am worried I got too many. I may return five and exchange for other covers and a couple of AIOs)
-6 covers (a stacinator, 2 Proraps, 3 Bummis SWW) when I return the Kissaluvs I am interested in getting a Motherease Airflow and maybe another kind of fitted diaper (Mom and Me hemp/fleece?) and maybe even a contoured diaper (kissaluv?)
- I plan to cut about 24 fleece liners myself


I think all in all I spent about $209 ( I am not good with budgets!) which is ok because although I spent a little bit more than anticipated I am getting a variety of things. I think its worse when you buy alot of the same thing and it ends up not working for you. Although I may regret it at first, I wanted to try CD from the start and decided to get the fullest stash my budget would allow versus sampler packages. If I don't like anything I can resell it, right?

Anyways, to make a long story short, I based my first CD system on prefolds that can fit in alot of different covers and then when baby gets older I will focus more on fitted, contours, and AIOs to see what works with the covers I like. I also plan to worry about doublers and other inserts later rather than sooner. Prefolds are so versatile and can be used for whatever so it seems like they won't go to waste.

I am sorry this is so long. The main thing for me is to try not to break the bank and to remain flexible. Good luck with whatever you decide to start with!

Oh yeah I would love to hear what people think about what I got and what I am interested in getting after I return some of the Kissaluvs. Thanks!

Cheryl :)

sparkeze
01-11-2003, 11:29 PM
Although I started CD when DS was 6 mo, he grew out of the weight range for most smalls by 3 mo, and now at 9 mo, he's in all larges! IMO, I wouldn't invest a lot of money in newborn/small diapers simply because you can't use them for very long. And although weight ranges may say up to 20 lbs, for example, that may not be true for your baby. Bummis SWW M are supposed to go up 25lbs I think, but when DS was 18 lbs-ish he couldn't fit into them.

I personally don't like Kissaluvs. For my DS the rise is just too short, I think it would work better for a girl. And I would really recommend Motherease Sandys and Airflows over Fuzzi Bunz. FB's best usage comes when your baby's going to be in a wet diaper for a longtime - like 12 hours overnight. And if your baby is anything like my baby you won't be able to go that long without changing for about 2-3 months. And by then, your baby could be in the M size range, who knows.

If I were to CD a newborn now, I think I would buy a lot of used stuff. Used stuff is probably in great condition because the babies grow out of them so fast! I would probably get a combo of newborn/infant CPFs, fitteds, and about a dozen covers. Newborn CPFs can be used in a FB or as a doubler when your baby gets bigger so they'd get good use, and fitteds because I really like the fit and they hold in poop well, and a lot of cheaper covers because newborn poop is usually prone to leaking. But that's just my opinion...when I have a second baby (a longtime from now!) that's my plan.