Do I have enough to start?

[bethwl]

I am due in a few weeks and just ordered some cloth diapers. Now, I'm agonizing about whether to buy more or to wait and see how what I have on the way works out. Will the following be ok to start and how often will I need to wash with this (I was thinking every other day):

12 prefolds
1 prorap
1 Bummi Super Whisper Wrap
1 Fuzzi Bunz with a Joey
1 Bumkins AIO
7 Kissaluvs size 0
disposable liners

I feel like I need a couple more covers (and was looking at Imse Vimse day covers) or maybe a package of 6 Fuzzi Bunz or something like that. Any advice/opinions?

thanks,
Beth

[egoldber]

So you have 21 diapers and 2 covers. That's not enough covers. I would get at least 2-3 more. You will probably be washing every other day to keep up (think 10-12 diapers a day) and that might be a bit much initially. I would get about 10 more diapers to keep you sane. :) Maybe you could try to find some Extra small Motherease Sandies to try or a few more different kinds of AIOs.

HTH,

[liya]

yup you sure need more covers....try a xcheaper one though they grow out of everything sooo fast..ppl like the prorap newborns...bumpys are great but very expensive for a nb imo...

[parkersmama]

To be on the safe side, I'd get a few more diapers. Either more prefolds or Kissaluvs. If your dh will be doing diaper changes, he may prefer the snapping closure of the Kissluvs. My dh still hasn't figured out (or bothered to try) how to use the snappi and prefolds. Like everyone else, I agree that a few more covers would help. Honestly though, with a newborn the covers seemed to last me all day so about 5 would have done it (2 per day, washing every other day, and one to wear while the other 4 dry). I really like the proraps...they are completely dummy proof! LOL! The disposable liners probably won't do you much good right now. Newborn poops are just too runny for them. It's only been in the last week or so that we've quit doing middle of the night diaper changes and needing to investigate nighttime diaper systems.

[mommyj]

Most people recommend having 6 covers for a newborn. You might want to order a few Proraps seconds, and then if you want to try a Bumpy day cover, you could order one of those too.
My baby is due in 3 weeks, so I haven't actually starting CDing yet. I ordered some extra prefolds, because they're really cheap and I plan to use them as burp cloths after I'm done using them as diapers. If you don't want to spend a lot more money but you want the convenience a few more diapers, buying 10 or so more prefolds might be a good idea. That way you won't be out a lot of money, and you can always use them as diaper doublers or burp cloths later.

[bethwl]

Thanks for the advice. I went ahead and ordered a couple of Happy Heineys (on sale and I wanted to compare to FB) to have some more AIO options, and a Green Earth cover. It looked similar to the Prorap in both style and price. I thought I'd give it a try. Now, I am doing price comparisons on Kissaluvs to order maybe 6 more and then I'll probably order two more Proraps.

[KW_102701]

You mentioned ordering Happy Heinys as an AIO option, but they're pocket dipes, not AIOs, so you'll need to use your CPFs or some other insert for absorbancy.

My baby is also due in a couple weeks so maybe ya'll can tell me if my starter stash looks o.k.:
12 preemie UBCPFs
24 infant UBCPFs
2 Kissaluvs size 0
1 Motherease OneSize
6 NB Prorap seconds
6 Small Prorap seconds
1 Small Motherease Airflow cover
2 Small Happy Heiny's

I'm wondering if I should get more Kissaluvs - can't decide if they'd be worth the $$$. Any thoughts?

[mommyj]

I went ahead and bought 12 Kissaluv seconds (for $89 with shipping), just because they get such good reviews for newborns. I figured I could always sell them for about what I paid for them if it turned out I didn't like them. I'm sure you could get by without them, though, if you don't feel like spending the money. The CPFs seem easy enough, and a lot of moms seem to think fitteds aren't necessary. Also, a lot of babies outgrow the Kissaluvs pretty quickly.
I think either way would be fine, but if you decide you want the convenience of snaps (especially for middle of the night changes), you could always buy 4 or 5 more. I decided I'd go ahead and get some for the added convenience. Plus, they're adorable.

[bethwl]

Thanks for the reminder about stuffing the HH; I do remember that FB and HH need something stuffed inside, but since it doesn't require a cover, it seems more like an AIO in my mind. I am still awaiting the 2 HH and the Green Earth cover, and I also took advantage of the Motherease into offer to get a one-size diaper, Airflow cover, and insert for $16.95 (including shipping). I'm am also going to try to make some of my own doublers and liners to add absorbancy to the CPFs, if necessary.

I was thinking of ordering a dozen more CPFS. Do the infant ones really last that long? (The ones I have just washed look so small!) Should I go for premium size? I don't think my baby is going to be huge, but not tiny either (midwife is predicting anywhere from 7lb120z-8lb4oz).

[AmbyChelle]

I think that looks like a great starter system for diapers. BUT, I did want to warn you that we went through average of 15 diapers a day..meaning some days it was 12, and others it was 18. Not that the baby really WORE the diaper, but newborns have this thing about pooping and peeing mid diaper change. Sometimes, I'd go through three diapers for a single change..take of dirty diaper and clean baby.. slide clean diaper under bum.. uh-oh.. re-clean up baby, changing table and yourself which are now covered in poo.. slide new clean diaper under bum.. oh no.. remove clean diaper which is now wet.. and replace with nice clean and dry diaper. Trust me.. this isn't a "random" occurance.. it was an every day event. If you plan to use some disposables to fill in the times when you are too exhausted to haul your self and your leaky boobies to the washing machine .. then you are alright with the nubmer of diapers you have. I personally just couldn't find the time to do laundry more than every three days.. too much else to do with a newborn. We started out with 24 prefolds and 4 size 0 kissaluvs.. I quickly figured out that just wasn't going to cut it.. we needed at least half a dozen diapers to use WHILE the others were washing... which can somehow be an all day event. If you want to try something besides kissaluvs (which we LOVED).. you might grab a couple of diaperbabies fitteds. I hear only good things about them. As far as stuffing the HH, I didn't read the post about that.. but if I were you, I'd just get some hemp doublers to use. It won't take much for a newborn size and you'll be able to use the doublers later. Stuffing with a prefold will work too, but will seem pretty bulky. The real reason for my post is you asked about infant prefolds versus premium. I can GUARANTEE you won't like premium prefolds until the baby is pretty darn old/big. They will seem HUGE. To tell you the truth, infant prefolds will seem huge on your newborn at the very beginning. We weren't able to use premiums until my daughter was 18lbs and a year old. For that "in between" stage where infants are too small and premiums too big, there's a prefold called a "regular" or "regular" premium".. they are 4x6x4 layers so they are trimmer.. and the ones I had were about 2 inches shorter than a premium also. These are really great for about 12-20lbs. And they also work much better to stuff a meidum or large pocket diaper than a premium prefold because they aren't as bulky.

Anyway.. sounds like you are having fun with this :) and you have a really nice system going. You could always go ahead and get some "regular" prefolds that will sort of tide you over if you absolutly don't want to use disposables.. until you decide which diapers to order more of.. and then they'll get more use later when you little one hits about 12-13lbs.

AmbyChelle

[egoldber]

I didn't use premiums on my DD until she was almost 20 months! There is a size between premium and infant called regular, but I would get the infants. They will be fine. They may seem samll, but newborns are tiny. :) And you can use the prefolds to stuff your HH and FB if you like.

HTH,

[bethwl]

Thanks for the tips on the infant-size prefolds. They just seem so small, but it's good to hear that a couple of you didn't go to premiums until at least one year (almost 2 for Beth!). I don't have a good concept of how fast babies grow. When I read that my newborn onesies are only good for 7-12 lbs. that seems like such a small range, but I guess it will take a bit to get to 12 lbs.

I attempted my first doubler today, too, copying the size and shape of a Joey Bunz. It's bulkier than a Joey, because I used one layer of terry in between two layers of flannel inside two layers of fleece. But it still fit nicely inside my Fuzzi Bunz and seemed like it would still work in a CPF. Not the prettiest thing in the world, but it will probably work. Although, I looked at SMJAE today and her prices are quite good, I may just buy some doublers from her. It's just that almost $5 for a JB kind of hurts.

thanks!