Need advice for new mom

[Kayla]

I'd like to try cloth diapering for my baby who is due in about a month, and I've been reading this forum, but find myself extremely confused with all of the options. I plan start off with disposables, as there's a lot else to get used to in the beginning without washing loads of diapers.

My motivation is really to save money, so while all of the fancy covers are very fun and pretty, they don't interest me at this time. That said, I would not mind to invest a reasonable amount on something that's really going to work.

What are your suggestions/recommendations for someone who (a) is operating on a budget, (b) does not have a lot of time to think/shop/worry about diapers, and (c) really wants this to be a success?

Thanks!

[blnony]

I've never CDed a newborn, but I know many here that have successfully.
Most recommend prefolds and proraps covers. Thats a good economical way to start, esp. when you are changing so many diapers in those early few months.
If after that you want to try a fitted or something you can, but at the beginning I would think this is the best way to start. HTH- and i know others will have some great suggestions too.

[Momof3Labs]

You can absolutely cloth diaper with just prefolds and covers. Eventually, as your baby sleeps through the night, you might decide to invest in a different nighttime diaper, but heck - most of us were cloth diapered with only prefolds and covers! Here's a recent thread from a mom with similar thoughts:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=60&topic_id=7555&mesg_id=7555&page=2

[lizajane]

i am a broken record on this issue, which i have actually said before...

email me if you want more info, because i am one of the few here who ONLY uses prefolds and proraps, with 4 pairs of fuzzibunz for nighttime. but here is my advice:

use disposables until small proraps fit. they grow out of newborns too fast.

1) go to natural babies.com

2) buy 8 or more small prorap covers
when you know you like them, buy 4-6 medium covers

3) buy 30 infant prefolds
when you know you like them, buy 20-30 standard prefolds

4) buy one snappi just for fun, to see if you like it and it is only a few bucks.

do wash every 2 or every 3 days. throw the diapers into the washer and soak in cold water, then spin it out (just use the rinse and spin cycle). wash on the longest wash on hot with 1/2 a scoop or cap of detergent (we use gain, lots like tide. avoid dreft, ivory snow, etc. soap products) run through the rinse cycle again warm or hot to get any remaining detergent out. dry on hot.

wash proraps on warm with clothes. use shout or zout to get poop stains out. do not soak covers, just rinse the poop off if they get poop on them, then throw them into the wash whenever.

if your diapers get stained, spray them with shout (or whatever) and lay them in the sun. wash.

if your diapers start to smell funky, try adding baking soda (1/4-1/2 cup) to the wash cycle and vinegar to the rinse cycle. and try adding calgon brand water softener to the wash cycle to get any detergent residue out.

hth.

[RiaHannam]

If you are on a budget and primarily want to save money it's easy to do with prefolds!

For a newborn I suggest 3 dozen infant sized prefolds. For covers try proraps or bummi sww's. 6 is a good amt. There are several folding sites about how to fold pf's and I suggest looking at those. Here are a couple:

http://www.dy-dee.com/html/Folding/folding.html

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/kfegelman/pf_folds.html

I myself have tried pf's, fitteds, aio's, pocket dipes and fancy covers. But with my current and last baby I have gone back to prefolds and velcro covers..... just can't beat them for price, durability and performance. If after the nb period you want to explore what's out there go for it! But be assured you can cloth diaper from nb to potty learning in just prefolds and still be satisfied!

Have fun!

Maria and Taggert (5/13)

[cilantromapuche]

I have CD'ed my baby since NB and i did use the NB prorap covers and i didn't need 8 and have done fine with just 4 covers. i use mostly CPF's (24) but did buy several kissaluvs size 0 for DH. it was a smart move because he was leery at first and the kissaluvs were easy and that eased him into using cpf's. i have snappi's. somehow i always have a blowout when i just fold the cpf in the prorap but not with the snappi.
HTH

[wreckgirl1]

My DD is 4 weeks old now, and I've been CDing her for 2 weeks. I started with disposables too, for both the exhaustion factor you stated, plus I read that meconium will stain CDs. So you'll want to wait a few days, anyway. But here is what I do now, mostly thanks to advice I've gotten on this board. A little long.

I actually bought a single lot of used diapers from Ebay. It came with 2 dozen fitted diapers, 1 dozen contours, 5 Bumkins all-in-ones (AIOs), and about a dozen covers (Proraps, Diaperaps, and Bummis). This isn't necessarily what you'll need, as I was planning on getting some CPFs instead of fitteds and contours, but I saw it, compared it with what I was planning on spending on CPFs and covers, and bid on it. I really appreciate the fitteds for starting out, because they are dummy-proof. You just velcro them on, then velcro the cover on over them. But if I hadn't gotten them for what turned out to be <$2 each, I would have bought CPFs instead. It sounds like some people on this thread fold a CPF in thirds and put that inside the cover, then velcro that on. Not sure how well this works, but probably just as easy. I use the fitteds preferentially, because I am a bit Snappi-challenged (but still prefer it to pins!).

I wouldn't buy too much to start out with. My husband still grabs a disposable when he is watching her (4 hours/day), so I only have to do wash every 4 days or more with my current supply. 2-3 dozen diapers, a couple Snappis or pins, and about 3-5 covers to start with, then as you figure out that you need more, buy more. Keep some disposables on hand in case you run out and for going out. You'll figure out soon what you need more of. I'd recommend buying one or two AIO's, because sometimes when DD is wailing I don't like to even take the 2 seconds to lay the diaper in the cover and velcro each on...I just reach for the AIO and slap it on. Also, if you don't plan on CDing the first few weeks, you probably want to wait until your baby is born to see if he/she will ever even fit into newborn sized covers, or if smalls are the way to go (depending on the type of cover you buy, if you have a big baby like mine smalls might work from the get-go).

At the suggestion of folks on this board, I bought a 28-qt Sterilite garbage can from Target ($7) to use as a diaper pail, and line it with an old laundry bag I already had. We liked it so much we bought a second one to use as a sposie trash can (since hubby still insists on using them). No smell, unless it has been 3-4 days and then only when we open it.

I still haven't gotten any reusable wipes (just haven't gotten around to buying cheap washcloths), but I just throw the Huggies wipes into the diaper pail with the dirty diaper, and pick them out after washing. Since the advent of washing machines (and since most of us have them in our homes), trust me, washing is NOT a problem. Just dump the bag's contents, then the bag, into the washer, cold wash, hot wash (no detergent), dry, and stack.

I spent <$100 total to buy diapers, covers, Snappis, and pail. We've spent $30-40 on the cheapest possible disposable diapers so far (full time for 2 weeks, plus a couple diapers a day for DH the past two weeks). So it is clear that the investment will have paid for itself in the next couple of weeks. Hope this helps.

Cynthia

[mommyj]

I probably sound like a broken record, too, but here's my advice:

I would order the following:
30 infant 4x8x4 ucpf's from Naturalbabies
2 or 3 Snappis
6-8 small covers I would order one or two whisper pants ($5/each)
from naturalbabies if you plan to use a snappi.
These are my favorite covers. I tried proraps but
they irritated my baby's skin. However, since they
work for most moms and babies, I would go ahead and
order some proraps seconds.

30 cloth wipes Darling diapers diaper velour wipes are my
favorite. www.darlingdiapers.com
Sterilite garbage can to use as a diaper pail The 28 qt one is
about $7 at Target.
Pail Liner A lot of moms like the Bummis liner. I think it's
around $12.

That's pretty much all you need. I had kissaluvs size 0 for the newborn stage, and while I liked them a lot, I could have gotten by only using prefolds. They were mostly nice to have on hand for when ds cried during diaper changes and we wanted to pick him up more quickly. Now that he likes diaper changes, I only use my fitteds if all the prefolds are dirty.
HTH!

[lizajane]

i recommended 8 covers because newborn poop gets on the covers often, as it is very liquid and they tend to poop after every feed or more. we had 6 covers and got VERY frustrated that there were never enough clean covers handy. i had to do laundry many times JUST to wash covers. with a brand new baby, i did not want to waste my time doing extra loads of laundry. and i did not want dh to think that cds were not easy just because poop got on the covers.

so yes, you can definitely get by with 4. but imho, it is worth $24 more to have enough for the changing table, the diaper bag, the downstairs changing station...