How long can newborn CDs generally be used?

[TinkerPlink]

Once my baby is born, I plan to get the Newborn Package sampler from www.jilliansdrawers.com. I then plan to buy a supply of diapers, going by the results of my trials with the sample diapers. My question is this - how many newborn sized diapers would you suggest buying?

I like the idea of CDing immediately, but I cannot afford to stock up on several different sizes (esp since newborns go through so many dipes!). I plan to go the route of Kissaluvs, BG 3.0, FB...something like that. They are easy, but will be expensive in the beginning.

Or should I use 'sposies until my little one is no longer in the harder to fit newborn size?:shrug:

[JBaxter]

Lots of my nb/sm size diapers are used. I got most of them on diaperswappers.com I plan to resell them when Im done. Mutts seem to last along time, Swaddlebee nb's look like tiny speedos, I have heard VERY mixed reviews about kissaluvs many mom I have talked to said they dont care for their absorbancy. They do grow out of the nb sizes quicker thats why the they are usually in really good shape even used.

[kijip]

I would not buy new expensive newborn diapers unless you can count on having a small baby (which you can't!) For some babies, they all but go right to small. My son outgrew his newborn covers in a matter of weeks but he was born quite large for his age. Pockets and AIOs do not work so well with brand new babies- I would stick to mostly fitteds or prefolds until they are a bit bigger. How about starting with a few fitteds and a bunch of prefolds and covers?

I would definately not evaluate pockets when they are a newborn. What works well at 6 months may royally suck at 2 weeks old :)

[KrisM]

Going on memory here - but I think both kids outgrew newborn dipes in general about 12 lbs or so. For us, that was about 6-8 weeks. Obviously, YMMV on that.

If you're having more kids, get them. If not, I might wait.

I couldn't find the newborn sampler package at that site. Can you link to it? People can weigh in with specific recommendations, if you want.

[TinkerPlink]

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/cdcm.html It isn't really a newborn specific package, but they do substitute a Kissaluvs for the Fuzzi Bunz, and it is a bit less expensive.
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/store/deluxenewbornpackage.html They do sell this package, which I have no plans on getting. It is a lot of money for something the baby will outgrow way too quickly.

[Page]

I've been doing a TON of reading on the whole CD thing since I was around 7 months pregnant and DD is now 12 weeks and we've yet to actually start CDing. I really found the whole scene rather overwhelming, but I am feeling more confident and I'm purchasing our first PFs this week.

I avoided buying newborn sized CDs for the exact reason you're mentioning. This is our last DC and I didn't want to have to deal with getting rid of dipes after her only wearing them for a couple months. She's 12 weeks now and between 11 or 12 pounds and I'm buying size small in everything.

I plan to get mostly PFs and some covers and some pockets or fitteds for travel and nighttime use.

I recommend what the pp said about going onto diaperswappers.com...but only if you have the time to sift through the many, many posts of mamas selling their used CDs. I've been on there for a couple weeks now and have bought a couple items. Beware, though, it's a total "buyer beware" situation. You should ask questions about the product before buying (staining, elastic wear, leakage, etc.) I've only spent so much time on it bcz I'm determined to spend as little as possible with our initial CD setup.

HTH...good luck!

[MommyAllison]

We switched to cloth with DD when she was 7 months, and have CD'd DS from birth. He is a big guy and he wore his newborn fitteds and covers for 6-8 weeks (he is just shy of 3 months now and still wearing a few of his nb fitteds and one XS Fussybutt AIO). At 5 weeks he was just under 12lb and about 23.5". He outgrew the rise and absorbancy - because he is loooong and a super pee-er. At about 3 weeks I started trying infant prefolds and I love love love them. I basically abandoned my newborn fitteds and used prefolds from then on (and I have great hyena fitteds, I just really loved the prefolds!). If you are wanting to stay as economical as possible, do mostly prefolds with a few used fitteds and PUL covers. I think 24 dipes is enough if you are planning to wash every 36 hours or so - but 36 is nice to have so that if you don't get diapers folded quickly, you don't have to worry about running out. I had 10ish PUL covers and a bunch of wool and it was plenty. If I was re-buying PUL, I'd probably do 5 Proraps and 5 BSWW, with a few Dappis because they're nice over prefolds. But next time I'll probably do mostly wool, now that I am confident in my prefold folding skills. :)

Oh, and we use small Fuzzibunz at night under wool, and keep some in the diaper bag, but I'm not too fond of them. Not a great fit on either of my kiddos.

[KrisM]

That's pretty neat that you are basically borrowing diapers for 3 weeks!

Newborns and one-size are a tricky combination. I've never used one-size on a newborn, but have heard that they often do not fit well. Likewise with pocket diapers. I've used prefolds and fitteds with a lot of success. You'd get 2 prefolds and 2 fitteds with this package and 3 pockets/one-size diapers. That won't get 1 day worth of diapering, unfortunately.

Personally, I'd just get a bunch of infant size prefolds and 4-6 cover newborn and 4-6 small covers. Infant prefolds lasted us until 17lbs or so, which was 4 months for DS and a year with DD. You can get them for $1-$2 or so each, and if you get 30 or so, you'll be set for a couple days of diapering at $50 or so. Then, add some covers and a couple Snappis and you'll pay about $100-$150 depending on what covers you pick, and you'll be set for a few months.

[trales]

I had 24 Kissuluvs size 0's and we used them for 7 months. They were super absorbant and wonderful esp for my super explosive liquid pooper. I had 3NB covers and 3 small covers for that period.

Now the Kissuluvs size 1's are not as absorbant and I am not as big of a fan. I prefer pockets now that she is 16 months. I have 7 Bum Genious one size, 3 FB, 1 HH one size, 6 dream eze mediums and 6 kissuluvs size 1 and 7 pocket diapers that I made which are not so great.

[tarahsolazy]

I used prefolds and fitteds when DS and DD were tiny. DS was almost 10lbs, and DD almost 9, and KL 0s fit for about 6 weeks? The fitteds were nice for quick changes and getting used to CDs. We also used prefolds a ton. I always used a snappi with DS, but we've just been trifolding with DD. I have quite a bit of wool covers, fancy fitteds, etc, from DS, but DD is in prefolds almost all of the time. She is 22lbs, 28inches, and we can still trifold infant CPFs in medium PUL wrap covers. Super easy, and how economical is that? I bought 24 infant PFs in 2003 and they are holding up great.


I used Kissaluvs 0s and a variety of fitteds like Loveybums, Sugar Plum Baby, and Muttaquin Baby for DD, and mostly KL 0 for DS. AIOs and pockets seemed to be much more prone to leaks on my kids when they were tiny. I had XS and S AIOs and pockets, and it didn't matter, without the two part system it was iffy. Once they were around 4 months or so, the AIOs and pockets worked better.

[caheinz]

Prefolds are cheap (and the smaller the size, the cheaper they are), and you change a newborn so much that you become an expert quickly.

We have tons of prefolds left from DS. I had a few fitteds (including a few Kissaluvs) that were mostly loaned out, but they never came back, so I picked up some then-on-sale Thirsties fitteds and covers to try. (The fitteds are soft and seem a bit thicker and take longer to dry than the Kissaluv's did, but we won't be using them for a while. The covers seem nicer then the Proraps we used with DS -- we started on Bummis with the next size up.)

Once we get to the next size, we have all of DS's old dipes, so we might need to supplement with a few additional covers, but otherwise, we should be fairly well set. (Going through 2x's the dipes in a day will also mean washing more often, so it might even out!)

[TinkerPlink]

Wow, thanks for all of the great feedback! From what you've all told me, I am planning to go with prefolds and some fitteds until my DC gets bigger and will fit well into other styles. Maybe I'll try the cloth diaper sampler after a few months, and then have a better idea of what will work. Or maybe we'll be happy with the prefolds and fittteds and stick with them - who knows??
Thank you all so much, you're very helpful.

[american_mama]

My DS is 3.5 months now, maybe 14 pounds, and still wearing a few brands of newborn diapers. This shocks me, as I thought he would surely have outgrown them by now. He outgrew the bumGenius fitted, Kindhearted Women fitted, Heiny Hugger fitted, orange edge GMD prefolds, and Nana;s Bottoms AIO first. He's outgrown all the newborn covers except Biobottoms. He is still wearing the Kissaluv 0 (getting small though), Pattynap fitted... this thing has fit perfectly from birth and stilll does, I don't understand how... and newborn Cuddlebuns, which are still a great fit on the higher rise setting.

Don't use disposables in the newborn phase. You change babies so often and sometimes they pee right on the changing table. But make sure you don't pay big money for your newborn stash since it will be outgrown sooner than any other size.

[lizajane]

Going on memory here - but I think both kids outgrew newborn dipes in general about 12 lbs or so. For us, that was about 6-8 weeks. Obviously, YMMV on that.

If you're having more kids, get them. If not, I might wait.

I couldn't find the newborn sampler package at that site. Can you link to it? People can weigh in with specific recommendations, if you want.

hee hee! schuyler weighed 12lbs at THREE weeks. we used sposies until he fit in the smalls. that was at 2-3 weeks. he was 9lbs 9.5oz at birth. he was in mediums (we used proraps) at 6-8 weeks.

definitely get PUL covers, prefolds and snappis for newborns. so cheap, you can get plenty and not break the bank. dylan peed right through Kl0s, but i sew, so i made hemp doublers in NB size. then they were great. for a few weeks until he outgrew them (he also was 9lbs 10.8oz and never fit in newborns.)

[kijip]

We just got some NB proraps (new and only $2 a pop, but from a rummage sale- someone must have intended to cd but did not get around to it or way overbought). They say 6-10 pounds. My son was just about 9 at birth...we don't expect this baby to use these covers for more than 2-3 weeks. Luckily, my brother's second baby (they also use cloth) is due about 3 weeks after me so I expect to be able to pass them on!