Getting ready for a baby you don't actually realize how many things you wish you were an expert on by the time your little one entered this world. When I was pregnant I desperately tried to master the art of cloth diapering. I tried to research and find the best options that wouldn't hurt my pocket. Doing that research I felt lost and confused between the lines of never ending descriptions of different brands, their pros and cons and differences. I wished there was just one article that plainly told me "ok, here's what you need to buy..."and gave me instructions. (If you feel like you just can't read one more article and want to skip endless explanations of what and why to use, just scroll down till you see the list of what you will need to get. You're welcome!)
I didn't know how to cloth diaper a newborn or how many diapers I should have or how thick should the stuffing be... So as soon as I figured it out through my own trial and error I decided it would be useful if I went ahead and shared my experience.
I didn't know how to cloth diaper a newborn or how many diapers I should have or how thick should the stuffing be... So as soon as I figured it out through my own trial and error I decided it would be useful if I went ahead and shared my experience.
Cloth diapering a newborn
Personally I failed at it, because all the diapers that I had were too big for my baby's butt, so I ended up using disposables for the first month.
But now that I know better and hope for more kids in the future, I can still give some advice.
You don't really have to buy famous, hence expensive, brands like Fuzzibunz or BumGenious or Ramparooz etc.. Your newborn won't wet and soil diapers very much for the first week or two and in a month, or even three weeks!, will be too big for the newborn size. So don't go wasting your money and get 20 small prefolds and a couple of newborn size covers. The prefolds will later serve you as inserts for stuffing pocket diapers, so you will get a double use from those and you can reuse or sell the covers when you stop using them.
You will end up changing your newborn several times a night and dozens of times during the day ( or at least it will seem so) , so you don't really have to worry about the thinckness of the prefold, cause it's just not going to be that soaked.
Clothdiapering from 2 months and up
Your baby might be big enough for you to start using one size pocket diapers even earlier than two months and if you are anxious to try them, go ahead and do! I know how exciting it is! A lot of people use prefolds for a long time though, because babies aren't very active for the first several months and prefolds hold up very well and do a great job really.
But if you feel like folding the prefolds is not your thing and you would really like to move on to pocket diapers don't be afraid to buy diapers that are significantly less in price than those expensive brands I already mentioned above. I used Alva baby and they work great.. I bought 26 diapers, because I didn't want to do laundry every day, so the diapers last me for two full days and I wash them every third day, which is absolutely fantastic when you have your hands full already. While I wash the diapers I put my baby in prefolds. I bought two size medium covers and was lucky to get several big prefolds from a friend. So they come in handy while other diapers are being washed.
When it comes to stuffing your diapers you can use the inserts that diapers come with, you can use your prefolds, you can use the combination of the two or you can use whatever cotton material you see that might do. Sometimes I go shopping and see some cheap kitchen towels that are 100% cotton and they work surprisingly well as the stuffing for the diapers!
Stuff the diapers a little thinner during the day, so that it's comfortable for your baby to move around.
Ok, so here is the list of the things you need to get to cloth diaper your child without spending a fortune:
- 20 prefolds size small
- 3 Snappi diaper fasteners
- 2 newborn covers
- 2 small covers
- 20 - 25 pocket one size diapers
- 5-7 big prefolds
- 2-3 medium or big covers ( depending on the size of your baby)
I hope this is helpfull! I just want you to know that cloth diapering isn't so hard and intimidating as it may seem at first! Good luck :)
You will end up changing your newborn several times a night and dozens of times during the day ( or at least it will seem so) , so you don't really have to worry about the thinckness of the prefold, cause it's just not going to be that soaked.
Clothdiapering from 2 months and up
Your baby might be big enough for you to start using one size pocket diapers even earlier than two months and if you are anxious to try them, go ahead and do! I know how exciting it is! A lot of people use prefolds for a long time though, because babies aren't very active for the first several months and prefolds hold up very well and do a great job really.
But if you feel like folding the prefolds is not your thing and you would really like to move on to pocket diapers don't be afraid to buy diapers that are significantly less in price than those expensive brands I already mentioned above. I used Alva baby and they work great.. I bought 26 diapers, because I didn't want to do laundry every day, so the diapers last me for two full days and I wash them every third day, which is absolutely fantastic when you have your hands full already. While I wash the diapers I put my baby in prefolds. I bought two size medium covers and was lucky to get several big prefolds from a friend. So they come in handy while other diapers are being washed.
When it comes to stuffing your diapers you can use the inserts that diapers come with, you can use your prefolds, you can use the combination of the two or you can use whatever cotton material you see that might do. Sometimes I go shopping and see some cheap kitchen towels that are 100% cotton and they work surprisingly well as the stuffing for the diapers!
Stuff the diapers a little thinner during the day, so that it's comfortable for your baby to move around.
Ok, so here is the list of the things you need to get to cloth diaper your child without spending a fortune:
- 20 prefolds size small
- 3 Snappi diaper fasteners
- 2 newborn covers
- 2 small covers
- 20 - 25 pocket one size diapers
- 5-7 big prefolds
- 2-3 medium or big covers ( depending on the size of your baby)
I hope this is helpfull! I just want you to know that cloth diapering isn't so hard and intimidating as it may seem at first! Good luck :)
