I have read most of the questions on here about cloth diapering to help me decide which ones I want to use and how to clean them and feel pretty informed and have made a choice to go with FuzziBunz One Size diapers. What I haven't learned here from reading up on CDing is what to do until my baby can actually fit in the FuzziBunz. Of course I don't know how much she will weigh but at this point (33 weeks) it looks like she will be pretty small. So....Here are the options I am thinking of:
1. Using prefolds until she is big enough to fit into the Fuzzibunz....I am pretty intimidated by prefolds.
2. Using disposals until she gets big enough...leaning towards this but not 100% sure.
3. Buying some teeny tiny Fuzzibunz or cloth diapers with the handy snaps that are comparable...this seems pricey considering I'll only be using them for such a brief period. I read in a few places that doubling the liners will make a tighter fit for the ones I have but am uncertain if that will make them small enough. Any thoughts/suggestions?
It has been a while since I originally posted this but I ended up getting addidcted to diapperswappers.com. Thanks a lot :)
So I bought a variety of things before I invested in the One Size FB's and thank God I did. I bought 6 XS Fuzzibunz from diaperswappers which always leaked on one leg until recently when her thighs started plumping up a bit. DH is 2 months old & 8 lbs 6 oz. now and they only work well if I stuff them with a huge insert and change her out of them immediately after she wets them. The small inserts they came with don't seem to absorb enough so I stuff them with large Kawaii inserts folded in half.
I have mostly used Osocozy and Little Lion prefolds with Thirsties, Bummis, and Kawaii covers. We recently got a diaper service in my city so I rented some newborn covers for $12/month until I decided what worked for us. I love the Thirsties covers and the Osocozy prefolds are my favorite. The prefolds are actually my favorite diapering option. I reach for them first! At night I mostly use gDiapers double stuffed with a gCloth and the small Fuzzibunz inserts that I can't use in the Fuzzibunz.
I planned on using One Size Fuzzibunz but so far I haven't been able to use them on her because they are too big. I have 2 size Smalls and one One Size that still do not fit. I also bought some AIO Kawaii's that still are too big but they look like they will fit in a few months. I LOVE the Kawaii covers though. For less than $5 a piece they are a steal!
I bought a bunch of kissaluvs. They are awesome with the newborn poop! You should be able to pick them up used. Or kissaluvs does an outlet sale.
Go to sunshinediapers.com because they have either rental sets or test drive sets. The test drive sets are where they send you everything they sell for you to try for 3 months. Return it at the end of the three months for a partial credit and you then have been able to try lots of different things without buying it all! I like Sunshine diapers for many reasons, one of them being that when I called the owner was so nice and answered all my questions. Congrats on the new baby and on the decision to cloth diaper!!
Since you like the idea of Fuzzibunz try a couple of different things during the newborn stage before you invest all your cd money in FBs. Thirsties makes a one size diaper that will carry you from 6lbs-18lbs! How cool is that!?You could try a few of those and a dozen prefolds with covers to get you started. Then add to your stash based on your baby's shape and what you like for baby. I wouldn't try to overstuff the FBs to make them fit. Just makes it hard to get baby in her clothes and could lead to leaks. You want a proper fit for good leak control.
Prefolds in a tiny one would be pretty easy. Especially if you breastfeed. No rinsing required. Just drop it in the pail and wash every day or every other day (depending on how many diapers you have). I used a snappi and folded the prefold around baby like a fitted diaper to help contain the breastfed baby poo. The covers catch it if anything makes it out of the diaper. If it does you just toss all of it into the diaper pail. greenmountaindiapers.com has fantastic prefolds (gold standard imho) and lots of pics to show you how to diaper a newborn in cloth.
I highly recommend using cloth wipes too. Very economical and work so much better than the disposables.
Cloth diapering is not as tough as one would think! I've been very happy with my choice. Congrats to you on your little one!
I would definitely agree that you should try a few different diapers before settling on one for SURE. I went with the bumgenious... while I do love them, I recognize that I would have probably made a different decision if I'd had a few different types of pocket diapers - the bg one size run a bit small for my chunky little guy, and the fuzzibunz one size didn't work at all for us - the fuzzibunz perfect size diapers (s, m, l) work great though, because of the placement of the snaps... Try one or two out of a couple of different brands before you invest in the whole 'system'. That's what I wish I had done...
What we did when my baby was little, was register for for pampers swaddlers diapers (esp. if you're a first time parent, they have this great color change stripe down the front to tell you if it's wet - the stripe is in all of the newborn sizes, and in the pampers swaddlers sensitive in the 1 and 2 sizes) with Target and Babies-R-Us... so many people want to buy you diapers anyway, that you probably won't have to buy any before your baby is big enough to wear the cloth diapers. My main concern is that I didn't want the diaper to be bigger than the baby - I figured that any major bulk could effect the baby's physical development, and that was contrary to the whole goal of cloth diapers for me!
Good luck!
-H
I used flats and some thirsties fitteds (they are an older snap style that say small, but fit more between the thirsties extra small and small they make now)...as for the fitteds...I have one xs fab fitted and a bunch of the other fitteds that I could sell you (in Monroe) a few of to try and you could get some flats/prefolds and some snappis and decide what you really like...I thought I would like pocket diapers, but I hate them, I'm ordering some size large 32x32 flats and some more fitted/prefitted diapers (bagshot row bamboo, small rounds, geurilla fluff, prim n proper baby--all one size fits most) because I have the fitted and flat love!
This is an awesome website for questions and to buy.
I have a three month old and we have been using the thirsties extra small covers with gerber prefolds from day one. We used the snappis to hold the diaper together at first, but now we are just placing it into the wrap before diapering which works fine and is easier. We have to fold over either the front or the back edge to get it to fit into the diaper.
Not all the gerber prefolds are the same quality. Here's the BRU link for the prefolds we are using:
http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=245780...
I was skeptical about cloth diapering before he was born, but I am so glad we are doing it. It is not as tough as I was afraid it would be. My friend also gave me some of her old prorap covers and those have worked great as well.
Just like Dori said, breastfed babies poopy diapers can just go straight into your diaper pail then into the wash.
I agree with Jodie T. diaperswappers is a awesome site. I have benefited from that site alot. I tired all different kinds of diapers. The ones that did not work for us, I sold on diaperswappers. I found flat love and that is all I use. They dry super fast in the dryer (under 30 minutes) I bought some cute one size all in twos I saved the outside to use for a cover and I am selling the inserts cause I dont like using microfiber. My favorite covers are thirsties sized covers. I use my flats with them most of the time by just folding the flat into a pad and laying it in the cover and just wrap the cover snuggly around the baby. Works great. Flats can be used from birth and up. Another option is using preemie prefolds. I used these when my lo was newborn until about 9 or 10 pounds. I would lay 2 in a thristies cover and jelly roll the sides. I still use my preemie prefolds has doublers in my flats. Good luck with the upcoming arrival of your little one. Cloth bums are so cute, but beware of the cloth diaper addiction. :)
Didn't realize they still make cloth diapers, as our daughter is expecting TWINS, would like to look into this for her for economical reasons. Louisiana
