Newborn cloth tips?

[shapiro-strano]

I used cloth diapers with my 5 y.o. from the time he was around 7 months old until he potty trained at 3. We skipped the newborn stage.

I am planning on using a diaper service for this one since I live in an apartment and don't have laundry in-house. We will be using prefolds from the service. I am curious what covers work best for newborns. Also, how many should I purchase? I remember quite a few blowouts with my son and disposables in the those early months. I don't want to be washing covers constantly with this babe!

Any tips are appreciated. Thanks!

[RGsMom]

I usually suggest 6-8 covers for a newborn, but some need more - of course depends on how often you wish to wash, if you want to extend it, then more, maybe 12. Covers usually only take a couple of days to get to their location too if you find you need more. I LOVE the Thirsties covers, they work great too! Of course it depends on the size of your baby. We used the Green Earth Newborn covers right away, though our son ended up fitting in the Thirsties right away since he was 8 lbs.

[Lynda&Jenna]

we like thirsties,pro-rap colors and lite wraps
Lynda

[HoosierDiaperinMama]

I have cd'd my newest DS from birth (he is going on 5 wks. old) and I LOVE Proraps and Bummis for the covers. We have not had one single blowout using these covers. I'm trying to keep it simple this go around so no wool covers for us yet, but my vote is definitely Proraps and/or Bummis. Oh, and I have about 8 covers. I reuse them throughout the day...just air them out between changes.

[clemrose]

For newborns I like prefolds w/ pins in a wool soaker. However, the wool soakers can be more work as far as washing goes.

I think pins are a must with bf'd newborns though to minimize blowouts (rather than just laying the diaper in the cover).

My other favorite covers are Mother-Ease airflow covers because they really cover all of the diaper (some like Prowraps don't seem to cover the diaper completely around the leg hole).

[JudiAU]

I just wanted to mention that we too live in an apartment and I was finding the trip to our shared laundry a real chore. Especially, since I had to make the trek multiple times for etc. rinses. We recently bought a new portable washer for around $200. It works very well and we run it almost everyday. I've purchased fewer diapers then I expected to and I can air dry which is better for the environment. We don't pay for water so it is saving us a ton of money. I wish I had done it years ago.

We were using sized fuzzi bunz and I just bought some extra inserts. The covers dry within two hours and then I can use the extra inserts in them. It is *much* easier than I expected and super cheap.

Just an idea...

[Michigan Mama]

I use a combo of recycled wool covers, shorts and pants, and Thirsties covers, both the original and the Duo Wrap. I am a happy camper!

I am especially loving the Duo right now because both my boys can use the same size!

[diana_of_the_dunes]

We're using Thirsties (original) with our prefolds. We go through 3 or 4 covers per day, usually. We haven't had any true blowouts yet, but the poo doesn't always stay on the prefold and ends up in the cover. We've learned to "flare" the diaper in back to prevent this. No poop has ever come out of the cover, though. We've had a couple pee leaks, but our boy seems to be a heavy wetter. He also has scrawny chicken legs, and we have to be extra vigilant about ensuring the leg gussets are tight enough. Granted, we're only 2 weeks in, but I'm really happy with them so far and would recommend them for someone CDing for the first time. If my DH, who was originally anti-cloth, doesn't have a problem with them, anyone else should be fine!

[lisa_nc]

I'm using wool from CYA that I am really happy with. Pro-Wraps have been good too. I want to try the Thirsties covers. I am not the biggest fan of the Bummis.