Newborn stash

[MyMinerva]

I'm trying to decide what I want for a newborn stash, so I can keep my eyes opened for deals/used.

How true is the claim that you can just fold a prefold in 3 and stick it into the cover? Does that work as well as the fitteds? Are the fitteds easier for say a grandparent to use?

I was thinking something like getting:
12 newborn prefolds
12 small prefolds
24 newborn fitteds of maybe 2 or 3 different brands since the fit might not work on 1 brand
6 covers of different brands for the same reason
1 snappie
1 set of pins

Does that sound reasonable?

I want to make sure that it's not too difficult, given that we expect some grandparent help at the beginning and they don't have cloth diaper experience (uh, DH's parents don't have any diaper experience...Soviet Russia).

The fitteds seem so expensive and not guaranteed to fit. But they do seem like they'd be easier and leak less. That might help sell the grandparents on the cloth diaper idea.

[Peace+Hope]

i could have posted this!

[Galatea]

I would not trifold pfs in a cover for a NB - the poop will get on the cover every time, so you would need a lot more covers. I would definitely Snappi them on, and as such, would advise a few more Snappis.

24 fitteds is going to be very expensive... to make them 2/3 of your stash seems like overkill... are the grandparents really going to be changing 2/3 of the diapers? Just thinking to save you money, you could have more prefolds and fewer fitteds.

With 36 diapers (24 fitteds and 12 prefolds), you'll need more than 6 covers. It is a good idea to get many different brands, for sure. I recommend 3-4 covers per dozen diapers, so that would be 9-12 covers for 36 diapers.

[octobermom]

Your amount seems great I do agree with the PP in some ways though consider fliping the amount of fitted and prefolds 24 prefolds and 12 fitted with most fitted averaging at least $10 but a NB prefold around $1.50 the diffrence in cost is big. Plus once the fitted are outgrown thats it and resale isn't always as great as you may want it. NB prefolds however can be used a doublers, burp rags ect.. I think 6 covers will be fine though you might have to hand wash a few more often but if your doing pull or nyon type covers this is easy to do. I second the snappi/pins suggestion.
I'll also put in another plug for Nicky diapers they have a 15 day try/wash and return policy for all there diapers and covers so you can get some diffrent types to try out to see what works best.

Deanna

[mythik]

I agree with PPs about prefolds to fitteds ratio. We used more prefolds than fitteds (kissaluvs) and it was better that way. They dirty the dipes so quickly/efficiently it's best to stick to prefolds at first with some fitteds for the g'parents.

For our next LO, I plan on using 20-24 nb prefolds & 12 fitteds (up from six for our first).

[Ola_]

I think tri-folding prefolds is not very good at containing runny newborn poo. If you do want to try it I'd definitely plan on having extra covers on hand because poo will get on them and they'll need to be washed more often.

With a newborn they don't really move around that much so it's easier to put on a prefold than for an older baby. Add in a snappi or two and I think it's really not that hard. And really, if all you have is prefolds, do you think the grandparents will use them, or throw a tantrum? Maybe they will be so over-the-moon with their new grandbaby that they won't bother to complain.

That said, if you find a good price for the stash you listed, I would totally get it! It's just a balance between cost vs. the short time that nb dipes are usually worn.

[abharrington]

we went with prefolds/covers. 48 nb prefolds and 12 covers (6 nb prowraps, 6 xs thirsties) and it was great. i also used the prefolds for mama cloth and later to stuff the pockets. (so maybe more like 36 prefolds for the newbor...grin) but, ds was also a big baby and it was only a few weeks until the OS pockets fit well (enough) for errands and church and such. it is really not hard at all to snappi...if the grand parents are going to be changing that many diapers, they will ahve it down pat in no time at all. i personally would not want to spend the $$ on fitteds for a newborn...but i know that is personal preference.

oh...and of course we had 4 - 6 snappis

[cristeen]

I don't think I put a cover on my little guy the entire first month, except at night. And then he was in a preemie sized PUL prowrap. Even now at 8 weeks, the NB size Imse Vimse PUL cover is so HUGE on him, the velcro tabs overlap, and he's swimming in the Small cover.

For stash, I went almost entirely with S fitteds, with a couple NB fitteds tossed in. At 2 weeks I was online buying more NB fitteds because the S were still too big for him. Even now he can still fit the NB fitteds easily, they're just not absorbent enough for him, so I've put them away.

I don't have a whole lot of prefolds, but definitely don't trifold them and place them in the cover. I made that mistake, and dyed my cover BF poop yellow. Get comfortable with the snappi, and expect that the first few times you'll have to snappi it 3 or 4 times before the dipe will stay on.

We only have enough dipes for 1 day, so I'm washing daily. I could probably get 2 days if I had to, but I don't have to. For covers, I have 1 in each size of PUL, 2 sugar peas wool snap wraps, 1 Biobottom wool velcro wrap, 3 wraps I handknit, 2 soakers I handknit and a sleep sack I handknit. If you can knit or crochet, I highly recommend you take the time during your pregnancy to knit up a few soakers in each size. They're not difficult, wool yarn is relatively cheap, and you can find plenty of free patterns online. If any family knits/crochets, ask them to pitch in, too. You'll save yourself a lot of money on covers. Oh, and nana gave us a couple pairs of fleece pants and a fleece one-piece that work perfectly as night-time covers... they don't have to be sold as diaper covers.

Really, 48 diapers seems like a bit of overkill to me... I'd go with maybe a dozen fitteds (used), and a dozen prefolds (infant, not NB), with half a dozen covers in various types (PUL, wool, fleece) and styles.

I will say though that if you're going to overbuy, overbuy the prefolds. They have so many other uses, from burp cloth, to lap cloth, mopping up messes, and they can always be stuffed into pockets for extra absorbency down the road.

[kickinitbabystyle]

If you are going to go with fitteds, I recommend the BabyKicks Organic fitted. It is OS, and it truely fits a newborn. I've used it on my new LO who is now 2 months since he was born. It also fits my 14 month old. It would mean buying diapers once, instead of over and over again. They can also be used as trainers when the time comes, so it's a great investment. Pf's are nice to have handy to. GL mama, and congrats!