Your Experience with Flats on a Newborn?

[LaydieBugs]

Do they really contain the NB EBF poo? Are they trim, or are they super bulky (I've heard both).

I'm due with my first in 6 weeks (eek!) and of course, totally overthinking diapers. I had planned on a Kissaluvs 3-month rental because it sounded like only a fitted will contain NB EBF poo, but now I'm thinking flats.

My reasoning is largely due to my laundry situation: it's a coin-op down the hall, with limited hours. No amount of begging or trickery will make the washers do a cold prewash, then a full wash cycle, then another rinse. The temperature called "hot" changes based upon the alignment of the stars, and the dryers have one setting I refer to as "we'll see."

I'll also be sewing his later stage diapers and appreciate that he won't suddenly outgrow the flats, giving me some flex in bargaining with my new serger.

I haven't thought much about prefolds because they wouldn't cost any less than the Kissaluv's rental, and they don't seem easier to launder.

[Katie T]

I just got some and my daughter is a 20lb toddler but, They are super thin on her and so I think they would be no more bulky than a infant size pf on a newborn. If you try a few folds I have no doubt you can get a tight seal around the legs. You can even just fold them down and put on like a prefold if you want. I would def in your situation go with them we are loving ours!

Are you planning on using covers of any kind? They will also keep any poo that leaks out of the diaper contained.

Congrats on your upcoming bundle of joy!

[lalemma]

I really like flats. And the handle poo just fine! But I didn't start using them until our guy was around 10 pounds, so I can't say for certain how they'd fit on a newborn. I think they'd probably be fine, though. The great thing about flats, to me, is how you can fold them and pin/Snappi them really snug and trim. I feel more confident in their ability to hold in poo than I do with prefolds.

You probably will get some poo on the covers once in a while, but that seemed pretty par for the course with everything we tried in the newborn phase.

[sapphire_chan]

Flats were less bulky on our newborn than sposies.

Of course, I was also changing at each pee so one thinnish flat worked.

The origami fold is awesomely trim and lets you roll the sides to fit snugly around the little chicken legs.

[LaydieBugs]

Thanks, all!

Having just spent quite awhile untangling an amazing mess our washer made out of long-sleeved T-shirts, I'm even more eager for totally square diapers.

I will do covers - I love the thought of wool but might just start with Thirsties to keep it very simple.

This evening my midwife also promised to show me her mother's secret for making a poo catching pocket when folding the flat!

AND she commented that the baby seems like he's very long in the torso ... this is pretty common in both families and has been problematic with even newborn diapers. I betcha I'll not have the rise problems in flats that my brother's and cousins' kids have had with everything fancier!

[lunita1]

Originally Posted by LaydieBugs

I haven't thought much about prefolds because they wouldn't cost any less than the Kissaluv's rental, and they don't seem easier to launder.

I know this isn't what you're asking, but I'm going to question your logic here.

I googled kissaluvs rental, and found two places that offered this service. One was $75 and the other was $99 after the refund, for 24 diapers. Two dozen new infant prefolds cost about $43. (Either way you go, you still have to buy covers, so we won't factor in that cost.) If you were to buy the prefolds you could either keep them and reuse them for future children or resell them. Infant prefolds (the green edged ones) will diaper half a dozen children without showing much wear at all (and could probably be functional for a dozen or more kids!) Which brings me to the other idea -- buying used. I bought my infant DSQ prefolds from someone on Craigslist for about $12/dozen. For $35 I have 3 dozen prefolds that I could turn around and resell when I'm done for about what I bought them for. I wouldn't want fewer than 3 dozen infant diapers, by the way. With my oldest daughter I went out to a local baby store when she was three weeks old and bought a fourth dozen -- I was changing 18 diapers every day(unfortunately I got rid of those diapers after my third was born, so I had to replace them, thus the Craigslist purchase.) To stay ahead of the baby and make sure you've got dry diapers on hand, you'd be washing pretty much every day with just two dozen. If you don't want to resell prefolds when you're done with them, they make fabulous cleaning rags (and you'll be amazed at how many clean-up rags you'll need when you've got a toddler or preschool on the loose. LOL.)

The washing isn't much more complicated than with flats, the diapering is easier (especially nice for a sleep deprived mom of a newborn, and especially if you want help diapering sometimes), but drying would be harder than with flats. We lived in an apartment when my oldest was born, and I would often dry them as well as I could in the laundry room dryer and then hang them to dry the rest of the way on my balcony.

[octobermom]

depends on the size of your NB mine came home at 5lbs 2oz I had/have little lions flats and gerber flats (gerbers are smaller) but both were so ridicously bulky there was simpily no way. I mean I would have been arrested for smothering my poor baby to death trying to use them... I have some mad flat folding skills but nope wasn't going to happen here...
However she is now 1 month 7lbs around 19.5 inches and the flats work beautifully.

Deanna

[mamadeedbe]

we couldnt do flats at all. they were too bulky and very hard for my hubby to figure out.
kissaluvs 0's were a life saving investment for me. i would have stopped cding if i didnt use these. they NEVER leaked- which my pf's did every time- and were super soft and comfy.
with a wool cover on top, this was the best combo for us.

you may want to get a few if doing pf's just for the time your hubby or anyone else might be changing the baby.

[LaydieBugs]

Originally Posted by lunita1

I know this isn't what you're asking, but I'm going to question your logic here.

I do appreciate that!

First, I mis-typed ... should have said, they don't cost that much less than the Kissaluvs rental. The Kissaluvs will be $65 after the deposit refund because I plan to take in store credit (Nell's Natural Baby), the prefolds I like would be $50. The flats would be $24.

And then the newborn flats I like are estimated to last 2 months, not 3 like the Kissaluvs. While the flats don't expire so quickly.

The more pressing thing really is the washing. My balcony is above a main street, the dust is horrendous, and things don't hang dry well inside the apartment.

I grew up with the awesome dust rags that had been my diapers - I always preferred using the flats instead of the prefolds. The newborn prefolds though seem to make better doublers. I came out of my baby shower yesterday with so much cash I might get a few prefolds too, but after chatting about it with Daddy flats will probably be the way we go unless I start hearing they're horrible at keeping in the poo.

I'm also noticing the flats would be better for the outermost layer of some Poo Pockets I'll be sewing later. Which helps me justify buying pricey hemp and bamboo for the inners .

[LaydieBugs]

And I can't forget to add credit where credit is due ... my friend who is Daddy changed quite a few cloth diapers on his cousins when he was younger (he'll probably be teaching me). He thinks the fancier diapers are interesting but is fine with flats.