Cloth Diapers- what else do I need?

[lovelylisa]

So I am currently feeling highly unprepared to have this little baby show up :)

Now I am feeling as if I don't have enough diapering stuff to get through the first few months.

Here's what I have

a roll of liners

24 prefitted small diapers. I bought them second hand so I am unsure what the weight limit is, and now I'm getting a little worried that I don't have enough tiny stuff for newborns. My son was barely 7lbs and no one in my family has any butt to speak of, so I worry that they might be too big. :)

2 covers

a bunch of plastic pants that I know I'm not going to use but the gal threw them in with the package

I am going to buy a bunch of newborn diapers to deal with the first few days of meconium.

I am considering wipes and diaper solution, as I HATE buying diaper wipes.

tide to wash them with

Um, am I forgetting anything? Should I buy some prefolds,  just in case? I was going to use them until I came across this deal. Any tips mamas?

Thanks!

Lisa

[greenmama66]

I would buy more covers- I like to have at least 4-6 newborn sized covers since they poop so much/so many dipe changes per day.For the initial first few weeks I like AIO diapers- this time I bought some Rumparooz, some newborn Grovia's, newborn Tots Bots and newborn Swaddlebee's- I have 2 dozen newborn prefolds and about 8 newborn covers. Then I have next size prefolds and covers and I am thinking of ordering the next size after. Prefolds work well for me because they take less drying time than fitteds (last time I used Kissaluv's newborn fitteds) or AIO's.

With mec poop- I've done this on my 5 newborns- I put a barrier cream on (cloth diaper friendly) so when mec comes out it's easier to clean off- and I use a liner for the diaper until poop is no longer mec. Cleaning the mec off  bum with olive or jojoba oil works well.

I also have about 2- 2 1/2 dozen cloth wipes, wipe solution, essential oils etc; and this time I bought a Prince Lionhart warmies wipe warmer- those newborns just don't like their bums washed with cold wipe and I know I don't like getting out of bed to change dipes in the middle of the night so I keep everything close at hand and the wipe warmer should be good. I bought a salt crystal lamp with a dimmer to make those nightime changes easy to see as well.

[HawaiianBlesing]

I would suggest a cloth diaper friendly detergent.  Check out this link.  I found it very helpful. 

http://www.pinstripesandpolkadots.com/detergentchoices.htm

I've read that many use Tide without incident but all of the stuff I've read said that you will get longer life out of your cloth diapes if you use a cloth friendly detergent.  Some can be found at your local health food store. 

[greenmama66]

Nice list- I've used Country Save for years on dipes but bought Charlies soap on suggestion from local diaper shop to prep my dipes and I see that site says babies can have a reaction to it! Wow, I had better rewash the dipes in Country Save a few more times.

[HidaShara]

Lame and un-crunchy as this makes me, I used disposables (7th Generation) with DD until her cord fell off (2-ish weeks).  They were easier to fold down and it was just one less thing for me to learn at that stage. ;)  They were also appropriately tiny.

Then at 2 weeks we started in with prefolds and Bummis covers, newborn size.  I also went super heavy on the barrier cream which made everything much easier.  But that was all...

[SuburbanHippie]

Originally Posted by HidaShara 

Lame and un-crunchy as this makes me, I used disposables (7th Generation) with DD until her cord fell off (2-ish weeks).  They were easier to fold down and it was just one less thing for me to learn at that stage. ;)  They were also appropriately tiny.

Don't feel bad or uncrunchy.  I did the same thing.  Actually I think we were in disposables for the first month.  I was planning to do cloth from the start this time, but I apparently ordered the wrong size prefolds and I can't exchange them.  I'm so irritated about it that I'm just going to use disposables until I can get this baby into those or my FBs.  Luckily I have big babies so that shouldn't be too long.

[guatemama1]

OP: For the liners do you use them in the meconium stage or use them always? Do many folks use liners all the time? Just curious.

[lovelylisa]

Originally Posted by guatemama1 

OP: For the liners do you use them in the meconium stage or use them always? Do many folks use liners all the time? Just curious.

My post got eaten. I think  it's just for the meconium stage and when the baby starts eating solids.

I bet another mama with more CD experience might know better :)
 

[SuburbanHippie]

I never used liners, even when my little one was eating solids.  I just sun them to get any stains out.  I can see the draw to using them though!

[greenmama66]

Yes, liners for mec stage only. I didn't use liners afterwards.

[Gismobabe]

I also think you need a few more covers. I have enjoyed a few pocket style diapers for outings and a wet bag to transport them home. I would get a detergent made for cloth diapers.

I did not use wool covers until my third and I love them now. The are very airy in the summer and all you need is a t-shirt to go with them.

Liners are not necessary if you are nursing only once you give the baby solids.

HTH!

[tourist.]

I use Tide for my cloth diapers and haven't had any issues.  I spent tons of time researching and as soon as I'd hear about something more natural and geared toward cloth diapers, I'd read just as many bad reviews as good.  It seemed that way on every detergent.  I got frustrated and stopped searching and went with Tide since it's convenient.  Anyway, after 2 years, I my cloth diapers are in perfect condition (besides the stupid velcro tabs that I hate).  I think a lot of the success people have with certain detergents has to do with their local water.  We have super hard water here.  

Sorry if this is a silly question, when everyone says they use "liners"...what exactly do you mean?  Is this something that you buy (like a disposable liner intended for this purpose) or something you've made on your own?  I'm interested in doing cloth from diaper #1 this go round.

[greenmama66]

I didn't use disposable liners- I felt that defeated the purpose of cloth to start with- so I had some silk liners leftover from one baby (with a diapering system I didn't I didn't care for so I didn't mind using these on last 3). I think with one babe we ended up throwing out a kissaluv or 2 because of mec! Something I certainly don't want to repeat! I know there are lots of disposable liners out there- I just wouldn't know which brand to buy.

[SuburbanHippie]

Here's a link to some liners.  I agree about velcro tabs.  I can't stand them!

[earth-mama]

With DD we bought 1 package of 7th generation disposable diapers for the meconium stage and to give us a little time to get used to having a baby before starting the cloth--not too long since the package lasted for less than 1 week.  Then we did cloth.  We had 36 infant sized prefolds (I just folded them down so they would fit on DD a little bulky but worked fine) and about 8 diaper covers in various brands.  This worked great.  I think that we could have done with 24 prefolds, but would have had to pay attention to make sure we washed before we ran out of diapers.  The infant prefolds lasted until DD was about 4-5 months or so and we simply folded them into 3rds and stuck them in the cover.  After she started moving we started using the snappis.  

Also, we have used All Free and Clear since DD was born on diapers and all our laundry.  It has worked fine for us.

[greenmama66]

Originally Posted by SuburbanHippie 

Here's a link to some liners.  I agree about velcro tabs.  I can't stand them!

Funny- I was an Amazon earlier looking for liners since the silk one's are long gone and saw so many choices I got confused! I just want the least amount for least amount of money.

[HawaiianBlesing]

Originally Posted by greenmama66 

Nice list- I've used Country Save for years on dipes but bought Charlies soap on suggestion from local diaper shop to prep my dipes and I see that site says babies can have a reaction to it! Wow, I had better rewash the dipes in Country Save a few more times.

Charlies claims they have modified their detergent to eliminate the problem. 

[amethyst1111]

THis was really helpful for me:

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/newmom.htm

Most people say 3 dozen diapers & 6-7 covers is standard to start off with...

[lovelylisa]

So I ordered more covers and a dozen prefolds. That would give me 3 dozen diapers and six covers. I also discovered I have about 2 dozen doublers too and a couple of pocket diapers (I guess that's what they are)  

I will just try out the Tide and see what happens. I've already bought it :)

[oliesmama]

Prefolds and covers are great for the newborn stage!  Hopefully the fitteds work out with the size - if not, you can pick up a couple dozen more prefolds and move into the fitteds as soon as baby is a bit bigger.

Someone else mentioned a wet bag, which is a great suggestion.  Also consider a pail liner or a larger wet bag to store dirty dipes in between washes.  Newborn poo washes out and you can sun to remove stains.  As baby gets older, I highly recommend a diaper sprayer.  We didn't use one with our first and now, with our second, I wish we had one the first time around.  As baby grows and starts eating solids, it really helps remove the poo and keep hands clean!  

Best of luck!