Need help with putting together a cloth diaper system

[Lovesong]

My soon to be sister-in-law, due date now in November, wants to give cloth diapers a go, so me and my fiancé thought we would make her a diaper box gift with all she needs for the first 3 months or so. Though, we are overwhelmed with all the choices!

We're counting on her needing to change the baby diaper every 2 hours, and want her to have so many diapers and covers that she can forego doing the laundry one day without running out.

This is our list at the moment. Would that do, have we picked out too many covers?

- 30 Imagine Smart Fit Prefolds in xsmall.

- 30 Imagine Smart fit Prefolds in small.

- 3 snappies

- 4 dritz plastic diaper pins (so she has a choice).

- 18 Disana Tie On Nappies (do they compare to a fitted, we thought for overnight use paired with a prefold and a wool cover?).

- 3 Disana Wool Covers in small

- 3 Disana Wool Covers in medium

- 3 Imse Vimse Wool Wraps in small

- 3 Imse Vimse Wool Wraps in newborn

- 3 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton wraps in small

- 3 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton wraps in newborn

- Do we need liners/doublers too?

Any help or suggestions would be much appreciated.

[AnkaJones]

It's a lot of covers, but also I noticed you have a lot of wool.  My one thought is that wool is on the higher end of the maintenance spectrum, so I dunno if you want to get a ton of them unless you know she's up for it.  And it's a lot of covers, you're right.  I use 4-6 of them in rotation.  Maybe you could get a larger variety (e.g., a couple of Bummies, a couple of Thirsties, Imse Vimse, wool, etc.) so that she can try out different kinds?  Different ones fit different babies.  

I started with 24 each of infant and regular prefolds from Nicki's diapers (probably similar to your xsmall and small), a few Bummies Whisper Wraps, and a few Thirsties Duo Wrap size 1s.  Laundry every 2-3 days.  To make things easier, I would get 36 of each of the prefolds.  As far as liners, they're great for dealing with meconium, which stains, or when baby has diaper rash (a lot of the diaper creams are hard to get out of diapers).  Doublers you probably don't really need -- you can use the newborn size prefold as a doubler as the baby gets bigger.  

I've never used the Disana tie on nappies, but I'm sure someone else can comment.

Other things to throw in, if you want to provide a complete diapering solution, would be a pail liner and/or cloth wipes.

Best,

Anka

[Lovesong]

Thanks for your input. :)

That's very true about wool needing more care. See, that is things I don't really consider since I'm not an exhausted mum but can take my time to care for things properly (my favourite thing is to shine shoes and iron things...which tells you just how much time I have on my hands at the moment. But I am sure it will change when me and my fiancé finally are in a position to start having kids of our own, provided we can, touch wood).

I've read so much about wool being very good as a night time diaper system, which is why I have so many on my list, seeing as the baby will probably mostly be either feeding or sleeping to begin with and so would probably use a sleep solution. And to begin with, with a new mother, I thought you would need more wraps seeing as accidents are more prone to happen until you get it right?

As for diaper pails and liners, we live half-way across the globe from one another so I am sending a parcel which makes the diaper pail prohibitively expensive and I would not like to buy a liner that does not fit the pail.

 Would this be more reasonable and a better mix so she can try what works for her, but at the same time have a complete system?

- 36 Imagine Smart Fit Prefolds in xsmall.

- 36 Imagine Smart fit Prefolds in small.

- 3 snappies

- 4 dritz plastic diaper pins.

- 18 Disana Tie On Nappies.

- 2 Kissaluvs Organic Cotton/Hemp fitted diaper in size 0.

- 2 Kissaluvs V2 Fitted Diaper in size 0.

- 2 Disana Wool Covers in small

- 2 Disana Wool Covers in medium

- 1 Imse Vimse Wool Wraps in small

- 1 Imse Vimse Wool Wraps in newborn

- 1 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton wraps in small

- 1 Imse Vimse Organic Cotton wraps in newborn

- 1 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps in newborn

- 1 Bummis Super Whisper Wraps in small

- 30 Imagine Stay Dry Liners

[ShannonBFCDAP]

Wow you are extremely generous! Wish I had a SIL like you when I started. I just answered a thread about caring for wool and because wool only needs to be washed if it becomes soiled with poo or smells of urine when dry, it isn't as time consuming as it appears. I have two disana covers and I switch them back and forth each night with my toddler. I love that! It looks like you have a great selection. I just don't know if the xs size is completely necessary for the prefolds because prefolds can be folded over for extra absorbency and babies don't stay in that size very long. Some diaper stores do newborn diaper rental packages because of that.
Blueberry and Planetwise make hanging diaper pails that eliminate the need for a plastic diaper pail and they are really cute too.
Liners are good for if baby needs rash cream. Doublers are used to increase absorbency.
Are they planning to use cloth wipes? I found that easier because I could just toss the wipe in with my diapers.
But from the looks of your list, you have a very good stash planned for them!

[Lovesong]

Well, not that generous. Me and my fiancé have yet to buy her a very, very belated wedding present so thought we would make it up by spending a bit extra on something we know she really wants for the baby (even if in the end, she decides it is just too much work, the second hand value should be decent enough).

Anyhow, thank you for helping me get it right, since I want this gift to be useful to her and the baby. :)

As for the diaper pail...if I find one just squeal worthy I might not be able to resist throwing a bag in there too.

[AnkaJones]

Hi,

I love your list...  it's the system I wish I had!

Anka