New here. For newborn - prefolds and Flip covers?

[LadyMag]

Hi folks.  I'm new here.  Expecting in two months and we want to cloth diaper.  We're just focusing on the newborn stage now, so it needs to be inexpensive.  I'm thinking organic Indian prefolds and covers.  The Flip cover seems inexpensive and effective, but I'm REALLY OPEN TO SUGGESTIONS!!!! 

Also, not sure how to handle the cord stump. 

Any advice to offer a firswt time mom?

Thanks!!

[Mizelenius]

I would try prefolds with a Snappi.  It's very easy and contains poo better.  Newborns are cooperative with diaper changes, too. 

For covers, I like Bummis Soft Whisper Wraps (get them used).  I only like Velcro/Aplix when they are younger, because eventually they usually just pull them off.  OR, if you want really cheap yet breathable, easy to care for, etc. get Dappis nylon covers.  These are harder to remove, however, when a diaper is messy, but it's not the end of the world-- 2 covers are about $5. 

I'd wait a bit for the Flips.  You could use them, but if you're using a Snappi anyway, you can get whatever cover you want.

[BubbleMa]

I'm in the same boat!  I didn't CD DD until she was about 6mo, and that was almost 10 years ago! 

I'm leaning towards prefolds and wool covers for this little one, but I'm not 100% yet.  My only hesitation is that the prefolds seem like they might be a little bulky on a newborn...but maybe everything would be?

From what I've seen, most newborn diapers/covers have a snap that allows you to keep the diaper out of the way of the cord stump.  With prefolds, you would probably just fold it down.

[Mizelenius]

Originally Posted by BubbleMa 

I'm in the same boat!  I didn't CD DD until she was about 6mo, and that was almost 10 years ago! 

I'm leaning towards prefolds and wool covers for this little one, but I'm not 100% yet.  My only hesitation is that the prefolds seem like they might be a little bulky on a newborn...but maybe everything would be?

From what I've seen, most newborn diapers/covers have a snap that allows you to keep the diaper out of the way of the cord stump.  With prefolds, you would probably just fold it down.

My LO is only 7 lbs 5 oz, and the bulk is OK.  (I have her in premium infants, with the 8 ply thickness in the middle).  Bulk is not a bad thing, esp. when they are not mobile!  :)

Nylon covers work well for the cord issue, but the Bummis SWW sit below the naval anyway.

[BubbleMa]

Originally Posted by Mizelenius 

My LO is only 7 lbs 5 oz, and the bulk is OK.  (I have her in premium infants, with the 8 ply thickness in the middle).  Bulk is not a bad thing, esp. when they are not mobile!  :)

Nylon covers work well for the cord issue, but the Bummis SWW sit below the naval anyway.

Good point!  :)

[Minalas]

There are three sizes in prefolds. A newborn size that is very small and thin, a medium size and a bigger size. I found the newborn size not worth its prize, because my children were fast growers and peed more than they contain. The medium size ones work great with snappy, even for tiny newborns, DD was 5lb 15 oz at birth, but they need a cover that provides good run-out protection on the legs, Thirsties worked well for us.
(Woolen covers are much better for sensitive baby skin, because they are more breathable than polyurethan covers, but I found that the runny breast feed only newborn poop runs of the leg openings with prefolds. Fitten diapers work better there, but are more expensive. Anyways, if anybody happens to offer you hand me down fitted newborn diapers, take them! They are much nicer than the prefolds.)
I think I only used prefolds as diapers straight for the first couple of months and then moved to one size pocket diapers. (If you hadn't have a baby shower yet, that is the thing to ask for.) But I found out that medium size prefolds make splendid inserts for pocket diapers, too.

Don't worry too much about the navel. It's easy to just fold down the prefold so the navel remains free. These things sound much scarier in the books than they are in practice. At least that was my experience.

[birdhappy85]

We just had our first baby over Thanksgiving and have been using prefolds with PUL covers since 3 days old. We Snappi our prefolds and haven't had a single leak no matter how explosive the poo! We've been very happy with them, and the price for sure can't be beat. This has been our newborn-stage stash:

1 doz newborn-size (orange edged) Indian prefolds from Green Mountain Diapers

1 doz infant-size (green-edged) Chinese prefolds from Cotton Babies

8 Thirsties Duo Wraps (we could get by with less but I went a little crazy buying them in different colors and prints... )

2 Snappis

+ a few dozen cloth wipes (we LOVE the Thirsties Fab Wipes and GroVia Cotton Cloth Wipes!)

I do diaper laundry every other day with this amount.

The bulk of prefolds isn't bad at all. Our baby was 6 lb 12 oz when we started her in these cloth diapers and they fit just fine. The only thing we don't like about the bulk is that the baby can't bend up her legs to her belly like a baby can in disposable diapers that are thin and flexible. This bothers me when it comes to baby-wearing in newborn holds, and my baby would probably prefer to be able to pull up her legs more when trying to poop since it seems to be second nature to infants to release it easier in that position. But that's not too big of a deal, especially considering our baby is very comfortable with the cotton against her skin and doesn't get diaper rash! Even after sitting in one disposable diaper, she gets diaper rash. That alone has been a huge bonus of choosing cloth diapering.

We love the Thirsties Duos! The covers sat right below the cord stump and didn't seem to bother it. The prefolds also could just be fastened to sit below the stump, no problem. I have a few other cloth diapers I bought to try out too (bumGenius 4.0 OS and Flips). I've used a Flip cover (w/ snaps) over the prefolds before and it worked great, but I prefer the Thirsties Duos with the double gusset for this newborn stage as an extra safeguard for leaks. The Aplix (velcro-like) closure is a lot easier than snaps to me too.

As for my personal experience with Chinese vs. Indian cotton prefolds in the brands I have... I'll post what I wrote on another thread. I found pros and cons to both. My Indian prefolds are softer and maintain more flexibility (definite pro); Chinese are a tad stiffer. I also liked that I didn't have to fold down any length of the GMD IPFs since they snappi fit perfectly being shorter but wider. However, our baby will be outgrowing those probably around 7 weeks but she will still fit in the longer Cotton Babies CPFs well after that. Another con: the GMD IPFs seem to soak with pee all the way up and around the entire prefold, which doesn't seem comfortable for the baby if she has fully soaked a diaper. In contrast, the CPFs from Cotton Babies retain the moisture more centrally in the front and bottom and don't soak all the way up with the same amount of urine. I like that feature a lot better. But really, we're happy having half a stash of both and using both.

I bought most of my cloth diaper supplies new on sale or barely used/new off of Craigslist and saved hundreds of dollars. If you're going for inexpensive, you shouldn't have to pay full price for most if not all of what you're looking for!

I hope this helps. Good luck and happy CDing!

[schoonersam]

We started out using a diaper service with smallest size prefolds for the first couple of months, but we had a bunch of our own old prefolds (from when I was a baby) that were way bigger, but thinner, for when we got over the initial exhaustion.  We did a newborn fold where you get the diaper under baby, then twist as you come up through the legs, then spread across the lower belly and secure with a snappi.  If the prefold was too big, you just fold the extra down in front before fastening the snappi.

Quote:

Don't worry too much about the navel. It's easy to just fold down the prefold so the navel remains free. These things sound much scarier in the books than they are in practice. At least that was my experience.

This is true in my experience.

As for covers here's my two cents:  My favorite by far are the thirsties duo wrap.  DD has been wearing the first size since day one on the smallest setting (at 6lbs.9ozs.) and is now wearing them on the largest at 7 months (and 16.5 lbs.).  She's just started wearing the size 2 on the smallest setting, so there's a good overlap.  These are great workhorse covers, with a surprisingly trim fit for CD's.  They have great leg gussets that definitely prevent poo leaks and only allow wetness leaks if the diaper inside is really soaked (which didn't really happen until she started sleeping longer) or if DH leaves a little diaper poking out of the cover ;). They come with either aplix (fine velcro) or snaps and frankly I favor the snaps big time.  We had bummis covers too (and the original ones in white were really the best fit, the super lites fit tight around the leg if you got the belly snug) and while the velcro is a little easier for those hazy, sleepy mid-night diaper changes it's super scratchy and pretty uncomfortable if you're nursing skin-to-skin; especially if you end up with any kind of boob/nipple sensitivity. If there is a second time around, I would probably just dispense with the velcro covers for the first couple of months. My understanding after a lot of research - I almost went with some Flip covers too - is that the thirsties are similar and considerably less expensive.  I just can't say enough good stuff about the thirsties.

I would also recommend (especially for later when you can get away without an overnight diaper change) one or two wool covers (we have Aristocrats pull-ons), they breathe nicely and really prevent leakage overnight.

Now we have about 2 dozen diapers and about 6-8 covers  (we'll be phasing some out soon) and I do laundry every third day.  Swap sales are great for picking up some good prefolds (already broken in  - the more you use & wash the more fluffy & absorbent they become - cotton, hemp or bamboo) and I would also recommend hitting the thrift store for just a couple of all-in-ones (it's nice to have just a couple, again for those dozy mid-night changes or for grandparents and the like).  I would also recommend some of the fleece liners (tho' not really necessary until they sleep longer  - and by longer I mean 4-5 hours instead of 1.5-3).  I also bought a roll of the disposable liners and haven't used them yet.

I guess that was more than two cents, but we seem to have found a system that works for us.  Be sure and post again if you have questions about washing methods because it's not that complicated once you figure out a system.

Good luck!

[LadyMag]

Thanks for all the great advice, Ladies!!  I really appreciate it!!