Introducing myself - newborn diapers

[DaisyQDuck]

Hi,

I'm currently expecting our first child due in July, so I'm completely new to cloth diapering, and just about as new to a sewing machine. I'm rather overwhelmed with the fabrics/patterns/etc. so any advise welcome!

What I've done so far is experiment with the free Mama Bird pattern with cheap flannels I got at the local discount fabric store and bulk washcloths from Walmart.

I guess my question is: Where do I go from here? I don't want to invest in expensive fabrics like hemp for newborn dipes, but I also want ones that will do the job and hold up for as long as the babe is in newborn dipes. I've heard things like putting a textured fabric like sherpa or cotton velour on the inside of newborn dipes to "catch" the poo. Has anyone got experience in this department?

I'm in South western Ontario, so if anyone has any advise on where to get fabrics here, I'd like to hear that too!

Sorry to be so incoherent,
Daisy

[JennInSeattle]

I know nothing about newborn diapering! I started cloth diapering Nathan when he was 8 weeks old. But I did hold a Boliva cloth diapering drive in which I sent many, many diapers to Bolivia that were donated by women from MDC. One such box contained 14 newborn diapers that had been used by several moms. The diapers had tiny tri-fold flannel soakers (birdseye on one side perhaps?). If I were to do it I'd probably do tiny tri-fold soakers since newborns do need a bit of absorbancy but in a tiny package! The outers were flannel too and obviously they worked for several moms.

That's the entire extent of my knowledge on newborn diapering so please feel free to take everyone else's advice if it conflicts with mine! :LOL

[momtwoboys]

newborn diapers

I am new here too. Cding my 2nd baby now. I guess my advice would be to not make newborn sze diapers. I would make smalls. If your baby grows fast you may have just 2-3 weeks use out of them. Lot of work for short time period. I would either make a prefold type out the fabic you have, buy preemie size prefolds, or make contours. Also buy good well priced newborn wraps (I like Bummis siww for prefolds).

And yes texture does help.

FYI My DS is 12 weeks and on the verge of mediums in the very baby aio. I love that pattern. We use fb at night and he also needs mediums in those.

[DaisyQDuck]

I thought I would start with newborn dipes then if I did mess up, babe wouldn't be uncomfortable for long! This from a woman who had never used the zigzag stitch on her sewing machine before....

Do you think a 2 layer body with a 2 layer trifold soaker (total 8 layers) of flannel would be enough for a newborn? Recall: I'm using stuff from a discount fabric store. I couldn't find anything in my area labeled diaper flannel. I'm reluctant to order anything online at the moment as I don't feel like I have enough of a clue what I'm looking for and don't want to waste my time or money.

I'm assuming that if I move up to a small diaper I would have to increase the soaker thickness accordingly. Any suggestions for what is appropriate at that size?

Daisy
7.7

[BinahYeteirah]

bs"d

That sounds absorbent enough to me. It all depends on how heavy a wetter your baby is. I would do the same number of layers for a small diaper, too, but I had a light-medium wetter. Since the small diaper will be bigger, the soaker and thus the absorbency will be more as well. I don't know what kind of washcloths you got, but if they are a thicker type, they would increase the absorbency more than the flannel. Or you could just use the washcloths as doublers. It's hard to say without feeling the thickness of the fabrics. There is some really thin flannel out there. You could try testing your diapers by pouring water on them to see how much they'll hold.

If you go to Born to Love, she has a page telling how you can determine the absorbency of your diapers.

http://borntolove.com/column7.html

The second most common reason for leakage is that the cloth diapers you are using just aren't absorbent enough. How do you check the absorbency of your diaper? If you have a food or other type of weigh scale that measures in grams or ounces, try this:
Weigh one of your cloth diapers dry and write down the weight. Soak the diaper in at least 1000 ml. (4 cups) of water for one minute. Remove the sopping wet diaper and hang to drip-dry for 15 minutes. (Do not wring!) Now weigh the wet diaper. The absorbency capacity is calculated by subtracting the dry weight from the wet weight.

(i.e. wet weight - 250g., dry weight - 150g. Then the absorbency capacity of your diapers would be 100ml.)

Weight of 1 ml. of water = 1 gram,
31.25 grams = 1 oz. approx.,
250 ml. or grams = 8 oz. or 1 cup approx.

Your cloth diapers should offer almost double the absorbency capacity of your baby's average wetting.

An average newborn-6 mth. baby wetting is 60-110 ml. during the day or at night.
Average 6 mth.-1 yr. baby wetting - 110-140 ml. during the day and 143-182 ml. at night.
Average toddler wetting - 130-160 ml. during the day and 195-240 ml. at night.

[rubidoux]

when are you due? if it's not for a while, i'd really recommend getting some hemp french terry or hemp fleece. if you do it through a coop it would probably work out to around 7.00 a yard with shipping (maybe 7.50). you could make awsome (and super easy) trifold soakers for your newborn diapers and then continue to use them as doublers when your baby grows out of the newborn size. my ds isn't a heavy wetter now, but i swear nothing around him was dry for the first couple of months. every morning we woke up in a puddle. the hft or fleece is also textured to catch those baby poops (and ime, the texture does help). if you really don't want to do hemp, i'd say the washcloths are a much better idea than flannel. i think they'll be much more absorbent than flannel. i think doing the body layers out of flannel would be fine though. otoh, if you make the body layers out of something stretchy like stretch terry, which you should be able to get locally, then they will fit longer.

i had really crappy dipes when ds was a newborn b/c i didn't know anything about diapering when i collected them and i've always regretted it. they're only tiny once!

[DaisyQDuck]

Thanks so much for that information - it is exactly what I was looking for.

I'm reluctant to use the washcloths as they seem to take up so much space and I'm not sure how much absorbancy they provide. They looked OK until I prewashed them, and they just about disintegrated. I guess you get what you pay for! I'm not sure they'll even hold up to being bum wipes.

Daisy

[bluenail]

Hey Daisy - welcome to MDC! I'm also in S Ont...

Anyhoo - we used infant prefolds from a diaper service on DS when he was a newborn. To be perfectly honest, you're going to be changing the baby every time he wets a diaper - and that is going to be very very very frequently.

I second rubidoux's idea of making the diapers so that you can use them as doublers later...but I'm going to chime in and mention that hemp gets stinky. Especially in S. Ont - what with the hard water we have. While I think that sherpa would be too bulky, I do recommend cotton french terry or birdseye. You probably won't be able to get either of those from Fabricland, unfortunately.

If you're close to Toronto, you can buy online from www.wazoodle.com and pick up your order...btw, diaper flannel is also known as killington flannel or double-napped flannel, if that helps you out any when buying fabric. Additionally, wazoodle sells sherpa as "jogging fleece". HTH!

[rubidoux]

Originally Posted by DaisyQDuck

I'm reluctant to use the washcloths as they seem to take up so much space and I'm not sure how much absorbancy they provide. They looked OK until I prewashed them, and they just about disintegrated. I guess you get what you pay for! I'm not sure they'll even hold up to being bum wipes.

Daisy

if there's a target near you, try there. i have gotten a pack of a dozen washcloths there for 4.50, twice. and they seem to be pretty good quality. i use them for wipes, but i think they're fairly absorbent. and if you do that, you will use them for other stuff after. when they're tiny you only need a few for diaper changes, but i use them for everything now that ds is a little older.

[JLav]

I didn't have newborn size diapers for my ds and I really regret it, I think that it would have made things much easier. It does seem like such a waste because they are used for such a short time but I had a really hard time keeping the diaper off the umbilical stump, having a fold down notch would have helped. I was using small Fuzzi Bunz and infant prefolds and they were overwhelming on my son and he was 8lbs 3 oz at birth. I recently helped a friend create a stash for her newborn and we made pocket diapers from 2 layers of double napped flannel and then made inserts from layers of flannel and microfiber towels. If you didn't want to make a pocket you could easily use lay in soakers as well. The soakers can be used in different sized diapers. I would also recommend making lay in fleece liners or using fleece in the layer against the baby, it really helps catch the runny poo and repels stains.
I've been using the microfiber towels as the absorbant layer in fitteds and as stuffers for pocket diapers and I've been really happy with them. They are really absorbant, supposedly hold 7 times their weight, but dry really fast and don't hang on to odor. They are also really cheap and usually easy to find in the automotive section of most stores. You just have to be sure not to use them directly against the skin.

[momtwoboys]

Great ideas JLav . I you make the snap or lay in soaker you can use it as a doubler in a bigger size. I have been thinking about the shell and lay/snap in soaker type. I bought 2 from a wahm and the one I purchased for my 2yo ds leaked. Do not know why. The one I use on my younger ds works fine. Maybe I'll try to make one. I like hemp french terry all around. unbleached birdseye is also great.

[mother culture]

thrift store fabric!

I just made some great diapers on my sewing machine and I don't know too much about sewing. I get flannel sheets from the thrift stores and they are very absorbent. Sometimes I use terry inside. I don't like velcro much so I make fitted diapers then fasten with snappi or use a cover.
It is easy to put in elastic by attaching the elastic at each end of the sides of diaper then turning inside out and stiching the right side and making a casting for the elastic. Hard to imagine I know...
Recycled fabric is a good choice for the budget and the environment!

[JLav]

I just wanted to add that thrift store receiving blankets are great for diapers. You can usually find them for less than a dollar each and can get at least one diaper from one blanket. I agree with Mother Culture that using recycled materials is a great choice for both the environment and your wallet, especially considering that it is a garment that your baby will poop in!!
I also forgot to say that if you use a tight fitting cover, such as a Prorap, you don't necessarily need to put aplix/touchtape on the newborn dipes which will save another expense...or you could always use pins.

[DaisyQDuck]

Me AGAIN, LOL.

I found french terry on Wazoodle. I note that it comes in different weights (12, 14, 18 oz). Is there one that you recommend? Also, I didn't find sherpa or jogging fleece. Sweatshirt fleece was the closest. Could you point me to the link, or is it something they don't offer all the time?

I tried the soaking my diaper and weighing it experiment, and it looks PLENTY absorbant. Woo hoo!

I think I might make a few more newborn fitteds from the flannel I have, and then a bunch of smalls. Maybe when I do the smalls I will experiment more with different fabrics, and with pocket styles.

Thanks so much everybody for your input. I'm sure I'll be around with MORE questions as I go!

Daisy

[Basylica]

I wanted to chime in on the newborn/small size issue.
My kiddo was 9lbs 5 at birth and *barely* fit into 0-3m clothes for about 3 weeks, and he wasn't able to extend his legs (he was 22" at birth) for a good portion of that time

I'd decided prior that I was cding, but I was going to use sposies for a couple weeks, and i'm really glad I did now. Had I bought "newborn" stuff I would have been able to use it for like a week...tops.

Now I know what to expect, I still think "newborn" diapers are important because most smalls goto just under 20lbs, but the biggest issue is both rise and thickness between the legs. Even a small FB seemed HUGE when my son was 12-13lbs already.

I've been buying some small/newborn diapers that run large for my next baby, and should I actually get to make any diapers myself i'll probably just mockup a pattern based on those...
But I think esp for a brand new guy, "smalls" are overwhelming on such a tiny kiddo, esp in the leg area.
Newborn diapers wouldn't last until he got *home* (6hrs after he was born) on a kiddo as big as mine was, but are much trimmer and better equipped to fit.

But they do grow so fast, I wouldn't consider it unless I knew they would fit a long time and I could use them on more than one kiddo...but I figure it's a worthwhile investment as long as they fit for a good long while (my DS can squeeze into some of the NB sized diapers i've bought for next kiddo!!) and DH and I both want atleast 3 kids...soo...
Plus, with #2 (see? this is how I justify this) I've already got tons of toys/bottles/bibs/clothes (gn, we didn't want to know the sex with Corran, so most of our babystuff is yellow/green) sheets/crib/stroller....and so on.
I didn't have tiny diapers for him though...See? evil hormonal women logic

Anyways, I totally second the idea of re-using. I'm desperately wanting a sewing machine (and dh promised! as soon as we moved!) and would love to make DS some verybaby AIOs...and i'm sure some small ones too (to add to the growing stash)
And i've thought using up some of my old infant sized prefolds might be wonderful soakers in them...But Haven't tested that theory yet...obviously.

Reciving blankies would make adorable cloth outers btw...even brand new ones bought onsale would't be too bad. And there are several wahms that make flannel NB diapers. No hemp or anything.

You might consider buying some microfleece. Keeps baby dry, snuggly soft, and holds in explosive poo!
Can't say as for meconium, but around 3 weeks it held my son's poo in and he was only pooping like 1x a week at that point (and until he started solids, lucky me eh??) so they were impressive
it's a little pricier, but for a newborn sized inner, you wouldn't be using much at all...

[JennInSeattle]

Originally Posted by momtwoboys

I bought 2 from a wahm and the one I purchased for my 2yo ds leaked. Do not know why. The one I use on my younger ds works fine.

I just wanted to say that you can use a spray called DWR spray that's meant for PUL to re-waterproof it. You can find this type of spray at www.onestopdiapershop.com I'm not sure if you can find it locally though. Let me know if you need help finding it on the site and if you want to save money you can just send me the diaper and I'll spray it for you and mail it back to you. I won't charge you for shipping.

[mehndi mama]

T-shirts make good diapers, too. And speaking from very recent experience, I would say a) don't skimp on the nb size diapers (Bobby's outgrown most of his now at 6 weeks and 11 lbs, but he started out at 9 lbs and there's NO WAY he could have worn the smalls I have without them rubbing on his cord stump and looking monstrous in general.) and b) make them more absorbent than you think they should be. If I were using a discount flannel for a trifold soaker, I think I'd do 4 layers. Newborns wet so often that you don't always realize they're wet until they've peed a couple times, and then there's the times when they're asleep, and you don't want to wake them up by changing them. Very very few of Bobby's purchased diapers are absorbent enough for our needs. I end up putting doublers in just about everything.

[momtwoboys]

thanks for the offer jenn. I tried the diaper yesterday. He stayed dry everywhere but the edges where it would wick. He is a heavy wetter. So I don't think it is a defect in the diaper exactly. i think it is the combo of it and my son. It is a side snapping ruffle type diaper with snap in soakers. I don't know how you stop the ruffles from wicking. They are fleece inside and a pul outer.

thanks again jenn.

[JennInSeattle]

Originally Posted by momtwoboys

thanks for the offer jenn. I tried the diaper yesterday. He stayed dry everywhere but the edges where it would wick. He is a heavy wetter. So I don't think it is a defect in the diaper exactly. i think it is the combo of it and my son. It is a side snapping ruffle type diaper with snap in soakers. I don't know how you stop the ruffles from wicking. They are fleece inside and a pul outer.

thanks again jenn.

Well you're probably right on both accounts. I have four PUL AIO's with serged edges (ruffly looking) that never leak/wick. If you can spare the diaper I'll re-waterproof it and take a look at your soakers (in case they are extra thin). I can also make you a doubler. Just send me your address and I'll send you a self addressed stamped envelope so you can just pop it in your mailbox. Again, no charge for anything - it's kind of what I do.

[momtwoboys]

Thanks Jenn. I'll pm you.