cloth users/hospital birthers...

[mommy2boys]

Are you planning on taking cloth diapers to the hospital with you? I am undecided. Part of me really wants to, but another part thinks it may be more hassell than its worth having to lug the dirty ones home. I also have no idea how many to bring if I do.

[PGNPORTLAND]

Unless it is REALLY, REALLY, important to you that nothing but cloth every touches your baby's skin, I would just use the free sposies they give you in the hospital. If it were me, I wouldn't want to worry about laundry, I would just want to enjoy those first couple days with my newborn. Also those first sticky meconium poopies will be mighty tricky to get out of cloth. After the first few days, you will get the mustardy poo that is easy to rinse off.

Of course if it is really important to you to use cloth from the start, I wouldn't let being in the hospital stop you. I just wouldn't want the hassle the first few days.

[2Sweeties1Angel]

It was more hassle than it was worth to me. I've used disposables for the nasty meconium tar-poop anyway because it's really hard to get out of cloth. My hospital did tell me I could use cloth if I wanted to--who are they to stop me?-- but I didn't want to.

[pbreffe]

I have been seriously thinking about it. In fact they are packed.... But the more I think about it I am just not sure...

My mom suggested to use sposies the first night while I am exhausted then switch over to cloth.... As far as the meconium... I bought 1 dollar fleece and cut it in squares to use as liners... Then I am going to throw them away... Also using scraps pf fabric that aren't big enough for me to make a diaper with.

[janerose]

Well, I did use CD in the hospital with DD1 and found it to be no hassel at all really! We're planning to do the same with DD2. The meconium washed out fine. I also put cheapie liners in the first few dipes until the meconium was over & done so most of it ended up getting tossed with the liner anyway.

Honestly, I don't see why it's a big hassel. Newborns pee & poop so little the first couple of days anyway. We didn't even start using covers until we dressed her to go home at 2 days old. I just dumped the whole load (bag and all) into the washer as I walked in the door from the hospital. Took about 2 minutes.

As for what I packed:

1 bag for the dirty dipes. Hung it on a hook on the wall in my room. Just tossed wet ones in. Rinsed the poops in the tub a bit then tossed them in too.

6-12 newborn fitteds (make sure they have a good low rise and/or a generous cord cut-out)

6 infant prefolds

1 snappi

2 newborn covers

handful of flannel squares I'd cut up for wipes. We just used warm water from the tap to wipe her with.

That's probably way more dipes than you actually need too. Especially if you're looking to get an early discharge like we are this time.

HTH!

Holly

[bleumoose]

First time around we used disposables for the first 3 weeks or so. I waited until the cord stump had fallen off, which happened pretty fast for ds. The biggest factor, which is why it took so long, was that I had a pretty rough recovery and breastfeeding troubles that first month. It was all I could do to focus on just me and baby - no spare energy to worry about the extra laundry and the learning curve of using cloth (albeit it wasn't that huge a curve once we got down to it, but in that first week, it felt like Mt Everest!).

Even though we're not going to be birthing in a hospital this time, I am planning on using sposies for the first few days to a week, just till we get settled in and the mec poop stops.

[mommy2boys]

Thanks for the input everyone, I think I will just use sposies at the hospital until I get home.

[skueppers]

Count us as another family that used the disposables at the hospital and switched to cloth when we got home, which is what we plan to do this time also.

We use disposables when we travel, too -- using them in the hospital seems like the same general idea.

[MacKinnon]

I think we are going to bring one cute one/cover to bring him home in but use sposies the rest of the time. I'm kinda a fickle cloth user though... We use sposies at night and when we travel anyway, so we always have them around. I'm just not sure I want to be dealing with cloth those first few days, but we'll see!

[jilly]

We are also going to use 'sposies in the hospital. Ds was so difficult, and I had so many breastfeeding problems that I used sposies at first. But then I discovered that he was more comfortable and screamed a little bit less in cloth, so I switched him about 4 or 5 days in, earlier than I had expected, actually.

Once we were home, I found that between my leaky breasts and being peed on and spit up on and poopy clothes . . . a little bit of diaper laundry was really just the tip of the laundry iceberg.

But in the hospital we used the disposables provided.

[chopstickgirl]

we used cloth in the hospital with DD, and will use cloth this time too. we only use aios/pockets and i'm just throwing my whole newborn stash in the car, and it'll be there, and DH can run out and get more as we need them/get settled in after Catti is born.

We just really, really don't like sposies, and prefer them never to touch dd, either one and i found it no hassle with DD#1, she was in the special care nursery for almost 2 weeks, and i had heartfailure and a blood clot after she was born, and we coped with cloth just fine(thanks to DH's dedication!) and so i anticipate a MUCH easier time this time around, as we plan to only be in the hospital 2 days, woohoo! no taking them home, washing them, bringing them back, like with dd#1