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Wednesday, November 26, 2014

Cloth Diapering a Newborn

I am mainly posting this so I will remember what worked next time :) & I'm posting from my phone, so I apologize now because it's not going to look pretty.  

I had a variety of diapers to try for Sarah Grace. I don't have exact numbers, but this is what I had:
25-30 Blueberry Simplex
5 THX Double Gusset
4 BumGenius (all-in-one)
12 prefolds
5ish workhorse fitteds (1 no flap, 1 no snaps) 
Covers: 1 wool, 1 fleece, 2 Blueberry Capri, 3-4 Thirsties

~I knew I loved Blueberry Simplex, so I bought a ton of them. I paid anywhere from $14-16 each including shipping. A couple I got off of the newborn diaper swap pages & snatched them up for around $7-12 & was thrilled. They hold their value SO well & are supposed to last from 6-16 lbs or something like that. They have a snap down for the umbilical cord, but she was short bodied enough that the diaper still rubbed on her cord & made it bleed. Her cord stump stayed on 4 weeks, so I could not use them at all then. Every diaper I bought was supposed to be EUC. I didn't realize until I tried them on her that the elastic had huge variations in how springy it was. Most of them did not work on her until around 9 lbs. I had three that were brand new-the Velcro ones worked faster on her skinny legs, then the new one with snaps & now the used ones are finally working. I was so frustrated that after about seven weeks, I posted on one of the Facebook groups & someone told me to twist the tabs before I snapped them. That worked great & I was able to use the other sooner. I also used them with a blueberry cover over them some too so I didn't have to keep buying disposables. The only leak we've had was when I tried to use one of the Simplex before it was tight enough on her legs. 

~THX double gussets were a cheaper option at around $5 each.  They fit her the fastest, although they were still too big around her legs at 6 1/2 lbs. Since they worked when nothing else would, I ended up borrowing 5 from a friend. Around 9 lbs, she started soaking through them, so we are not using them anymore. One thing I recently noticed is that they were not coming clean in the wash-even with a rinse, full cycle with extra rinse & rinse again! They are an AIO & are so small that they don't naturally open at the way. I guess that is why? It's quite irritating & I had to start rinsing them off if they were dirty before putting in the wet bag. 

*The first two pictures are from a little over a week old & a little over 6 1/2 lbs. The THX are the only things that came close to fitting her & they were still a tad big around the legs.*

THX Double Gusset

Blueberry Simplex - has the fold down for the cord, but this still rubbed on it & made it bleed :(


Even after her cord stump fell off the Simplex were still big around her legs--but look how cute the print is :) 


This was this week-they're finally fitting at a little over 9 pounds. 


~Everyone says prefolds & covers are the way to go with newborns since they use 8-12 diapers a day. They're definitely the most economical but not for me! I had about 12 prefolds, but I was intimidated on how to fold them. When we had Sarah Grace's newborn pictures, the photographer (a cloth diapering mom) showed me how to fold them & brought a Planet Wise cover to show me as well. I tried the prefolds a few times out of desperation-when nothing else fit. I didn't like trying to get it to stay put as I put the snappy on & it was SO bulky on Sarah Grace. 
~The workhorse fitteds are a nicer option to prefolds in my opinion. I definitely recommend the ones with snaps & the inside flap. The main thing I don't like is that when changing these or flat prefolds, you HAVE to touch pee pee. Then, you have to have somewhere to immediately put it since it's completely soaked. 
It's a cheaper way to go for sure because you can use one cover multiple times as long as it doesn't get dirty. 

*This is a workhorse fitted with a Planet Wise cover (I ended up buying two of those). These covers are very trim & are soft on the outside (not made of PUL on the outside). 


~Covers: I didn't have any & couldn't find any with a snap down for the cord, but I was able to fold the Blueberry Capris down enough to use early.

-I never tried the wool cover because I was so overwhelmed with three kids that I didn't take time to research how & wash correctly. I bought it at a consignment sale for $5 & sold it for that to a friend.
-The fleece cover still looks huge even thought it's supposed to be newborn size. 
-I used the Thirsties a handful of times & they worked fine, but I didn't love them. 
-The Blueberry Capris are my favorite. Blueberry has another cover but I didn't try them-it doesn't have a flap on it to tuck an insert or prefolds into, but since I mainly used fitteds that would have worked great too. I used these over the Simplex a few times so I could use them when they were still too big on her legs & over the THX when she started soaking through them. 

~The BumGenius are nice because they are Velcro, but they aren't super absorbent. They also did not have a snap down for the cord. I'm not in love with them & am about to sell them. 

-Velcro vs Snaps: I would love to have more Velcro for night time & Daddy changes. The Blueberry Velcro is super sticky. I just wish they had more print options in Velcro. 

I *think* that is all--let me know if I left something out & I hope it's helpful to someone & to me later!!

-I am SO glad we are using cloth diapers! It was killing me to buy disposables when the ones we had weren't fitting her well. I can sell all of these for what I paid for them when we are done! 

And just for fun--did you know they made cloth diapers for dogs?! No kidding! Here is Maisie Fey Clevenger when she came to visit :) 

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