My newborn cloth diaper stash and process for my 18 day old, in 100% cloth since day 5!

bittergreen

New member
My stash, annotated below!
Hi! I know there’s often a lot of questions about cloth diapering a newborn here (and I did about 482928 “newborn stash” searches here as I was preparing), so I wanted to give a rundown of the current set-up I’m using with my 18 day-old, who has been in 100% cloth save pediatrician visits since day 5, when I started to get panicky at how many disposables we were going through every day.

I’m pleased to say I’m enjoying it as much as I’d hoped I would!

Here’s my current stash:
  1. Covers! I have 9 covers total. 2 Thirsties extra small (1 new; 1 FBM) with Aplix, 2 Sweet Pea newborn with Aplix, 2 Blueberry Capri Newborn with snaps, 3 Rumparooz (1 new, 1 FBM, 1 secondhand gifted) Newborn. I like them all pretty much equally; I have a special fondness for the fun prints of the Capri and Rumparooz, particularly my Resolution print, but they’re all doing the job. I usually use two covers a day, wiping them out and letting them dry alternately, unless of course one gets poop on it.
  2. Osocozy Preemie Prefolds. Secondhand from FBM. Have about 10 of these. My girl was born at 7lbs, and is closing in on 7.5 at the time of writing this. She is a prolific wetter and an infrequent pooper. The preemies fit her just fine with an angel fold and a Snappi under a cover.
  3. Unknown preemie prefolds. Also from FBM, also about 10. These are likely on their way out as they’re fraying a bit. I like the Osocozy’s more, but these do fine too.
  4. “Comfy Cubs Muslim Burp Cloths 6 Pack Large.” These we’re on my registry. I didn’t intend to use them as diapers but one afternoon it hit me... why not! I fold in half and then do an angel fold, again with a snappi under a cover. I like these a lot!! I’m really proud of myself for identifying their cloth diaper potential. :)
  5. Osocozy newborn prefolds. I have about six. From FBM. I’m only now starting to use these; I still need to fold them down once before I do an angel fold and they’re pretty bulky. But trying these out for nighttime. No complaints.
  6. 4 Noble Bebe Preflats that were part of an FBM haul. I like these a lot; not any more than anything else I’m using but they’re very slim and very soft. One downside is that the snappi doesn’t really secure that well onto them. But they’re doing fine.
  7. A couple size 1 Osocozy better fit prefolds. These are still much too big for her. I ordered more and then realized that she’s in preemie. Ugh. But I know they’ll come in useful very soon.
  8. A dozen Cloth-eez Organic Muslin Baby Wipes. They don’t fit into my Ubbi wipes dispenser but I really love these. Great grip, I love the size, they wash and dry super easy.
  9. 12 very soft and thin wipes, probably bamboo?; I got them as part of a FBM haul but I forget from where now. It was a Canadian company and had French on the label. I also like these a lot; fit great in the wipes dispenser and do a good job and easy to wash and dry. (Note: I also have a pack of Grovia wipes downstairs; I like these too. I also have a pack of the Clotheez double sided wipes but haven’t tried these yet.)
  10. Two newborn workhorses passed on from a friend. I change her (the baby, not the friend) so often I suppose I’m not really seeing the “benefit” of the workhorses that I’ll see when I use them in larger sizes, but I like the convenience. They do take the longest to dry of anything in my stash. I’m glad I didn’t get more of these.
  11. Note: I WAS occasionally using four AIOs I’d gotten from FBM (not pictured) but found that they leaked and I didn’t love the overall fit, as cute as they were. So I’ve put them aside.
I’m washing every third day at this point; using Liquid Tide Free and Gentle, some Oxiclean in a cold prewash, a long hot wash, pulling covers out to air dry and drying everything outside whenever feasible.

Washing on the third day means that all-told I’m going through about 40 diapers every two-three days right now, so the main thing to consider when cloth diapering a newborn is how frequently you’ll be changing and ensuring you have a stash to accommodate or adjusting your wash routine.

I’m really loving using prefolds and flats and hope to continue as long as possible!

Happy to answer any questions! This community has made me feel SO prepared for cloth diapering—thank you everyone! My daughter looks so cute in her fluffy booty and I have such peace of mind. ❤️
 
@bittergreen I feel like my prefold/alvababy cover combo makes the diapers huge. My girl is 5 weeks old and 8.5lbs and it makes the leg snaps so tight on her. If I use an insert or a flour sack towel it fits fine but the prefolds seem to hold more. I have tried pad folding them and also jelly folding them with snappis but they're just so thick. Any suggestions? I have tried loosening the waist snaps but then pee can leak out of the top when she's on her belly.
 
@carrie4 It might be the size of the prefolds — I know the Osocozy Better Fit kind are made to be wrapped and snapp’d so they’re shorter than the regular prefolds. Right now, my girl is still under 8 (7 12.5 yesterday); the Osocozy newborns fit her the best, and then the Size 1 better fit. The longer ones are still much to big/bulky for her at this point.
 
@bittergreen My baby will come in October, started to build my stash (pockets and Ai2 so far), my plan was to wait until baby was 1 or 2 months old to start with cloth but now I am seriously considering going for newborn too.

I seriously do not want to do flats... can't imagine myself folding and doing origami tricks, so leaning towards pre-folds and fitted. Now wondering what covers would be good to use.

PS: I am based in Berlin so extra brownie points for tips on European brands or brands that are available in this side of the Atlantic.
 
@faith2011 I know Popolini is a popular German brand! I’m sure this sub has some other past threads on European brands too.

Can’t recommend the prefolds and covers enough. Good luck!!
 
@bittergreen I love seeing people suggest more than 6 covers! I swear 8-10 makes life so much easier. Mine was a frequent pooper, and while the insert sometimes caught it all, I went through at least a couple a day. 6 is not enough (in my, frequent pooper experience) for even a 2 day wash cycle!
 
@emwu Yes; my 9 (which was 8 until I was gifted an extra) is with a currently infrequent pooper. I imagine I’d get a few more secondhand if she wasn’t. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to try a few different brands to see what I like best for the future!
 
@bittergreen I ended up going pocket style and really wish I had just done covers. That being said I have a crap ton of cute designs at least, to be positive about all the pockets I purchased. But also my question is, the reason I chose pockets was cuz the microfleece layer is supposed to wick moisture away from babies booty and keep them dry, but if you're using flats does the moisture stay up against baby the whole time they're wet? I (obviously) wouldn't want to leave a wet diaper on baby long, and plan on changing when I notice baby is wet/checking often. But am worried about the moisture up against my babys booty. Is this a dumb thing to worry about? Does the flat/prefold help wick moisture away too?
 
@chinny702 so yes, the wetness is against her skin, but the cotton soaks it up so much that when I take it off her her skin is barely damp. Plus, right now I’m changing her SO often right now that she isn’t in her diaper for very long at all. She hasn’t had a hint of an irritation or a rash and she’s a pretty heavy wetter. I imagine when she’s older and I’m changing her somewhat less often I might incorporate some liners!
 
@ellen45 Her diaper comes on and off a few times during the appointment (weighing, temperature, doctor checking her over) and we had a few spots of concern early on (her weight and temp; she’s doing great now!) that it’s just easier mentally to have her in a disposable. I imagine I could pop her out of her cloth and just keep her on a big prefold for the length of the appointment, but this has worked for us so far!
 
@bittergreen Wait so, you can use the same cover over and just change the insert? So let’s say they peed - you just take the insert out - let dry - and re use? I never thought of this. New to cloth diapering.
 
@john_h Only if it’s an all PUL cover, which is the waterproof bit, with no fabric/liner. So anything pocket or just with a fabric lining needs to be changed because the fabric absorbs a lot of pee. I still wash mine weekly (in the main wash with detergent) because the elastics absorb a bit of pee each time, and urine breaks down into ammonia which damages elastics long term.
 
@john_h Correct. With a loose cover system like this, you can just wipe them down and they'll be good to go with the next change. You only wash them when there's poo on there or another reason to wash, like if there's pee on the outside and you don't want to do a quick rinse or something

At least, that's how I do it
 
@st831 Same! I still end up washing 6-7 covers by wash day with this method, but the reusability of the covers is one of the best parts of this system for me.
 
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