Archive | modern cloth

Cloth Diapering vs. 4.0?

April 8, 2013 By Faith

At our house cloth diapering has been something that has changed throughout the different seasons of parenting. What works for us has changed, many times.

When we were awaiting sweet Aiden’s adoption we made the decision to start with cloth as soon as we could. We wanted something that would grow with him, and my husband was adamant that there only be one brand or style of diaper. Hey, if he was willing to jump in I was okay with his “conditions.”

I honestly wanted to go old school with flats, pins, and covers. My husband laid down a nightmare scenario of him changing a diaper of that “difficulty” complete with him loosing the diaper pin he just removed. I laughed at the absurdity and began my research.

We settled on an all in two diaper that met all of the requirements we had set forth. We were both happy with our choice and we began the great adventure of cloth diapering shortly after returning home with our sweet son.

That’s merely where the adventure started however. It’s been 3.5 years and 2 kids since we began, we now have everything from prefolds and covers to all in ones, plus lots of variety in between! I have discovered that our diapering needs have changed for each kid in varying seasons of their lives. I have also discovered that its a very personal choice, in that what some Mommas love others can’t stand! I highly recommend a cloth diaper trial as you start using cloth, you can find several companies that make them available with a quick google search. We did one right before our second was born and discovered a few things along the way!

If I was starting all over I would buy flats, newborn doublers, and double gusseted covers for all the time use. I would also buy a few one sized all in one diapers for nights and running errands since they are just easier when time or location is limited. A diaper pail for at home, and a wet bag for on the go, oh and don’t forget the diaper sprayer!

That’s just one Mommas opinion

Read full story · Comments { 0 } in Cloth diapers, flats, Getting Started, modern cloth, Newborn, Stash

Those First Few Days: the Best Cloth Diapers for the Hospital

October 5, 2012 By Jeniffer

While I loved building up my newborn stash as we waited for Lily’s arrival, I wasn’t exactly sure when we would start using her adorable cloth diapers. I was pretty sure that I would be exhausted, so I kept a package or two of disposable diapers from my baby shower. You know. Just in case.

What I didn’t count on was the rash that left us using disposables on Abby for a month while it cleared up. By the end of the month, I missed our cloth diapers so much that I eagerly packed a separate bag for Lily’s newborn cloth diapers! I wanted to be ready to use them the moment she was born!

My birth plan included using cloth diapers during our stay, so the nurses were given a Bumgenius Newborn AIO in Butternut. They were able to put it on without any trouble thanks to the aplix closures. A couple of hours later, I posted a picture of Lily in another Bumgenius Newborn AIO, this time in Grasshopper.

I took all of my diapers with me: all-in-ones, fitteds, prefolds, and pockets. To help make them easier to use, I had already folded all of my prefolds and stuffed my 9 covers with them. This was especially nice since I didn’t have enough of the easier diapers to use full-time. I mixed up which type I used while in the hospital, and that helped me to still have several of the easier diapers after I got home.

So which diapers were the best cloth diapers that I used while in the hospital? Hands down, they were the Bumgenius Newborn AIOs. I was able to fold down the rise just enough to keep the umbilical cord stump from rubbing while still getting a great fit, something that I couldn’t get while using covers, my (discontinued) Swaddlebees pocket diaper, or my AppleCheeks. Of course, they were also the first diapers that Lily outgrew (right before she turned 4 weeks), so I’m glad that I didn’t build my entire newborn stash with them.

I also highly recommend having a large wet bag (I used a hanging Wet/Dry PlanetWise bag) that will be large enough to carry home all of the diapers you’ll be using. While I brought liners for the meconium, I found that I didn’t need them at all. I rinsed my diapers in the sink after poops, and the meconium rinsed right out without any staining whatsoever! In fact, it rinsed cleaner than her regular poops have.

If you want to start cloth diapering from baby’s very first diaper, it is definitely possible! And though Lily has worn a few disposables since then, choosing to cloth diaper in the hospital helped to give me more confidence as a mother. It also didn’t hurt that she had the cutest bum on the floor!

Note: This post was written as part of Diaper Junction’s Cloth Diaper Blog Squad and includes (non-affiliate) links to products on their site.

Read full story · Comments { 2 } in Cloth Diapering Problems, Cloth diapers, Getting Started, modern cloth, Motherhood, Newborn, Parenting, Pregnancy, Preparing, Stash, Traveling

The Newborn Stash

September 28, 2012 By Jeniffer

Throughout my pregnancy with Lily, one of the things I looked forward to was using cloth full-time on a newborn. I did use cloth diapers some with Abby in the first weeks, but it was always easier to use disposables since most of my stash was flats at the time. In fact, I was so excited about using cloth diapers period by the time she got here because Abby had been battling a horrific diaper rash the month or so before Lily was born! (Yes, it finally did go away! SUN/MAD RASH by theBALM was our miracle cream.)

I do want to preface this tell-all review with some basic information. Lily was born at 8 pounds, 13 ounces, and she had grown to 10 pounds, 7 ounces, by her 2-week checkup. Her thighs have been chunky since she was about 2 weeks old, too. Another factor in my preferences is that she has been a heavy wetter since birth, but unlike most exclusively breastfed babies, she doesn’t poop after every. single. feeding. Sometimes it’s once a day, sometimes it’s once every two days. It’s mostly normal, and she rarely shows any signs of pain or discomfort when she poops. In other words, if you have skinny babies with chicken legs who poop every time they eat, expect a much different outcome.

Before I even got pregnant, I knew that I would have a great newborn stash simply because Melissa was given about 27 newborn prefolds in the amazing stash-builder box! She also had about 5 covers to share. That, along with my 2 covers that I used with Abby and the covers that I reviewed made about 9 covers. My favorite covers for newborns are the Thirsties Duo Wraps because they snap down smaller than the x-small Thirsties covers but last twice as long!

I honestly didn’t like using the prefolds as much as I had hoped. Lily wet so much so fast that her little bottom would be red in no time in these. My only other option was to change her diapers every hour or so. Thankfully, we had a few other options.

Along with the prefolds and covers, I had 4 fitted diapers. These were all review diapers. I didn’t have the Clover fitted for the first week or so, but it was by far the most absorbent one in my stash. However, like the prefolds, these would get wet, stay wet, and feel wet on Lily’s bottom. They all needed to be changed quickly, and I often found them soaked all the way through anyway. In fact, while I had planned on leaving her uncovered while in fitteds some, I never did because she would soak through the fitted with her first pee!

My favorite combination, though, was a Clover fitted and a fleece cover. The fleece not only allowed Lily’s bum to breathe but it also seemed to stay dryer for longer than any other diaper at the time!

The final bit of my newborn stash? Pockets and all-in-ones! I had 4 BumGenius newborn all-in-one diapers, 2 AppleCheeks Size 1 pocket diapers, and 1 discontinued Swaddlebees pocket diaper to begin with. Lily’s first diaper, put on just minutes after birth, was a BumGenius newborn AIO in Grasshopper. *swoon!* I found over and over again that even though I still had to change Lily more frequently due to how quickly she wet a diaper, my pockets and all-in-ones were the first diapers that I turned to. After all, if I had to change them frequently, I may as well be using the easiest diapers to put on or take off! These were especially nice for nighttime changes, since there wasn’t anything to cover or “finagle.”

Lily was practically sleeping through the night by about 4 weeks (she wakes up once or twice during the night), and I found that the most absorbent diapers for this time were my AppleCheeks. I used the bamboo inserts, and she stayed dry through most of the night. I recently started putting her in one-size pockets at night, though, because the AppleCheeks aren’t holding in all her pee anymore!

There is one cloth diaper that isn’t pictured here, and it’s a new favorite of mine. I won two Thirsties Duo AIO at a Twitter party after Lily was born, and the size 1 is one that I would highly recommend for a newborn stash. It holds more than most newborn diapers, but it will fit from newborn to around 19 pounds, depending on how chunky your baby’s thighs get. While I’ve already put away the BumGenius newborn diapers (*tear!*), I still have room left in the AppleCheeks, the Swaddlebees pocket, and the Thirsties Duo AIO. Lily is also fitting into all of my one-size diapers pretty well. I’m keeping her diapers separate from Abby’s by paying attention to where the diapers are snapped down and sorting them in separate drawers.

While our newborn stash days are nearly over (and much quicker than most babies), I enjoyed having the itty bitty diapers in the house for my little girl. If you can afford them, I think it’s worth it to have a stash especially for newborns, especially if you’re planning on having more kids! And if you aren’t planning on having more kids, these diapers have a high resale value.

So what am I doing with my newborn stash? I plan on adding to the newborn stash that Melissa has so that it can be shared with others (and if I have more babies, I could use them too). I do plan on selling a couple and keeping a couple (like the BG NB AIO in Lovelace!), but I’ve yet to pick which ones will be sold.