1 month diaper service vs. start off with newborn stash

msjanet02

so at first i decided i'd do one month of diaper service at $22/week (one month minimum). but now i'm thinking i can do the newborn CD myself from the get-go. lurking on here, it sounds like something that is very do-able. i wanted to not have to buy newborn-specific sizes, and avoid being overwhelmed with laundry from the beginning. but now i think i can do it. 

i've already starting building a good one-size/size 1 stash.

but for my newborn stash, i'm thinking (and have started):

- 2 kissaluvs fitted

- 2 lil joey AIO

- a dozen osocozy infant size prefolds

- a dozen osocozy better fit infant prefolds

- 5 snappis

- about 6 covers from my current stash that i think/hope will fit my newborn

- considering adding 2 swaddlebee newborn simplex AIO

i feel like i may need more covers.

should i play around with a few more fitteds and AIOs? i was thinking of maybe trying the GroVia AIO, but so many mixed reviews. should i get more prefolds? sigh... please critique my stash. TIA, ladies!

brinaroze1

my husband's step-mom gifted us with a few months worth of diaper service. i liked that i didn't have to do the laundry, but we barely used the service. i wasn't properly prepared for cloth diapering and only had two covers. after we got our tax refund this year, i was able to buy more cloth diapers.

whether doing a service or buying my own, though, i really like prefolds and covers. i found Imagine brand diapers through nickisdiapers.com and love their covers and AIOs. i like prefolds for during the day and AIOs for nighttime. i might try a few fitteds for nighttime, too.

six covers seems reasonable. but maybe put aside some funds in case you have to purchase different ones. my baby was tiny when she was born, and we didn't have the money to buy more covers.  

freezorburn

I think you've got a great start. If you add the 2 Swaddlebees, you'll have 30 changes which should be plenty. You'll know pretty quickly if you need/want more. 

DS was in newborn sizes until almost 3 months -- so you never know.

msjanet02

yeah, i'm definitely going to keep the option to grow my stash based on baby's anatomy, wetting patterns, our convenience/preference, etc. but i also don't want to spend too much on just newborn sizes. 

ooh, if my baby could fit into newborns for several months, that would make me feel like i really got my money's worth. hoping there will also be overlap time with the OS stash i have. 

ok, so i should add the 2 swaddlebees... awesome! i have my heart set on the giraffe and monkey designs. SO CUTE.

i know it differs for everyone, but how long did your infant size prefolds last u? when should i begin considering buying the regular (or premium) size prefolds? 

SarahinMD

Sounds like you're in good shape. We've for 2 or 3 dozen prefolds, 6-8 covers, no AIOs, and had no problems CDing DD from day she came home from hospital. Plan to do the same with this LO. In my experience, we went through covers much slower with a newborn (we'd wiped out and dry between uses) because she just didn't fill even the newborn diapered as much as she did later. How long they last depends on size of LO. DD was small, so I think we were at least in the newborns 3 months. In fact, at first,be even had to fold over the newborn prefolds on one end to get a good fit.

kh59

My LO was 6 lbs 8 oz when she was born, and we ended up buying a second dozen newborn size prefolds--we needed that many even when washing every day.  She wore those with snappis until 5 weeks and trifolded in covers until 2 months (meanwhile, she started fitting in infant size prefolds with snappis and part of the length folded down around 5 weeks, so laundry shifted to every two or three days--hooray!).  Now I'm using a trifolded newborn prefold with a microfiber insert in one-size pockets for overnight, so we're still getting use out of them.  We used four newborn covers, which was plenty.  My favorite by far were the Imagine newborn covers--they have double gussets and an adjustable rise and are super cheap.  They fit around skinny newborn legs with no leaks and still worked great up to about 13 lbs (my little chub doubled her birth weight by 2 months old).  I also had a bummis newborn cover, but it was too big at birth and too small by 2 months, so we didn't get as much use out of it.

KLXVI

If you want more changes, I'd recommend the newborn workhorse fitteds from Green Mountain Diapers.  They are cheap, hold a good amount of pee, and fit our guy for a long time (2 months? He was 7 lb 11 oz at birth).  

The newborn simplex are still fitting nicely at 12 weeks and almost 13 lbs.  They are the biggest and cutest newborn diapers we owned.  We did have a few poopy leg blowouts, though, because they a little bigger.

ForeverEverAfter

You're on the right track I think. Newborn diapers are so easy to wash because you don't have to worry about the poop. Definitely get a newborn cover though, it'll make a big difference on fit, especially until the cord heals. I had 2 RaRz NB covers and they fit in the hospital up to 3 months and never leaked once. I liked lil joeys, though the absorbency didn't last very long. My grovia nb always wicked urine, so I gave up on them. For kissaluvs fitted, the fleece fitted size zero is great. The hemp/cotton zero is quite a bit bigger and won't work for most newborns. Also, you probably won't need that many snappis, though extras are nice.

msjanet02

yeah i just got the kissaluvs size 0 delivered today. they are teeny tiny! so cute. and the size 1 thirsties covers i have look like they will fit over them really great. and i don't know why i registered for the 5-pack of snappis, but that's what i got. i'm thinking it's the kind of thing that might disappear on me, like so many of my socks that are now partnerless. 

thank u for all your personal experiences and advice! i'm feeling good about this!