Anyone else feel overwhelmed before they started CD?

tlxh7 · March 2011

DH and I are expecting our first in May, and I really want to CD (so does DH, but he leaves the final decision up to me as I'll be SAH with the baby). But, whenever I start researching, I feel really overwhelmed! I have a couple of friends who CD, and they've been great about answering questions, and I really appreciate the FAQ here. I think my issue is that there are so many variables, and I just want to make a decision and get started. So, I'd love to build a stash and be ready to go, but what if what I buy doesn't work for my baby? Also, I'm a little overwhelmed by trying to find good deals for diapers. We want to go with pockets, and our friends swear by bumGenius, Fuzzinbunz, and Mud Butts - any tips for finding good deals?

Sorry, this post is really long - I guess I'm just looking for some encouragement that this will get easier!

emsrdh03 · March 2011

I had so much fun building my stash when I was pregnant, but about a week or so before the baby was born I started freaking out. What if this is hard....or doesn't work....and then all those naysayers will be laughing and saying "I told you so." Once he was born though I just dove in head first and never looked back. It's not hard at all and I love them! Don't worry, it does get easier!

As for deals....."like" a few different CD brands and diaper stores on FB or get on a few mailing lists. Lurking around here is a good start too because some always posts the sales.

GOOD LUCK!

niende89 · March 2011

I totally get where you're coming from. Lucky for me I have a DS that I get to use as a guinea pig before LO gets here in June. lol. I would try one of the trials to get you started. They have a good variety of diapers to try and you can send them back if you don't like them. The Jillian's Drawers one is the most recommended here. Check it out and if you order you will have a small stash to use to try out on LO before you commit to a full-blown stash that you would then have to get rid of if you didn't like them. HTH.

Dr.Loretta · March 2011

Yes. It took me about 2 months of lurking on boards before I started to feel comfortable enough to start building a stash.

Some things that may make you feel better:

If something doesn't work out, you can sell it

You can always buy used and save some $ while adding some variety

This isn't a test. It's hard to totally screw this up, so you'll just deal with the learning curve. No biggie.

It will be way easier than you imagined

GL!

jesidz · March 2011

I think there is a general consensus that covers and prefolds are a great cheap way to start a newborn! You can plan and afford that easily and then do a trial after baby gets here!

Quizzle · March 2011

Covers, prefolds and fitteds with a newborn, then try a trial as well! I started with a newborn stash I bought off a friend, then started building my pocket stash as she grew.

Honestly, until the baby is here you won't know what fits best. I did a lot of buying of one of each type of diaper when there were free diaper with purchase coupon codes so I could try a lot of different brands. Definitely like as many cloth diaper sellers and manufacturers as you can. I also lurked on DiaperSwappers and would scrounge in our local cloth diaper consignment store and pick up what looked good.

DD is big, most diapers fit her well, fortunately.

KarlsSweetie05 · March 2011

I'm really overwhelmed too. I bought my first fluffy last week and am freaking out. What am I doing?

I have so many variables because I'm having twins that feels like it further complicates the decision making.

I bought new from GMD - a dozen preemie prefold and a dozen newborn prefold as prefolds are the cheapest way to start. Now, I want to buy a cheaper brand of prefolds and/or used prefolds to fill out the stash.

but now I have to buy covers and that is scaring me. I don't know if I want snaps or velcro or what will really fit the babies. DH does not want to deal with blowouts and I feel "pressure" to pick the right cover so he doesn't get turned off to CD.

Once they arrive and they are big enough and if we like CD, then I'm going to do a diaper trial or two to see what fits the babies at that point before I start buying one size. Money is really tight and we can't afford to just buy blindly. So a trial makes sense for us.

LeanneCM · March 2011

Yup - I'd bet almost everyone felt that way before they started, but remember - it is easier than you think, practice makes perfect, and the worst that can happen is a change of clothes and a post on diaperswappers

Also, we didn't use cloth for the first month, and it really helped me to start slow and try differnt ones before we jumped in with both feet. And I hated pre folds, so like everything else, I wouldn't by a complete stash of them just to find out that you don't like them

tlxh7 · March 2011

Thanks ladies! I really appreciate the support and advice - I feel considerably more calm!

MrsPBNJ0220 · March 2011

I feel so overwhelmed, but really know the more you lurk on here and look at the questions people ask and ask a lot of your own you will learn a lot.

I just purchased my first diapers, I found a lady who posted on here a decent size lot of tons of different types of diapers that are used in great condition and I jumped on it. I think once you start making your stash it's loads of fun.

I still find that it is very overwhelming but lots of fun at the same time. Eventually you will realize you know a lot. I know I just recently started talking to my mom about us CDing. She thinks we are just getting a few to consider it, because I don't want to hear from her about us doing it full time. Either way it was awesome when she started talking about how nasty it was that you have to soak them in a diaper pail, it was nice being able to actually give her the correct information. I think the more research you do the more you will be comfortable.

GL and I'm sure it will get easier and even more easy once we start actually doing it when the LO gets here!

searcy7 · March 2011

I was so overwhelmed by CDing and my DH convinced me not to so I did not start CDing till my youngest child was 2 and a half months. I wish I would have done so when I first wanted to with my 5 year old son. I enjoy cloth diapering and know that as DD gets older I can just add a flushable liner, I wish I would have jumped in sooner.