First time mom - how do I decide?

heateacher

I'm due in September and I'd really like to cloth diaper, mainly because I've read that they are so much better for baby's skin, and DH and i both have SUPER sensitive skin, so there's a good chance this little one will too.

I have no idea how to decide what cloth diapers to register for, though! It's a big investment so I guess I'm afraid of choosing "wrong". And I've gotten the advice to buy a whole bunch of different types and try them all to decide what I (and my hubby, and the baby) like best, which sounds smart, except for 2 things.

1 - I don't foresee myself as possessing strong compare and contrast capabilities on severely limited sleep.

2 - I'd like to take advantage of baby showers and register for the diapers to avoid buying all of them out of pocket.

I've also heard that for the first few weeks oftentimes cloth diapering isn't the best bet because their legs are too skinny.

Any advice? I'm leaning towards either a pocket or an all-in-one for simplicity's sake. I really like FuzziBunz and BumGenius, but I'm not sold on any particular brand necessarily. 

astroMom

Welcome!  You should definitely check out the FAQs for more opinions, but here is mine!  Every baby and mama has different diapers that fit well.

One sized diapers won't fit for awhile, even if they claim to at 8 lbs.  However, there are plenty of diapers that work well on skinny legs!  Prefolds of course are the easiest to adjust, but fitteds can work really well in the NB phase, too.  You could do a trial like @ Jillian's Drawers to see what you like.

Word of warning, though, be prepared that usually people don't get their CDs at baby showers.  Some people get them all of course, but most of us had too many naysayers.  Don't let that stop you, though.  Usually you can get awesome deals online for way cheaper than a registry store.  

Let us know if you have more ?s

moussy

AIO are just about the easiest of NB diapers, but sometimes fit can be an issue depending on the size of your child.  My LO was <7 lbs. so prefolds and Kissaluv's fit her best from the start.  I was able to start using my BG xs at around 3 weeks.  Anything before that and she leaked out the legs.  The prefolds were not exciting, but they really did the best job for her size and age.

Dr.Loretta

Definitely check out the FAQs, and I would strongly recommend a CD trial package. To answer your points:

1. You don't know that you'll have severely limited sleep, and you'll be suprised what you can survive on. If a diaper leaks, it leaks. You'll know it.

2. Check the FAQs, especially the spreadsheet Rachelle put together, to see if there are some things there that interest you. But really, if you register for a ton of stuff you don't end up using, it's a lost cause anyway.

We didn't have a problem CDing from a few days after birth. There were no skinny leg issues.

I loved XS pocket diapers for DD when she was a newborn, but if I had to do it all over again I would have tried more fitteds. As it was, she was in a mix of prefolds, fitteds, and pocket diapers. I was suprised at how easy they were (even prefolds). As her needs changed so has our stash, but it's pretty stable at this point.

GL

brenwick

This is my 4th baby but first go-round with CD's. I have a stock of several different one size pockets and one size all-in-ones that I will be trying. {Oh and a few one size hybrids as well.} Whichever fit best, and whichever I like best will be what I finish out our stock in. We'll be using disposables at first and transitioning over, so we won't need the whole stash upfront.

kdello

Welcome! One size diapers won't fit for a while, so you'll have to do disposables or newborn sized for the beginning. After that, I really love my Bumgenius 4.0 pockets and Bumgenius Elementals!