Expecting My First - Planning to CD - please help

BLuvsE

I know NO ONE that cloth diapers IRL. I don't know where to start. Here is what I do know -

I want to CD for the savings and for the fact that it seems to be more comfortable for baby - I'd rather wear fabric panties than chemical covered plastic ones any day. Plus, I think they're cute. :-) My husband was cloth diapered and he and his family are totally on board. My mom thinks I'm nuts, but she'll use them if she's keeping baby because she's cool like that. We are not planning to use day care.

Here's what I'm looking for and I'm hoping you ladies can help me find the right brand. TIA!!!

- One size that will grow with baby.

- Inserts into cute little pants :-)

- Something that won't be too different from disposables to change (for example, gDiapers fasten in the back...no go)

- Whichever one leaks the least. (Should I buy a couple different brands to see which is best for my child?)

HALFM00N

You should buy a few different brands and then go from there. Bumgenius 4.0 is a good start. For a cheaper alternative and cute prints, try Kawaii or Alva (no experience there).

We love Oh Katy diapers for our pockets and we also use Tots Bots which is an AIO but has a pocket opening for extra stuffing. AIOs are the closest to disposables but a stuffed pocket is also very close to a disposable. You will probably want to get aplix closures bc you want to have a diaper similar to sposies, but be aware that many aplix wear quickly. Snaps are more durable IMO.

There is an FAQ on the upper right hand side of this board. You can check it out. You can buy used and new from the Cloth Diaper Swap page since you have some time until baby gets here.

namara5532

First, go check out the FAQs at the top of these boards.  There's a lot of helpful information out there.

A lot of brands are one size.  They start fitting around 10lbs/1 month old, so you will still need some specific newborn diapers for that first month.  Newborn legs are generally too skinny to start in one size diapers, but a lot of them claim to fit into diaper training age.

There are tons of cute brands out there.  It's all up to your preference in patterns and what kind of diaper you want to use (prefolds/covers, pockets, AIOs, etc.).

If you want something similar to disposables, I would recommend pockets or all-in-ones.  Pockets just need to be prestuffed before use, but all-in-ones have the inserts sewn in.  AIOs are just harder to get clean and to dry (anything with elastic shouldn't go in the dryer)

Getting a few different brands to try is a good idea.  Every baby is shaped different, and some brands don't go well on chubby babies while others don't cover lean babies well.  You may want to consider doing either a diaper trial or buying one or two from a few brands and trying them before investing in enough for a full stash.

Feel free to ask us any specific questions you have.  I also suggest lurking for a while to get a feel for what brands we like and the benefits/disadvantages of different types.

Megowilliams

You should try a couple different types to find what you like best. That said all one sized dipes are gonna be too big for a NB. depending on the size of your baby LO may be able to fit them within a couple of weeks but my DD didn't fit one size dipes till about 2 mos.

for ease of use and pocket or AIO is good- avoid side snapping diapers like GroVia, they confuse all of the men in my life???

I love swaddlebees, bumgenius, oh katy, and fuzzibunz

MrsT0522

I haven't Cd'd yet, as baby isn't here, but here is what I am doing/have done:

We have a mix of BumGenius, Fuzzibunz, and a few random brands thrown in. They are all pocket diapers that we have, and are one size. 

For the newborn stage, we have some thirsties covers and Bummis prefolds, and a few lil joeys and bumgenius newborns, which are all in ones. 

If you want something that changes like a disposable, you can get velcro closures instead of snaps on the BumGenius, and some other brands offer velcro as well. However, these might wear out faster. 

I would def. get a variety, as you don't know which diapers will fit your baby best. You can also get flushable liners for them, which might make clean up a bit easier. 

BLuvsE

Thank you ladies! Y'all's answers + the FAQ board make me feel much more prepared.

I'll buy a few of each - bumgenius, fuzzibunz, oh katy, and gdiapers (not sure where I heard they fasten in back) and we'll go from there.

The snaps might be confusing, by DH is an engineer so I'm sure we'll be fine. Hopefully.

Not decided yet on what I'll do for the NB weeks/months - maybe just use disposables then, but not sure how I feel about chemicals and plastic on a brand new baby's butt...

DaisyJanie

I thought that gdiapers fastened in the back too.... they look like they do in pictures. I've never used them though.

I liked prefolds and covers for the newborn stage. Now we use mostly BG pockets. All pretty easy, since we both work full time.