Hi everyone! I've been lurking around here for some time, read the FAQs, etc. Every time I look at diapers online I get overwhelmed. I tried going to a local store that has a few options and the same thing happened. I figured that getting the trial at Jillian's Drawers would probably be best for us.
My question is about timing. I know they give you 21 days to try them out. I will only get about 4 weeks of maternity, then DH will take 2 weeks vacation until the little one is old enough to go to daycare. I'm worried about building a stock in those couple weeks. Is 3 weeks enough time to decide which of the diapers from the trial work for us and acquire a stock? I'd prefer not to pay retail for them all and buy online with deals or eBay. I don't know anyone else in real life who has EVER used cloth, and have no one to ask for advice. Thanks!
Re: Question about Jillian's Drawers
I'm a FTM but just ordered the newborn trial. It comes with enough to diaper for about 1 day then you would have to wash. I would think you could figure out real quick which is best for you since you only have a few of each style.
I'm hoping to build my stash of bigger diapers (or one size) once we try out the newborn trial since I really don't want to spend a ton on the smaller diapers. If it comes down to it, I'll consider doing the regular trial as well since the baby's shape might change after 10 lbs and I heard that makes the biggest difference (skinny vs. chunky legs, etc)
I just got my diaper trials from sewcraftbaby.com and diaperjunction.com. I went with these 2 because they let you chose what you want in the trial, the trail is 30 days, free shipping, and they give money back for returns and not store credit. The 30 day trial may be good for you since you were worried about 21 days being too short.
The diapers from sew crafty came in 2 days and diaper jct in 3 days.
I was also very overwhelmed. I got an assortment of fitteds, pockets, OS/sized, AIO's, AI2's and hybrids. I had a hard time envisioning how all the types work and wanted to have fun trying things out. I am loving it so far. Both these sites have been great so far and have had great customer service. When my selected colors was out of stock each emailed me to chose another color.
My DS is 6 months and we are just now making the switch. But here are some thoughts to maybe make it less stressful. Newborns require very frequent diaper changes and you will probably go through the stash every 1-2 days so you will quickly learn what you like. After just a couple days I already have favorites. Also, diapering newborns seems to be a little different than slightly bigger babies from what I have read (no experience) and it seems like I have read of moms doing less toxic sposies like seventh generation or using up diapers recieved as gifts for the first couple weeks and then starting a trial.
Another random discovery from sew crafty: they sell small sample sizes of a variety of diapering accessories. I got a few thing to try for fun before committing to a large size like disposable liners, bac out, diaper rash cream, etc.
HTH since I am new to this too.
Another option, which may or may not be what you are looking for, is to buy a bunch of different kinds from a used site such as spots corner. It would give you a chance to try out more kinds with no time frame for return. I did this at the beginning and then sold off what I didn't like for pretty close to what I bought them for.