New here! Need help!
laurenmdrn16
member
Hi ladies,
So I may be jumping the gun a bit on this one, seeing as I am FTM only 16 weeks pregnant, but I really want to get on the cloth diapering train. I have a good friend at church who cloth diapers and I love the idea. I actually went out and bought a Charlie Banana all-in-one (or maybe pocket...not sure...see I am a newbie!) and tried it out on a stuffed animal at home 
I was wondering what brands or types tend to work best? Should I wait to get a bunch until LO is born? And is there any way to convince my mom that it is a good idea? She looks at me like I have 3 heads anytime I mention the words "cloth diaper"! Luckily, my husband is totally onboard (he is the one who actually first mentioned it...along with the compost pile and garden we have recently started. I def married a hippy and I love it!). Just wanted to hear honest reactions and get the full scoop. Thanks!
Re: New here! Need help!
Some moms won't think you're crazy if you show them modern cloth diapers in person. Mine still thought I was nuts and kept telling me I would be running out to buy Pampers in no time.
I wanted to cloth diaper to avoid the chemicals in disposables next to my baby's skin for 2+ years, to be environmentally friendly, and to save money. The cute factor is an added bonus! I'm 5 months in and love it! I counted each diaper for awhile, but haven't totaled it up in awhile. Anyhow, several weeks ago, I was already passed 1000 diapers!
I bought a variety of diapers to get started. I thought I would prefer AIOs but prefolds and covers really worked the best for my baby's newborn stage. Some of the brands of one size diapers I thought I'd like just don't fit him right. I guess my advice is not to buy a bunch of the same brand of diaper just because someone else says they are the best. Certain brands will fit your baby better than others.
BumGenius seems to be a brand that fits most babies pretty well, so check out www.cottonbabies.com. That being said, their newborn diapers are not absorbent enough, so avoid those!
Rumparooz aplix one size pocket diapers fit my 5 month old better than other brands, so that's what I send to daycare. But at home I still prefer prefolds (Imagine Smart Fit from www.nickisdiapers.com) and covers (current favorites are Blueberry coveralls and Flips).
You still have lots of time to do your research.
Check out the FAQ at the top of the page. Also check out the youtube cloth diapering 101 videos.
You have some decisions to make like what types of diapers to try and if you want a separate newborn stash since one-size diapers don't actually fit newborns in most cases.
Also hang out on this board. There is a ton of info here.