Cost of Newborn Cloth Diapers/Worth it?

shawnsgirl06 · November 2013

Hi,

This is my first post on this board. I'm expecting our third child, a little girl, in April. I have cloth diapered my two older children at the same time so I have a huge stash of BG 4.0 one size pockets (which I love) to use once baby fits in them. I have never cloth diapered a newborn and am wondering if it is worth the investment. This baby may be our last or we may plan for one more in a few years. My other babies were large at birth 9lb 5oz and 8lbs 3 oz so I don't know if this baby would fit right into the one size, or be in newborns for how long? I would look to buy used diapers from Ebay or another source over new if choosing cloth. I have no interest in using prefolds even though they are cheaper. Would it be worth the investment in your opinion or am I better to use disposables for a short amount of time then use my BG 4.0's.

stoneycakes · November 2013

It usually works out to be cheaper than disposables because you can always sell your stash afterwards and get back a pretty substantial amount of your investment.

blondolphn · November 2013

You may want to look into kawaii pure and natural. Cheap and have some adjustability. Or maybe some size one thirties.

runningyogimama · November 2013

I didn't start with cloth until DD was 3 weeks old--in that time, we went through 3 cases of NB diapers, plus what we got from the hospital and a few ransoms from a diaper cake someone make me. From how much went spent in just those 3 weeks, I could have nearly built my stash! I spent less than $200 on pockets and AIOs, and that included pail liners, wet bags, and detergent. And I'll be diapering #2 for free, and probably any kids after that, since NB diapers are only used for a few months (we used them until 10-12 weeks).

I used NB alvas (snaps, not aplix, those are huge, and with their bamboo inserts), kawaii PnNs, a few gently used NB BGs from a site that does diaper trials, and XS Charlie bananas and fuzzibunz.

CLLDLL · November 2013

Look into a NB diaper rental. If you find the right one 2 months would be cheaper than disposables and you'd get to use pockets or AIOs. Otherwise I agree blondolpin about looking into pure and naturals or some other two size system where you can use them up to 18 pounds.

kjsmith9 · November 2013

Agree with looking into kawaii p&n's. We just put ours away at 11.5 months and 21ish lbs. Definitely worth the investment - if you decide not to have another LO, newborn dipes have great resale value since they aren't used for long!

shawnsgirl06 · November 2013

Thanks a lot ladies! I look into your recommendations. Unfortunately I live in a very rural area so a diaper service/rental I don't believe would be an option.

emmylou78 · November 2013

Putting on my flame suit:
I would add up the cost of your choice diapers & approximate quantity vs cost of NB stash.
I bought a stash but had enough diapers gifted that I only had to buy one thing of NB diapers, about $25. I bought 30 NB GMDs plus covers. She grew out of the prefolds just last week. So I used the prefolds and P&Ns for 2 weeks. I can still use TH Kawaii and hopefully use the prefolds for other stuff (stuffing pockets, burp cloths).

Just a thought. I prob still would've bought them bc I was excited to start, just prob not as many.

emmylou78 · November 2013

I do see you're on your 3rd so your experience with gifted diapers will prob be different. Just throwing that out there though

CLLDLL · November 2013

@Heather6789 does have a good point that NB prefolds likely won't last a long time. But they are awesome for stuffing in pockets, burp clothes, and even rags once you're done with them as prefolds!

FWIW, a lot of diaper rentals ship them to you at no cost. You just pay a deposit that you get back (or partially back) once you return them in good condition. So you could do one even though you don't live near a store.

huntjul · November 2013

I did all Kawaii p and ns for our NB stash and bought them on Earth Day sale for $5/ea x 30 diapers = $150 for a complete newborn stash. My LO was smaller than yours but is just barely fitting in her one size diapers now at 8 weeks. I figured I'd go through about $36 of disposables per week, so even if I never use them again and don't resell them (but in reality I will do one or the other), I still came out ahead. On the Cloth Diaper Swap on Facebook, I usually see used P and Ns for $5/ea, so no big loss when I sell them. However I love the p and ns and am going to keep using them because even though the OS fit, they are super bulky on her.

ufsandra85 · December 2013

can someone post a link to the kawaii website?

ufsandra85 · December 2013

Thank you!

aibrean · December 2013

We used disposables only the first week, then were able to get ours in CD (Thirsties Duo Wrap with small prefold) after that (her umbilical fell off before we attempted).

ufsandra85 · December 2013

thank you all for the tips (even though this wasnt my thread, you all are a wealth of knowledge). I just ordered a bunch of kawaii p and n.

shawnsgirl06 · December 2013

Thanks again. I've decided to try to build a secondhand stash of the BG newborns since I love my BG 4.0. Also thinking if I can't buy enough I could sell a few of my 4.o's since I have a twin stash. I already like the idea of all in ones (no stuffing) for my newborn diapers and have decided sticking to one brand/style is easier than sorting out laundry since I am very lazy with laundry. I'm figuring 30 pieces should get us buy since I will be home during the newborn stage and have access to my own washer and dryer. Off to scout Ebay for some deals.

Cost of Newborn Cloth Diapers/Worth it?

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