Making the choice to cloth diaper your precious baby soon to arrive is a wonderful gift. Already you are putting your baby’s health first no matter what it requires of you. The good news is it doesn’t really require that much more of you and you are saving yourself time and energy.
Cloth diapering a newborn starts with deciding what diapers will work for your family. There are fitteds/covers, pockets or all-in-ones that you can choose from. The number one option is fitteds with covers. Newborns pee frequently and their poops are often explosive. I know first hand that newborn poop + disposables = poop all up the back and on both our clothes. This is not baby bliss. Cloth diapers, specifically fitted diapers, allow for a much better containment. Kissaluvs size 0 are a highly popular newborn diaper. They are made of sherpa and have elastic at leg and back openings to contain messes and floods. By tucking in the leg “ruffles” it allows for even better protection by providing a barrier to all contents. KL0s were my choice of cloth diaper for my 3rd child.
There are many other newborn cloth diapers you can choose from. The things to look for are a notch for the umbilical cord and either double gussets or a serged edge that allows for tucking in of the “ruffle”. Most babies grow out of the newborn size at 12-15lbs. Keep this in mind when purchasing cloth diapers. Your diapers do have resale value, though. Especially a diaper like kissaluvs that has demand.
A fitted diaper does require a cover to prevent leaks. Proraps and Thirsties are 2 covers that offer an umbilical notch and double gussets that give you double leak protection. You may choose to cover a fitted diaper with the natural fibers of wool. Wool is a breathable, antimicrobial fiber that provides superior nighttime protection. Wool can be purchased in the form of knit, interlock, or on a cover like Swaddlebees Aplix Merino Wool Diaper Covers or Sckoon Stick -N- Snap Machine Washable Merino Wool Diaper Cover. The last two are machine washable whereas a knit or interlock wool item would need to be hand washed to prevent shinkage. All wool will require lanolizing for optimal functioning.
Fitteds and covers are not the only route for cloth diapering a newborn baby. You may choose to use pockets. Many families sing the praises of Fuzzi Bunz from birth through potty training. For a one-size option that also offers double gussets the brand new Rumparooz One Size pocket is the winner. One size diapers will add bulk to a newborn but the financial savings may be worth it for your family. BumGenius 3.0 is a one size, very convenient pocket as well. Bum Genius and Fuzzi Bunz are easy to find in local cloth diaper stores and BumGenius are even available in many Whole Foods stores.
I mentioned the BumGenius pocket diaper but there is also a BumGenius AIO. For future babies I plan to have a few Thirsties Pocket AIOs on hand. I love the trimness and double gussets that the Thirsties brand offers, in addition, the ability to add extra absorbency in the pocket. Both of these brands are very affordable for a diaper that is extremely convenient and simple.
Whatever system you choose remember that no diaper is absolutely leak proof. The ability a tiny newborn has to fill a diaper in seconds is astonishing. Be prepared and know that right after or during a feeding is when your baby is most likely to have a “blow out”. You are much safer with the absorbency of a cloth diaper. Another benefit to cloth diapering a newborn is skipping the dumping step because their poop is not yet solid. Once the diaper is dirty simply place it into your diaper pail until wash day. Remember if you have any stains the sun is a powerful bleaching tool.
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
Holly Brown says
Am I the only one who hasn’t had a blowout with a disposables?
I didn’t start cloth diapering my son until he was almost 5 months old. Now that he’s almost 11 months I have encountered some near blowouts with surprises me since he eats a lot of solids.
Autumn Beck says
I can attest to the fact that I had WAY more blowouts in disposables than cloth. With my first daughter we used only disposables and every other poop was a disaster. With my third child (who I cloth diapered from birth) I can count on one hand the number of blowouts we had. I would buy some KL0s second hand for a newborn. They are inexpensive and resell well too.