Cloth Diapering A Newborn

I'm not sure if it's just been my personal experience or not, but it seems like people will try and steer families away from using cloth diapers in general, especially though using them right at the beginning- the newborn stage. And usually this advice seems to be given by people who have absolutely no experience with using cloth diapers first hand. I find this so very odd, and am here to throw in my veteran cloth diaper experience of going on 4+ years and counting now. Use. The. Cloth. If you're doing it correctly, I promise it is SO simple! However, if you're here, I'm guessing you don't need much convincing, or else what other reason would you be reading this? (If you do need convincing, read through this to hopefully calm any worries or confusion you have on the matter.)

I know (or I am thinking) that I want to use cloth from the get go. Now what?

I'll start with answering some general, common questions here that will be helpful to know when planning.

• What are my options?

STYLES AND SIZING------

There are different cloth diaper styles AND sizes. Some of the most common styles are pocket diapers (pockets), all in one's (AIO), or using a diaper cover with some type of insert/flats/prefolds for absorbency. Some of the most common sizes are newborn and one size. Newborn diapers are exactly what they sound like- cute, teeny diapers that are designed to fit a newborns skinny little legs. One size diapers size usually have a size guide that is said to fit a child who is anywhere from 8lbs-30(ish)lbs. I have found that even if you're newborn baby is born weighing 8+ pounds, the one size diapers don't fit around the legs, therefore causing your diapers to leak. As a new parent, that is so not what you want to deal with at 3am. Or any am. Or pm. You get my point. Investing into a newborn size cloth diaper stash is worth it, especially if you plan to reuse your diapers for future babies, sell them, or gift them to a friend after. What style of diaper you want to use is entirely up to you. Different families, babies, etc. have different needs/wants, so the choice will vary and is entirely up to you! The chart below compares some of the different diaper styles.

A lot of people I have spoke with prefer using a diaper cover along with a prefold for the newborn stage. Personally, I have found that my favorite for the newborn stage is using an AIO (All in One). It seems to meet my families needs better than anything else I have used.

If you are just starting out on your cloth diaper journey, I recommend buying pre loved diapers (diapers that have been used by another child/family already). It is much cheaper this way, therefore you will be able to have more wiggle room when it comes to trying different styles and brands of cloth diapers. And before you're thinking "EW!!" it's actually not at all gross or weird. Pre loved diapers make the world go round, in the cloth diaper world that is. It is a part of the beauty of these guys being better for the environment. Reduce, REUSE, recycle. Am I right?! There is a process here that explains how to properly sanitize pre loved cloth diapers, so your mama (or daddy) mind can be at ease.

• How many diapers do I need?

This will depend on a few things- what style of diapers you get, how often you want to wash your diapers (daily, every other day, once a week, etc.) and how often your baby soils their diapers.

As a general guide, to wash 1x/day, you will want about 20 diapers. This should be enough that you will be able to keep your baby in cloth while you wash the soiled diapers, and to be on the safe side. A newborn soils their diaper about 15x/day. Washing every other day, you will want about 30 diapers. So on, and so forth. Just remember that as a general rule of thumb, your baby will be soiling their diaper roughly 15x/24 hour period, and you will need enough to hold you over until the dirty diapers are clean again. Some babies soil less or more frequently than this, so the number of diapers needed could vary ever so slightly. Also, using a diaper cover only along with some type of insert, you could get away with less actual diaper covers. The reason being is when you change a pee only diaper, you can simply swap the insert for a clean one and give a quick wipe down of the actual diaper cover and reuse it.

• What about actually washing them?

I cannot stress enough how important it is to find a GOOD wash routine. This is the most common detail that makes or breaks a cloth diapering journey. Do yourself a favor and solidify your wash routine BEFORE you start using cloth. Although it's never too late to find a good wash routine, you'll save a lot of headache (like dealing with rashes from not clean diapers or using too much soap, stinks, leaks, etc., etc., etc.) if you just find what works now. Visit this link to find a wash routine that is right for you.

• Other things to know?

In my experience, cloth diapering newborns is the easiest thing and I have loved it. I couldn't imagine all the money wasted on disposables! Not to mention the earth friendly and non toxic benefits that come with using cloth diapers.

Some people have found it to be easier to use a paper towel or something of the sort inside the diaper as liner to catch meconium, or baby's first poops. It's the black, tarry poop that can stain and be kind of sticky. If you're like me, though, and don't care so much about staining, you could just forgo that step entirely and say "who cares" to the stains. Meconium happens, ya know? ;) (Keep in mind, however, if you plan to re sell your newborn cloth diapers after one baby, I would pay more mind to staining. Some people may or may not be less willing to buy a stained diaper.) To take it a step further, slathering olive oil on baby's bottom after a diaper change will make the next meconium/poop wipe off much easier. This goes for both cloth and disposable diapers. Keep in mind that meconium only sticks around for a few days. Once it's out of baby''s system, their poop will change and no longer look, feel or be referred to as meconium.

Keep a diaper caddy handy. I prefer using a rolling cart to keep all the diaper necessities stored on, and the postpartum necessities, too! (If you're interested, I have a blog post here about postpartum necessities!) It makes life so much easier to not have to get out of bed or walk across the house freshly postpartum for basic needs like diaper changes for your baby.

If you're a cloth diapering mama of a newborn, is there anything else you'd add to this list?! Let me know below!

I hope you've enjoyed this post. As always, sending SO MUCH love to you!!! Be blessed!

Xo, Ashley