For those who might not know, Joey & I are planning to cloth diaper our bambino. For the record, I'd not heard that word until recently, and it seems to be coming up EVERY WHERE. I still don't know where it comes from. I guess it's Italian in origin- but seriously, have I been living in a closet or has it suddenly become an insanely popular term for a baby?! Anyway, as with all things in life, I had to invest endless hours of research into finding the most effective & safest options. I opted to purchase from companies that stayed away from phthalates, lead, BPA, and PVC. I also made it a goal to lean towards more natural materials- organic cotton & wool, to name the two front runners! I've decided to share some of my findings here. No, baby Johnson isn't here yet (but so soon!) and I have not actually tried these products, but it will be fun (hopefully?!) to do a follow-up post where I can evaluate if they've lived up to my expectations!
Cloth Diapering a Newborn... The Plan!
- Bummis Organic Cotton Prefolds (Unbleached) : at least 24
- Thirsties Diaper Covers (V2.0) : around 6-8
* Also plan to experiment with Bummis Super Brite & Super Whisper Covers as well as some wool covers for nights!
I hope to start cloth diapering right away. We have one package of Honest brand disposable diapers, and once that package has been finished... we're jumping right in! It seems the biggest issue with cloth diapering newborns is that they are SO tiny- yet need tons of diaper changes (8-12 a day, on average) and a system that will fit their little bodies to contain their surprisingly messy messes. The downside? They will outgrow the newborn-specific diapers relatively quickly, and it might seem unwise to invest in products that will only fit for a few weeks!
The solution to tiny bodies, lots of diaper changes (and thus a need for lots of diapers per day), and messes that need containing? Organic prefolds. I plan to use Bummis Organic Cotton Prefolds (Unbleached), which are sold as a set of 6. I'll likely stock up so that I own at least 24 of these cotton prefolds. I plan to start with the size that will fit babies between 7-20 pounds (although I've read they run SMALL). I've learned from multiple other sources that prefolds are one of the very best options for newborns because they can be folded & fastened (with a Snappi) a multitude of different ways to fit baby snugly (thus helping to stop leaks and such), are inexpensive, and easy to care for.
Of course these prefolds are cotton and will absorb liquid and become wet, making anything else that comes in contact with them wet, so they must be used with a waterproof (PUL) diaper cover or a moisture wicking cover like wool. I want to use natural fabrics as often as possible, and wool seems to be the DREAM diaper cover fabric, but I have yet to find a wool cover that is aimed to TRULY fit a tiny newborn. Instead, I am leaning toward Thirsties Diaper Covers (the basic V2.0). The size x-small truly fits a newborn (or so I've read/heard from multiple "mom" sources!) and is designed so as not to bother the umbilical chord stump as it heals. Double leg gussets (the elastic portion that encircles the thigh) help prevent leaks, and although these diaper covers have a velcro closure which does not usually last as long as snaps, with a newborn the more flexibility in sizing you have, the better, and velcro seems to offer more flexibility than snap closures. Finally, the Thirsties company takes care to make sure this cover is free of latex, PVC, VOCs, lead, and phthalates.
That's it! I will check back and post about the success we have after we test these selections! I have a few other "random" diaper covers that I will probably try, and I might try a few fitted diapers and search for properly fitting wool covers as well. For some reason a cute baby in a huge, bulky diaper doesn't seem appealing (or functional) to me! I've heard Kissaluvs size 0 is an excellent newborn diaper, and that when paired with the Prorap Classic Cover in size newborn the two make an amazing team. However, I feel really comfortable knowing that the organic cotton of the prefolds I've chosen will be what is constantly next to my baby's skin and that the Thirsties brand avoids the chemicals that can show up on the products other brands sell. We'll see how it goes :)
3 comments:
Check out WAHM sites on Facebook for the wool covers and for all natural organic fitteds. The homemade diapers are way better than the factory manufactured ones. They will be pricey but they have less leaks, they are made in America, they are all natural and the quality is better. I have not been liking my factory manufactured diapers. I have the Bummis prefolds in size 1 and they do run small. Evan couldn't fit in them long so instead of folding them around him I would just tri-fold them, and just place them in the diaper cover and it worked great! They do have great absorbency! I'll send you some links to WAHM pages on FB.
If you were interested in using any of mine your more than welcome although some people are funny about that. I have some great little ones that I used for my newborn that a friend (Vicky Forba) made.
I received a cloth diaper service for the first month a half after my daughter was born as a baby shower gift. It work well enough since we weren't responsible for washing them - the dirty ones got picked up every few days and were re-placed with clean ones. It was a little hard since we couldn't wash them ourselves, we decided not to stay with cloth diapers due to the cost - it was cheaper to do disposible diapers - but that was the only reason. So overall we had a good experience with cloth diapers on our newborn.
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