Are you planning on using cloth diapers on your new baby? Wondering whether to invest in a newborn stash for those first few months, or wait until your babe is ready for one size diapers? Read on to find out if newborn cloth diapers are right for you AND which brand you should choose to build your newborn diaper stash.
Newborn Cloth Diaper Stash: Invest or Skip?
You may feel inclined to skip newborn cloth diapers when you see one sized diapers advertised as good for babies 8 or 10 lbs on.
However, the truth is that most one sized diapers rarely fit skinny newborn legs and you’ll need to wait a few months until your little one’s legs chub up and get some rolls.
At three months and 13 lbs, I’m just starting to use one-sized diapers on Grace and they are HUGE on her. Fluff butt to the extreme!
Another deciding factor for me was fitting clothes over top of large and bulky diapers. My babes are usually skinny and long, which makes it hard to snap anything over top of a bulky diaper.
One more thing to think about is your ideal family size. If you know you are planning on using cloth for multiple kids, newborn cloth may be worth it for you, as you’ll get a lot of use out of it for multiple babies.
Finally, it’s important to know that newborn cloth often has a high resell value, as it is usually only been used for a few months and is in good condition.
Needless to say, I’m on team newborn cloth diaper! Read on to determine what kind of newborn cloth diaper is right for you!
Newborn Cloth Diaper Considerations
So, if you’ve decided that newborn cloth diapers are right for you, the next question becomes which diapers to pick to build your stash? There are a few important factors to think about when you are picking out newborn cloth diapers.
(Pssst if you’re new to cloth diapering, read this post for explanations on the common types of cloth diapers and some basic terminology).
The Guessing Game
First, it’s important to know (or make your best guess) on how big your baby will be. This is obviously difficult for your first baby, but think about other babies in you family. My family has long skinny babies who are around 8-9lbs when born.
If you’ve had a growth ultrasound, you may have an idea on how baby is growing. Other factors like if you’re measuring big or small, or if you have gestational diabetes can sometimes (but not always) give you a hint as to how big your baby will be.
Ultimately though, it’s still a bit of a guessing game. Some babies may outgrow their newborn cloth diapers after a couple of months, while others may fit for five or six months or beyond.
Fit
The first thing to look at when choosing a newborn cloth stash is the recommended weight for the diapers. Obviously a diaper that is for babies 5-12lbs will fit even the teensiest (full term) newborns well, but won’t last too long on babies with a birth weight of 8-10 lbs.
Diapers made for 7-16lbs will last a little longer, but might not work as well if you have a preemie or a baby with a very low birth weight.
When you’re looking for newborn cloth, consider if there are rise snaps so you can adjust the fit on the legs. This is the number one reason for newborn leaks.
Absorbency
Obviously teensy cloth diapers do not have a greatest absorbency, as there is simple less material available to absorb. This isn’t a problem for brand new infants, but as your baby grows, so does their tummy and bladder size. You may find they outgrow the absorbency of the diaper before it is actually too small for them.
There are two ways to solve this dilemma. First, look for newborn cloth diapers with natural fibers, which will absorb more liquid.
Second, consider the type of diaper you buy. You can easily adjust the absorbency of pocket diapers by adding a booster (these are my favorites). Some, but not all, All-In-One diapers have a pocket so you can add a booster as well. This is allow your diapers to last much longer. I have used a few of my newborn diapers up until 8 months using boosters.
Umbilical Cord Care
Another consideration is the umbilical cord stump. Some newborn diapers have a special snap on the front to pull down the front of the diaper so it does not rub up against the umbilical cord. This is super handy for the first couple of weeks.
Size of You Newborn Stash
If you’re planning on buying a small newborn stash and washing every day or two, you might want to consider buying flats, prefolds, pockets or synthetic fibers AIO’s, all of which will dry faster than natural fiber AIO’s.
Price Point
If you’re hoping to diaper your babe from day one, but don’t have a ton of cash, you might want to consider flats or prefolds, which are much more economical.
A Variety of Newborn Cloth Diapers
Ultimately, I chose to sample a number of newborn cloth diapers when buying for my first baby. I didn’t know much about cloth diapers and tried a little bit of everything. It was fun to pick out my favorite prints from different brands and learn how each one worked.
With my second daughter, I knew exactly what I wanted. I was looking for newborn diapers that were on the bigger side, since my first daughter was 8 lbs 6, and the doctor told me she thought my new babe would be even bigger. I wanted a diaper to last more than a couple of months, be made of natural fibers, and have an option for adding a booster. bonus points for having a snap for the umbilical cords and the sweetest prints. You can find out which diaper I choose here.
It’s up to you if you want to stick with one brand for your newborn stash, or you want to try lots of brands. Either way, you are making a big impact on reducing the garbage in our landfills, and that deserves big kudos to you!
Don’t forget the Amazon now offers a baby registry that is so easy to use! You can register for all the baby items you need in one place. Amazon has tons of different cloth diapers and cloth diaper accessories, so you can get whatever you need! Click here to start your Amazon Baby Registry now!
Did you have a newborn stash? If so, which newborn cloth diapers do you love? Comment below!
Want to have more details on individual newborn cloth diapers? Check out these reviews:
Blueberry Mini-Deluxe (AKA my favorite cloth diaper of all time)
Blueberry Simplex Newborn Diaper
Want to learn more about cloth diapers in general? Read these posts:
The Top Five Reasons Why You Should Cloth Diaper and What to Tell the Haters
Ten Reasons to Love Cloth Diapers
Which Cloth Diapers Are Right for You?
I thought about doing these when my daughter was born. I twas just too much for us – but this sounds awesome!
Really good advice. I didn’t use cloth diapers with my daughter, but I wouldn’t really have known where to start!
Thanks for all these great suppliers of cloth diapers. I wish I could have given them a try! So environmental ; )
Great tips, we have been CDing for 6 months now and I’m so grateful for the helpful info I found on blogs!! Keep them comin