Week 1 Favorite Cloth Diapers

I sit here with my little boy asleep on me amazed that he's now 9 days old. Before he was born I spent a lot of time, more than I care to admit, reading and watching and learning about cloth diapering.  We started cloth diapering him in the hospital. I wish I could say he didn't have a disposable on his butt but after delivery after we bonded through skin to skin (after he peed on me)...the nurses took him to weigh him and measure him and handed him back in a diaper. We had an incredibly hard labor, which I will share the story of soon, and the last thing I could think about was worrying about his diaper. We didn't know if he would need to be put in the NICU so while he was watched we used disposables but at the first mention of us being discharged he got his first fluffy butt. 

First diaper: Sprinkles - Born Smart Smart Bottoms. 

This is what his dad chose. I mean who wouldn't love a donut diaper. The nurses and the hospital photographer kept saying they had never seen anything like it before. In fact they said they never have seen cloth diapers in the hospital. I'm surprised with how popular cloth diapering has become and the awareness of it. The reason most I've read give for not doing it is not wanting to come home with laundry. I was willing to risk it as I work in a hospital and every single thing that came home first thing when straight into the washer. I don't regret it at all. If I had it to do again I would cloth from the beginning or at least from his first diaper from me on.  We used disposable liners through the meconium stage and the diapers have no stains even when the liner didn't work. So don't let meconium scare you. 

So a week in what do I think about cloth diapering? 

I love it. 

I think with all my research I wasn't naive about the things that we might encounter and it also helped me know some of what was needed and what wasn't. What it couldn't tell me was what size the baby was going to be when he came out or what would fit him. So we bought and were gifted a variety. We chose to do a newborn stash which I know some people don't because they say its such a small window they fit in them, but we wanted to cloth for health reasons so we were willing to make the investment. We also figured we hoped to have other children. 

Baby boy was born 7 pounds 1 ounce at 20 inches long. He was born at 38 weeks 3 days.  He lost some weight as babies do and I think got down to 6 lbs 3 ounces at one point. My milk came in and this breast fed baby has grown. Last measurement was 6 lbs 15 ounces. So we were dealing with small legs small waist and a cord stump. 

Week 1 Favorite Cloth Diapers

Best Fitted: Ecoposh fitted- these little guys rock. We use with a cover to be safe but honestly I don't think we even need it. They are made from recycled water bottles apparently. We ordered off zulily because it was way cheaper and we were trying to stay on budget. My husband loves them and I think they are wonderful for overnight. We have ordered a few more. 

Best cover: Rumparooz newborn cover. Hands down the only one that fit when he was down in the 6 pound range and now that he's gone back up I can get some of the others on but week 1 this was  our main jam. We have 3 snaps and 1 with hook and loop. I believe I like the snaps better.  Runner up is best bottoms. We only have one so he's only had it on the bum a few times but it's the only diaper of them all he isn't on the smaller size. 

Best prefold - Thirsties duo hemp. I know everyone loves the green mountain prefolds and I like them too. Why then did I not pick them? The GMD orange edge prefolds are wet all the way through and all around when I go to change him. Thirsties stay dry the outside. and stand up to more time overnight. Little man doesn't wake up upset he's wet. I will say for prefolds of all kinds I've been using the angel wing fold with a snappi. Other uses may yield different results. These are more expensive but time will tell if thats worth it. We thankfully were gifted 3, and 2 we got on super sale. I wish we had more but its enough to cover a night.  We were gifted 12 orange edge refolds and I have been using them during the day when I can change him much more frequent. They do a great job and I love how easy to wash and dry. 

Best all in one- this is a hard one. We tried Thirsties- which I like but the legs have a gap and we had a leak so I need a chunkier baby for those. Grovia newborn all in ones have been good. No leaks but they take a long time to dry. Little Joeys and Smart bottoms give us the best fit for certain. So what's my favorite between these two? I may pick Smart Bottoms Born Smart because they are more trim and easier to fit in the car seat. Love them both though on my little man. Smart Bottoms does win on prints. 

We didn't try any all in 2s, disposables or wool. I also didn't even try and put my little man in a one size as most of them start at 8-10 lbs I do have a few brands and styles but until his cord is fully off this is what we are working with. 

We tried a few other things I didn't list on the favorites. Maybe when we finish newborn cloth diapering I'll do a run down of everything we tried and my thoughts if anyone would be interested in that. 

What are your newborn favorites if you cloth diapered? 

For those wondering- it really is easy. Wear and throw in the washing machine. If you can work a washing machine you can do this. Alright little man is waking up and needs a diaper change. 

If you have any cloth diaper questions let me know.  I'm just a first time mom navigating the cloth world. Oh how sweet is a fluffy little butt. 

Anita