After four months of cloth diapering, both part-time and full time, this is a run down of my experiences. I have included lots of links to the products that I like the most for anyone that may be interested.
When I was pregnant I purchased prefold and flat diapers to use as the absorbant part. Had I known then what I know now, I would have purchased more flats and less prefolds. I purchased a variety of waterproof covers to use over them. I also got a free pocket diaper with an order, but have yet to make that work for us with any consistency.
When we brought Gideon home, I was very excited to start cloth diapering. It didn't really work out as I expected though. He was nearly nine pounds and his cord stump took forever to fall off. Newborn covers with cord dips were barely fitting anymore. Small covers that otherwise fit fine would rub and irritate his cord stump. So we part-time diapered until his stump fell off and we could use his Flip covers.
Poop has been a non-issue for us so far. Since breastfed poop is completely water soluble I do not need to dunk or swish my diapers. Everything goes in the wash as is and comes out clean and fresh smelling. I used to put oxyclean in every wash but I don't do anything special to fight stains anymore, so my diapers are a bit "colorful" these days. When we start solids I'm going to invest in a diaper sprayer for poopy messes.
If I could do the whole newborn stage over again... I would have purchased preemie prefolds instead of newborn. It would have been trimmer and he would have gone straight from preemies into small Clotheez Flats . I would also want to have about six Bummis Newborn Pull-On covers and six Thirsties Duo Wraps Size One (snap version). Pull on covers can be tucked under cord stumps and Thirsties Duo Wraps are very adjustable. Throw in some Snappis and/or Boingos to fasten the prefolds/flats and that is my perfect newborn stash!
After Gideon's cord stump fell off, we began to use Flip one-size diaper covers. They fit him great and contained almost any mess Gideon could unleash upon them. We stuffed a pad-folded Flat or tri-folded Prefold in the cover and it was both trim and absorbant. I would have been a die-hard Flip fan if I hadn't stumbled upon Diaper Safari Covers, which are similar but fit just a bit better and are $5 cheaper.
Diaper Safari Covers with a Clotheez Small Flat diaper are my favorite diaper combination at the moment. This is plenty absorbant during the day and not bulky at all. Unfortunately we have had to use disposables at night recently as we try to find a nighttime diaper combo that will keep us dry in the morning.
My perfect stash at the moment would probably be one dozen small Flats, two dozen large Flats, two or three of every color Diaper Safari Cover I like, a half dozen Bumgenius Elementals for baby-sitters and outings, and some super absorbant hemp fitteds with Bummis Pull-On Covers for overnight.
Surprisingly, my husband has become a big fan of cloth diapers. He was very skeptical of cloth at first, but now would choose that over a disposable every time.
Overall, I've had a really good experience with cloth diapering. They contain poopy blowouts better than any disposable ever could. They smell less than a disposable. They are definately cheaper in the long run. My Son's bum is getting a lot less chemical exposure. And I'm leaving less waste behind for future generations to have to deal with.
Did I mention that they are way cuter too?
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