First, a quick update on my cloth diapering. I have tried one Ragababe all-in-one diaper and an Apple Cheeks swim diaper since my last CD post.
The Apple Cheeks swim diaper is super great: a great green color, really thin so water (and pee) just flow right through it (this is normal in swim reusable diapers) and easy to snap in the front. They come in 2 sizes and for now, Kayla fits into a small. I will probably need to buy a new diaper next year (and maybe for our family trip to Hawaii in 3 months...woohoo!)
The Ragababe is so far my most favorite diaper. It's an awesome aqua color; it's easy to close with the hook and loop closure, it's REALLY trim and super absorbent. So far, I have no cons about this awesome diaper, except for the fact that they are impossible to get my CD addict hands on!!! If you recall my post from the end of June, I couldn't even refresh the page to buy any at the last stocking, however, last night I scored 2 more all-in-ones!! I'm hoping for a few more in the near future to review!
I also have started to try using cloth wipes. I bought some Ragababe wipes (you can most definitely make your own and save some money but I kinda wanted to try these). I made my own solution with water, baby shampoo/wash and olive oil/baby oil. I actually didn't have the oil at first (it's to help the wipe glide over baby's bottom easier) which caused Kayla to have some serious redness. So far I find cloth wipes to be easier to use with cloth diapers since I just toss them in the laundry with my diapers. I will update my cloth diapering page as soon as I get some time.
Ok, onto the newborn cloth diaper research. I have tried to post some links (some to pages with reviews) and if you don't want to read through all my crap, scroll down to the links below to dirty diaper laundry video reviews!
All-in-one diapers: no stuffing (for the most part) most similar to disposables, need to buy sizes as baby grows. (NB diapers recommended to me are in BLUE.)
- Ragababe NB AIO (newborn all-in-one): I honestly think these might be the best to buy. They are very absorbent and trim and very easy to use. There is a pocket if you need/want to have extra stuffing for overnight or a heavy wetter. A big downer to these diapers is that they are pricey and basically impossible to get at this moment in time, until Joy and the RagaTeam are able to increase their production and open up full time. Link
- Bumgenius XS: I have BGs one size diapers. I like them but they wouldn't be small enough for a newborn I don't think depending on baby's size. Link
- GroVia NB AIO: Again, I have a GroVia one size hybrid diaper and I love it, but I can't speak about these diapers in particular. Link
- Rumparooz Lil Joeys: Again, I have a rumparooz one size diaper. I like it because it has internal gussets. Lots of moms LOVE this lil joey diaper (it has a snap down for the cord.) Link
Pocket NBs: have to stuff an insert in, may be quite difficult to stuff those tiny pockets, AIOs probably easier for NBs.
- Fuzzibunz XS: Another CD mom favorite is fuzzibunz..I think the biggest downfall would be stuffing the teeny tiny pocket. Link
- Thirsties Duo Size 1: I literally know hardly anything about this diaper but tons of people like their Thirsties. Link
Other dipes:
- Kissaluvs Size 0 with cover: I think when I CD my next baby I'll probably get some fitteds or flats with covers for that newborn phase since I have mostly one size diapers or diaper that grow with baby for once they get bigger. Link
- Sustainable Babyish fitted or flats with cover: see above! Link
- Ragababe 2-step size 0: This diaper will grow with the baby at least a little bit, and you already know my love hate relationship with RagaBabe. :) Link
Sometimes I feel like I have too much to say about cloth diapers and it comes out making no sense at all. So if you got anything from the above...congratulations you are probably the only one! :) I have linked some awesome reviews below but here's what I would probably recommend/what I will probably do.
I would definitely stick with all-in-one diapers and/or fitted/flats with covers for a newborn. You will be changing their diaper so often and they are so tiny that I think all-in-ones would probably be the easiest. Put it on, take it off, toss it in the laundry. No extra fuss or anything with that. Flats/prefolds can be great however because you can fold them to whatever size you want and slap a cover over them. Also, later on you can use them as burp rags or as inserts to other diapers and covers you have!
I really can't do this review justice without linking you to these amazing reviews at dirtydiaperlaundry.com (a great blog). They did an extensive (and I mean extensive review) you can see here and here. These reviews are seriously awesome. She talks about whether or not they are cord friendly, leaks/absorbency, overall rating and whether she would use them again and THEN she discusses the diapers versus their one size counterparts. I would definitely say though that all babies are different with cloth diapering too. A diaper that works well for my baby might not work as well for yours based on their size - thighs, skinny/chubbiness, length of torso, etc.
Please leave me a comment, message me, whatever if you have any questions. I seriously love talking about cloth diapering and if I don't immediately know the answer to your question or what to tell you, I'll gladly point you in the right direction on where to find the answer after I do some research!!! :)
I think the reason a lot of people like to use prefolds or flats with covers for NBs is that its cheaper than the AIOs or pockets. When you're changing 20+ dipes a day it can get expensive to have enough CDs on hand to use cloth full time. That is my experience at least, which for NB cloth diapering is VERY limited, since we didn't start right away. We most likely will start using cloth with our 2nd once he or she reaches the point that they fit into the OS dipes we already have. I might buy a few smaller ones in case AJ is still in dipes, but who knows?!
ReplyDeleteI think this was a good overview for the NB stage, but I know that when I was researching CDing, it was so intimidating to see all the different types and then you add in some of the AIOs are OS and some aren't, etc. and it gets super confusing!
My advice to wanna-be cloth diaperers is to get a few different types and try them out, you can always sell them or trade them if you don't like them or they don't work! Before we started I certainly didn't know which ones we'd end up liking and which we wouldn't!
I definitely agree with This American Wife!!! I think it's so overwhelming and confusing and that's probably why I feel like I sounds like I'm talking gibberish!
ReplyDeleteAnd totally agree with the trying a few kinds...the only problem with that is then you have to wait until baby is there to really build a stash of diapers that work for you!