The Newborn Stash

I realized after I finished posting my Great Diaper Search series, that I didn't talk about what I'd be using for the newborn stage.  Most of the diapers that I selected in the Great Diaper Search series are One Size (OS) diapers or size smalls, and although they say they will fit a newborn, in reality they will most likely not fit till my baby is about 10 pounds.  That leaves me with about two to three months of the newborn phase that I need a diapering solution for.

I wanted to take a few things into consideration when choosing my newborn diaper stash...

FUNCTIONALITY

At the top of my list is functionality.  The last thing I want to do is buy a whole stash of diapers that don't work.  I know the newborn stage is going to be full of explosive poops and frequent diaper changes so I'm looking for a diaper solution that is going to contain all of that mess and contain it well.

EASE OF USE

Although this is baby number three for my husband Brian and I, we both know that those first months are tough and the last thing I want is to complicate my daily routine more than I have to.  For this reason, I want to make sure that whatever diapers we choose for this early stage are easy to use whether I'm conscious, or unconscious from lack of sleep.

COST
Obviously I don't want to spend a ton on diapers that I will only use for a very short amount of time.  I don't want to sacrifice all of my other deciding factors for cost, but it definitely is a consideration.

RESALE VALUE
With cost comes resale value.  In order to recoup some of the money I spend on these diapers so that I can buy more diapers for the later stages, I plan to sell my newborn stash.  For this reason I want to make sure that I buy well known brands that will be easy to re-sell.

AESTHETICS
At the bottom of my list is aesthetics.  Although I don't want them to look ugly, I just think that for this shortly used stash of diapers, looks are not my top priority.  You can't go too wrong with a fluffy butt though.  Newborns in cloth is going to be cute no matter what.

So where did all these requirements lead me to you ask?  Well they lead me all over the board and back again.  I first started out thinking I would just use disposables till our baby could fit into OS diapers and size smalls.  Then I realized that this could take up to three months.  I didn't want my baby in disposables for three months and if you compare the cost of disposables over three months at $300 to the cost of my selected newborn stash at $221 after I resell the AIO's, fitteds, & covers at 50% of retail (I can most likely get more than that, but 50% is minimum), it just makes sense to go cloth.  So I scratched that idea.

My next idea was to do a rental program.  A lot of sites have great newborn cloth rental programs where you pay a fee, but get half of it back in cash or credit when you return the diapers.  This sounded great till I talked with Brian and he didn't like the idea of putting our newborn baby in used diapers.  So I scratched that idea.

My next idea was to purchase fairly inexpensive cloth diapers and re-sell them.  This lead me to fitted diapers with covers.  As far as functionality I felt this solution was a slam dunk.  Nothing would contain breastfed poops better than the double protection of a fitted with a cover.  Then I started thinking about ease of use.  Maybe the two step process of a fitted with a cover would be too much work.  Time to re-think.

My next idea was to purchase half fitted diapers and covers, and the other half all-in-ones.  This would give me two options during the day and night.  I could use a very easy AIO diaper, or I could use a very functional fitted diaper with a cover.  I even added in 6 prefolds just to try them out because everyone said it was the way to go despite my skepticism.  Then the prefolds kept creeping into my mind and how inexpensive they are and it was time to re-think.

This brought me to my final newborn stash decision...

BumGenius All-In-One (AIO) - Size XS (Qty: 6)
The main reason I chose this diaper was for ease of use.  I wanted to make sure that Brian had a go-to diaper that he would feel comfortable with.  These diapers go on just like a disposable and just as fast with hook and loop closures instead of snap.  They're also a very well priced AIO diaper made by a well known company that will be easy to re-sell when we're done with them.  I hear their functionality is pretty good, but they do run really small so I only decided to purchase six of these.  These diapers retail for about $12.95 each.  Click HERE for more info.


Kissaluvs Cotton Fleece Fitted Diaper 2.0 - Size 0 (Qty: 12)
The main reason I chose this diaper was for functionality.  I feel after lots of research that nothing beats a fitted with a cover when it comes to breastfed baby poop.  I chose the brand Kissaluvs because it's an economical fitted diaper that is made by a well known company so it should be easy to re-sell.  They might not be the easiest solution to use since they have snaps, but I balanced that out by making sure that the cover had hook and loop closures.  These diapers retail for about $13.95 each.  Click HERE for more info.

Thirsties Duo Wrap - Size 0 (Qty: 6)
This wrap has a lot of good things going for it.  It's functional with it's inner leg gussets that keep messes in.  It's easy to use with it's hook and loop closures.  It's a fairly cost effective cover.  It is made by a well known company so they should be easy to sell.  And they come in several cute colors and patterns.  This diaper cover retails for about $12.75 each.  Click HERE for more info.

Cloth-eez Prefold Diapers (GMD) - Size Newborn (Qty: 12)
Originally I didn't plan on using prefolds because I didn't think they'd be the most functional or the easiest to use, and frankly they intimidated me.  After lots of research though I realized that many parents find these to actually be quite easy and functional in the newborn stage as well as your most economical solution.  After so many people told me to give it a try, I finally just had to break down and at least give them a chance.  The other great thing about newborn prefolds is that I can use them as doublers to increase the absorbency in my diapers later down the road.  These diapers retail for about $28.00 per dozen.  Click HERE for more info.

BabyKicks Hemparoo Fleece Prefold - Size S (Qty: 3)
Going along the lines of the fact that I can use newborn prefolds as doublers later down the road and that hemp is more absorbent than cotton, I decided to get just a few of these hemp prefolds to try out.  They definitely aren't the most cost effective prefold, but I think the functionality of them should outweigh the cost.  These diapers retail for about $5.99 each.  Click HERE for more info.

Cloth-eez Prefold Diapers (GMD) - Size Small (Qty: 12)
I know I already have some cotton prefolds on this list in the newborn size, but I wanted to make sure I had a transition diaper to use in case I have an in-between stage where the newborn diapers are too small and the OS diapers still don't fit.  Even if the second set of diapers does fit, I am not purchasing enough of them for a full stash till after I test them, so I'll need some filler diapers in the meantime.  That's where the size small prefolds come into play.  These diapers retail for about $33.00 per dozen.  Click HERE for more info.

So there is my newborn cloth diaper solution.  After several weeks of thinking about it, I feel very confident that this will be the best solution for our family.  I can't wait till this fall when our little boy is born and and I put him in his first cloth diaper.  He's going to look so cute!  Well, I guess it's on to more research of other things.  Hope this post has helped you out and hope you're enjoying my Adventures In Fluff.