Cloth Diapering From Day 1 Series: Building a Newborn Stash

Welcome to the second installment in our series, Cloth Diapering From Day 1! In this post, we will discuss everything you need to start cloth diapering your baby at birth, including how many diapers you will need (and various options that work well with newborns), what accessories are "must-haves" and what accessories are "nice to have".


First, we'll start with the diapers!    


How many diapers? A newborn may go through anywhere from 12-15 diapers/day! If this is your first baby, you might be floored by that number, but don't worry, you'll be a pro after just a few days! Also remember that some of those diapers will be from when baby decides it's "go" time right in the middle of a diaper change! Aren't you glad you can just toss that in the wash instead of throwing it out?! We recommend washing your cloth diapers every 2-3 days to prevent stinkies and stains. Put those 2 numbers together and to successfully cloth diaper a newborn, you will need 24-36 diapers! Remember that if you are using a system that has separate covers (like prefolds with covers or Best Bottom Diapers), you will need on average 1 cover for every 3 diapers.


What kind of diapers? This is really a personal preference and is going to depend on how much you want to invest in your newborn stash and what type of diaper you are comfortable changing. Some people like to have all of the same type of diaper, while others find that different types work best for different situations. I'm in that last group! Since one of our main reasons to cloth diaper was to save money, we like to use prefolds and covers.to make up the majority of our newborn stash since they are so cost-effective! But I'm like many of the sleep deprived moms out there, and the thought of trying to Snappi a prefold on and make sure everything is in the covers during middle of the night changes wears me out! In order to get the most use of our covers, I love using fitteds at night with them so make it just a bit more user-friendly in the dark :) I also like to have several newborn size all-in-ones or pockets on hand for those changing my baby who may not be familiar with cloth diapers, and some uber-trim Best Bottoms for light packing in my diaper bag!


So for me, an ideal newborn stash would be:
18 XS or Small Prefolds
6-8 XS or Small Diaper Covers
6 XS or Small Fitted Diapers
6 XS or Small Pockets/All-In-Ones
3 Best Bottom Shells and 9 Small Best Bottom Inserts


Other very popular options for many of our Nicki's Diapers customers for cloth diapering their newborn:
Option 1 "Economical": 36 XS or Small Prefolds, 10-12 XS or Small Diaper Covers
Option 2 "Easy": 24-36 XS or Small Pocket Diapers or All-In-Ones
Option 3 "Economical and Easy!": 9 Best Bottom Diaper Shells, 24-36 Best Bottom Diaper Inserts


Next, the accessories!


Must-haves: Besides your diapers, there are a few things that I strongly suggest you have on hand to make cloth diapering successful for you! The following things I consider "non-optional":

• Dirty Diaper Storage- You will need to store the soiled diapers in either a diaper pail with a pail liner or a hanging wet bag. You can use a simple flip-top kitchen can or a pail designed specifically for cloth diapers. The most important thing to remember is to find one that allows air flow to the diapers. A tight fitting lid actually causes more odor than one that is loose fitting! Most pail liners will have either an elastic top to stretch to fit your pail, or a drawstring. I would suggest having 2 pail liners so that there is always one on the pail when washing. Another great option for dirty diaper storage is a hanging wet bag. I LOVE the Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag for several reasons. They are seam sealed so I have zero leaking of odor or moisture. They have an extra "dry" pocket for storing clean diapers and the come in a huge variety of prints to match my baby's room! My favorite thing though, is that they travel SO well! No worries about toting a diaper pail with you, just toss dirty diapers in your Planet Wise Hanging Wet/Dry Bag and zip it up!
• Diaper Closures- If you're using prefold or contour diapers, I strongly suggest using a Snappi or diaper pins to close the diaper under your cover. Newborn poop is notoriously runny and by making sure the diaper is on nice and snug, you'll be able to use your diaper covers many more times between washing. That means fewer covers to buy! There are many people who still like to use diaper pins, but I prefer Snappis to prevent poking myself or my baby :)
• On-the-Go- Believe it or not, you WILL get out of the house those first several weeks and when you do, you'll need something to store a dirty diaper in your diaper bag. I suggest a Planet Wise Wet/Dry Bag. These smaller versions of the much-loved Hanging Wet/Dry Bags are perfect for keeping a clean diaper and wipes in the front "dry" pocket, and holding in any odor or moisture in the "wet" pocket. You might even find that for quick trips, you can toss your keys and wallet into the dry pouch and leave the big diaper bag at home!
• Cloth Wipes- You're using cloth diapers, why not make it even easier with cloth wipes?! 20-30 or so cloth wipes should be plenty to get you 2-3 days between washing and instead of having to have a separate garbage can next to your changing table for disposable wipes, these can be tossed right in with your diapers! You can keep your wipes dry and spray them (or baby's bottom) when changing a diaper, or you can gold them in half and store them wet in a disposable wipes container. Try your hand at making your own wet wipe solution with water, lavender oil and chamomile oil, or use a pre-made concentrate like Lusa Wipe Juice!
• Cloth Diaper Friendly Detergent- You'll want to make sure to take care of your diapers and keep them nice and absorbent! Chose a detergent that is free of additives, including softeners. Many people think a baby-friendly detergent is good for cloth diapers, when in reality many of them contain ingredients that may harm your diapers. Nicki's carries a wide selection of detergents that will work beautifully on your diapers! 

Nice-to-Have: If you want to make cloth diapering even EASIER, you might want to consider looking into these accessories, although I do consider them "optional".

• Cloth "friendly" Diaper Cream- I say that in quotations because I really don't consider any diaper cream to be truly cloth diaper friendly. Some creams are certainly easier on your diapers and if you get a small amount on them, it won't ruin them! My favorite creams are Lusa Booty Balm (LOVE this on dry hands and faces, too!) and CJ's BUTT-er. If you are going to cloth diaper from birth, you will likely have to deal with sticky meconium poop and putting a little cream on your baby's bottom will make it easier to wipe it off. Again, I do recommend using a liner (see below!) with your CD "friendly" cream.
• Liners- You can use either disposable or reusable liners to prevent diaper cream (see above!) from getting on your cloth diapers. Fleece liners can also be used to make natural fibers stay-dry. Both of my boys have been pretty sensitive to feeling wet, so I like to keep these on hand to use in our prefolds and fitted diapers. 

Are you ready for your chance to win a Cloth Diapering Accessory Kit?!

You can do each one of the entries however you must post back here to our blog and tell us WHAT you did. Be sure you follow the Nicki’s Diapers blog - publicly for your chance to win!  We will post our winner on Thursday, November 17th!

How do you enter to win? (Each worth 1 entry per day unless otherwise stated)

REQUIRED ENTRIES:
Follow the Nicki’s Diaper blog publicly.

• "Like" Nicki's Diapers on Facebook- Be sure to state your facebook name when you post back here.

OPTIONAL ENTRIES:

• Blog about our giveaway and link back to our site.  When you post back here you must link to the URL where you blogged.  (2 entries)
• Follow Nicki’s Diapers @nickisdiapers on Twitter and Tweet about this giveaway.  Leave the URL where you Tweeted.
• Tweet @nickisdiapers #clothdiapers (1 entry for each unique tweet)
• Tweet @planetwise #clothdiapers #wetbags (1 entry for each unique tweet)
• Tweet @bestbottomdiapers #clothdiapers (1 entry for each unique tweet)
• Like Best Bottom Diapers, Planet Wise and My Swim Baby on Facebook - Be sure to state your facebook name when you post back here. (1 entry for each)
• Suggest the following facebook pages to your friends:  Nicki’s Diapers , Best Bottom Diapers , Planet Wise.  You must post back here telling us which friend accepted your page suggestion.  (1 entry per page for each person you suggest that LIKES us)
• Grab our button and place them on your blog.  Post a link to the blog here. (2 entries per blog - per button)
• Start or comment on a discussion on the Nicki's Diapers facebook page discussion board. 
• Blog about your choice to cloth diaper and include a link to www.nickisdiapers.com (2 entries)
• Tag @nicki'sdiapers or @bestbottomdiapers, or @planetwise in a facebook post (1 entry for each tag)
• Have a friend subscribe to our blog. Post their username in your comment. You can do this as many times as you can get friends to subscribe! 
• Talk about Nicki's Diapers on any forum and include a link to www.nickisdiapers.com.
• Sign up for the Nicki's Diapers newsletter (enter your email address on the top right of our homepage).
• Start a thread about this giveaway on any baby or cloth diapering related forum and include a link to your thread.  (2 entries)
• Place an order at nickisdiapers.com, myswimbaby.com or clothdiaperclearance.com between 11/10/11 and 11/16/11. Include your order number in your entry.
• Tell us what your essential cloth diapering accessories are!

GOOD LUCK!!