Getting Started to Going Nuts - How many cloth diapers do you need anyway?
I personally got started with 2 dozen unbleached chinese prefolds that I purchased used from another cloth diapering mother I knew from an online parenting board. Buying gently used diapers on eBay and discussion boards is a very economical way to not only get started, but also sample the different diaper styles available without spending a lot of money.
For more detail about preparing to cloth diaper a newborn read my Newborn Diapering article.
Getting Started
- 2 - 3 Dozen Diapers. Prefolds are an excellent backbone for ANY cloth diapering system. People are often surprised to find that I even USE prefolds with all this fabric at my fingertips, but prefolds dry fast and the good kind (only found online) are one of the most absorbent diapers you'll ever own.
- 4 - 6 Diaper Covers. While many people want all AIOs (all in ones)... a separate diaper and cover is much more economical. You can rotate two covers throughout the day by airing one out while the other is in use, this works well as long as the diaper doesn't leak any poop onto the cover. Once that occurs, into the diaper pail it goes. We carry a few different diaper cover patterns, you can sew your own diaper covers for a fraction of the cost of buying new. If you want to buy covers, Proraps are an industrial, hard working cover with gussets and you can sometimes get seconds directly from the company for .00 each. Their phone number is 1-800-397-8594. Or you can find them online at a lot of WAHM (work-at-home-mother) stores. Another brand we like is the Bummis Super Whisper Wraps and I've heard good things about Bumkins wraps as well.
- 6 - 12 Doublers for extra absorbency. Some people find they don't need them until their baby is much older (around 6 to 8 months) but we had a heavy wetter who slept like a log all night long early on. Without a doubler, his prefold was saturated, and his cover started to leak by morning. With a doubler all was well come sun-up. If you are having trouble with a cover leaking or an AIO not performing, try a doubler first. You might just need more absorbent layers!
- A Diaper Pail. Any basic trash can with a flip top lid will work well.
- Roomy Diaper Bag. Trash that awful tiny diaper bag you got free from the hospital. It's plastered with formula advertisements and dad is embarrassed to carry something with pink elephants all over it. A regular backpack works well, or we like the diaper bags from Skip Hop. They are built well and stay looking new for a long time.
- 24 - 36 Cloth Wipes. Make them out of your flannel scraps or buy cheap packs of baby washcloths.
Branching Out
- 3-4 Dozen Diapers. This is a great number to have on hand. My grandmother thinks 5 dozen is the perfect number... I'm not sure you need THAT many. After all, you don't want to wait a whole week between doing laundry, your pail will start growing things.
- 6-8 Diaper Wraps. I think 8 is plenty, but I have 10 so I can keep a couple extra in the diaper bag for those quick run-out-the-door moments when I invariably forget to pack a cover.
- 4 Night Time Wraps. I love wool covers for night time, especially for heavy wetters. Wool pants are great too.
The Fun Stuff
- 24-36 Cloth Wipes. The deluxe kind! We finally made wipes with one side of velour and one side stretch terry. The creme-de-la-creme of cloth wipes, velour grabs those poopie messies and cleans so well. I also like wipes made of two layers of sherpa knit terry.
- 5 - 15 Fancy All-in-Ones. Certainly not necessary, but many feel they are nice to have for road trips or showing off at the family reunion.
- Washable Wet Bag. Stop putting those cloth diapers in zip lock baggies. Make your own wet bag out of our waterproof PUL fabric.
- Washable Diaper Pail Liner. Make one from our waterproof PUL fabric. Nice if you don't want to wash out your diaper pail should one of those poopies smear a trail down the side when you toss it in. You can use the pail liner like a glove and dump the dipes into the wash, turning the pail liner inside out and throwing it in too. Make a few extra and use them on overnight trips as well.
- Microfleece Liners. If you want a dry feeling bottom for your kiddo, line those diapers with hand cut microfleece liners. Microfleece will wick moisture away and solid poop won't stick to it, making clean up easier. It's also a bit easier to rinse a microfleece liner instead of the whole diaper should your baby reward you with a mooshypoopoo. You can hand cut a dozen or so yourself, the edges don't need to be sewn as microfleece won't unravel or fray. Cut them in rectangles or get fancy and cut hour glasses to fit your diapers perfectly. Wash them with your other diapers or fleece items.
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