Baby Stuff Overload
Published by Beth on Friday, June 13, 2008 at 5:29 PMA pregnant friend of mine sent me a picture of her the other day, so we could all see how far along she is. At 37 weeks, she's counting the days! I've been reflecting on that and realizing that that will be me in 15, no, make that 14 weeks. Yikes! I began skimming websites with baby stuff and feeling way more than slightly overwhelmed. So I'm going to ask for advice, starting near the beginning, one thing at a time. I've already decided on a crib and car seat, so here's my first question:
I'm adamant about cloth diapering, but feel utterly lost when looking at all the products available. What all does a new mother need? I also want diapers that can grow with the baby, so I'm not constantly having to buy new ones. And since we plan on having more kids (someday), I would like something that is durable. Any thoughts?
And if you want something that will last multiple kids, you'll want snaps instead of velcro.
I've been looking into this, as I originally purchased prefolds, then moved up to bumGenius one-size pockets. I was disappointed with the fact that the velcro won't last more than one child. So when it's time to replace those, I think we'll go with the baby kangas that you'll find on the above mentioned site.
As far as inserts go, we're really impressed with the cottonbabies one-size microfiber insert. (You can find those under Diaper Accesories at the one-size link).
Well, I gotta go pack - leaving on vacation tomorrow! But ANY questions about cloth diapers can be shot my way. :-) I hope you have more!
Since you sew, you may want to make some or all of your own. I'm sewing various cloth diapers right now. Yes, sort of last minute (due in just over a week. . . ). I can't speak from experience of actually cloth-diapering, so I'll leave that to Beth, and ramble about sewing options instead, in case you're interested.
I made prefolds a while ago, (making them from used flannel receiving blankets, like this. Right now I'm working on some fitteds using this pattern (a present from my sister), and when my polyurethane laminate (PUL) and fold-over elastic (FOE) come in the mail hopefully today, I'm going to make some covers with the same pattern. Aplix and touchtape (better qualities of hook and loop than velcro) are supposed to last a while, so you may still be able to use velcro-type closures. Velcro is NOT long-lasting for diapers, supposedly. Some people find fleece covers to also work well, and I've made a few of those that turned out adorable! I used this incredibly easy pattern.
My favorite diaper pattern I've found (and it's free!) is Rita's Rump Pocket pattern. It's incredibly easy and quick to sew up. And I like the fact that pockets are quick-drying. And it's a one-size-fits-most pattern! Meaning, it won't fit really tiny babies or over-sized toddlers. But a woman on a cloth diaper sewing message board I lurk on said she printed the pattern out at 85% scaling, and it fit newborns perfectly. So conceivably, you could use the 85% pattern for small babies, and then move up to the full size to fit for most of the rest (or all the rest) of diapering. They're cheap, since you don't have to buy aplix or touchtape, and easier to pin than prefolds (just one pin in front). As for durability, I have no experience there, but a lot of women online really like them, and they're so cheap and easy to make that even if they didn't last through ALL your children, I think you'd get very good use out of them. Especially if you use good-quality flannel, not $1/yard at Wal-mart flannel :-). I bought a queen size flannel sheet set at Salvation Army for $4, and I'm going to be able to get 20 newborn Rita's Rumps out of it, or 16 regular size. The flannel was in excellent condition, and double-napped for better absorbency.
I could ramble longer, but I'll spare you. If you are interested in sewing some diapers, I'd suggest checking out the message forum I linked above. And also, as a note, you can end up spending a LOT of money on sewing your own diapers (but still cheaper than buying them pre-made), or you can do it more economically if you're more flexible. I have zillions of old-shirts I don't need and thrift store receiving blankets and extra old towels that have served me very well for fabric, and saved me a bundle.
As far as snaps versus Vecro, I've heard that snaps wear out quickly.