Cloth Diapering a Newborn

Over a year before my daughter was born I got a chance to sew a newborn stash for a Mama friend of mine. It was at that moment that I began looking forward to cloth diapering my own newborn. With all the zeal I had for cloth, I encouraged everyone I knew to give it a try, and a few did. Those that I knew didn't follow through - at least for the newborn stage. I had to wonder, why?

Fast forward to now (April 23, 2013 to be exact), to the birth of my beautiful, perfect, precious daughter, Cassidy Ann. A couple of the Mama friends that I helped sew newborn stashes for gifted their own back to me to use for my daughter. I didn't have to make her anything new. (Phew...I have to tell you that as excited as I get about sewing cloth diapers, it's a lot of work for me!) I decided that with all my other special requests at the hospital (re: eye ointment, Vit K, Hep B, and the vernix) that I wouldn't want to look any crazier and ask them to let me only use cloth. The plan was for Cassidy to be in hospital-provided Pampers until we got home. On our first night, I spent 20 minutes trying on different diaper and cover combos, only to finally give up on all the bulk and stick one of those Pampers on her (it's okay, it was leftover from the hospital, haha). This was when I realized the initial challenge that stands up against a new mom when trying to use cloth for such a small babe.

With Samweli being born at 9lbs, 7oz, he was never in newborn diapers. He went straight to size 1. That should tell you how big he was and why I never imagined that 2 tiny pieces of flannel sewn together could possibly look so huge on even the tiniest full-term baby. Day 2 at home brought it's own challenges - like having a big brother around. This made anything that was more than "basic" difficult. Luckily my amazing mom came and picked him up for a while, and I was able to work at re-sorting my stash. Now that I had a little one to size them up to I had a better idea of which ones would work best on her.

Here is a look at what's in my newborn stash:

I chose to do fitteds and covers for the newborn stage. Fitteds are just absorbent fabric so they need the waterproof covers to go over them. Covers don't really need washed unless they get poo on them so I let them air dry above the changing station on my "clothesline" between uses.

I have a variety of fitteds made from free patterns that anyone can access online. Most are just flannel, but in a few of them I included a stay dry layer or used a more absorbent fabric. Here's a breakdown of what I have pictured (there are more of the same kinds of these in the wash):

1. The column on the left are all QSFW (Quick Snap Flat Wrap) with elastic added. 
2. In the center column at the very bottom there are 2- and 4-layer flannel fitteds made with the "Arfy" pattern (I'm not sure that the pattern actually has a name yet, but that's the creator's screen name). 
3. Above those are extra diaper covers that were part of the "baby boy" stash I made. I don't plan to use these as much, but they are all different patterns and may fit better than the ones I have hanging at some point in time. 
4. At the top center is a row of 5 diapers; these are all EZDipes. I used extra absorbent fabrics on these and added a stay dry layer to the camo ones so I can use them at night time without worrying about Cassidy feeling wet if she sleeps a long stretch (which she does, so I'm glad I have them). 
5. The right column (starting at the bottom) are diapers purchased by another Mama second-hand so I have no clue what they are, but they are bulky, and I'm guessing pretty absorbent. I don't really have plans to use these unless I run out of my others. 
6. Above those are the Shar's Newborn Umbilical Scoop Pocket Nappies. I don't like pockets, but had included them in my "baby boy" stash so his Mama could get a feel for that diaper style. I'll use the two camo on top at night also because they have a stay dry layer as well. 
7. Not pictured are my 3 Bumgenius all-in-ones (for the diaper bag) and my wool longies (because they were being worn). BG's are not mama-made, but are easiest for out and about. These are one of the most popular type of diapers due to ease of use, but they're also expensive.

Cassidy in her wool longies. These were also made for the "baby boy" stash, but I'll be using them anyway. 
The greatness of wool deserves a blog post all its own...and one day it may get one. ;)

We've been home for a few days now, and I can't explain how happy I am to be in the swing of things with my cloth diapers (although the Vicodin may be able to vouch for that). We're still pulling out a Pamper here and there, but the majority of the last few days has been cloth. I love everything about my little Cassidy Ann - from her tiny squeals to the poo I get to wipe off her tushie. Love, love, love.

Cloth diapering is really more fun than you can imagine! For links to some of my favorite resources, click here.