My poor little brain - MCN for a Newborn

[mokster26]

I just wanted to add my humble 2 cents worth and also say good on you - cloth is very addictive though - be careful
I found infant prefolds really useful for Max as a newborn. I snappied them and popped a fleece, wool or Pul cover over the top. When he was bigger I used the prefold laid in a bummis and now he is bigger again the prefolds work as pocket stuffers. They were good value and are still going strong

[Pobie]

WOW!! You have got just a little advise haven't you As Meagan said it I am going to add my 2 cents here too

I started using cloth on my DS from birth and didn't really know any MCN users. I found that I loved flats in the first few weeks as I only has OSFA nappies and they were just a little too big. Flats are really not that hard. You don't need to soak them or anything, just pop them on with a snappi and put a cover over them. When you change put them in a bucket and at the end of the day throw them in the wash. You can also use a hot dryer setting on them and they are all fluffy and nice for the next day.

Although people think that flats are alot of work it takes just as much time to find the booster to stuff the pocket or snap in the insert as it does to fold a nappy into 4 which is all you need for a newborn. You are changing so often you don't really need to worry about all the fancy material like hemp and bamboo I find in the beginning.

Going forward though I think that its nice to have a few little show off AIO's and Pockets for going out. They give you a little buzz inside Dont buy too many to start with cause they grow out of NB and small sizes really fast.

I only had 2 Bummis (small) covers to begin with and if they got soiled then I would use a plastic snibb that you get from hospital (yes I know they are not ideal but they do the trick in a pinch)

After a few weeks I moved onto my fitted nappies with PUL covers and have sinced moved onto wool. Although wool is the nicest with blow out poos you may find that you have to wash a lot by hand and thats not really what you want when you need sleep

I found fitted nappies with leg frills the best until I started solids. A few of my instock OSFA favs are Cute Tooshies (Bamboo Velour - on special as well till Monday from www.cutetooshies.com.au) and the Bamboo Baby Beehind Bamboo that you mentioned earlier. Baby Beehind have special intro packs that give you a little taste of everything and have free postage

Good luck It can all be very full on in the beginning when you are building your stash but the main thing to remember is ultimately they are a nappy and designed to catch poo If it doesn't work for you sell it.

WOW!! Looks more like 5 cents now - sorry

[Haydies]

Thankyou again to everyone for the replies. The plethora of options out there can really make your head spin and it's handy being able to come and talk to people who actually have first hand experience.

Originally Posted by Nicole_M

I'd suggest buying only a few of each type at first (say 4-6 fitteds + 2 or 3 covers, 4-6 pockets and maybe a fun show-off AIO or groovy fleece cover) because you will need to try them all out to find what works for you and your bub.

After reading that advice from yourself and a few people I'm definitely going to follow it! As it was put to me, best not to put all my bums in one basket... I think that's right anyway. I'm mixing up both types of nappies (fitted, pocket, aio's) as well as brands as I've been told there can be some very big variances between different ones.

I have the Green Kids site bookmarked as I just adore some of their prints, and if the pockets I currently have coming (I placed a small order the other night) work out, I'll definitely be looking into those. I was told the Tots Bots bamboozles are a bit of an overkill for newborns and the fluffies or the, um, multicoloured ones (can't remember the name now) would be a better option. Wasn't too sure if you could have too much absorbency.

Originally Posted by Nicole_M

Oh, by the way, Josie is 6+kg and 10 weeks old so the smalls might not last you long at all!

I must admit, that (and kermi's comment) did surprise me a little! I know every bubs is different, and of course there is obviously nothing wrong with it *watches her foot creep towards her mouth* but I always just assumed I'd have at least 4 - 5 months out of the small size. Mum always keeps saying I'm going to have a big baby, maybe she knows something I don't. Probably sounds absolutely horrible *holds out hand for slap* but I kinda have my heart set on a cute itty bitty baby to start with.

I ended up taking the plunge and ordered a few nappies the other day. I ended up getting a couple by BumGenius - a couple of fitteds, one pocket and one AIO. I also grabbed a couple Baby Beehinds fitteds and Kissaluvs fitteds. I would have got the Tots Bots fluffies but where I ordered from they were out of stock. I also grabbed a couple of the Bubblebubs AIO's and some Bummis covers. From everything I've read they all seem to be fairly loved brands.

I do have a box of the Huggies Newborn disposables here too. I figured those first days home are going to be fairly scary in themselves that I'd have them there for back ups. At 2am in the morning it will be handy to have them there in case my head is exploding... or just not working from lack of sleep. I also have a box of Terry Flats from my sister-in-law, which I'm hoping once I actually have a pocket nappy in font of me, I can see if they'll fit in as "fillers".

I am very glad I asked now too, it was good to hear that pockets may not be the best for newborns, I wasn't even aware of the whole BF = runny poo issue. And of course the actual nappy info when you're looking at them won't inform you of that, all of them say they're great for everything.

I'm really excited about this whole cloth thing to, and everyone I've told so far (family wise) has been so happy to hear it. I do agree on the addictiveness however, even now there's about a gazillion I want just because of patterns!

[Nicole_M]

Ahh Haydies...don't stress about the size of your bubba! They are ALL itti bitti cute little things when we first meet them. Josie was a healthy 3.7kg at birth and I thought she was just the most gorgeous, tiny little thing I'd ever seen (apart from her perfect brother almost 2 years earlier and he was the same size).

They just grow way too fast!

Sounds to me like you've sorted yourself a really nice collection of nappies. Can't stress those prefolds enough though. Find some gorgeous, soft hemp fleece ones...they're worth their weight in gold! I got mine from Clo in Oman, but maybe someone there can tell you where to find some really nice ones.

Wait till the postie starts bringing those nappies in. SO exciting!

Nicole

[Haydies]

Ok, thought I would provide a little update. I ended up placing an order for the ones that were in stock from my revised list and they got delivered today!

I ended up being able to get:

• 2 x Baby Behinds Bamboo (Fitted)
• 2 x Baby Beehinds Organix/Hemp (Fitted)
• 3 x Kissaluvs (Fitted)
• 3 x BumGenius Bamboo (Fitted)
• 3 x BumGenius Pocket One-Size
• 1 x BumGenius AIO
• 2 x Bubblebubs AIO
• 2 x NB and 2 x Small Bummis Covers
• 1 x Happy Heineys Cows (Pocket)
• 1 x Starbunz Little Pig (Pocket)

The last two were more for the cute factor than anything, and I'm now kinda glad I didn't go overboard with the Happy Heineys. For the price, and the fact they don't even come with a pocket stuffer piece, I'll be happy with my one.

Right off the mark I have fallen in love with the Bubblebubs AIO - they are SO SOFT!! I know I was recommended fitteds and covers to start with, which I have done, but OMG I want more of those!! With absolutely no actual "use" experience, I have labaled those my favourite based purely on look and feel.

Below are some photo's of my "stash" - woot I have a stash!! Oh yes, and of course the mandatory inspector in approval mode:

[Clover]

ohhhh nice stash! I will be using this thread one day!

[KristyMum]

I asked on another forum if that would be enough for a newborn, too many, just right etc... and was informed that Pocket Nappies aren't the best for newborns and I should think about fitteds + covers. So now, my poor little brain which was so happy it had finally figured out what I was going to buy, is now all muddled again.

Don'tcha hate that! lol You just think you have it sussed and something new comes into the works!

IMO, fitted+cover for NB. YOu can get a one-size fitted and a few sizes covers.
The OSFM will do you the distance as a work horse nappy even after the NB stage, and you can then (once the poo is a little less soupy lol) add some pockets and AIO/AI2 to your stash knowing that you have your trusty fitted+cover combo right behind you.

With #4 we will do the same, fitted+cover, as we did w #3 (#1 and #2 were flats)
because I know there were some poos that the fitted+cover held in that there is no way on the planet would have otherwise been held in... iykwim they were toxic runny ooze and the f+c did the trick perfectly. We didn't have a leak at all until after 6mths, and that was my error lol - left a bit of nappy poking out...

so that's my 2c... you can still get cute printed covers so you can show off a funky bum (what you mentioned about outers of pockets being cute)
you can get fitted nappies where you can 'pre stuff' (like a pocket, but all hemp, just needing a cover) them, so they are there on the change table, put on, add cover and done.
You can get fitted nappies too that have this 'pocket' feature plus a built in liner.
So it's again a matter of nappy+cover done.
That's the beauty of reusable - something for everyone, once you work out what it is you want

PLenty of us here so ask away!
Good luck, and have fun!

[Debbie Lee]

Wow Haydies! That's one awesome delivery of fluffy mail! I'm jealous! WTG.

[KristyMum]

don't mind me lol I missed page two!

now going back to peruse some of your lovely fluff - nice work

[Haydies]

Hehe that's ok KristyMumTo3, information is still handy.

Actually, the more I look at them all (they are still spread all over the lounge room floor), the more I think I'm glad I got talked out of getting all pocket nappies. I've been playing with the GumGenius pocket ones and I can't seem to get it all to stuff in nice and neatly (I'm a perfectionist) so I think in that way the fitteds + covers will do me well.

Course I just can't get over how much I love the Bubblebubs AIO!! I know they're probably not the best option, but they look so darn good! Good style wise, but also good in that they look like they'd hold anything better than the other ones.

After all day looking, opening, closing, touching, fiddling etc... I like the Bubblebubs AIO and the BumGenius fitted the most at the moment.