Fluff or Plastic? Fluff for Newborns Please!

I didn’t cloth diaper my first child until she was 13 months. Cloth was too intimidating to me at first. I did get gDiapers, trying to be a little bit green, but they didn’t work for us. After 13 months of what felt like constantly battling diaper rash, we took the plunge to cloth. When DD#2 came along, I wanted to use cloth right from the start.


At first, I was going to go for the cheapest route, since I had a ton of OS diapers-prefolds & covers. I got 24 preemie prefolds, 24 infant, several Snappis, and a bunch of XS & S Bummies Wraps, Thirsties & Swaddlebees ABC covers. But my stash quickly grew. I couldn’t help it. So much fluff, so little time! My stash expanded to include Kissaluv size 0 fitteds, sustainablebabyish bamboo fleece fitteds, Blueberry minky pockets, XS & S bumGenuis AIOs, & Lil’ Joey’s. I was set. Then Pipes came, all 20 inches & 6lbs, 15oz of skinny baby. The only diapers that fit under her stump were the Lil’ Joeys, and I only had 6. My dreams of nothing but cloth touching her bummy were busted until the cord fell off.

What worked for us? The Thirsties covers rocked! They were my favorite. The double gusset is a lifesaver with newborn breastfed poo. The Bummies & ABCs, not so much. They had just the elastic around the legs, which would sometime leak. Another issue I had was the rise-sometimes, they didn’t cover the prefold in the back and it would leak, but I think that was probably more user error.

The prefolds, which I had been so intimated about, were a breeze to use. I would ‘fold’ the prefold around her just like a regular diaper & use the Snappi to secure each side and the middle. Wrap it all up with a cover and I was done! I loved the Kissaluv fitteds as well. They were so super soft and easy to take out when my AIOs were dirty. They also made great diapers for Pipes’s newborn baby pictures since I got the natural colored ones! At night, I would use a sustainablebabyish fitted for the first half and then a Kissaluv fitted with the doubler from the sustainablebabyish for the second half. She was happy and dry, unlike my first daughter in sposies who constantly had to be changed at night.


The bumGenius AIOs were my favorite to take out while running errands. They folded flatter in the diaper bag, and when she moved up to the size small, I could stuff one of her preemie prefolds in there for extra absorbency. The Lil’ Joey’s were nice, with the double interior gusset to hold everything in, just a bit ‘fluffier’ than the bumGenuis. We used primarily prefolds around the house and saved our AIOs for trips out of the house. I take the Blueberry minky pockets out of the house a lot too, since the fun animal prints are always a great conversation starter about cloth!

I use a Planet Wise wet/dry wet bag, which is great-can be snapped on the outside of the diaper bag and the dry part is great for a change of clothes for both girls. Her preemie prefolds fit her for about 5 weeks and I can use them as burp rags or doublers for other diapers. She is 3.5 months and still in the infant size with size small covers.

But the cutest part about using newborn fluff? My older daughter would take her diapers and use them for her baby. Daisy likes the prefolds, but the Lil’ Joey’s are her personal favorite.

Bio: I'm Katy, a military wife with 2 under 2 in cloth, a deployed husband & 2 doxies. I blog about our crazy life at the long and short of it: http://grabenandgabi.blogspot.com