2 Important Tips for Diapering a Newborn

When I decided that I wanted to use cloth diapers with my baby girl, I knew that I wanted to start her in cloth as soon as possible. However, I didn’t think I wanted to deal with washing diapers as soon as we got home from the birthing center, so I bought one package of newborn diapers.

They lasted exactly 4 days.

On day 5, we switched our new baby girl to cloth diapers.

Our daughter Bo weighed 8 pounds, 10 ounces at birth. When she started in cloth diapers, she weighed around 8 pounds 6 ounces. Even though she was heavier than many newborns, she is also extremely long. Her legs are small for her weight.

The two most common issues with diapering newborns in cloth are 1) the circumference of the legs, and 2) the presence of the cord. We dealt with both issues with Bo.

Dealing with Skinny Legs
Bo had extremely skinny legs at first. None of our one-size pocket diapers were small enough around the leg to catch leaks. What did work was:

Kawaii Newborn Pure and Natural pocket diapers
Prefolds and Flip covers (with hook and loop)

These diapers both have hook and loop closures rather than snaps around the waist, so it was possible to get a tight enough fit to make up for some of the gapping around the thigh. With snaps-only diapers, the rise adjustment was not quite enough to close the gap completely.

Now Bo is 3 months old, and still fits in both diapers. The Kawaii Newborn diapers are getting snug, but she is 13 pounds, which is near the top weight limit of the newborn diapers. I think we’ll make it to 15 pounds, but after that, they will be too small. The Flip covers will last much longer since they are a one-size cover.

Dealing with the Cord
All of the diapers we tried have rise adjustment. We snapped the diapers to the shortest rise adjustment to accommodate the presence of the cord. We only had issues with the diaper rubbing against the cord if we positioned the diaper too high in the front (which was a user error).

Three months later, Bo is still on the shortest rise adjustment in the Flip cover. She is on the second rise level in the Kawaii diapers, and will soon be on the longest rise. She is just now fitting into the one-size diapers that we have, although there are a few that she is still too small for. Hook and loop diapers seem to fit her better than diapers with snaps.

Tips for You:
Definitely purchase some newborn diapers, especially if you are planning on trying pocket diapers.
Look for diapers that have an adjustable rise or a slight dip in the front to accommodate the cord.
Newborns wear about 10-12 diapers a day, so you’ll want to have at least 30 on hand (I have about 45 and that seems to work well for us).
Don’t purchase a bunch of diapers at once unless you are 100 percent sure they will fit. I made this mistake and have about 15 diapers that Bo will not be able to use for another month or two.

What are your favorite brands for newborns or younger babies?

Bio: Brenda is new to the cloth diapering community, but feels like she’s always been there at heart. She writes at Schooling a Monkey, where you can read more about cloth diapering adventures with Bo and other topics on parenting, homeschooling, and more!