ghostofdavid wrote:I'm in total shock because my wife and I have been trying to get pregnant for about three years. We just found out a few weeks back that she is indeed pregnant. Wow. Looking forward to using kids.woot and does anyone have any experience with these ultra lite trial pack of reusable diapers? I am one nervous dude. This is our first.
These Kushies are good cloth diapers, not the most absorbent for night-time, but less bulky than some others and good for daytime, and fitting under pants. Wow, babies pee a lot at night! And the enormous cloth-diaper-booty means you have to go up a size in pants sometimes. Congrats on the big news!
When my daughter was born (5 years ago), my aunt sent us the Bummis cotton diapering kit with like 30 prefolds and 6 covers. Loved these! As we were overwhelmed, we actually just went with the land-fill filling disposables for her first 3 weeks. She was a pretty average sized baby, 7.5 lb,s and barely fit into the cloth diapers when we made the switch. Here's a set similar to the set we loved, only this one's organic, and is probably $35 more, which may be worth it. (Can't find the exact set, I guess 5 years is a long time.) http://www.cottonbabies.com/product_info.php?products_id=2071 Pre-folds with covers is usually cheaper and I actually prefer it for younger babies. If they don't poop, you can drape the cover to let it dry and use it again before it has to be washed.
Be prepared to do tons of laundry - minimum 2 loads of diapers a week, usually 3-4. Also, most cloth diapers need to be washed several times before the first wearing to get the natural cotton wax/oils out and make the diapers absorbent; it's time-consuming and I recommend doing it before baby arrives. We didn't and wished we had! Also, I am not sure if it's easy to do cloth diapers with a front-loader...
I'd also check out Mother-ease, not cheap but good stuff and made in Canada by people with decent benefits and weekends, instead of by mistreated people in the third world. http://www.mother-ease.com/ My daughter takes after me and is therefore rarely dry at night, even at 5 years old, and we use their nightime pants. They are great.
Last little note: if you have a family history of sensitive skin, I'd always try to use cotton (& maybe bamboo?), not the fleece or other cloth diapers. They're too hot. My daughter broke out in a rash at 3 months. Eczema. My dad and my husband have sensitive skin, so maybe I should've known... Even now, if I'm feeling lazy and put her in disposables for 3-4 nights in a row, she starts getting a rash just above her behind. The chemical in disposables pulls moisture to it, and I think this is why. Yuck. Also, she is prone to heat rashes, which is why I love breathable cotton for all her clothes and diapers.
