Brand New Baby

When using cloth diapers on a newborn, you’ve got a few different options. You can do it cheaply. You can go simple. You can make it easy for other caregivers. And we are here to help!
Often one-sized diapers don’t fit most newborns. Newborns generally have skinny legs, leading to leaks around the leg holes. For this reason, we generally recommend investing in a newborn stash if you want to cloth diaper from the get-go. The good news is that newborn stashes hold their resale value well, and you can often find them in great condition on a BST group. The bad news is that teeny-tiny diapers often have teeny-tiny levels of absorbency. Many babies outgrow the absorbency of their newborn diapers before they outgrow them in size.

*Remember*
As with any child in diapers, use a liner with synthetic diapers for any petroleum based medicine or cream used in the first few weeks. Any other newborn secretions can be washed away with a normal routine.

How many diapers will I need?

I want to wash

1x per day

19 Diapers

In general, a newborn will go through roughly 15 diapers in a 24 hour period. You’ll need 3-4 diapers to hold you over while you wash.

I want to wash

every other day

30 Diapers

In general, a newborn will go through roughly 15 diapers in a 24 hour period. When washing every other day you don't need extra.

*A note on these numbers*
This count refers to the actual diaper – the part that needs to be washed after every use. If you’re using flats, prefolds, or fitteds with covers , you can count on a cover handling 4-5 changes, as long as it isn’t soiled.

What kind of diapers should I get?


To help you know which diapers might work for your family, we’ve broken them down into three basic options.

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Option 1: Cheap and Simple


Prefolds or flats are the cheapest, simplest way to cloth diaper a newborn. Both flats and prefolds are absorbent fabric that are folded around the baby and secured with a Snappi, Boingo, or old-fashioned diaper pins. They require an extra step of folding, but provide good absorbency.
This option requires a cover to keep it waterproof.


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Option 2: Middle Ground


Fitted diapers are made of absorbent material that fits all the way around the baby, providing great leak protection and preventing poop-splosions. They don’t require any folding and sometimes have snaps or velcro, or need a fastener such as a snappi. This option also requires a cover to keep it waterproof.


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Option 3: Quick and easy


Pockets and AIO are super easy. They allow quick changes for anyone who may be unfamiliar or uncomfortable with cloth diapers, because they go on just like a disposable. However, once used by the baby, the whole diaper needs washing, unlike with covers.

Sample Stashes

Budget

$3.29

Per Change
    6 cotton prefolds $13
    6 cotton flats $12
    5 flour sack towels $5
    5 newborn covers $5.49 each
    3 snappis $9.35
Total for 17 changes = $66.80

Middle

$5.81

Per Change
    12 cotton prefolds $2.09 each
    6 cotton flats $12
    3 fitteds $5.25 each
    3 NB Bamboo AIOs $9.95 each
    3 covers $5.49 each
    3 size 1 covers $10.35 each
    3 snappis $9.35
Total for 24 changes = $139.55

All Out

$13.52

Per Change
    6 cotton prefolds $2.09 each

    5 hemp flats $10 each

    6 fitteds $5.25 each

    2 mini fitteds $22 each

    6 NB Bamboo AIO diapers $9.95 each

    2 AIOs $15 each 3 NB AIOs $18.95 each

    5 Mini Coveralls $16.95 each

    3 snappis $9.35

Total for 28 changes = $378.69

*Remember*
Buy/Sell/Trade groups can help you find many of these options for less than listed here. You may also find more expensive options to be cheaper if you buy directly from China