We’re building up our diaper inventory!  Thanks to lots of generous friends and colleagues, we now have 12 Bum Genius diapers, plus 12 prefolds and 4 infant diaper covers.

Pocket diapers on left; inserts on right

The bulk of the diapers came as a group gift from my generous colleagues.  It is a pleasure and a privilege to work with such supportive and generous people.  They threw a baby shower for us and had a great time picking out diapers off of our registry at the local cloth diaper store, Baby Bear (the only place in NM that sells cloth diapers…and they have every kind you can imagine!).

Our dear friend, Jen, also gifted us with several of the Bum Genius diapers AND the very fancy Bum Genius Diaper Sprayer.  This is a little contraption you hook up to your toilet; it then allows you to spray off the solids directly into the toilet, making the diapers easier to wash.  You can see a demo of this device in action (sans the solids) by going to the video link in the 2nd to last paragraph of my previous post: Diaper Decisions; it’s a great video by a Texas dad talking about how easy it is to use cloth diapers.

If you’re confused about cloth diapers, you’re not alone.  There are many different types of diapers and the jargon can be confusing.  We spent much time on You-Tube learning about all the various types, and had a tutorial session with Stella, the owner of Baby Bear.  We decided to go with the Bum Genius pocket diaper (see previous posts in the “Diapers” category for background info on that decision).  You can see a photo of our current stock above.

The Bum Genius diapers are one-size, pocket diapers that grow with your baby until they are potty trained.  However, almost all pocket diapers are too big for tiny newborn legs.  Depending on how skinny or chunky baby’s legs are, these diapers don’t work until they are about 10-12 pounds (I do know of one 12-pound newborn but I am guessing – hoping – that our baby will be a bit smaller).

So what to do in the meantime?  Of course, you have options.  You could go with disposables.  Or you could go with infant-sized pocket diapers, hybrid diapers, or all-in-one diapers.  Or you could go with the “old-fashioned” cloth diaper: the prefold.

Diaper covers and prefolds

We chose the the prefolds.  Why?  We ruled out disposables because we’re trying very hard to minimize (1) the time our baby’s butt is in contact with disposable diapers and (2) our impact on landfills and the environment.  Infant-sized pocket or hybrid diapers are definitely more convenient than prefolds but they are also much more expensive, so those were out.  Prefolds are quite affordable and, while they are a bit more difficult to use, seems perfectly do-able.  Plus, when Baby fits into the Bum Genius diapers, the prefolds can be used for a variety of other things: burp clothes, wipes, rags, etc.

Our current stash of newborn diapers includes 12 prefolds plus 4 diaper covers.  We have not yet acquired the fancy snappi fasteners , which are handy things that allow you to avoid use of safety pins.  Prefolds are what most of us wore when we were babies.  We also have the adorable little waterproof diaper covers (see photo above) that help keep things dry.

With all this cloth-diaper fanciness, we still aren’t completely avoiding disposables.  We have been strongly advised to use disposables during the first few days following Baby’s birth, while Baby is still eliminating meconium from their system.  Apparently, that tar-like substance will ruin cloth diapers because it is impossible to remove.  This comes from several midwives and hard-core, cloth-diaper advocates, so we’re heeding that advice.  Another handy tip related to meconium: rub Baby’s diapered parts with olive oil so the meconium doesn’t stick to soft baby parts.

So there you have it.  Our diaper plans are complete.  Baby still has some growing to do, but when Baby is ready to join us, he/she will have the cutest butt in town!