NEWBORN STASH SOLD!

Since Cora is no longer using her newborn stash, we sold it, piece-by-piece, over the past 2 weeks. We recouped $213.00 (=84%) of the original $255.35 we spent. That means we actually only spent $42 on diapers during Cora's entire first 2 months of life (since the one pack of sposies we used were the ones the hospital gave us for free). We would have spent $250-300 had we used disposable diapers during that time, since newborns go through an average of 12 diapers/day. Any sposie users out there jealous? (Just think of all the extra hairbows I can buy Cora with her diaper savings...)

Anyway, now that she is sleeping through the night (she has been sleeping 10-11 hours straight since she turned 3-months-old, with a few exceptions, such as the night of the full moon), we needed to get her some overnight diapers. We loved using the newborn prefolds and fitted diapers with her newborn covers, so we thought it would be worth trying a larger prefold and one-size fitted with the one-size FLIP covers we already own.

Enter James, our heavy-wetter extraordinaire.

Since we had them on-hand, we first tried a FLIP organic insert (which looks and functions like a prefold, and has great absorption) with a FLIP cover for James overnight. To keep the wetness off his skin, I laid a microfleece liner over the top. It's a bit bulky on, but then so are his double-stuffed BG 3.0s (his normal overnight diaper). We tried this setup for a few nights, and while the insert was always completely soaked by morning, his skin was dry and there were no leaks. The FLIP covers are really awesome! Because they have the flaps at the front and back, they work a lot like the BG 3.0s to prevent wicking when pajama bottoms fold in under big baby bellies. And the fact that they have snaps rather than velcro means that we now have a new overnight diaper for James, since he has already learned to undo the velcro of his shoes, and we'd rather not experience him learning to undo the velcro of his diapers... So, you guessed it, we sold his four BG 3.0s (as well as the one BG AIO with velcro that we had received free with purchase). It's fun to sell diapers... We also tried an insert with a FLIP cover for Cora. We had some of the gDiapers gCloth inserts laying around, unused, since we sold James' little gPants last spring. They are extra absorbant because they have a hemp back (which also keeps it from sliding around inside the cover, we've found). Plus, they have a fleecy, stay-dry layer on the top side that goes against the baby's skin. We are finding the stay-dry factor to be extremely imporant with Cora because she can't stand to be wet for even a SECOND. Ever since we switched her to stay-dry fabrics at night, she's been sleeping longer stretches. And though we never had any leaks with this setup, we started using 2 stacked gCloth inserts recently because 1 insert alone was completely soaked from front to back, so it was probably just a matter of time... The only problem with these is that even though they are the larger size gCloth, they fit PERFECTLY into the FLIP cover when it's snapped down to the smallest rise setting. That means that when Cora grows into the next setting, the gCloth won't cover the entire inside of the diaper, and that just won't work.

So, another option is to use a one-size fitted diaper with the FLIP cover. For this experiment I purchased a couple of used Bagshot Row Bamboo "Tucked In All Night" fitted diapers (praised for their design, as well as their absorbancy). BSRB diapers come with an extra long double snap-in soaker (like an AI2, except without the waterproof layer). I folded up the soaker to make 4 layers of absorption, folded down the rise in the front, Snappi-ed it shut nice and tight, then placed a FLIP cover over the top. It fit well and lasted all night long. No leaks, and the outside of the fitted wasn't even wet in the morning (though both soakers were soaked all the way through). Success!

Additionally, that adorable Bebe Britches diaper I splurged on has also proven to work well overnight. It's an AI2, so it doesn't require a cover. It's getting a bit faded from the wash, but it's still soft as ever (inside AND out), and fits much better now that I learned how to snap-down the rise (Margie and I had NO idea what that extra row of snaps was for until I emailed the WAHM and asked for an explanation - tee hee). We find this news very exciting because Margie's new business (Sassy Britches, scheduled to open October 1st on Hyena Cart - link already added to the sidebar of our blog!) will be selling a very similar type of diaper, so we can always get more cute diapers (without having to stalk for them!) that we now know will work well overnight too.

Of course, we had already purchased a couple of BG 4.0s (the newer version of the 3.0, now available with snaps and in more colors) for Cora. We're eliminating all velcro from our stash, and not just because toddlers can undo velcro. On occasion velcro causes "diaper chains" in the washer and dryer, which is not good for the diapers (or their resale value), even when the laundry tabs are used. Snapped diapers thus tend to last longer. Sure, you can get a more customized fit with velcro, but our babies are doing fine with the available settings on the various CottonBabies brand diapers. The 4.0s have worked great for Cora overnight with just the longer insert snapped-down to newborn size (she's too little to wear bulky double-stuffed pockets right now). And the pale lavendar "Bubble" color is so sweet looking!

You know, the longer I do this cloth diapering thing, the more I love it! Who knew DIAPERS could be so fun?