Cloth diapering again

I knew from the beginning of my pregnancy with Mason I wanted to use cloth diapers again. I learned a lot of things cloth diapering with Aubrey so I felt better prepared to handle it this time around. I knew I would use our Bum Genius pocket diapers again so I bought 6 new boy colors and sold a few of my girly colors. But, I struggled with what to do for diapers in the newborn stage. I didn't cloth diaper Aubrey as a newborn. I don't think I actually started using cloth with her until she was 6-8 weeks old. We spent so much money on disposables and I really didn't want to do that again, especially when we made the decision I would be staying at home full time. After doing a lot of research, I decided to go with prefold diapers for Mason. These are much more like the old-school diapers my parents used when I was a baby. Actually, they used flat diapers, but prefolds are the closest diapers to that. I was able to buy 2 dozen newborn size diapers for $50 and then the next size for about $60. I also bought a few covers for the diapers but I was able to find most of them used so I think I spent maybe $50 on those. I also took it one step further this time and decided to use cloth wipes as well, which cost me $25 for 72 flannel squares that I will used the entire time we use diapers and they can also be repurposed later. Once everything arrived I did the prep work and had them ready to go by December. I was a little intimidated by all of the folding techniques so I practiced on a poor stuffed bear but figured I really wouldn't get the hang of it until I was doing it on a regular basis.

We used disposables for the first week of Mason's life while his circumcision healed and the yucky meconium went away. The first time I tried the prefolds on him was a comedy of errors but over the past 8 weeks I have learned the tricks of the prefold trade. The hardest part has been learning what fold works best for the explosive breastfed poop. I will happily say we've only had 2 blowouts in the cloth diapers as compared to at least 1-2 a week with Aubrey and disposables. And I am sure the 2 blowouts we had were user error in not getting the diaper cover tight enough.While I am not 100% in love with prefolds, they have saved us so much money. We would have probably spent at close to $200 on diapers by now so that's $100 saved so far and we have several weeks left in prefolds. And the best part is I can sell the prefolds for close to what I paid for them if I choose not to use them as doublers in our pocket diapers or even as burp cloths. So that means I have diapered my son for about $15 (minimal loss on the actual diaper plus the cost of shipping) for the past 8 weeks. Pretty awesome in the grand scheme of saving money. I also stretched our money a little more and used some fitted diapers that I used with Aubrey. While they are a little on the girly side they are only used at night because they are really absorbent and easier for me to finagle at 4 AM. I wish I could have used fitted diapers 100% of the time, but that would have cost a lot more to start with and I couldn't repurpose them after he outgrew them. So, overall I am pleased with the prefold diaper decision. I still can't wait to move back into our Bum Genius pocket diapers because they are so much easier but I just can't beat the cost and money saved with prefold diapers so far.

Mason wearing the newborn sized prefold from Green Mountain Diapers. This picture was taken during his last wearing of the newborn size because they were getting too short and snug. We have since moved him up to the next size.

Mason modeling a Thirsties duo wrap cover. These are my favorite covers and I like the hook and loop (velcro) closure best for now.