Which cloth nappy option is the best way to go for a newborn?

[BekZ]

Hello Ladies,

I am considering using cloth for my newborn but yet again I don't know where to start. I don't want to spend a fortune on nappies that bub will be out of in flash.

I have a stash of Itti Bitti mediums and I will use those once bub reaches the right size.

what do I use before that? Terry flats and covers? Prefolds and covers? How many will I need. What brands are good?

I recently bought a prefold to try and dd leaks through it quickly and it didn't have a panel down the middle like I thought..So which prefold is recommended?

Thanks

[Arimeh]

I can't recommend any particular brand of prefold - think mine are homemade - but I used a LOT of prefolds and covers with Miss M as a newborn - plus lots of different fitteds and covers... she can still fit into the small itti's at 4 months - but she also fits into the mediums (as does her 13kg brother!!)

[Ezz]

I used BBH bamboo fitteds for Calvin - the advantage of these is that they are an adjustable fitted nappy - so he is still using them now. But they are expensive.

If I had my time again, I would probably just have bought the greenkids pockets - also adjustable (that I use most of the time now) & just have used sposies for a couple of months until he fitted the pocket nappies.

[paradise lost]

I used bambino mio's on DD as a newborn (i remember pamela, the midwife who caught her, asked if it was ok to dress her as her "prize" and was like "um, i think you're gonna need to do this bit..." when she saw our stack of mcn's ) and they were fine, but with #2 i'm planning on knitting and ither felting or lanolising a bunch of shorties for that stage because although they were soft and didn't hurt her, i never liked the lines the elastics at the leg left on her skin. No leaks though... Pretty bad rash but i think that was the 4 litres of orange juice i consumed in the 2 days after her birth (was BFing).

Bx

[~Raven~]

Flanelette is better for a newborn if you want to use flats as they aren't as bulky as terry.
There are a lot of prefolds about that aren't really a prefold as you've discovered so read the descriptions carefully. Also the material they are made from will help their performance. I've been making my own with an extra panel down the middle out of bamboo and testing them as a stuffer in DS's pocket nappies with great success. They're dead easy to make too so if you can sew or know someone who can then why not give it a go!

Ezz the BBH are still fitting Caleb at 2 so I reccon they are the best value nappy I've owned He still wears the first ones I got him when he was 8 weeks old!

[BekZ]

thanks ladies for your response.

Raven - Absolutely no sewning ability here hon. I have a 30 yo Elna machine that my mum gave me and I don't know how to use it. Actually learning to sew is on my wish list.
Good luck with bub hon. Where would I get the bamboo material from?

Ezz - I guess I am trying to work out if using sposie will be the better option until bub is big enough to fit into the ittis or the gk I already have. I love the gk now on DD but they were really bulky on her until she was 6 months. Now that I have used cloth I just love the idea of using it for a nb...pitty it took until bub number 3 hey. Did you use a cover with the BBH?

Hoobley - good luck with your move. Maybe longies would be ok as this bub will be winter...I can't knit either!!!

Arimeh - DD is 11 months and is in large ittis, only because she has thunder thighs!!! My other daughter was is long and skinny so I think I would have got more were out of my ittis with her..I actually love gks on her now

[rufalina]

I was a prefold user, with the motherese rikki covers. but, I did use sposies overnight..... I had some cotton ones, and some home made flannelette prefolds which I made using the nappy flannelette from spotlight. With all the prefolds, I used an extra hemp booster, cause I did have a heavy wetter. And if I used a flannelette flats, I boosted them too. Good luck.