Successfully Cloth-Diapering a Newborn
A Mummy is facing 10 problems cloth-diapering her newborn (read about it here), so I thought of helping address her obstacles:
1) None of my bought cloth diapers seem to fit my small newborn!
Apparently I was too cautious, not wanting to buy Extra Small sizes because I thought “they wouldn’t last too long.”
MieVee says: During the last trimester of pregnancy, I knew Vee was going to be a big baby, so I bought Small diaper covers and skipped the Extra-Smalls. At 3.5kg at birth, he fitted into Small Bummis covers (reviewed here) nicely. For an average-sized or preemie baby, Extra-Small covers would be needed.
2) My prefolds and diaper cover plan to cloth diaper my newborn was a failure.
How silly of me, I have a stash of prefold diapers that were Regulars (again, I thought buying Infant size would be a waste) which did not fit my newborn at all, NOR did they even fit in ANY of the XS or S sized diaper covers that I had.
MieVee says: I used traditional cloth diapers (lampin) instead of prefolds in the first month. They could be easily folded to fit a newborn.
3) Leaking problems!
Again, this was a sizing issue, even with a small sized Fitted Diaper. I was breastfeeding and my boy leaked all over my lap, grr!!
MieVee says: Similar to Problem #1, Extra-Small covers over traditional cloth diapers or Infant-prefolds may be a better fit.
4) My little boy LOVES pooping on freshly changed diapers.
Happened so many times after I put on a clean diaper, to find out that minutes later he “felt” like the diapers were just too nice not to poop on immediately!
MieVee says: Breastfed newborn poo-poos very regularly, as breastmilk has a laxative effect. Vee poo-ed up to 11 times a day! Therefore, traditional cloth diapers with covers is a very cost-effective way of cloth-diapering a newborn.
5) My social support system wasn’t really so “supportive”.
My husband was joking with me that I put so much effort in wanting to Cloth Diaper, but apparently so many things tend to go wrong! And I don’t think my mother in law was into the idea of Cloth Diapers too much either!
MieVee says: Support is very important in the first month because Mummy is supposed to be resting during confinement. Let your family understand the benefits of cloth-diapering. (Read “Why I Love Cloth Diapers” here.)
My confinement lady was responsible for changing Vee’s cloth diapers, and washing (using washing machine) / sunning / folding them throughout the month.
After the first month, Vee was on a mixture of Small Drybees Pocket Diapers (reviewed here) and traditional cloth diapers during the day. At night, he used Drybees Fleece Pocket Diapers (reviewed here). Daddy has been supportive since the beginning (saves him $$$) and helps with diaper changes.
6) The cloth diapers were so bulky!
On a tiny newborn, almost everything I put on makes my baby an awkward sumo wrestler on his crotch (which didn’t look too comfortable). I was critcized again about this by my social support system, heh.
MieVee says: Similar to Problem #1, Extra-Small covers over traditional cloth diapers or Infant-prefolds may be a better fit.
7) Could I even be bothered with laundry right now??
Cloth Diapering requires ULTIMATE care, but seriously, with a million other things to do with the baby the first month, should I really put so much effort in it?
MieVee says: Similar to Problem #5, Mummy should be resting while someone helps with the laundry matters. Baby clothes, handkerchiefs and other accessories need to be washed too. Cloth diapers can be washed with the other baby items. Just need someone to spend 5-10 minutes a day spraying poo-poo into the toilet bowl.
8 ) I couldn’t figure out how to Snappi lampins (or prefold for that matter) properly.
In the end I gave up. Needs more practice. Sigh.
MieVee says: Vee was on lampin and a diaper cover, without the need to use Snappi or pins. The diaper cover was the correct fit, so the lampin could stay in place. Try it out.
9) My “one sized” pocket diapers were not really “one sized fits all”.
It certainly did not fit on too well on my newborn. Even at the smallest setting, it was still huge and left gaps at the legs. 
MieVee says: “One-size” diapers usually fit babies from about 5kg. For this reason, I prefer sized-diapers in the early months.
10) My apartment laundry area had no direct contact with the sun.
So the stains on the diapers couldn’t benefit from the sunlight. Also, they take ages to dry. Sigh….
MieVee says: Sunning is important to get rid of the stains naturally. During a sunny day, Vee’s diapers are dry and stain-free after about 4 hours. Try looking out for another spot in the house that gets the sunshine?
It takes a bit of trial and error in the early stage to get baby cloth-diapered full-time. Rest well and experiment during your free time until you get your system right. The benefits are well worth the initial efforts. Happy cloth-diapering!
By the way, remember to take part in Giveaway #4 (two Moms & Tots Cloth Diapers to be won) here.
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Dear MieVie,
Thank you so much for responding to my frustrations
I love how you can go ahead using lampins so well… The problem for me now is laundering. I don’t really have anyone to help out with that (or to keep up with my standard of laundering CDs 
)
I appreciate the blog post very much!
Keep the laundry simple:
dry pail
spray poop into toilet
separate into laundry nets
1/2 normal amt of detergent
wash with baby items on Prewash (optional) + Cold/Warm + 2 Rinses
Traditional lampin are cheap and easy to care for. Even if any damage arises (can’t imagine how it can happen), you won’t get heartache. That’s also why I let my confinement helper use lampin on Vee in the first month. I only started using the modern CDs after she left and when I was energetic again.
Another alternative is not to go cloth all the way. I used disposables until my baby was big enough to use the one size fits all – didn’t have to wait long since both my boys are big babies. One lady wanted me to buy newborn size diapers which is intended for babies up to 5kgs. I told her my first boy was born 4kgs. Thankfully, I didn’t bother with newborn since my second boy was born 4.5kgs. I still use disposables when we go out.
We used disposables at night in the first 1-2 months too, when we were figuring out a good night-time diapering solution. By the way, 4.5kg-baby is GIGANTIC, not big! :p
Vee is cloth-diapered on outings too, since it is very convenient, just need to bring along a wetbag for the soiled diapers. May also lay a disposable liner on the cloth diaper if expecting a big poo during outing. Think we only used a few packs of disposables over the past year; haven’t bought 1 for almost half a year.
Hi,
i just started cloth diaper for my baby few weeks ago. I’m still using disposable at night as she is a heavy wetter, with disposable it will still leak sometime. Wonder which cloth diaper is better for night time and have better absorbency?
Hi Lyn, thank you for visiting Mummy’s Reviews™. My boy is also a heavy-wetter and pees through disposables 2 times a night even when he was very young. From 2 to 9 months old, he wore Drybees Fleece Pocket Diapers reviewed here, with a combination of absorbent inserts. We chose fleece pocket diapers because of its high breathability, which keeps his sensitive skin healthy even after 12-hour nights.
When he outgrew the Medium pocket diapers, we upsized to Large fitted pocket diapers (allowing absorbency all over, including waist and sides) with fleece shorts. The main reason is that he rolls about a lot when asleep, so fitted diapers provide better absorbency.
Some keys for successful night-time cloth diapering:
- increase number of inserts/soakers, using pocket diapers, night-time fitted diapers or fitted pocket diapers
- if child moves about a lot when asleep, fitted diapers would work better than pocket diapers
I am planning a review for our new night-time diapering combination, so stay tuned for the article.