The Five Ws of Cloth Diapering: Part II

And now part II of the three-part series on cloth diapering!

What: OK, so what's in my stash? I have two: newborn and OS (one-size). This is where hindsight comes in because if I could do it all over again, I would change my newborn stash. But here's my current stash:

Newborn -
- 10 Diaper Rite newborn prefolds
I absolutely love prefolds! I didn't think I would initially, but if I could do it all over again, I would have just gotten 30-36 prefolds. We used the angel wing fold, and it is amazing at EBF newborn poop containment! Plus, with the invention of Snappis, there's no need for pins! For the newborn stage, you cannot go wrong with prefolds.
- 2 Bummis XS Super Whisper Wrap covers
These were basic, cheap covers. Nothing fantastic about them, but they did the job. If I exclusively used prefolds, I would need 4-6 covers, but for the amount I had, 2 was fine.
- 8 Thirsties XS AIO (all-in-one) pocket diapers (no longer available)
These discontinued diapers were purchased off a deal-a-day site. They were a bit big in the beginning but worked great for several weeks before they began leaking a bit. We often used them at night when he wouldn't be changed as often since the synthetic material would keep him feeling dryer than a prefold. The aplix was pretty poor and came apart on several of them. Not the biggest disappointment, but not as good as prefolds.
- 12 Rump-a-rooz Lil Joey AIO diapers
These seemed like they would be perfect, and they were decent for the first week or so before they began leaking. They are TINY, so they would have gotten more use if he was a smaller baby. They are also completely AIO, so they took longer to dry than the other diapers. However, they are absolutely adorable! My biggest complaint with these was the cost, and I definitely wish I hadn't even bothered with these, despite the cuteness factor.

OS -
- 22 BumGenius 4.0 OS pocket diapers with snaps
We have 20 BGs in regular rotation and two that live in the diaper bag. These began fitting Ethan around 2 months and should fit him up until potty training. Since they have snaps, they will hold up longer than the aplix variety. We've had some issues with repelling (see below), which is common with synthetic pocket diapers, and occasionally we have issues with leaks due to fit, but overall, these are great diapers.
- 2 BabyKicks Bumboo OS pocket diapers
I purchased these on a deal-a-day site, and, in hindsight, I wish I hadn't bothered since I haven't actually even tried them out yet. I FINALLY got around to prepping the hemp inserts this week, but I'm actually using them as overnight doublers for my BGs since hemp is so much more absorbent than the synthetic inserts in the BGs.

Accessories -
- 3 Snappis
These are basically necessities for prefolds, replacing those huge diaper pins of yore. They are similar to the closures for ace bandages and work great!
- 2 Kissaluvs antibacterial pail liners
No complaints here! These go in the metal trash can I use as a diaper pail (more on that in part III). I wash them every other day with the diapers, so I have an extra one to put diapers in while the laundry is being done. They do their job and keep the smell contained.
- Set of 3 wet bags
You can purchase expensive cloth diaper wet bags for on-the-go diapering, but I picked up this three pack at Dick's Sporting Goods for $15. I keep the small one in the diaper bag at all times and have the other two for longer outings or wet clothes. They work just as well as the expensive ones, in my opinion!
- Bummis flushable liners
These are great for the in-between poop stage, after starting solids but before poop is ploppable. They also protect diapers from diaper rash cream if you don't use a cloth-diaper-safe brand.
- Grandma El's Diaper Rash Cream
Speaking of which, this is our diaper cream, though we have yet to use it on an actual rash. However, if he's at all irritated, one smear does the job! Since we don't need it very often, a small tube lasts a long time, which is nice.
- Planet 2x Ultra Laundry Detergent
After researching the different cloth-safe laundry detergent, I decided on Planet since it's not as expensive as some of the other brands and is available at a local grocery store. It does the job! In fact, I tried out Rockin' Green, the acclaimed cloth-diaper detergent, and that's the only time I had issues with repelling (yes, I'm positive it was the RnG because I stripped the diapers multiple times and every time I used RnG, the repelling returned; I went back to Planet and no more repelling!). As I mentioned before, our initial bottle of Planet lasted 9 months, so it's not that huge of an investment.

Stay tuned for Part III!