My Ideal Stash....

I was recently approached by a friend who wanted to know what I thought of a specific brand of diapers and how they would work. I thought about it and gave my opinion. Looking back over the past 2 years into cloth diapering (and a little boy with no interest in the potty..I ask, he says, "no thank you mommy"), I figured it would be fun to determine my perfect- money is no option- stash...well minimum stash.


Newborn:
2 Lil' Joey Rumparooz
2 Mini Happy Heinys
a package of prefolds and 2 Bummis Wraps
Newborn Stash: around $95 for up to 3 months of diapering

Why all the work for a newborn? Newborns have teeny-tiny legs that cannot fit into One Sized diapers (OS). Little man was over 10lbs before the OS really fit him well. I am not a big fan of prefolds, however, they are cheap, they do work and can be reused as burp cloths! Also, you can get a large amount of them for relatively little money. If you think about it you spend around $0.20/ disposable diapers and change the baby up to 10 times a day... it works out to be quite a bit of money over the first 3 months.

10-30 lbs (or maybe a little less)
2 GroVia wraps
2 sets GroVia snap ins
5 OS Bum Genius Pockets
3 OS Bum Genius AIOs (All-In-Ones)
3 OS Gro Via AIOs (for night time)
TOTAL PRICE: around $300


I really like the GroVias for traveling. The wraps and snap ins work great and do not require a lot of space when packing. They're also absorbent. He grew out of the AIOs by 30lbs, however, they were easy to use and these two brands dry quickly.

I also like the OS option, being able to grow with a diaper was really useful to us.

25-40 lbs
3 M or L Fuzzi Bunz (for overnight)
2 OSFuzzibunz
Total Price: $80

From birth to potty training: $485 (not too shabby considering you can reuse or resell)

Grand total of diapers: 21 from 12-30+ lbs
10 or so for newborns

Granted there are ways to make this cheaper and ways to make it more expensive. I find that many websites offer free diapers if you purchase a certain $ amount. This stash would need to be washed every 2-3 days (the newborn would need more washings) or so...depending on the level of use and the amount of changes your child needs. Much of the stash could be used the entire 10-35 or more pounds. There are many other brands that I like and would also love to put in here, but I was thinking minimum of what I like and would do if I were to start over.

To make this price cheaper buy used and on sale. Many websites offer used diapers such as, Craigslist and diaperswappers. Also, if there is one brand that you really like get 15-20 diapers in their OS option(s). I think we have over 40 diapers, with 10 or so no longer used due to sizing or frustration with their performance. Many of my diapers were bought used or on clearance (probably 1/2). Four were free, either won in a contest or given by a website for purchasing a specific amount of merchandise.