Earlier this week I converted prefolds from the traditional flats that you can get anywhere in Malaysia. It is very cheap to make, I got the flats for RM36.90 for a dozen.

So, let’s start with determining the size. For this tutorial, I’m making newborn size, that is 11″ by 11″. I also want a good absorbency, so let’s make it 4 x 8 x 4 ply.

Step 1: Prepping the flats

You can either prewash the fabric to allow for shrinkage or, prewash later, but you have acommodate the measurements for shrinkage. The flats shrunk about half an inch. The funny thing is, on packaging it says 30″x30″ but I got flats that are 31.5″ by 27.5″. Prewash 1-2 times to make sure it has fully shrunk.

Step 2: Cutting

Trim off one edge. Eventually we are going to trim all edges, but I find the fabric is more forgiving when working with the edges.

Then, fold on the long side until we get a measurement of 11.5″ folded. The extra half an inch is to accommodate for serging in case the edges end up wonky.

I feel like having a new baby means a few DIY items. With Sara, I made some blankets, pillows, nap mat and also pregnancy pillow. Now, with the second one, it’s cloth diapering stuff.

So.. this time I made some newborn sized prefolds and also cloth wipes. With Sara, we started cloth when she was over 4 months old. So we have never diapered a newborn. One size is wayyy too big for tiny newborns.

Newborns poop a lot. Most of the time, they need to be changed every 2 hours. That’s 12 diaper change in 24 hours! Now, we are planning to use disposables for the first week as laundry may seem too much. After that, hopefully, we’ll be all set to do cloth. After much research, here’s how my newborn stash looks like. My stash is built based on a small budget, to launder everyday.

12 Newborn Prefolds  

Prefolds are so much easier to use than flats, and for more bang for the buck, I made them my own, converted from the traditional ‘kain lampin’ flats! So.. I only spent Rm36 for 12 prefolds. Woot woot! I also got a pair of those snappi diaper fastener.

7 Small Sized Prefolds
In case the little one grows out of the newborn size earlier, but still too small for one-size dipes.

5 Flats
As backup in case I run out of diapers. These are only the traditional kain lampin that can also be used as swaddling blankets. 🙂

5 Wipeable Newborn Covers
Prefolds and flats need waterproof covers. I guess I prefer wipeable covers so I can use them twice (maybe thrice) before needing washing. I suppose five would suffice. I bought the Happy Flute covers for just RM19 per pc at SweetLunaShop.

4 Newborn AIO
These AIO’s (All-In-Ones) are for night time use where I don’t think I’m up for some origami in the middle of the night. They work like disposables, no pocket or anything to stuff. I got the THX brand for just RM18 each (on sale from RM26!). A lot of people say they are similar to Lil Joey’s NB AIOs.  Actually, I would get more of them, but this is budget cloth diapering. heheh. :p

3 Bamboo Boosters 
I made them my own using leftovers from the wipes fabric. I just made 3″ x 8″ 2ply bamboo terry in case the baby outgrow the absorbency of the newborn dipes before outgrowing the size. Should I need more, I can just quickly whip out from bamboo fleece I have laying around in my sewing room. Easy peasy.

Cloth Wipes
I heard cloth wipes make GREAT wipes. More so than the disposable ones, that are loaded with unnecessary chemicals. I have no experience with cloth wipes, and I have no idea what kind of wipes I would prefer, so I went with the most popular one which is bamboo terry and flannel. Again, to keep my budget low, I made them myself. They are so easy and quick to make. I made 20 of 8″x8″  flannel + bamboo terry wipes, and 8 of single layer bamboo terry as I heard it’s also good to have thin wipes. In total I have 28 wipes.

Oh.. I just love these wipes. They are so so soft and the bamboo terry feels luxurious! Plus, they look so cute! 😛

So that’s it, newborn stash! Now please excuse me, I need to do some laundry 😉

Since my previous post on why we made the decision to change to cloth, I thought I should do a review on cloth diapers to help people make decisions. When I started CD-ing, it is quite hard to find good reviews on economical cloth diapers in Malaysia.

All the cloth diapers I’m reviewing are under RM50, because I simply won’t be able to justify the price of premium diapers. Designer prints, yes. They all end up being pooped on.

The brands that I’m reviewing are; TeddyGenius, Adora, Rumparooz, Bamboolite, Bayu diapers.

Baby’s profile: Sara, 6mo baby girl.

Build: Slim, slim waist with slight tummy. Medium thighs.

Wetting behaviour: Moderate

Part 1: OS Pocket Diapers

Pockets are close to disposable diapers. Except that there’s a pocket that you can insert an absorbent insert that’s gonna absorb all the moisture. The insert is inserted into the pocket because it can not touch baby’s skin. Below are the general pros & cons of One Size Pocket Diapers.

Pros:

• Prestuff pockets are more daddy/nanny friendly as stuffed pockets work like disposables.
• Usually fast drying because the inserts come apart
• Ability to customize absorbency by changing or doubling the inserts

Cons:

• You may have to pull out nasty insert out to prior to washing.  Although some pockets are designed so that it self agitate in the washer.
• It’s bulkier and takes more storage space
• Requires extra time to stuff the pockets before use.

Recently I made, what I believe, is a responsible choice to try out cloth diapering. I’ve been wanting to cloth diaper even while I was still pregnant, but the thought of doing laundry, and, all this information are.. overwhelming. Flats? prefolds? Pockets, AIO, AI2. (WHAT?) Then, there are inserts, hemp, microfiber, bamboo, stay dri, natural, organic.. ARGH!!!

The first switch I made was switching to cloth nursing pads. Previously I was using disposables nursing pads and they are so expensive! It’s about RM30/week. So, my husband suggested the washable ones and I cringed everytime he suggested it, thinking about the extra laundry + overwhelming new baby. Then, I found a good deal, 8 pairs for RM32, I didn’t think twice and grabbed them. It turned out to be extremely comfortable (no wonder I was so cranky before, my breasts were uncomfortable! haha) and the laundry wasn’t that much at all!

Now, fast foward. When Sara was barely 5 months, I got brave and bought some pocket CDs (that’s cloth diapers) from Teddy Genius. Since they were on clearence, no harm.

My logic: I can do washable nursing pads. That means I can do CD, too.

I initially got three. And now I’ve increased my stash to, to, well, a few of various brands. Now, I’ve been CD-ing (let’s keep up with the lingo, folks!) for a month and I have to say that it’s a wonderful experience, I enjoy it and I’m definitely ready to CD full time.

There are four reasons why I PERSONALLY  love cloth diapering; cost efficient, environment, comfort and health.

1. ENVIRONMENT

I am, by no means a hardcore green person. I do try when I can, to recycle. (I don’t know if Malaysia has pickup services for recyclables). However, the amount of disposables we’re throwing away is crazy! During Sara’s first 3 months of life, we have thrown away about 1000 disposable diapers into the landfill. That is an awful lot of diapers, it’s INSANE! Now, imagine that average babies are on diapers for 2.5 to 3 years. That’s almost 8,000 diapers for just ONE baby!

To give you the visual, it’s probably equivalent to a full rack at the store.

According to Real Diaper Association, it takes approximately 250-300 years for a diaper to decompose! Whoaaaa

When you think about the mountains of landfill, it’s kinda irresponsible of us humans to do that to our own environment for the sake of “convenience” of taking care of our offsprings. Don’t you think? There are people who genuinely believe human shouldn’t procreate for environment’s sake.

Sure, disposables come in handy during overseas trip and such, but on day-to-day basis, it makes sense to use cloth. Here’s some light on our landfill situation. Now that my perspective has changed, I will consider switching to cloth pads too, once I get my period back.