Before my first child arrived, I had built what I thought was a complete stash. Ha! My first stash consisted of:
12 Sunbaby
6 Bum Genius 4.0
6 Econobum prefolds and covers
3 Rumparooz pocket shells without inserts
2 small Bum Genius 3.0 all in one
1 Flip cover and stay dry insert
2 Kushies "on the go" wetbag
2 Kissaluvs pail liners
Ok, so it wasn't a very smart stash. First of all, I didn't realize that econobum were a prefold/cover system until after I bought them. I wasn't interested in using prefolds, but I'm glad I ended up with them anyway since I used them at night for a long time. However, I didn't need 6 covers. There were on a bogo sale, and I didn't really know any better. I also didn't understand the ai2/hybrid system. One flip insert and one cover is pretty pointless. I don't even know why they sell them that way.
I started using cloth when my daughter was four weeks old. It didn't take long to figure out that I needed to make some changes. I bought a Flip daypack (2 covers and 6 inserts) and 3 Bottom Bumpers.
I went back to work when Reagan was 3 months old. I was sending pocket diapers to her babysitter because it seemed easier for her. Well, the pockets were getting used at daycare and that left me with my prefolds and flips. Wait a second, part of the appeal for me had been that new cloth diapers are as easy as disposables, but I was using 2 part systems. So, I decided that I needed more pockets. I sold a flip cover and 3 inserts and bought 12 more Sunbaby.
I probably would have left it at that if I didn't get involved in talking to other cloth diapering moms online and in my local group. When Reagan was 7 months old, I heard about the Little Bee Co. They are a company that for each diaper purchased from them, they donate one diaper to an orphanage somewhere in the world, or to a region struck by disaster. I couldn't help it, I needed to be a part of that even if it was a small way. So I bought a Little Bee Co. diaper.
When she was 9 months old, itti bitti tuttos were on sale on Zulily. I had heard such good things about them and at $10 off, I had to give it a try. I think it may be the only diaper that I regret spending the money on. When you hate a cheap diaper, you can forgive it. When you hate an expensive diaper, forgiveness is hard to come by.
That was supposed to be my last diaper purchase until we had baby #2. And it was, sort of. I found out we were expecting #2 a couple weeks before Reagan's 1st birthday. Since the first time I regretted not using newborn diapers, I was determined this time to have a newborn stash. The only question at that point was, girl prints or boy prints. It was a long wait to October to find out that Noah was going to be joining our family in February, but October is such an awkward time. I was torn between the desire to go all out and buy newborn fluff and cute diapers with monsters and trucks on them or waiting until . . . Black Friday. The year before, I was not in the market for new diapers and was super jealous of the awesome deals people got on Black Friday. So, I decided to wait.
Maybe I shouldn't have waited.
Black Friday was fine, but I really felt like there weren't that many good deals. I've found better deals at other times during the year. But something else that I had discovered since the early days was pulling at me: co-ops! I hadn't known about co-ops when I bought my first stash and I'm still not convinced that they are that good of a deal, but this time, I gave them a try as well as trying out new brands that I had been waiting for a new baby to try. In preparing for Noah's arrival, my new stash included:
Newborn:
12 infant prefolds from cottonbabies
6 osocozy flats
3 thirsties duo covers
2 bummis nb covers
6 thx newborn diapers
4 xs fuzzibunz
2 tots bots tiny fit
1 swaddlebees newborn
1 kawaii pure and natural
One Size:
32 sunbaby
6 bum genius 4.0
6 econobum prefolds
5 alva
4 Flip stay dry
3 tots bots easy fit
3 bottom bumpers
3 jc trade
1 little bee co.
1 itti bitti tutto
1 swaddlebees simplex
1 grovia aio
1 kawaii
6 econobum covers
2 flip covers
Since Noah's birth 4 months ago, I have sold my newborn stash with the exception of the prefolds, flats and kawaii. I have also purchased another one size bottom bumpers (it was 40% off! How do you say no to that?) and 2 Bum-ware extreme. Now that Reagan is 90% potty trained, I am cleaning up all the girly diapers and getting ready for another de-stash. Of course, then I will have more money to spend of diapers.
I always find it funny when people want to know how many diapers you should have and how much a stash costs. Of course, these are natural questions, but given my own experience, a cloth diaper stash is never complete, it is constantly changing, growing and shrinking to meet your family's needs.
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