Your every need, and then some

I’ve shared that my list of must-haves for newborns is pretty short. My biggest concerns are feeding the baby (no purchases required there), having some warmth and such on hand (blankets, onesies), and, of course, covering the child’s bottom.

Covering the bottom is the part that gets me the most excited because, ummm… I absolutely adore tiny little cloth diapered bums. I do. Call it a personal failing, but nothing says newborn to me like the first time I lay a diaper under my baby’s skinny butt and snappi a little square of cotton over it.

I never said I was normal, people.

All that being said, the start-up costs of cloth diapering– even if you’re a pre-folds and PUL covers kind of family– can seem prohibitive when you’re living on a budget that has no wiggle room. In our case, I had calculated out what we could afford and planned to invest in a dozen of my favorite pre-folds, knit up as many wool covers from my stash as I could manage, and plan on laundering daily.

It wasn’t a perfect plan, but it was all I had. And honestly, I felt pretty grateful to do it.

So imagine my surprise when God provided for a need as small as a baby’s diapers.. in abundance.

Through a network of amazing Mommas who know what it is to love babies, stretch a dollar, and still live with open hands, we have been blessed with pre-loved cloth diapers that will stretch out laundry days and still keep us (well, the baby) covered.

I am in awe. There are no words for the gratitude in my heart for these beloved sisters.

Seeing that I was suddenly flush with diapers, I decided to diversify my new-to-me stash. The bulk of the diapers are pre-folds, which suit me just fine. Buuuut… I am in the only one who has mastered the fine art of the many folds; Christopher prefers fitteds. What to do? Pinterest had an answer for that, don’t worry.

Using this fabulous tutorial by The Handmade Dress, I was able to convert four pre-folds into fitteds in about an hour. For free, folks! How amazing is that? I even managed to fiddle around enough to get some gussets happening– something that comes in very, very handy with exclusively breastfed infants, I can tell you.

 

 

I plan on converting a few more to make more changes that Daddy can easily throw on without much thought. Those first few were so fun that I’m now pondering trying my hand at contours. Practical, yet crafty, too. See? God’s got it covered … even down to the baby’s diapers!