I talked before about our plans for cloth diapering our newborn. Well,
that beautiful baby girl is now 9 1/2 weeks old. We started off with
disposables. Mostly because they were easy and my mom was there to
help. She does not do cloth diapers. ;-) They also proved to be
helpful when my husband lost his job and we had to move. Laundering
cloth diapers would have just added to the headache and stress of that
moment.
But now, we are back in our home and are cloth diapering her most of the time. I have tried everything I bought and here are our experiences up to this point.
Fitteds....
The ease of using fitted diapers is wonderful. They go on in a flash and we are back to doing something else much more exciting than diaper changes. However, they take FOREVER to dry in the dryer. In fact, I normally have to hang them for a while after being in the dryer to finish them off. That is annoying. Since we plan to start hanging out the diapers to dry in the back yard, I can imagine it is going to be an all day deal to get them dry. At least it won't add to my electric bill.
Prefolds....
I really was not looking forward to using them. But, I must admit that once I got the hang of putting them on and securing them with the Snappi's, They are my favorite. So easy, so simple. I do like the hemp ones a bit better than the cotton ones for laundering. Because of how they are made, they are MUCH easier and faster to dry. They also, after time, are more absorbent than cotton.
However, while the unbleached cotton prefolds take longer to dry that center section, for some reason I just like them better. Chalk it up to preference, but the cotton prefolds are the first I reach for when it is time for changing her.
Now, we had some Gerber bleached cotton prefolds and some of the non-bleached cotton prefolds. The non-bleached ones are much softer, much more absorbent and dry faster than the bleached ones.
Flats...
I can't lie, we have primarily used these for burp cloths. However, since I really hate drying the fitteds and the prefolds, I need to really practice my folds on the flats. If we can figure them out, not only will they be the cheapest option, they will dry in a flash since they are a single layer of cotton.
There is one pocket diaper we have been able to use so far. It is one that was given to us as a gift. I believe it is from Thirsties. It has both a microfiber and a cotton insert that snap together. It is also a size one. I really like this one and it just reminds me that I long for the day my baby girl chunks up enough that we can use primarily pocket diapers on her. They are still, by far, my favorite overall.
So, wish me luck figuring out those flats. I'll update you once we have mastered the art of flat folding.
But now, we are back in our home and are cloth diapering her most of the time. I have tried everything I bought and here are our experiences up to this point.
Fitteds....
The ease of using fitted diapers is wonderful. They go on in a flash and we are back to doing something else much more exciting than diaper changes. However, they take FOREVER to dry in the dryer. In fact, I normally have to hang them for a while after being in the dryer to finish them off. That is annoying. Since we plan to start hanging out the diapers to dry in the back yard, I can imagine it is going to be an all day deal to get them dry. At least it won't add to my electric bill.
Prefolds....
I really was not looking forward to using them. But, I must admit that once I got the hang of putting them on and securing them with the Snappi's, They are my favorite. So easy, so simple. I do like the hemp ones a bit better than the cotton ones for laundering. Because of how they are made, they are MUCH easier and faster to dry. They also, after time, are more absorbent than cotton.
However, while the unbleached cotton prefolds take longer to dry that center section, for some reason I just like them better. Chalk it up to preference, but the cotton prefolds are the first I reach for when it is time for changing her.
Now, we had some Gerber bleached cotton prefolds and some of the non-bleached cotton prefolds. The non-bleached ones are much softer, much more absorbent and dry faster than the bleached ones.
Flats...
I can't lie, we have primarily used these for burp cloths. However, since I really hate drying the fitteds and the prefolds, I need to really practice my folds on the flats. If we can figure them out, not only will they be the cheapest option, they will dry in a flash since they are a single layer of cotton.
There is one pocket diaper we have been able to use so far. It is one that was given to us as a gift. I believe it is from Thirsties. It has both a microfiber and a cotton insert that snap together. It is also a size one. I really like this one and it just reminds me that I long for the day my baby girl chunks up enough that we can use primarily pocket diapers on her. They are still, by far, my favorite overall.
So, wish me luck figuring out those flats. I'll update you once we have mastered the art of flat folding.
Sharon Underwood is a SAHM of one awesome
little 2 year old boy Derrek, and a beautiful baby girl Morgan. She and her husband live in rural town Nebraska. Through mutual friends, Sharon and I have learned quite a
bit about raising our families "naturally".
We are (primarily) using flat for Atticus, just layed in a diaper cover (just like you'd use a trifolded prefold). And I am lazy.
ReplyDeleteI fold it in half, in half again, and then fold it into three - thin enough to fit in our diaper covers - we're mostly using GroVias and have two Flip covers.
I'm actually surprised at how much I love them - and how QUICK they dry on the drying rack!!