One of the most common things I hear about modern cloth diapers is how there are "No more pins! They all have velcro closures and look really cute!"
It is true, diapers have come a long way from the Gerber birdseye flats and plastic pants.
But every time I hear someone disparage another from using prefolds and pins, I cringe.
We started cloth diapering Ethan when he was about 3 months old.
He had been in a variety of disposable diapers since birth.
First there was Pampers Swaddlers, which were tiny and cute. Then he got too big for those.
Then there were Huggies, which he leaked out of horribly.
We ended up using a combination of Luvs and store brand diapers towards the end of our disposable diapering days.
Throughout this entire time I was noticing how Ethan was getting a pretty nasty rash, not only on his bottom but on all areas of his body. I had read in passing about cloth on the internet, but didn't really look too much into it.
It was the price tag that really struck me. Twenty dollars for a diaper?!
We couldn't afford that.
We ended up at a local retailer's store and I fell in love with cloth.
They were so incredibly soft, I just couldn't help myself.
We left with a one size pocket diaper and an organic diaper cover.
Those early days were full of trial and error. I mostly washed by hand and then hung to dry, for fear of ruining our new diapers. I wasn't told straight away that we needed "special" laundry detergent made for cloth diapers and I was washing the diapers with Aveeno baby wash in the sink. Hey, they smelled good!
At that point we were still in disposables about 70% of the time anyways.
I went through so many different kinds of diapers.
There were one size diapers, which were extremely convenient, but a pain to stuff and un stuff.
I actually sized up in every thing that wasn't one size because Ethan was growing like a weed and I figured he wouldn't be in the smaller diapers for long.
It wasn't a terrible idea, but not the greatest idea either. Most of his diapers ended up looking saggy and weird, and I realized that he probably could have worn a smaller size for many more months.
Nowadays I look into my stash closet and see an array of diapers.
I've got my super cute fitteds, which are so easy and absorbent.
I've got my 2 PUL covers, a Flip and a Blueberry Coveralls. (These are the daddy friendly diapers as you can trifold a prefold and lay in the cover and fasten to baby.)
I've got my super cute fleece soakers.
I've got my wonderful wool and my few pocket diapers.
But my absolute favorites are my prefolds.
I was always intimidated by prefolds. Just seeing them in person was confusing.
"They're not cute," I told myself. "They look complicated to use."
So I put off using them.
When I finally did take the plunge and purchase some prefolds I ended up getting a snappi.
It was the most frustrating little thing I have ever used.
It never wants to stay put, and sometimes Ethan has gotten stabbed with the little teeth.
I felt horrible about it.
We use pins because they are easy.
No really, they are easy.
You get prefold in place under baby, get baby nice and distracted, and run the open pin through your hair.
Then glide pin through the prefold.
It is really so easy, and I have never poked Ethan with one.
I love the trim fit we get with prefolds and pins, and I don't have to worry about Ethan playing with the snappi and getting it caught on something. (Did I mention that the Snappi always likes to catch my clothes? It is not fun.)
I know you are supposed to put covers on over diapers.
We absolutely do when we go out, but when we are at home we don't feel the need to.
Another great thing about prefolds is how inexpensive they are.
Instead of spending 20 dollars a diaper you only spend about 2-3 dollars a diaper.
And that's if you buy new! You save a ton buying used, and they will undoubtedly last through several children.
Where can you buy prefolds?
You can get them from a number of stores.
In town there is Eden's Baby, Go Baby Go, and Craigslist (if you want to go the gently used route).
My favorite place online to buy them is Green Mountain Diapers.
The sizing is superb (shorter length and wider than most other diapers) and the price is great. I even got my pins from GMD.
None of the local retailers carry pins at the moment, but I wish they did!
