New to cloth diapers?

If you are just starting out and want more information on cloth diapers, check out my posts in October and November of 2009. This will give you information on types of cloth diapers, washing routines etc..... You are welcome to email me if you have any questions.

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

My favorite workhorse diaper.....

I would like to share with you my favorite inexpensive and easy to use cloth diaper. The humble prefold. Prefolds make up the bulk of my daughters cloth diaper stash. While I love the ease of the Sposoeasy all-in-one and the containment of the Mother-ease or Under The Nile fitted diapers, I always return to my true workhorse diaper, prefolds.

These diapers are large rectangles of cotton twill fabric that have extra layers of fabric down the center for greater absorbancy through the "wet zone". Prefolds generally come in 4 sizes. Preemie size, for the tiniest babies, infant size for babies 7-15lbs, premium size for babies 15-30+lbs and toddler size for big toddlers. There is also a "standard" size which is the same dimensions as the premium, but thinner through the middle, making a less bulky diaper (and also less absorbent). Most babies will only ever use infant and premium sizes. Infant size diapers will be bulky on a normal size newborn, but preemie size are not thick enough to provide the absorbency needed. Traditional prefold diapers, are often not wide enough for chubby babies and thus become hard to pin or snappi as the baby grows. Sizing up gives more width, but also a lot more length, thus the diaper needs to be folded down, creating more bulk in either the back or the front (depending on your fold).

I have discovered and love to use a wonderful prefold diaper from an online company called Green Mountain Diapers. These prefolds are named Cloth-eez (registered trade name) Prefold Diapers. These diapers come in 5 sizes, each of which have extra width without the extra length to fold down. Newborn size for babies 6-10lbs, size small for 10-15lbs, size medium for 15-29lbs, size large for 25-35lbs and toddler for large toddlers up to 40lbs. The newborn size will truly fit a tiny newborn, of course they won't last long and those of you who have larger newborns can start with a size small. Size small should last up to 5 months, then instead of having to size up to a prefold that is too long, size medium Cloth-eez is a perfect fit. Size medium may last up to 18 months depending on the shape/weight of your baby. Size large should last through potty training. Cloth-eez prefolds are slightly more expensive than traditional sized prefolds, but they are well worth it. You can get them in "bleached" white cotton, unbleached cotton or yummy organic cotton (my favorite).

My daughter wore traditional infant size prefolds from about 6 weeks old until 5 months old. At that point they were getting too narrow to fasten. I then ordered Cloth-eez prefolds in size medium, they fit great and lasted until she was about 14 months old. A great investment. My daughter currently wears size large Cloth-eez prefolds, but she also wears traditional premium size prefolds as well.

Now that I have given my recommendation regarding prefolds from greenmountaindiapers.com, let me add that I think traditional sized prefolds are great diapers. This type of prefold diaper is available from many online retailers including babyworks.com and zoombabygear.com. These companys sell diaper service quality (DSQ) prefolds, which are superior to Gerber prefolds that you can find at Fred Meyer (I don't recommend those for anything except maybe birp cloths). These prefolds are great because they are inexpensive, easy to use and easy to wash and they are all natural fibers against your babies skin....cotton. Traditional sized prefolds are easy to just fold in thirds and lay in a snug fitting wrap style diaper cover, no pinning required. Two sizes will work from birth to potty training. If you need to save money, and don't mind a bulky diaper during those first few weeks, then traditional sized prefolds are great. I diapered my first baby in these prefolds and never had a complaint.

Happy cloth diapering,
Geneva

1 comment:

  1. Dear Geneva, I met you at the Above Rubies retreat in Oct. I am expecting baby 6 next month. I talked with you about cloth diapering. I have 15 Bum Genius that I couldn't get clean so I asked you about what you use. I have been reading your blog and going to the sites you recommend. I really like the Green Mnt Diaper site because of all the info and pictures. Thank you for the resource! I have a few questions I was hoping you could answer. They really rave about wool. I'm thinking of getting wool for nighttime. How many do you recommend I get since they don't dry very quickly? I'm thinking of starting cloth after the newborn stage because my babies are usually 12 pounds by 2 months. Have you tried the wool Kissaluvs or Aristocrats?
    Also, if I could buy one detergent for all my clothes and diapers what would you recommend?
    I'm thinking I'll get Bummis w/snaps in medium with medium Cloth-eez for daytime.
    Thanks!
    Kristi
    email me at kristiknifong@juno.com
    or
    kristiknifong.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete