When most people think of cloth diapers (those who aren’t familiar with them) probably think of safety pins and rubber pants. Well, they have come a long way.
However, prefolds & covers are probably the most similar to the “old fashioned” cloth diaper. The good thing is there is no more rubber or safety pins (unless you choose to use them). The waterproof covers are now soft and come in a variety of super cute patterns & colors.
Prefolds are the diapers we have the most of. Since Abby is still on her “poop after every feeding” schedule (where is my 1-poop-a-week breastfed baby??), they are the most economical option for us. We have 27 of them. 24 are cotton, 3 are hemp.
What I Like:
1. They are cheap. 24 gets us through about a day and a half of diapers right now. They were only $12 for 6, so that’s $2 a diaper.
2. Some of them wash up super fluffy – each diaper seems to be an “individual” and I love when the super soft fluffy ones come up in rotation.
3. They are easy to Snappi together, and I can customize their fold to make better “poop pockets” if necessary.
4. The covers that we use with them are super cute!
What I Dislike:
1. They aren’t super-fast to put on. Now, it doesn’t take forever, but, it’s not as fast as just snapping on a pocket or AIO diaper. However, I don’t feel like I’ve “wasted” a diaper if she decides to poop immediately after putting on a fresh diaper.
2. Not all of the diapers are super fluffy. Like I said, they seem to be “individuals” – some may have also been washed more than others, so I don’t like when one that’s not quite so soft comes up. But, Abby doesn’t seem to mind either way, so I probably shouldn’t either.
3. They are a two-step process, because you have to put a cover on them. Ok, well you don’t have to, but, you will have a very wet baby and a wet mommy and a wet whatever you put the baby in if you don’t. They are just cotton afterall.
4. When she has a wet diaper, that wetness is also against her skin on the inside. No moisture wicking.
5. They are sized – which, makes sense because you don’t want a ton of bulk on a little baby, but we will have to buy larger ones eventually.
Our hemp prefolds are from
Babykicks. We chose to throw three of these in our rotation.
What I Like:
1. They are more absorbent. So, theoretically, we can leave them on longer because they will hold more pee.
2. They are more moisture wicking. You can feel when they’re wet, but, they’re not sopping wet in the same way the cotton prefolds are.
3. They are bigger than the cotton prefolds. They didn’t shrink upon washing. So we will probably get to use these longer because it will take Abby longer to grow out of them.
What I Dislike:
1. They are bigger. Right now they are so big, they are too bulky on her. But, this is a temporary problem at least.
2. They are more expensive - $7/diaper. I almost didn’t want to get any, but Steve thought we should at least try them all to see what we like. But, I almost never use them, and Steve avoids them at all cost. They are our “laundry day” diaper. Not our best investment. I would have preferred to use that $21 and get another pocket or AIO diaper instead. But hey, we tried, and now we know.
3. They do not Snappi together well. The Snappi can’t “snag” the hemp very well. I’m always worried it will fall apart inside the cover and we’ll have a blowout. Maybe I’m doing it wrong, but, I dunno. I think there is really only one way to Snappi a diaper!
Our diaper covers are made by
Thirsties. They are the Thirsties Duo Wrap, and we have 4 of these (Mango, Warm Stripes, Alice Brights, and Blackbird).
What I Like:
1. They are cute!
2. They are really easy to put on. And the Aplix (Velcro) holds nicely!
3. They dry really fast. So if my covers get dirty but I still have prefolds on the table, it doesn’t take long to hand wash one really quick and let it air dry out.
4. They have double leg gussets. This has saved us from many an infant poo blowout!
5. The rise is adjustable via snaps. Although, I dunno if it’s because Abby is long, or because the prefolds are a little bulky underneath, we’ve never actually felt the need to adjust the rise. They stay unsnapped, and have since we bought them about a month ago.
6. They are relatively inexpensive. $13-14 each. Paired with a prefold that’s only $15-16 a diaper. Still cheaper than most pockets and AIOs.
**EDIT** I was thinking about this - and, we only have 4 covers for 27 prefolds. So, the cost is actually less, since we don't use them one for one (they dry out in between uses). So, that means we have 1 cover for every 6.75 diapers. That brings the total cost to about $4.50 per diaper. I was WAY off....so it is definitely a cheap option!
What I Dislike:
1. So far, nothing! These are wonderful! Well, ok – if there is one thing I dislike, it’s that they aren’t one-size. We have “Size 1” which fits up to 18lbs, after that, we need to go up to “Size 2.” So, if we continue to use prefolds (which, since they are cheap we probably will), we will need to invest in more covers.
So – there is my assessment of prefolds. Our prefolds anyway. There are a ton of other types of prefold diapers and other brands of diaper covers that we haven’t (and probably won’t ever) try out. So, if any of you out there CD and have an opinion on something that you think is better (or worse!) feel free to comment and let me know!
Oh – by the way, this is a Snappi:
We have two. They work similar to how those little metal things that come with Ace Bandages work. They have little teeth that grasp the fabric, and they’re stretchy so they pull the sides & crotch of the diaper in tight!
