Favorite Things Friday: Prefolds (part 1)

This is something new that I'm going to try out.  Every Friday (ummm maybe every other Friday) I'm going to pick one (probably diaper related) product that I really really like and write about it.  I'm hoping that this will keep me focused and give me something to write about each week.

For my first post, I'm going to talk about prefolds.  Not Gerber prefolds, but nice, high quality cotton ones.  These are the backbone of my stash, and if I had to choose only one type of diaper to have, it would be prefolds.  I'm actually going to have to break this up over a few entries, because I have a lot to say.

The main benefits of prefolds are:
- Low cost.  They're the cheapest cloth diaper option, aside from flats.  They typically cost somewhere around $2/diaper, compared to all in one styles that can cost over $20 each.  That's why prefolds are the most commonly recommended diaper for the newborn stage.  Newborns go through a ton of diapers every day, so you really want to have as many on hand as possible (generally 36 diapers, if you are planning on washing every other day) and prefolds are a perfect, inexpensive way to do that.
- Versatility.  They can be used in diaper form in a variety of ways- folded and snappi-d/pinned/boingo-ed, trifolded in a cover, or used as a pocket insert instead of microfiber.
- Longevity.  Prefolds can be used and stored for decades and still work perfectly.  You don't have to worry about elastic or PUL degrading like with a fitted or pocket diaper, since they're just cotton.  When you're done using them as diapers, you can use them around the house for cleaning rags or crafts.  Buying prefolds will give you the most bang for your buck, especially compared to disposable diapers.

But, of course, there are a few downsides:
- Learning curve.  If you aren't trifolding and putting the diaper in a cover, then you will need to learn how to fold the prefold onto your baby and how to fasten it to keep it on.  I recommend practicing on a doll before your baby.  Youtube is full of how-to videos, so definitely look there for some guidance.  In the same vein, people who watch your baby might not want to "hassle" with prefolds.  This is easily remedied by having a small stash of pockets or all in one diapers for them to use.
-   Prepping.  Any diaper that is made with natural fibers (cotton, hemp, bamboo) needs to be prepped before you can use it.  That's because there are plant oils coating the fabric, and until you get all of those oils off, your diapers won't be absorbent.  To reach full absorbency, it usually takes 4 or 5 full wash/dry cycles, with hot water.  This is time consuming and uses a lot of resources.  You can also boil them in a big pot on the stove, but that is still time consuming but at least it saves you some hot water.  If you want to, you could just wash/dry them one time and then start using them.  The only thing is they won't be quite as absorbent right off the bat, but as long as you keep that in mind and change your baby more frequently they will get more absorbent with each use.  Honestly, the best way to get prefolds is to find them used and take advantage of someone else doing the work for you.

The next time that I talk about prefolds, I'll discuss different cover types and different ways to fold and fasten them.  Like I said, prefolds are very versatile and can be used a ton of different ways, so that gives me way too much content for a single post.

Why We Use Cloth

I don't want this to be a run of the mill "cloth diapers are so awesome! Disposable diapers are terrible!" post. I don't hate disposables, and I don't begrudge anyone who decides to use them on their kids. When Arthur was brand new, we used disposables in the hospital because he came early and our cloth diapers weren't ready. Then in the beginning, my husband wasn't 100% confident with using cloth, so he went through a pack or two of disposables in the first month or so until he got used to it. Last night, he wore a disposable diaper to bed. Nobody died, and the world didn't end. That being said, even though I don't mind using a disposable diaper every once in a while, I definitely prefer using cloth.

1. There is no smell.
Disposable diapers just smell terrible. First, you have the overwhelmingly gag inducing chemical perfume smell that floods into your face as soon as you open up the package. Then, once the baby soils the diaper, you get to smell that weird smell AND human waste combined together. The smell seeps into the actual fabric of your kid's pants. Then you put the dirty diaper in the trash can, and there it sits along with all of the other smelly ones until someone takes the trash out. With cloth, on the other hand, the diaper will only have an odor to it if it's poopy. If your baby is on solid foods, the poop gets flushed down in the toilet- it's GONE. The dirty diaper goes into your wetbag which contains the odor and they all get washed within the next 2 days.

Money Savings.
I don't have any actual mathematical figures to base this off of. You can find a ton of different articles online that go into those specifics, and because I really don't keep track of how many diapers my baby uses in a day I can't do the math. But I do know this: We never have to choose between buying gas for the car or buying diapers. We never have to let him wear the same diaper for hours at a time because we have to try to make each pack of diapers last for as long as possible. A fully functional stash of cloth diapers can be bought for $100 or less, and then either sold after you're done or reused on other children. Go ahead and try to sell a previously worn disposable diaper and let me know how that works out for you.

Cuuuuuuuute!!
Cloth diapers are just cute. They come in every color you can imagine, beautiful prints, and different fabrics. Changing diapers really isn't the highlight of my day, but seeing a nice colorful diaper with stars on it makes it just a little bit more fun.

I'm Lazy.
I would much rather just dump a bag of cloth diapers into the washing machine than drag my butt (and my baby's butt) to the store for disposables. Cloth also eliminates the "we have 2 diapers left and every store is closed... and I think that I smell poop..." scenario. Diapers in the trashcan means that the trash needs to be emptied more often, which means we need to go to the dump more often. Honestly, anything that involves leaving the house more often than I absolutely have to is just way too much work for me. Believe me, if cloth diapers were difficult or inconvenient in any way shape or form, I wouldn't be using them.

Those are just a few of the reasons that we love using cloth diapers. What are your reasons?