Prefolds Archives

Let’s Talk Absorption: Smart Bottoms Too Smart Inserts

2016/01 By Lauren B. Stevens 1 Comment

Just when you thought you had heard the last from me about cloth diapers and cloth diapering…and then Smart Bottoms sends me a pack of their Too Smart Inserts – hello absorption!

Too Smart Inserts would have saved me a ton of time when I first began cloth diapering! If you’ve followed my blog for any length of time, you know that I am a huge fan of prefold cloth diapers. In fact, my son was exclusively diapered with prefolds the first six months, so I feel like a pro at simplicity in diapering. I had a handful of covers at the time (Smart Bottoms Too Smart Covers weren’t around at that time) and used them in conjunction with the insane collection of prefolds I had amassed. My love for prefolds stemmed from two things: 1.) they’re virtually indestructible (seriously, ask a dedicated prefold user), and 2.) they’re inexpensive. I would add a third reason to use covers and prefolds or inserts — you’re prepared to make a diaper from anything, should you run out of diapers (seriously, been there, done that — for the record, receiving blankets make great flat diapers).

Anyway, as with all things Smart Bottoms, I’m a fan of Too Smart Inserts because they’re made from 4 thirsty layers of organic cotton (you can find my thoughts on natural fibers HERE), and measure 5×30, which means that you can flip, fold and origami these bad boys anyway you want to create a wonderfully absorbent system (with a Too Smart Cover, or any diaper cover, for that matter) for your bambino. I love these lengthy Too Smart Inserts because they have that signature length that makes them perfect for adjusting the absorption for baby boys in the front (check out my thoughts on the best cloth diapers for boys HERE).

Sold in 3-packs, Too Smart Inserts retail at $15, which makes them $5 a piece (math genius here). While more expensive than your average prefold, I would add Too Smart Inserts to my Cloth Diapering Accessory Must Haves list for two reasons. One, diapering emergencies happen. Remember that receiving blanket incident I told you about? I’m a firm believer that every cloth diapering family should own at least one diaper cover, even if they are an exclusive all-in-one (AIO) family. Because emergencies. Even after I transitioned to AIOs, I kept a cover and prefold in my diaper bag for emergency backup. Here’s the second reason why you need to add Too Smart Inserts to your cloth diaper accoutrements — they don’t take up much room…at all. I would have loved to have these inserts, as my backup cover and prefold took up precious room in my diaper bag. With Too Smart Inserts, you have all of the absorption of a prefold in a nice, trim insert.

Another reason to grab a pack of Too Smart Inserts? I have two words for you: Heavy. Wetter. Yep. My son went from a barely pee-er to a super-soaker at around a year old. It threw me into a panic, and I scrambled to, once again, adjust our cloth diapers to my son’s needs — this is when I discovered Smart Bottoms Smart Ones and never looked back!

Smart Bottoms Too Smart Inserts are great for everyday use with covers, perfect for your diaper bag emergency stash, and even better to have on hand for overnight diapering or adding additional absorption if your little one becomes a heavy wetter over night.

You can purchase Smart Bottoms Too Smart Inserts at select cloth diaper retailers, or you can find them at my two affiliate cloth diaper retailers, Diaper Junction and Kelly’s Closet.

* I received a pack of Too Smart Inserts for the purposes of this post; all opinions expressed are my own.

Best Cloth Diapers for Boys

2015/04 By Lauren B. Stevens 107 Comments

My little guy graduated from adorable cloth diapers to underwear last week, which led me to reflect on some of my favorite diapers throughout the years. With almost three years of cloth diapering under my belt, having tried every cloth diaper style, I can say that I definitely have favorites. My disclaimer is that this is my own list of the best cloth diapers for boys, as I’ve not tried every diaper on the market. From flats to all-in-one (AIO) cloth diapers, I’m discussing my picks for the best cloth diapers for boys.

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Natural Fibers for the Cloth Diapering WIN!

2014/12 By Lauren B. Stevens 20 Comments

I have to admit, I went ‘old school’ when I began cloth diapering two and a half years ago. In a money saving effort, I decided to use prefolds and covers to cloth diaper our son. Shoot, if it worked for my mom, it could work for me, right?

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3 [Additional] Reasons to Buy Buttons Cloth Diapers

2014/06 By Lauren B. Stevens 11 Comments

I had the opportunity to review Buttons all-in-two (AI2) cloth diapers for you at the end of March, and absolutely love their AI2 design (easy snap-in inserts, pretty color selection, and ease in laundering). Towards the end of May, I noticed a strange pattern on the inside of my Buttons diaper shells; upon closer inspection, it appeared as though someone had rubbed tiny patches of the PUL coating off in almost a polka dot pattern all over the shell; I had received a diaper shell with defective PUL (although rare, it sometimes happens — this was my first experience). [Read more…]

All Prefolds Are NOT Created Equal

2013/07 By Lauren B. Stevens 23 Comments

I would like to thank everyone for stopping by for my Preference for Prefolds Party – I hope that you continue to visit! I would like to thank all of our sponsors.
Today’s post is a sponsored post by Thanks Mama, your one-stop shop for all cloth diapering and natural parenting needs.

I was inspired to write this post because there are barely any diaper comparisons out there…involving only prefolds. I see people write comparing new ‘models’ to old, name brand v. china cheapie knockoff, but I’ve never come across any prefold comparisons. I’ll be honest and say that I am typically a minimalist with diapering (at the end of the day, diapers are really just pee and poop catchers), and really thought that all prefolds were pretty much the same. I’m happy to say that I’ve been proved wrong.

Thanks Mama was kind enough to send me a selection of 5 different prefolds to try, all of which are available to order here. All of these prefolds styles/brands (I’ve used a different OsoCozy prefold…and liked it) were new to me, so it was a fun experience! I should add that I do have experience using several other prefold brands, including Bummis, Econobum, Green Mountain, and Geffen Baby.

This is an absolutely unscientific comparison. I will be rating prefolds based upon the following criteria:

the diaper’s ability to absorb and distribute moisture
the material (soft, stiff, stretchy, breathability, etc.)
fit

I’m going to start with my least favorite prefold of those that I tested: The OsoCozy Stay Dry Better Fit:

I disliked this diaper before I even had the chance to try it out. After prepping, washing, and drying, the OsoCozy Stay Dry Better Fit pilled…and left pills all over a brand new fleece cover I had thrown in with my prefold wash. Not a happy camper, especially since the pills were white and the fleece cover primarily brown. If you look at the center photo above, you can see the pilling that occurred after washing. While I’m sure that this prefold would perform better when trifolded, I have to give this one an ‘F’:

Absorbency? What absorbency? This is one of the few diapers I have that gets completely soaked when D wears it.
The redeeming factor for this diaper would be the microfleece lining, meant to wick moisture away from baby’s skin, except it pilled so badly in the wash. The outer layer of the diaper is bleached & scratchy cotton.
Because this is designed for folding into thirds and laying in a cover (which I don’t do, as I like my little guy’s diapers to fit snugly and contain messes) pinning this prefold really doesn’t work. The diaper is way too short to be a good fit when pinned and just doesn’t have the absorbency.

This diaper is good for stuffing pocket diapers or used trifolded into a cover.

I also received an OsoCozy Better Fit Unbleached Prefold to try. Much like the Stay Dry Better Fit, this diaper is meant to be trifolded and placed into a cover like a pad. This diaper gets a slightly higher grade than the Stay Dry, as it doesn’t have a fleece lining that pills. This diaper, however, is not good for pinning, as it fits just like the Stay Dry above, and doesn’t have great absorbency (when not trifolded). This diaper is good for stuffing pocket diapers or used trifolded into a cover.

Now on to some diapers I really like. I’m thinking it’s no coincidence that these are all hemp prefolds…

I have to start with a disclaimer with the Hemp Babies BiggerWeeds, this is yet another prefold that is designed to be trifolded and placed into a cover or stuffed into a pocket diaper. However, as the above photo shows, it works perfectly fine pinned as well.

Despite being designed to be trifolded for use, it’s no surprise that this hemp diaper is pretty absorbent. I really like the absorbency and distribution of moisture, and find it interesting that it performs as well as my unbleached organic cotton prefolds with tons of layers. That, my friends, is the beauty of hemp.
The Hemp Babies prefold is nice and soft, as you can see from the photo — would you believe that this is line-dried? My only complaint? The material is really stretchy, which is not so great for pinning (but it’s not meant to be pinned). And, the material is a little thinner than my other hemp prefolds, but again, this diaper is meant to be folded into thirds, not used as one layer.
This prefold is a lot wider than the others, likely because it’s to be folded down. However, the elasticity of the fabric makes is incredibly easy to shape on baby; in the above photo, I’ve tucked excess material into the legs at the upper thighs.

If you like to lay your prefolds into your covers, or use prefolds to stuff your pocket diapers, Hemp Babies prefolds are the perfect choice for you. This prefold will provide a ton of absorbency, with all of the awesome antibacterial properties of hemp. (I want to try flats with my next kiddo, and am totally eyeing the Hemp Babies Flat Weeds)

Okay, so my favorite diaper of the bunch is a total toss-up. The two remaining are amazing hemp diapers, each with it’s own merits!

You’ll laugh when I say this, but the BabyKicks Hemparoo Fleece Prefolds are so soft that you want to cuddle with them!

This is an unbelievably absorbent diaper, so much so, that I almost feel guilty only using this for daytime. If we were able to cloth diaper overnight (my little guy’s urine is too concentrated & his skin is too sensitive to go overnight) this would be one of my go-to diapers.
As I said, this is an incredibly soft diaper. Made from 55% hemp/ 45% cotton fleece, you could repurpose this diaper into a stuffed toy. Not that you would particularly want to do that, but I’m just saying…. I think that Declan would deem this diaper the most comfortable of the lot, as far as softness goes. I do, however, think that he gets a little hotter in this diaper than in his jersey hemp. Again, I’ve not taken actual temps, it just my impression that the jersey breathes a bit more.
Because the material has a bit more movement to it than cotton, the fit is better. Declan is actually at the smallest end of this size (you can tell by how it comes down on his hips/upper thighs), but I’ve used a bikini twist fold to fit him nicely.

Looking for a super soft and absobent prefold, then the BabyKicks Hemparoo Fleece is the right fit for you. Don’t forget, this diaper is great for nighttime diapering.

And last, but certainly not least, I present the Thirsties Duo Hemp Prefold:

I have to say that I am a huge fan of jersey hemp, which is why the Thirsties Duo Hemp may just have a slight edge over the BabyKicks Hemparoo Fleece diaper. I recently tried my first jersey hemp prefold when I reviewed Geffen Baby, and absolutely fell in love.

This is a super ‘thirsty’ diaper! Again, I feel guilty only using this for daytime use, as this diaper is hardly wet after 2-3 hours on. The fabric distributes moisture superbly and is an excellent choice for a nighttime diaper.
Thirsties Duo Hemp has an ingenious edge, in that it is sewn with an opening between it’s two 2 ply hemp jersey knit layers (see center photo above). This allows this prefold to dry a lot faster. This diaper has an excellent stretch to it, so it forms to D’s body and moves with him (versus cotton prefolds, which have no ‘give’ to them). Another thing that gives this diaper a slight edge over the others? Breathability. The Duo Hemp is comprised of 4 layers of jersey knit hemp, and breathes a bit better than some of the other diapers I’ve tried.
This is a very trim diaper. The 4 layers of stretchy fabric form easily to D’s body, and provide an amazing amount of absorbency without a lot of bulkiness.

What are your thoughts? What prefolds are your favorites and why?

Thanks again, to Thanks Mama for making this post possible. You can connect with Thanks Mama on Facebook, Pinterest, and Twitter to find out the newest in natural baby products, and be the first to find out about specials.

*This post contains affiliate links.

Repurposing Your Prefolds

2013/07 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

Today’s guest post comes from Suzi, an expat living in Canada and the cloth diapering genius behind Cloth Diaper Addicts.

Prefolds, love them or hate them, are easily the most versatile option in the cloth diapering world. If you aren’t using those simple layers of cotton on your baby’s bottom, then there are a ton of other ways for repurposing prefolds.

When my littles were small enough to require that I pack a lot for them, I loved to pack a single prefold diaper in my diaper bag. It had a multitude of uses, even during the time period when I might put it on my baby’s bum. Prefolds are soft and absorbent, so it was a great option to use as a burp cloth. Even better, it’s of a much more useful size than those silly little things that might cover a shoulder. It kept both my outfits and baby’s outfits pristine, reducing the need to carry clothes to change into for either of us. Not only that, but in a pinch, a prefold could be used as a receiving blanket in a chilly store or as a replacement changing pad when yours is forgotten. (And I do mean “when,” not “if.” Because these things will always happen at some point.)Repurposing Prefolds On the Go

Repurposing Prefolds in the Car

Let’s face it: little kids are messy little things. If it’s liquid, they’ll spill it. If it’s sticky, they’ll wear it. Keeping a prefold in the car is a fantastic way of taking care of unexpected messes. If you live in the South, you know that it gets brutally hot, especially in a closed up car. A prefold can be used to act as an oven mitt if you need to touch something in your overheated car.

Repurposing Prefolds for Cleaning

If you’ve got some tender items to dust, I recommend repurposing prefolds as dust cloths. They’re soft and tender enough for baby’s bottom, so they’re generally soft and tender enough for cleaning your great grandmother’s dresser. If you want to make your Swiffer a little more environmentally friendly, you can replace those disposable cloths with a prefold. They’re a fantastic unpaper towel solution, too.

What’s your favorite way of repurposing prefolds?

Two Easy Ways to Pin a Prefold

2013/07 By Lauren B. Stevens 2 Comments

Today’s guest post is from Anne, blogging over at Zephyr Hill. Anne is a homeschooling, cloth diapering mom of 7, who somehow manages to find the time to blog about family life, recipes, everything cloth diapers and rural living.

I never really got the hang of diaper pins when I first started out with prefolds. In fact, the only thing I liked about them was the price! So I was happy to discover that folding a prefold in thirds and laying it inside a cover worked very well and required no pinning.

But sometimes it’s good to use fasteners. Babies are wiggly and toddlers are super active; making the diaper stay put really gives you extra insurance against shifting and leaks. Snappi and Boingo fasteners both work well to accomplish this.

Both use tiny little plastic teeth to grip the diaper fabric on either side.

You might wonder what the difference between the two is.

The Snappi fastener has three pressure points – one on each wing and one on the crotch. You grip the wing on one side, stretch the Snappi over to the other side, and once the wings are secured, pull down and fasten the third tab in the crotch area.

Boingos are also made to stretch, but you put one on each side, so they work in pairs. There’s also no pressure point on the crotch, which I actually prefer.

When using a Boingo with a tiny newborn, only one might be needed to do the job!

Do you pin or fasten your prefolds, or just lay them in covers? What works best for your baby?

*This post contains affiliate links.

The Evolution of the Prefold Diaper

2013/07 By Lauren B. Stevens Leave a Comment

Today’s guest post is from Melissa, the blogger behind Cloth Diapering Again. Melissa is a cloth diapering SAHM of two children, with baby number three arriving sometime this month.

The Evolution of the Prefold

I think everyone who is familiar with cloth diapering, even if it’s just the old fashioned kind, know what a prefold is- the rectangle of fabric with more layers in the middle that can be pinned around your baby. What some may not be so familiar with are the new modern variations of prefolds. Here’s an overview of some of them:

Comparison: Regular prefold on bottom, Smart Fit on top

Better/Smart Fit

One simple variation of prefolds are the ones known as better/smart fit prefolds. They are simply cut shorter and wider than regular prefolds, so they’re easier to wrap around baby or trifold in a cover without having to fold one end down. You can find them in cotton and bamboo, and even stay dry.

Thirsties Hemp Prefold

Thirsties HempPrefolds

These are a little different in the way they’re sewn. They have two layers of hemp/cotton knit sewn together and then sewn into a loop. So if you trifold this prefold, you get a total of 12 layers. That’s a lot of absorbency! The loop design allows for more thorough cleaning and faster drying.

Econobum Unbleached Cotton Prefold

Econobum and Flip Prefolds

These prefolds have the same amount of layers throughout the whole prefold. Both styles have two rows of stitching going in two different directions to make them easier to fold. The idea is that they’re one sized and you can trifold it the shorter way for a smaller baby, and the wider way for a larger baby or toddler. Econobum prefolds are made of woven organic cotton, while the Flips are made out of knit organic cotton and are a little more trim.

Extended WingPrefolds

These variations are more of a prefold made into a fitted. One layer of the outside panel has a little tab cut out to make the wings longer. Here are two links to tutorials on how to make your own: http://baabaababy.us/2011/10/seamless-extended-wing-prefold-conversion/and http://prefold2fitted.blogspot.com/2013/04/turned-and-top-stitched-t-shirt.htmlThese are a great option if you have a lot of regular prefolds that you’re not loving but don’t want to get rid of.

It’ll be interesting to see what other variations on old fashioned prefolds that people will come up with. Cloth diapers just keep evolving. Are there some modern prefold variations that you’ve seen that aren’t included?

*This post contains affiliate links.

PREFOLDS: They’re Easier Than You Think

2013/07 By administrator 2 Comments

Today’s guest post is from Jenna, the mama behind A Mama Collective. She has two daughters (and one more on the way!) as well as a loving husband. She loves to talk about mothering, cloth diapers, going green, and family life.

It’s prefold time!! I don’t think I can rave enough about prefold diapers. I loved using them on my daughter when we started cloth diapering her as a newborn, even all the way up to potty training. They were so much simpler than I thought they would be. Here’s what I love:

Prefold diapers get softer and softer every single time you wash and dry them. They not only get softer, they get more absorbent every single time you wash and dry them as well. It’s like a miracle.

Now, there are different kinds of prefolds, but I’ve tried Indian prefolds as well as Chinese prefolds, which are the basic ones you can find at some of my favorite online cloth diapering stores. They are “DSQ,” meaning Diaper Service Quality. They get super quilty soft and fluffy when you wash/dry them.

Prefold diapers are also so stinking cheap. It’s kind of amazing how inexpensive, yet reliable, these diapers are. You can get 2 dozen prefolds for super cheap! And, if you hold out for sales (or buy used), they can be as inexpensive as 24 diapers for $24! After you get about five diaper covers (let’s say $10 each – again, sales and/or used should be your best friend), then that is diapering you baby from birth to potty training for $24+$50=$74!! Awesome, right?

Prefolds are awesome majorly convenient. They are really easy to throw into a diaper bag and not take up too much space, and they also work great as burp cloths or cleaning up messes if you don’t need to use them for a diaper change. So convenient.

Prefold diapers have a breathable factor that I love. Any natural fiber is going to be more breathable on your baby’s bum than any sort of polyester/synthetic fiber. That means your baby is less susceptible to rashes! More bonus points for prefolds, since they are normally used with natural fibers (cotton, bamboo, hemp).

Versatility is also a quality that I love about prefold diapers. As I said before, prefolds can be used as burp cloths or to clean up messes like a charm! After your baby is out of diapers, and you don’t feel like selling those bad boys, you can use them in the future for all of your cleaning needs!!

People may have the perception that prefolds aren’t adjustable, but they are absorbent! When baby is super small, you can use different kinds of folds and even use a snappi and boingo to fasten it and hold it onto the baby. When baby gets bigger, you can just trifold the prefold and lay into a waterproof cover. You also have the option of trifolding a prefold and using it as pocket inserts! I loved this option for naps. Prefolds are super absorbent, but I also wanted a stay-dry affect of my bumGenius 4.0’s. So I would trifold my prefold into my 4.0, and voila, I have a wonderful leak-proof solution for naps/nights.

Prefolds are really a lot more practical than one may think. They are so easy to wash and dry, so convenient to use, and all around a wonderful diaper for your babes from birth to potty.

Have you ever used prefolds? What did you like/not like?

How To Prep Your Prefold Diapers

2013/07 By Lauren B. Stevens 1 Comment

Hi everyone! I’m Ruth from Viva Veltoro!

Today, I’m going to talk to you about “prepping“ your prefolds!

Why is it important to prep your prefolds?

If you’re purchasing your prefolds brand new, you’ll notice that they may be large and stiff. You’ll want to prep them to shrink them down to their predestined size and soften them up. This is what many people refer to as “quilting.” Also, since prefolds are made from natural fibers like cotton, hemp, and bamboo, they have natural oils which need to be removed or “stripped” before they’ll be absorbent.

So, how do you prep prefolds?

This will vary slightly depending on whether you purchased bleached or unbleached prefolds.

If your diapers are bright white, they’ve been “bleached” or chemically treated to remove most of their natural oils and bring about that lovely, clean diaper look. Although most of their natural oils have been removed, they’ll likely arrive to you large and stiff. They’ll need to be prepped in order to shrink them down and soften them up. To prep, simply run them through a hot water wash, with detergent, then dry on high heat. Ideally, you’ll want to do this 2 or 3 times to get them fully prepped and to their state of maximum absorbency.

If your diapers are more of a natural (oatmeal) color, they’re unbleached and will need more of a heavy-duty prepping. These diapers will need to be washed (with detergent) and dried between 5-10 times before they reach maximum absorbency. The detergent is needed to “strip” them of their natural oils. These wash cycles will use up a lot of time, energy (yours and your home’s), and water. When I have to prep anything with natural fibers, I usually throw them in with my normal laundry or towels to conserve resources.

Just remember, since natural fibers contain natural oils you’ll need to wash them separately from your regular diaper laundry for the first few times, otherwise those natural oils may coat your other diapers causing them to repel and leak.

Isn’t there any easier way?

Yes, an easier (but more dangerous) way to strip prefolds of their natural oils is to boil them. Although, a lot of companies and retailers do not recommend this method because it can be hazardous handling scalding hot diapers and large pots of boiling water. If you do choose to use this method, please be careful. There are a lot of helpful tutorials and videos about this online that you watch before you decide whether you’d like to boil or not.

Here’s how I prepped my prefolds:
1.) Fill a large stock pot with water and a small squirt (Seriously, a small squirt! A little goes a long way – use less than a teaspoon) of blue Dawn and bring it to a boil.
2.) Add your prefolds a few at a time – depending on the size of your pot you may be able to add more – and boil them for 30 minutes.
3.) Transfer the boiled prefolds into a large bowl/pot/bucket using tongs. You’ll notice the water has a dingy tint to it – that would be the natural oils that you’ve just stripped from your diapers.
4.) Drain the dingy water then repeat until all of your diapers have been boiled.
5.) Once they’re all done transfer the boiled diapers into the washing machine (probably not more than 18-24 diapers at a time depending on their size. Wash them on HOT without detergent. If you have any suds you’ll need to repeat the rinse cycle until they’re gone.
6.) Dry them on medium or hot in the dryer.

Please note: DO NOT boil anything with SNAPS, ELASTIC, or PUL/TPU – this will cause irreparable damage to your diapers.

Once prepped, the prefolds will have shrunken a bit (up to about 25% or so), will have “quilted up” nicely.

I hope you found this information helpful!