Man of the Cloth

He’s short, doesn’t have much hair, and has just four teeth. During the heat of the summer he was dressed in little more than a loincloth. Cold winter weather now finds him bundled in footed pajamas.

My little man of the cloth diapers. While I was pregnant with Baby #2, I made an amazing discovery. I discovered there is more to cloth than Gerber flats and prefolds (which barely suffice as burp rags). All-in-ones, pockets, fitteds, contours, prefolds, flats...there are so many kinds to pick from. How do you decide? If you’re like me, you act like it’s Thanksgiving and try a little bit of everything. I thought I’d use all-in-ones because they’re most like disposables – put one on, it gets wet/dirty, take it off (and wash, of course). I barely gave prefolds a second thought. After all, you've got to fold and pin them. Along came Jesse. I found out I hated all-in-ones because I wonder whether they get clean and they take forever to dry. Pockets are great; I can stuff as needed, then they’re easy on and easy off. However, much to my surprise, I’m beginning to think prefolds are my favorites. They get clean. They dry relatively quickly. I don’t have to worry about broken snaps or shot elastic. They are very adjustable – fold the extra down in front or back if the rise is too long, then pin where needed. I can add a doubler at night or naptime. There are several ways to fold them and, with minimal practice, I found one that works for us. They seem to be trimmer under clothes than pockets and all-in-ones (cheaper, too!). And there are wonderful devices called "snappis" that eliminate the need for pins.

If you haven't tried prefolds, you should. Make sure you get some of diaper-service quality (no polyester strip down the middle!). You may end up liking them as much as I do.