Flats and Prefolds??

[newtocloth]

Amidst my research on trying to work out what cloth nappies to use for our baby due in November, I have found myself to be in a constant state of confusion about what the difference is between a flat and a prefold? Can someone pleassssse release the pressure in my brain and tell me

Also.....are they hard to fold? I am really not good at things like origami so hoping it isn't some artform you need to really practice and learn!

Thanks guys!

[newtocloth]

Anyone? Maybe this was a silly question.

I did a bit more research and learnt that a prefold has an absorbant panel in the middle (3 sections all together) and flats are just a flat piece of material? Anyways, think i'll skip this and go straight into another style of MCN. I can't seem to find enough info to help me out on this one.

[Vicky]

yep thats right - prefolds are sposed to easier coz they don't need fancy folding and they have that extra absorbancy

there are some nappy folding links somewher but i can't dind them at the moment

[sweetpee]

No it is not a silly question at all! I hadn;t posted as I am certainly not an expert by any means! Anyway this is my take on the whole prefold ..... flats thing.

From my research a lot of MCN users use prefolds for the first few months as you have to change little bums so often and prefolds are quite a cost effective nappy system so you get more bang for your buck so to speak. You can get cotton and bamboo prefolds, bamboo is super soft and absorbant but takes longer to dry (though that should not be a problem where you are living and the time that you are due I am facing a 2 day drying time where I live in winter) cottons are not as absorbant but dry much quicker. Some of the work has already been done for you in the design and folding them is quite simple (from the instructions I have recieved with my prefolds anyway). Another bonus is that once bub has grown out of them you can use the prefolds to boost other nappies and stuff pocket nappies with them.

I plan on using both cotton and bamboo prefolds, booroi have a fantastic covers that hold the prefolds simply folded into thirds quite nicely and make the system really simple (though mind you I say that without having used them yet, just a lot of patting and playing! )

You can also get flats, and as you have discovered they do not have the extra absorbancy sewn into them and require more folding than prefolds (? take that with a grain of salt as I have not played with these, and do not plan on playing with them). I have heard that you can get bamboo flats as well as the terry cotton ones. One thing I do know about flats is that it pays to have really good quality covers and there is another thread with recommendations for good covers with flats.

Sorry it is a bit of an essay HTH

ETA: If I have gotten something wrong please please correct me, as mentioned above I am by no means an expert .......... yet!

[ms_mudd]

Congrats on your pregnancy!
I am also pregnant and due the first week of August.

I have used MCN with my 19mth old DD since she was 4 or 5 mths old. I love pocket nappies but also use fitteds sometimes and when I have had none clean, used terry flats. I also used Terry flats on my 12yo son. I can't say I am a fan of the flats, they are bulky on tiny bubs and just a bit of a pain. That i snot to say they aren't do-able, just that they are more fuss.

For my new baby I got a great buy on ebay on prefolds that a lady had bought thinking she would use cloth but didn't end up using them as she went with disposables instead. There are often GREAT deals on ebay on newborn sized stuff for the same reason- people buy up big but don't end up doing cloth.
I have fiddled with the prefolds and put them on my DD's doll with a snappi and they seem very easy. The extra thickness means that there isn't any tech. folding at all. You just kind of fold the sides over onto the middle thicker panel and then kind of pull out the corners to makes 'wings' at the back that will be able to be snappied. Takes 2 secs seriously! There is a demo with pics here The Diaper Hyena - Diaper Folding 101: Newspaper Fold with Chinese Prefolds Although they put a liner in which makes it look trickier than it really is.

Another option is elcheapo fitteds. I have some of an ebay lasy that I first started out with when I started with cloth. At the time they worked out to be $4 each. They are the most basic of the basic but did the job until I could afford pocket nappies and they did fit my DD until she was 12 months old (she is a skinny minny though!) and I have also put these under a cover on my DD's doll and when you fold down the front the go quite tiny. They are just terry with a flanellete lining and velcro closures. I did unpick the velcro and will snappi them on my new baby though as the velcro annoyed me by snagging other stuff in the wash.

Good luck and congrats again!

[newtocloth]

Congrats on your pregnancy too Ms_Mudd!! Thanks so much guys! I really appreciate your advice.

I actually stumbled across another section on here tonight, with quite a few threads on prefolds/flats so have done quite a bit of reading up on them now and understand a lot better!! I also came across kissaluv contours- they look super easy and great for a newborn (which is what I left out of my first post)!

I think i'll buy a bunch of prefolds and kissaluv contours and fitteds and see how they go at first with the new baby. Also I came across Daddy Flats by Possum Pouches. They also look good, kind of like the kissaluv contours I guess.

At the beginning of researching flats/prefolds I definitely thought TOO HARD BASKET but I am now convinced that prefolds and the contours are the way to go for a newborn/little bub. Think i'll leave the flats in the too hard basket though

Thanks again everyone!

Oh just a few questions about how to do them up- are the snappi's easy to use? Do they fall off easily? Are they kind of like butterfly clips? Or.....are pins better to use?

[ms_mudd]

I find snappi's really easy to use. I am a bit rusty though! lol
I snappied all of my son's nappies but that was over a decade ago. I have only snappied the prefolds on my DD's tiny doll and it seems to be secure (she carried her doll around and throws her etc) , most of the tension is on either of the side clips with the middle one being more of an 'anchor'.

[littlesox]

excuse typing - babe in arms

I've found prefolds the easiest. I fold one end up (extra absorbency in the wet zone), then fold the whole thing into 3. Mostly been using cotton ones on loan from a friend, plus some hemp. If I'd been buying I'd have bought some bamboo. Also have used some flats (with a snappi, Jo fold), some muslin squares - either Jo fold with snappi or folded in a pad fold. Plus I've used some newborn fitted nappies which I got 2nd hand from here. They're very cute and easy to use.