Cloth 101: Pocket Diapers

Let's talk pockets today. Pocket diapers, that is. 

A pocket diaper consists of an inner wicking material that goes against baby's lil bum with an opening for an absorbent insert and an outer waterproof layer. 
There are several stay-dry options for the inner wicking material. Some of the most common are suede cloth, anti-pill fleece, microchamois, and crushed panne.  When baby pees, these materials work by wicking the moisture away from baby, through the material, and pulling the moisture to the insert where it can be absorbed. Below is an open bumGenius diaper. You can see the solid layer of, in this case, soft suede cloth. 

The outer layer can be solid or printed. It can be cotton or polyester.Most often this outer layer is backed with a waterproof layer called PUL, or polyurethane laminate. Another popular option is a layer of blizzard fleece, which acts as a breathable waterproof layer. Neither option are like the rubber pants of decades passed. These are cute, soft, cushy, waterproof diaper covers. Below are some Swaddlebees diapers, examples of both solid and printed PUL fabric (Swaddlebees and Blueberry Diapers are awesome diapers - and they are a local-to-me biz! Awesome!). 

These can snap around baby, or close with hook and loop (think awesome Velcro). 
The last part of the pocket diaper is the insert. These can be made of many, many different materials.
Probably the most common material is microfiber (or MF), which absorbs quickly and is inexpensive. Many. many cloth diapering mamas are perfectly happy with their microfiber inserts. They are pretty easy to care for, you can wash and dry on hot until the cows come home, and they won't shrink. There are a lot of mams, however, (including me) who find microfiber to be, well, 'meh' in the long term. I need more absorbency than I get from one MF insert, but doubling them up gets bulky fast on my super big kiddo. I've also had issues with compression leaks in microfiber. I still have it in my rotation as part of some all-in-one diapers (more on those later), but I no longer stuff my pockets with them.

microfiber inserts

As an alternative to MF, many CDing folks stuff their pockets with cotton prefolds. Just a tri-folded prefold (which is about 16 thirsty layers) stuffed in the pocket works very well and compression leaks are at a minimum. Or you can use a folded up flat diaper as well.
Two more awesome options for inserts are hemp and bamboo. Both are very trim and very absorbent natural fibers. Sometimes I get saucy and add a little hemp to my prefold in a pocket. Below is a pic of some Hemp Babies doublers. Love them!

Most pockets are One Size, meaning the same diaper will fit from (usually) 9ish pounds to (usually) 35ish pounds. This is commonly achieved with a snap-down rise.

The above diapers are the same style. The green is snapped down to fit about a 9lb baby, while the blue has the rise completely unsnapped to fit about a 35lb baby. 


Of course, as with anything, these weight ranges vary by baby. And the same diaper can fit great, then not fit for a while, then fit awesomely again later on your little one. It all depends on their shape.


So, those are pocket diapers in a nutshell. I hope to get a couple pics of some awesome WAHM pockets I have and add them to the post tomorrow.


What shall I talk about next....? All In Ones! 

Cloth 101: Prefolds and Flats

Prefolds and flats. These are what most of our moms and/or grandmothers used on their babies. They would pin them on and cover them up with (usually) rubber pants. Well, the diapers are relatively the same, but the covers couldn't be more different!

First up are Prefolds.

There are basically 3 kinds of prefolds: Chinese, Indian, and Only-Good-For-Burp-Cloths. The picture above is of unbleached Indian prefolds. Chinese prefolds are basically the same, only they are made in China. Prefolds look like there are 3 sections to them, and are described as 4 x 8 x 4 or 4 x 6 x 4 - meaning there are 4 layers on each side, and 8 layers in the middle (some newborn or preemie prefolds will only have 6 layers in the middle). Both Chinese and Indian come bleached or unbleached and with different colors of thread at the end. They are usually 100% cotton (some are hemp or bamboo), and are a very, VERY inexpensive way to cloth diaper. 

When I put Boogs in a prefold, I like to pin it. I had a horrible time fitting a Snappi on him. He was a big, big boy.

Plus, look how stinkin' cute he is!

As much as I love my pins, many mamas prefer the Snappi fastener. They have little teeth that grab the diaper in 3 places and hold it fast.  

Or, once your little one has started solids, you can simply trifold the prefold and lay it in a cover. No fastener needed! 

There are several ways to fold a prefold, and there's a little trial and error involved until you decide what works for you and your baby. I googled "how to fold a prefold" when I started, but I plan to make a post about all the different folds at a later date.

Bleached vs unbleached  - well, that's just personal preference. And Indian vs Chinese - personal preference again. Although, I have noticed that Indian tend to be softer, but wear a little more quickly. Chinese may last longer, but aren't as soft as Indian. Both can get pilly  - I just gave mine a shave with a sweater shaver and they were soft and smooth again!

On to flat diapers...

Flats are one layer, usually a birdseye cotton (can also be hemp or bamboo), that average around 27 inches square. They have their own set of folds, and you can pin or Snappi them as well. When you first see a flat diaper, you may wonder how a thin little piece of fabric can possibly hold up to all the pee and poo your little can produce - but they really can! When folded, there are many layers in the wet zone, and they provide full coverage just like a prefold. You also have the option of adding a doubler (extra layers of absorption) when you fold them (I will touch on this later, too). I will make sure to include flats folding when I do my prefold folding post later!

And lastly, the Burp Cloth Diapers... Ugh. These are the Gerber or Carter's "prefolds" you see at WalMart and other big box stores. Some have used these in a pinch with success - not us! I really wish they would relabel the packages as anything but cloth diapers. There is poly batting in the center instead of more layers of cotton which really is NOT an absorbent material. Cloth diapers you order from a cloth diapering store are much thicker, with only layers of cotton (or bamboo or hemp), and absorb like crazy.

I keep talking about cotton with hemp and bamboo in parentheses after. Some manufacturers make hemp or bamboo prefolds and flats. They are pricier, and some people swear they are more absorbent. I think its mainly personal preference.

No matter which fabric you choose, you will have to prep your prefolds or flats when you receive them. This is to wash out the natural oils. You can wash on hot with detergent several times, running through the dryer about every other load, or boil them and then do a wash and dry cycle. Prefolds will quilt up quite a bit when you prep them, but they will also be a TON more absorbent than unprepped prefolds. 

With pricing anywhere from $1 to $3 per diaper for most prefolds and flats, these are truly a very economical way to diaper a baby. Toss in a few covers, and you are set!

I hope that was relatively easy to absorb (pun intended). If there is anything I left out, or that you have questions on, please let me know and I will edit this post to include it. 

 Next time, I will talk about covers.

10 Minutes of Zen...

If you don't cloth diaper, you are going to think I am crazy. Heck, some of you who do cloth diaper will think I am nutso. 

But there are some out there like me... And this is for you!

I just spent 10 minutes before bedtime doing a fold, stuff, put away, and mini re-organization of my stash. And I am so happy. I hit this little zone of contentment when I am organizing the dude's fluff - I can't explain it to outsiders.

I get to fold and arrange some of the cutest little poo catchers in the world. Right now I am grouping within categories. So I have fitteds organized by WAHM, then I have all my PUL diapers grouped in hues with my WAHM diapers mostly in their own little section, all my covers, and finally my wipes and liners. My doublers and prefolds are in cute fabric bins next to the diaper bureau (yes, bureau). I may change my system after next washing back to grouping by maker - then type - then color. Or maybe I'll do a little ROY G BIV in reverse, types of dipes be damned!

Oh the choices!

So that was my 10 minutes of Zen.

(I have never claimed to be 'normal.' But I assure you I am not the only cloth diapering mama who loooooves her stash. I'm just out of the closet!)