Day 3: using flats

Annie (20mo) showing off her adorable self

It is day 3 of the Flats and Handwashing Challenge !!!

As you may have noticed, I am taking part in the Second Annual Flats and Handwashing Challenge hosted by Dirty Diaper Laundry.  For 7 days I will be using only flat cloth diapers and handwashing them! You can learn more about the rules and why this challenge was started by visiting the announcement post.  This year there are over 450 participants from all over the world!   

To see what I've been up to check out Day 1 and Day 2

Today we are talking about how to use flats - there are a million ways to use flats, which is part of why they can work for everyone!  I have been using flats as inserts in (about half of) my pocket diapers since last year's challenge!  With flats, there is no need for stinky high maintenance microfiber! I had a lot more trouble finding my groove for last year's challenge - I'm not sure if i can give the credit to my awesome pair of Boingos (those green star things in the picture) or the new larger size flat (sam's club flour sac towel 30x36) or my now bigger toddler. (not that toddlers are all that cooperative about diaper changes)..but those are the things that are different about this year.  

 So my favorite fold so far this year is technically a prefold fold .. the bikini twist! I fold the larger sam's club flat into a rectangle and then twist and fasten with the boingos and i'm ready to go!   This fold is very trim, and doesn't require any complicated folding.  It is also worked well for the diaper bag and in public restrooms.  Last year i used the origami fold and that was a pain to do out of the house. Speaking of leaving the house.  If i know its going to be a while before i can check/change a diaper - I have been laying a pad folded flat inside of the rectangle folded flat and then fastening in an angle wing fold (like you would a pre-fold).  This holds a ton of pee, folks! Normally, i stuff my pocket diapers with 9 layers of hemp fleece when we go out, and this flat combination is more trim and holds just as much if not more than the hemp inserts.  I know i said this last year too, but i just might be done with pockets!  My main motivation this year is probably going to be that it seems that flats may really help with potty training!  Annie has told me nearly every time she has peed or pooped since we started using flats!! she isn't telling me before, when she needs to go - but she is uncomfortable and comes to ask to be changed as soon as she goes.  Now, when she starts trying to use the potty, flats won't be the easiest thing to take off and put on over and over so we'll be switching to cloth trainers at that point, but i think we'll get there faster this way.. 

For my 4 year old's night time diaper, I use a kind modified kite fold with an extra flat pad folded in the middle.  (pictured to the left)  He is 37lbs and wears a large old-style thirsties cover (back when they were pretty huge).  He recently outgrew the large pockets I had, so this was my solution, and all i had to buy was the pair of boingos.  This combination has yet to leak.  

And i guess here is as good a place as any to confess that I am not using a flat at night with my 20 month old.  She wakes up enough when she pees at night as it is - and i am not a fan of night wakings for diaper changes at this stage.  She also has yet to wear a cloth diaper at night without getting a rash (we've tried different liners, cloth safe rash creams etc)  She just needs a disposable and good old fashioned white butt cream to keep her rash free and sleeping peacefully at night.  I do plan to switch her to cloth at night when she stops peeing consistently in the night, as that seemed to work for my 4 yr old.  He got a bad rash in overnight cloth when he was a baby/toddler also, but he doesn't anymore.  And when the nightly disposable is a size 5 or 6 the extra cost makes it even more worth it to make cloth work.     

Mollie (6) hanging up the diapers after helping me wash..