Chinese Prefolds Infant size
Chinese Cotton Prefolds
These are definitely a great option for daytime diapering. I don’t really like them for when I’m out and about or at night, but they are the most affordable option for during the day. They do stain, but usually some time in the sun gets rid of most of the discoloration. I love the infant size, they are much less bulky. They aren’t as great at holding breast fed poo, though it helps if you use a Snappi. I found that when my daughter was a newborn the poo was more likely to get on the cover. However, they are still the most affordable options. I especially love using them with Thirsties covers.
$1.50 each from Cotton Babies
Indian Cotton Prefolds
Indian Prefolds Premium Size
I decided to buy these in the Premium size when my size month old started growing out of the Infant Size Chinese Prefolds. They really are softer and more absorbent than the Chinese Prefolds. Since Indian Prefolds have a more natural beige color, they also stain less. These are the backbone of our daytime diapering. They are a little bulky compared to the infant size but she is growing into them fast. I primarily use them with Thirsties and Thirsties Duo covers with a Snappi. Now that she is on solid foods, the poo hardly ever gets on the cover unless she has prunes. These are a wonderful, affordable option for daytime diapering.
$1 each on sale at Cotton Babies
EconoBum single pack
Econobum
I really wanted to like these. I liked that they could potentially make cloth diapering so affordable. I bought 2 of these during the pre-black Friday sale last fall at Cotton Babies. I tried them on my then six month old. I found that since she is long and skinny she was in between snap settings. I couldn’t figure out whether to use the prefold horizontally or vertically. Even at 9 months, (she was almost 18 pounds and 29 inches long), neither seemed to work very well for her. They seemed very bulky, even more so than her regular prefolds. I can’t imagine how huge they must be on a smaller baby. I use these primarily as backup when I’m washing diapers and my other covers are dirty. Unfortunately after only two or three uses, one of the covers has a tear on the edge of the waistband. It is still usable, though I worry about leaks. Even though I got them on sale, it’s still a little frustrating. I followed all of the washing instructions precisely. If these are meant to be one size, they need to be made sturdier. I also find it difficult to get a good fit with the snaps. We have had only one bad leak, but that surprises me, given how difficult it is to get a good fit in the leg. My daughter had already started some solid foods when we started using these, so I didn’t get to test them on exclusively breastfed poo but I will admit, I have doubts. My daughter’s EBP almost always leaked on the cover unless I Snappied the diaper and these prefolds are not meant to be Snappied. As I said, I wish I could recommend these to someone looking to make cloth diapering more affordable. I think I would sooner use regular Chinese or Indian prefolds and Thirsties covers. But they would make convenient diaper bag backups, especially if you have more than one child in cloth diapers so you don’t have to worry about having the correct size for each child. The covers alone also make a decent extra layer of support over disposable diapers when we are traveling.
$7.95 on sale at Cotton Babies
Bummis Super Brite in Green
Bummis Super Brite
Overall, these are perfectly good covers. But not the best bang for your buck. I like the gussets and these are the only gusseted covers I could find, besides Thirsties. The Velcro edge is almost sharp and I’ve scratched myself and the baby several times. The newborn size is great but my daughter grew out of it very fast. The sizes run much smaller than Thirsties. The white edges also show wear very quickly, staining and pilling. I can’t get quite as good a fit in the legs, in spite of the gussets. I think they are a little over priced, but since they were gifts, I wasn’t picky. I like to have one or two in the rotation, they are especially nice for over fitted diapers, since they don’t hold bulky prefolds as well. But I wouldn’t want them as my primary cover.
$12.95 from Cotton Babies
Bummis Super Whisper Wrap in Froggy Pond
Bummis Super Whisper Wrap
These covers have advantage and disadvantages. When my daughter was exclusively breast fed, the lack of gussets was frustrating. As a result, I didn’t buy any more in larger sizes. However, now that my daughter is eating more solid foods, I think they would probably work just fine. Some moms like the covered PUL, since it makes the cover seem thicker. But I found that the interior seemed damper than with the exposed PUL covers. The size range in the lower sizes runs smaller, so my daughter out grew her size Newborns and Smalls before her XS and Smalls in other brands. If you go with plain white rather than the, albeit adorable patterns, (Froggy Pond is my favorite) it is one of the most affordable options.
$11 for White and $12.25 for patterns at Green Mountain Diapers (White is also available in Snaps)
$11.70 for White and $12.95 for patterns at Cotton Babies
Thirsties Diaper Cover in Red
Thirsties Cover
Thirsties Duo Wrap in Meadow
Thirsties Duo Wrap
These are another fantastic product from Thirsties. They are only available in two sizes, but have snaps to adjust the rise, allowing them to fit a much larger size range. I found that they don’t run quite as large as the regular Thirsties cover. My daughter outgrew her Size 1 Duo Wrap before her size small Thirsties cover, even though both claim to last until 18 lbs. As she started to grow out of it, this made a great cover for fitted diapers which are trimmer. However, given the larger size range, this makes these covers less expensive, if they survive the wear and tear. So for just a dollar or two more than the original Thirsties covers, you can diaper your kid for longer.
$12.75 at Cotton Babies
$12.50 at Wild Flower Diapers in a six pack or larger
$12.24 on Amazon.com
Cloth Diapering Can Be Affordable-Post 5 of 5: The Cloth Diaper Lifestyle
