So my overall conclusion to the Flats Challenge? Just Use Prefolds. There's a reason that mamas years ago switched from flats to prefolds. I've been giving lots of commentary on my experience using flats, so I won't reiterate all of that. What I want to use this post for is an analysis of the use of prefolds versus flats.
The initial motivation for the Flats and Handwashing Challenge was that some parents are letting their babies sit in disposables for many hours to save the number of diapers used/purchased, to save money. The idea was that even parents trying to seriously pinch pennies could be successful cloth diapering by using flats and handwashing them.
My argument is that by using prefolds rather than flats, you still have the same capability of cloth diapering your child to save money, you are still able to handwash and hang-to-dry, but you don't have to endure the drawbacks of flat diapers.
Cost:
A package of 10 flats would have cost me around $14. I'm not taking into account the specials offered for mamas participating in this meme, since any other month of the year, those specials might not be available. They wouldn't have been available to me when I was expecting. I'm basing that price on what they cost at my local discount store, or what they would cost including shipping to order online. I started the challenge with 30 flats but given that we had to change diapers hourly at times, I really needed about 40 flats to truly go three days between washing, which is my preferred schedule.
Meanwhile, when we use prefolds, I can get by with two dozen or less in three days. I have a dozen GMD reds, I have a dozen cheap prefolds (not the polyfill stuffed ones, but the thin cotton ones.) Total cost of those two dozen prefolds: $52. Total cost of 40 flats? $52.
Econobum advertises that you can cloth diaper your baby for $99. (That includes the covers, not mentioned in the cost analysis above, and includes prefolds that are thicker than the cheap prefolds mentioned, and not quite as thick, but softer, than the GMD reds.) If I was a mama starting out with very little money to spend on diapers, I would ask for people to buy me Econobum packages and seconds and use that as the diaper stash. The econobum line is definitely the way to go for quality prefolds and covers offered in packages. If you're buying on your own, GMD and Little Lions prefolds are high quality, and Thirsties covers can't be beat. It's hard to get that stuff as gifts when you have to buy from different place and buy them separately, though.
Handwashing and Hanging to Dry:
Part of the meme was to use flats because they are reportedly easy to hand wash and hang dry. Some mamas might not have access to a convenient washer/dryer and might not want to wash cloth diapers at the laundromat. Handwashing is a pain no matter what kind of diapers you are washing. Personally, I would sink rinse and still bite it to get to washer some way, some how. And that comes from years of apartment living with only a single washer to a building, or a laundromat as an option. I will admit, the drying time for the flats was less than the drying time for the prefolds. Its because they hold less moisture. The cotton prefolds dried faster than the hemp prefolds. Again, because they hold less moisture. Just because flats dry easy does not make them the ideal diaper choice.
Fit and Absorbency:
Flats are thinner than prefolds. That means covers designed for use with prefolds don't fit as well. That means the diapers aren't nearly as absorbent. That is supposed to mean that they will dry faster if you hand wash and hang to dry (see above). So as a mama, you have to decide: which is more important? 30 minutes of faster drying time? Or not having to change a diaper every single hour of your day?
Ease of Use:
They're tied here. I used them both just folded up in a cover. The prefold I trifolded and put in the cover. The flat I folded twice lengthwise and laid in the cover, then folded the excess into a good spot to catch the pee when I fastened the cover. That makes a few more folds for the flat, but I think you're getting too much into semantics there. I'd call them matched, because they're both very easy to use in a cover. Also, I think prefolds have won out in the other categories so I don't need to be that detailed to prove my point.
I think the meme was helpful to create awareness about cloth diapering as a viable option for lower income families. I think the meme was helpful to point out ways that flat diapers can be used for certain ages of babies. Personally, I don't see much of an advantage over prefolds - cost is similar, ease of use is similar, drying time may be better for flats, but you're diaper changing every hour because of the decreased absorbency. If I was advising a penny-pinching mama, I'd tell her prefolds and covers all the way.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Handwashing and Flats Challenge - Day 2
Observations:
- The flat diaper, even folded, is thinner than any other diaper we have, including just hemp inserts. Therefore even the size M Thirsties cover seems big on my 2 year old with nothing in it but a flat. The Flip cover worked better, mostly because I snapped it to a smaller setting than we normally use. I wish my Econobum covers hadn't been misplaced - I bet those would be awesome to use with flats. For now, my cover recommendation is a snap Flip.
The up side to the thinness is the trimmest looking fluffy bum on the planet. The down side - see next.
- The first flat of the morning only lasted an hour. Sure, the diapers are cheap, but it looks like we're in for a day of hourly changes, and that's going to get old fast. Also is going to use twice as many diapers, so where is the cost savings? We got up at 7 and at 8:05 she had pulled her diaper off and left it on her play ironing board chanting "wet, wet, I wet mommie".
Yes, this does bode well for potty training. And no, I'm not one of those people that wants their kid to sit in the same diaper for hours at a time. But when you're used to getting two hours out of a hemp prefold, one hour until soaking of a flat is annoying. If you don't want leaks, you're going to have to change every hour.
- Later in the day, we went to our photographer so I could get a passport photo taken. I was trying to watch the clock, knowing that her diaper wouldn't last the entire time we were there. I always try to present cloth diapering in a positive light when I'm out in public. I always try to set a positive example and let others know it is possible to use cloth diapers - even when "out and about" - with minimal hassle and fuss. I couldn't do that if I were using flats all the time. I could barely do it today when I was watching the clock and inconveniencing myself in the name of the flats challenge. There's no way I could do that for 2+ years.
I'm interested to see what the other mommies are writing about Day 2. Maybe it's because my kid is no longer a newborn, but there are so many more quality, and still affordable, diapering options that are more reasonable to use.
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| Kid is 24 pounds. Cover is a M Thirsties sized cover. Flat diaper is bunched in the bottom. Had been on about half hour. |
- The flat diaper, even folded, is thinner than any other diaper we have, including just hemp inserts. Therefore even the size M Thirsties cover seems big on my 2 year old with nothing in it but a flat. The Flip cover worked better, mostly because I snapped it to a smaller setting than we normally use. I wish my Econobum covers hadn't been misplaced - I bet those would be awesome to use with flats. For now, my cover recommendation is a snap Flip.
 |
| Much trimmer, and keeps the flat in place better. |
- The first flat of the morning only lasted an hour. Sure, the diapers are cheap, but it looks like we're in for a day of hourly changes, and that's going to get old fast. Also is going to use twice as many diapers, so where is the cost savings? We got up at 7 and at 8:05 she had pulled her diaper off and left it on her play ironing board chanting "wet, wet, I wet mommie".
 |
| Pantless kid on right. Wet diaper in cover on ironing board. She was done with flats by this point. It was 10 am. |
- Later in the day, we went to our photographer so I could get a passport photo taken. I was trying to watch the clock, knowing that her diaper wouldn't last the entire time we were there. I always try to present cloth diapering in a positive light when I'm out in public. I always try to set a positive example and let others know it is possible to use cloth diapers - even when "out and about" - with minimal hassle and fuss. I couldn't do that if I were using flats all the time. I could barely do it today when I was watching the clock and inconveniencing myself in the name of the flats challenge. There's no way I could do that for 2+ years.
I'm interested to see what the other mommies are writing about Day 2. Maybe it's because my kid is no longer a newborn, but there are so many more quality, and still affordable, diapering options that are more reasonable to use.
The BFF's Birthday
Not my BFF, the Wee One's BFF. Had a birthday at a local bouncy-party place.
It was a big hit, let me tell you.
Waiting in the lobby:
In one of the bouncy houses in the bouncy room:
What a day. Happy Birthday to the Wee One's Best Friend. Best wishes to the Happy Couple! And I got to catch up on some sleep this morning! Much to be thankful for!
It was a big hit, let me tell you.
Waiting in the lobby:
In one of the bouncy houses in the bouncy room:
And video:
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| All the BFFs had the same blue face! |
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| Birthday Girl in the police car, My Girl in the other car. I mentioned that running into a police car isn't a good idea. General life lesson one should always teach their kids, no? |
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| My kid LOVED the cars. |
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| She did eventually leave the car for the slide. |
Okay, so we had also received an invitation to the wedding of a close family friend. I had hemmed and hawed about our attendance - I wasn't sure how we would feel after the BFF party, so I hadn't made any promises. But we (by that I mean the Wee One) seemed like we were up for it, so away we went.
We changed clothes in the car into appropriate wedding attire:
What a day. Happy Birthday to the Wee One's Best Friend. Best wishes to the Happy Couple! And I got to catch up on some sleep this morning! Much to be thankful for!
Monday, May 23, 2011
Flats and Handwashing Challenge, Day 1
So, being a mommy blogger has its advantages. I have made me some friends, yo. One took me to Myrtle Beach, and one sent me a box full of diapers.
So I first posted that I was thinking about doing the flats challenge. Then I did a post about why I wanted to join up, despite the fact that technically I'm not supposed to, because I have a job outside the home and pay someone lots of money to care for my child, so I'm grateful that they at least let us bring pocket diapers. Sorry for yet another run-on sentence.
I was just going to buy a couple of packages of flats at some discount store, and then donate them when done. Then Funky Mama Bird came through, to send me a box of 30 flats that she is no longer using.
So, I washed them. I dried them. I folded them.
Now what? Am I using them?
Yesterday, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. If I can't join the linky, what's the point? If I don't meet the narrowminded requirements of the meme, why do it?
Because using cloth diapers makes me feel superior and smug.
There, I said it.
That's not totally accurate. I do feel like I'm going something great for my kid. I do feel like I'm doing something great for the environment. Those are the reasons I began cloth diapering, Those are the reasons I continue to cloth diaper.
So, I figured, I'd do it.
At 7:30 this morning, when I dressed my kid for daycare, I put a flat on her. Correction: I put two flats on her. I put two flats in a Thirsties cover, because I also put an adorable outfit on her, and I didn't want a leak to lead to a clothes change first thing after getting to daycare. That's how much faith I had. But I did, indeed, put flats in her diaper cover, and took her to daycare.
When the wetbag came home, I investigated. Yes, as I took diapers out of the small daily wetbag and added them to the big weekly wetbag, I paid special attention to the diapers in the cover that I sent her to daycare in.
They were wet. Pretty wet. But the cover wasn't soaked, and her clothes hadn't needed changing.
The flats worked. Despite 8 ounces of chocolate milk in the car (what, she doesn't eat, she needs some kind of calcium), despite what little breakfast they report that she ate, the flats held the pee, the diaper didn't leak.
Wow. Hmm. Flats might work.
When she came home, I changed her into a flat in a Flip cover. Observation: wow, that's the smallest "fluffy bum" I've seen in a while. That diaper only stayed on about half an hour, before a hysterical meltdown occurred because "I poop". (She hates poop now. Good for potty training!!)
Another flat in the Flip cover. Hey, I think I can do this Flats thing. That one was slightly wet when we got ready for bath and bedtime.
Bedtime diaper is a Thirsties hemp insert (pre-Duo style) with a bamboo/zorb insert, wrapped in a flat, in a Thirsties cover (because nighttime needs leg gussets, amIright?). So we'll see how nighttime goes.
I decided to pass on washing diapers tonight, and do a larger batch tomorrow. I'm home with her all day tomorrow, so there will be plenty to report on, and plenty to wash, tomorrow evening.
So far, thumbs up for flats.
So I first posted that I was thinking about doing the flats challenge. Then I did a post about why I wanted to join up, despite the fact that technically I'm not supposed to, because I have a job outside the home and pay someone lots of money to care for my child, so I'm grateful that they at least let us bring pocket diapers. Sorry for yet another run-on sentence.
I was just going to buy a couple of packages of flats at some discount store, and then donate them when done. Then Funky Mama Bird came through, to send me a box of 30 flats that she is no longer using.
So, I washed them. I dried them. I folded them.
Now what? Am I using them?
Yesterday, I wasn't sure what I was going to do. If I can't join the linky, what's the point? If I don't meet the narrow
Because using cloth diapers makes me feel superior and smug.
There, I said it.
That's not totally accurate. I do feel like I'm going something great for my kid. I do feel like I'm doing something great for the environment. Those are the reasons I began cloth diapering, Those are the reasons I continue to cloth diaper.
So, I figured, I'd do it.
At 7:30 this morning, when I dressed my kid for daycare, I put a flat on her. Correction: I put two flats on her. I put two flats in a Thirsties cover, because I also put an adorable outfit on her, and I didn't want a leak to lead to a clothes change first thing after getting to daycare. That's how much faith I had. But I did, indeed, put flats in her diaper cover, and took her to daycare.
When the wetbag came home, I investigated. Yes, as I took diapers out of the small daily wetbag and added them to the big weekly wetbag, I paid special attention to the diapers in the cover that I sent her to daycare in.
They were wet. Pretty wet. But the cover wasn't soaked, and her clothes hadn't needed changing.
The flats worked. Despite 8 ounces of chocolate milk in the car (what, she doesn't eat, she needs some kind of calcium), despite what little breakfast they report that she ate, the flats held the pee, the diaper didn't leak.
Wow. Hmm. Flats might work.
When she came home, I changed her into a flat in a Flip cover. Observation: wow, that's the smallest "fluffy bum" I've seen in a while. That diaper only stayed on about half an hour, before a hysterical meltdown occurred because "I poop". (She hates poop now. Good for potty training!!)
Another flat in the Flip cover. Hey, I think I can do this Flats thing. That one was slightly wet when we got ready for bath and bedtime.
Bedtime diaper is a Thirsties hemp insert (pre-Duo style) with a bamboo/zorb insert, wrapped in a flat, in a Thirsties cover (because nighttime needs leg gussets, amIright?). So we'll see how nighttime goes.
I decided to pass on washing diapers tonight, and do a larger batch tomorrow. I'm home with her all day tomorrow, so there will be plenty to report on, and plenty to wash, tomorrow evening.
So far, thumbs up for flats.
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Thoughts on Flats
Tomorrow morning is supposed to start the Flats and Handwashing Challenge. I'm still really trying to decide if I'm participating. I mean, I've been totally getting ready, as if I'm totally going to do this. But then this evening I realized ... I have misgivings.
Maybe this is healthy. Maybe this is all going to be dispelled by actually, you know, USING the flats we have been gifted. Which is why I'm chosing to write this post. Expressing these thoughts is a good idea, I realized tonight as I'm pulling these diapers out of the dryer and STILL wondering what diaper, exactly, am I going to put on her when she wakes up in the morning.
Concerns:
Are these diapers going to actually, you know, work? I'm concerned about absorbency. My little one is 2 now, and is getting into potty training. She saves up her pee and seems to let go of it all at once (which is a sign of potty readiness). If she'd been a newborn, or some number of months old less than 18, I think I'd have less reservation about this. Perhaps flats is a great idea for new parents, but is it so great for older (or bigger) babies? (I guess we'll find out!)
Why 5 covers? Why not 4, or 6? Any why not limit the number of wetbags, since that can be an even bigger expense than covers? As I hung my $28 WAHM-made wetbag on the back of the bathroom door this evening, I thought "you know, if a mama can only afford birdseye flats, she can't afford this wetbag". Why isn't that included in the meme?
I have to admit, one of my stumbling blocks is the issue about what mamas can participate in the meme. You're only supposed to link up and do the survey if you do the flats challenge full time. Out of 8 days of the challenge, my kid will be in daycare 3 of those days. Meaning pockets (still cloth diapers!) instead of flats. But also meaning ... I'm not supposed to participate. It's apparently a SAHM meme, and those of us with professions that require us to obtain care for our children to bring home a paycheck are not welcome to link up. Even if its only 3 of the 8 days.
The survey, I can totally understand. When one is doing any kind of research project, one usually wants to gather data from a specific population. I have no intention of corrupting the data pool by participating in the research project if I can't fully comply with the requirements by the researchers (even if said researcher is a mom with a blog who knows nothing about IRBs,use of human subjects, informed consent, or scientific method). I never had any intention of completing the survey if I didn't participate fully in the project.
But the linky?
So you think all mamas that are thinking about using flats as cloth diapers don't use daycare? You think all mamas that are expecting, and broke, and wondering how they're going to use their limited resources, just sit at home all day and have the full capability to use flats every diaper change? What if they don't fit that profile? What if they're looking for a mama more like them? What if they don't care how the SAHM's use flats, what if they want to know how it worked for a mama whose kid is in daycare 3 days a week? What if the details like "flats work great, so only get 12 pockets to deal with daycare days" is a helpful bit of information for them?
So apparently, this has hit a hot button for me. It's totally not that big of a deal. It's just annoying.
Another thought: I really love prefolds. It's not that expensive to build your stash in prefolds. You're still doing cotton diapers and covers. You can still hand wash and hang to dry. You can still save money (unless you go hemp, which are the prefolds I prefer). I actually look forward to days that I'm home with my kid if all our prefolds are clean and folded and ready to go. I used prefolds on her exclusively from 6 weeks to 4 months when we started daycare. So I'd be doing this flats challenge that I can't link up to, rather than just using our hemp prefolds that I love so much.
I still don't know what I'm doing in the morning. Tomorrow is a daycare day. I could put a flat and cover on her in the morning, and take pockets as usual. Or I could just start on Tuesday when I'm home with her. I haven't decided on covers, since I have 6 in my normal rotation (which one doesn't get used?).
But I did receive a wonderful care package of flats from Funky Mama Bird that I really would like to use. I did bring detergents up from the laundry room to the kitchen, since I'll be handwashing in the kitchen sink. I have considered how the challenge will add to my view of cloth diapering, so I'm excited about trying flats. I'm just not sure I'm going all in for the challenge.
I'll let you know in the morning.
Maybe this is healthy. Maybe this is all going to be dispelled by actually, you know, USING the flats we have been gifted. Which is why I'm chosing to write this post. Expressing these thoughts is a good idea, I realized tonight as I'm pulling these diapers out of the dryer and STILL wondering what diaper, exactly, am I going to put on her when she wakes up in the morning.
Concerns:
Are these diapers going to actually, you know, work? I'm concerned about absorbency. My little one is 2 now, and is getting into potty training. She saves up her pee and seems to let go of it all at once (which is a sign of potty readiness). If she'd been a newborn, or some number of months old less than 18, I think I'd have less reservation about this. Perhaps flats is a great idea for new parents, but is it so great for older (or bigger) babies? (I guess we'll find out!)
Why 5 covers? Why not 4, or 6? Any why not limit the number of wetbags, since that can be an even bigger expense than covers? As I hung my $28 WAHM-made wetbag on the back of the bathroom door this evening, I thought "you know, if a mama can only afford birdseye flats, she can't afford this wetbag". Why isn't that included in the meme?
I have to admit, one of my stumbling blocks is the issue about what mamas can participate in the meme. You're only supposed to link up and do the survey if you do the flats challenge full time. Out of 8 days of the challenge, my kid will be in daycare 3 of those days. Meaning pockets (still cloth diapers!) instead of flats. But also meaning ... I'm not supposed to participate. It's apparently a SAHM meme, and those of us with professions that require us to obtain care for our children to bring home a paycheck are not welcome to link up. Even if its only 3 of the 8 days.
The survey, I can totally understand. When one is doing any kind of research project, one usually wants to gather data from a specific population. I have no intention of corrupting the data pool by participating in the research project if I can't fully comply with the requirements by the researchers (even if said researcher is a mom with a blog who knows nothing about IRBs,use of human subjects, informed consent, or scientific method). I never had any intention of completing the survey if I didn't participate fully in the project.
But the linky?
So you think all mamas that are thinking about using flats as cloth diapers don't use daycare? You think all mamas that are expecting, and broke, and wondering how they're going to use their limited resources, just sit at home all day and have the full capability to use flats every diaper change? What if they don't fit that profile? What if they're looking for a mama more like them? What if they don't care how the SAHM's use flats, what if they want to know how it worked for a mama whose kid is in daycare 3 days a week? What if the details like "flats work great, so only get 12 pockets to deal with daycare days" is a helpful bit of information for them?
So apparently, this has hit a hot button for me. It's totally not that big of a deal. It's just annoying.
Another thought: I really love prefolds. It's not that expensive to build your stash in prefolds. You're still doing cotton diapers and covers. You can still hand wash and hang to dry. You can still save money (unless you go hemp, which are the prefolds I prefer). I actually look forward to days that I'm home with my kid if all our prefolds are clean and folded and ready to go. I used prefolds on her exclusively from 6 weeks to 4 months when we started daycare. So I'd be doing this flats challenge that I can't link up to, rather than just using our hemp prefolds that I love so much.
I still don't know what I'm doing in the morning. Tomorrow is a daycare day. I could put a flat and cover on her in the morning, and take pockets as usual. Or I could just start on Tuesday when I'm home with her. I haven't decided on covers, since I have 6 in my normal rotation (which one doesn't get used?).
But I did receive a wonderful care package of flats from Funky Mama Bird that I really would like to use. I did bring detergents up from the laundry room to the kitchen, since I'll be handwashing in the kitchen sink. I have considered how the challenge will add to my view of cloth diapering, so I'm excited about trying flats. I'm just not sure I'm going all in for the challenge.
I'll let you know in the morning.
Color Days (Updated)
(updated, now includes Rainbow Day)
Right after we came back from vacation, Wee One got moved up to the Two's II room. Not too long after that, a newsletter came home describing the upcoming project to teach colors. Each week would have a respective color. On Wednesday of that week, she was supposed to bring in a magazine photo featuring the color. Then on Thursday, she should come to daycare dressed in or wearing the color.
Thankfully, they provided a handy reminder that Mommie could hang on the fridge.
The first week was Red. I was so freaking giddy that I got her to school with all her red on, that I didn't take a photo.
The second week was Green. See this post for lots of photos of her in her Green.
So this post will show you the rest ....
Blue:
White:
That was the week of Wee One's birthday. So Mommie took cupcakes for snack to celebrate. Brightly colored cupcakes. On White Day. I'm sure the other parents were thrilled with that.
Orange:
Purple:
Yellow:
Um ... apparently I missed this day too. I seem to have no photo of my kid on yellow day. Let me check my phone ... Nope. Missed it.
Pink:
Brown: (was the day of the Derby parade, so many other shots can be seen in this post).
Black:
Gray:
Next week is Rainbow. Then I'll no longer have a guide for what to Wear on Thursdays. 'Sok, she won't be going to daycare on Thursdays over the summer anyway!!!
Rainbow:
Right after we came back from vacation, Wee One got moved up to the Two's II room. Not too long after that, a newsletter came home describing the upcoming project to teach colors. Each week would have a respective color. On Wednesday of that week, she was supposed to bring in a magazine photo featuring the color. Then on Thursday, she should come to daycare dressed in or wearing the color.
Thankfully, they provided a handy reminder that Mommie could hang on the fridge.
The second week was Green. See this post for lots of photos of her in her Green.
So this post will show you the rest ....
Blue:
Um ... apparently I missed this day too. I seem to have no photo of my kid on yellow day. Let me check my phone ... Nope. Missed it.
Pink:
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| This is what "Don't play in Mommie's garden" means, apparently" |
Rainbow:
Sunday, May 8, 2011
When You Run Out Of Laundry Baskets, You Can Go To Bed
It's not been the best Mother's Day around here. I'll spare you the details for now. Just wanted to show you something I noticed.
This is a photo of me and the wee one when she was around 5 months old.
This is a photo of me and the wee one from last week.
Maybe if I start nursing her again I'll go back to looking thinner?
This is a photo of me and the wee one when she was around 5 months old.
This is a photo of me and the wee one from last week.
Maybe if I start nursing her again I'll go back to looking thinner?
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