Types of Dipes

I have been given many hand me down cloth diapers, and given brand spankin' new ones too. The new ones are so luxurious. So far we mostly have the prefolds which are just like the old fashioned diapers that we probably all wore as infants:

I was given a gazillion newborn sized ones (orange edge) Thanks Shawnee!!! They are so little! I was handed down some medium sized ones and have some small sized ones too (yellow edge) Thanks Mama!!!

Then there are cloth diapers called flats which look like kitchen towels but apparently are quite absorbent:

These are super soft and you can fold them in many different ways. One of the ways is with an easy origami fold, which is fun for me.

I just got some super plush ones called flip inserts Thanks Em!!! Unwashed they are soft as a babies bum. I rubbed them all over my face while oohing and aahing:

Apparently the flip inserts and the flats can fit on a newborn up  until toddler. Where the prefolds come in different sizes. I'm excited to try these 3 different kinds to see if there is a difference in absorbency, comfort and durability.

They say that you should pre-wash new diapers 3-5 times in hot water before using, especially if they are unbleached. Cotton has natural oils and if they are unbleached the oils will repel the stuff that you want to be absorbed. I never knew that. So I did many loads of diapers last weekend just to get rid of those oils. I washed the prefolds and flip inserts once in cold, twice in hot. I washed the flats once in cold and 4 times in hot. I dried them on high heat. I would test them in between washes by dropping a little water on them to see if the water would absorb or roll off, that's how I knew to wash them again or not. We want to attract not repel otherwise the cute pee and poop will roll right out of the diaper like water off a ducks back.

As Mike was emptying the cat litter the other day he said, "I only have to do this once a day, the baby will have to be changed like 7 times a day. I've got litter, you've got diapers." I gave him the biggest stink-eye known to the human race.

Images from Green Mountain Diapers (where all the new ones were purchased!)