let's discuss

Great question from Jill in yesterday's comments . . . how does one dress a child in cloth diapers? I will get to that in a second. First I wanted to talk about why prefolds hold up better for us than most fitteds . . .

I did not start really liking prefolds on D until she was about 15 or 16 months old. I never could get a good fit or a great fold to work for us when she was smaller and not mobile. I know some of my readers have used prefolds on babies since they were, well, babies, and I would love to hear how they found prefold success with infants!

When I put a prefold on D, I use a modified version of the Angel Wing Fold. I basically tri-fold the prefold, bring it up through the legs, then pull the "wings" from the back forward, fold the excess OUT, and pin. When I do this with a premium (4x8x4) prefold, I basically have 16 layers of cotton in the wet zone. That stands the test of time (for us) far better than any fitted I have tried so far. Well, except for maybe Olive Branch Baby's Very Simply Nights, but those aren't easy to come by.

Now - dressing the Cloth Diapered Child. I will admit, when I first put D in a Bummi wrap with a trifolded premium prefold in it and then tried to snap her onesie around it, I just cried. Then laughed. It was ridiculous. I wish I had taken pictures! The truth is, there are modification that need to be made when you use cloth. Here's the thing - disposable diapers are filled with chemicals that both absorb and hold on to pee. Because disposables use chemicals rather than absorbent materials, they are very trim fitting. That's just how it is. And *most* baby and toddler clothes are cut to go over disposable diapers.

So what's a mom (or dad) to do?

1) Buy clothes with stretch. I have found The Children's Place to have clothes that accomodate cloth diapers quite nicely. I hear the same about Gymboree, but I can't afford those lovelies, so I have to take my fellow CDers word on that. I will admit that I have only found ONE cloth diaper I can put on D under jeans - Cloth Thoughts. At one time, we had a medium side snapping Cloth Thoughts that worked gorgeously under jeans. It has since gone on to another home. I personally don't dress D in jeans that much. It's rarely cool enough here and I just think they look uncomfortable on her. Maybe it's because of her thunder thighs (and I mean that lovingly!). I just prefer knits on her and I find those work nicely with cloth.

2) Size up. As Jill mentioned, sizing up is an option. You may have to roll up the cuffs, and once your babe is toddling/walking/running, this could get tricky. It works nicely with a baby though, or at least it did for my baby.

3) Wool as clothing! This is what I have done with D most all summer long. Her wool shorts and soakers are part of her outfit. Beautiful. Cool. Darling.
I will say that if and when the weather cools down here, we will probably go back to primarily pockets under regular clothes. As much as I would love, love, love to dress her in the darling "longies" I see out there ( as in Mango Flamingo's Fancy Flares, Llamajama's pink cargos,
Kool Sheep Soakers ANYTHING from her!, Mosaic Moon again - ANYTHING!, or the always darling Sissy Crabapple), I just can't afford it! I really couldn't afford one pair, let alone several to switch in and out of during the day. So alas, back to our functional pockets which work great under cute clothes from the store.

Anyone come up with any other great sites about wool for us?