Tough decision - prefolds

RangerVic · August 2013

I'm busy building up my NB CD stash and I plan on doing mostly prefolds, fitteds and covers. I have 6 newborn GMD workhorses, and 6 Osocozy size 1 prefolds (~7-15lbs). My original plan was to buy an additional dozen NB GMD prefolds and maybe 2 dozen small GMD prefolds, both unbleached (I hear they last a bit longer 'cause they retain some of their original oils and whatnot). Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I found a seconds sale on Osocozy bleached prefolds at clothdiaper.com. If I get a couple dozen of these instead of the GMD ones, I'd be saving a buttload of money, but sacrificing several things - more control over sizing, the bleached/unbleached thing, etc. Logic tells me to just buy a couple dozen of the Osocozy seconds and be done with it, but I'm struggling over the decision. Any input to help sway me one way or the other?

unaveragejane · August 2013

I went last week to buy some NB GMD prefolds, and when I saw them in person, I decided to wait and think about it. They are seriously tiny!!! I know a lot of people prefer to start with the NBs b/c smalls are bigger and bulkier on NBs, but I am still undecided. (Plus I'm not actually pregnant right now. I just wanted to conveniently have a good NB stash in case my SIL wanted to try them with her new baby due any day now.) Later that week, a lady in a local FB CD swap group listed some Osocozy better fit stay dry prefolds, so I bought a dozen of those. They're slightly smaller than the small GMDs. My only concern now is whether or not I truly have to trifold them or if I can make them work with Boingos. I'm not sure if any of that is helpful at all, but good luck!

RangerVic · August 2013

Haha, I love that reasoning! So it does sound like I could save a little money by not buying the NB GMD's and they would fit ok, if not perfectly. Now I just have to decide if $1.25 each for the Osocozy's is better than the $2.30 each for the GMD's, or at least worth the other sacrifices. Then of course I could complicate matters by thinking about getting the unbleached cotton babies prefolds, which are about $1.50 each...But I just hear so much about how great the GMD ones are!

freezorburn · August 2013

I don't know if the durability of bleached vs. unbleached is a huge factor here. Even if you plan to use the diapers for multiple children, NB diapers are used for such a short time, they will probably still be in awesome shape when/if you decide to sell them. You will get rid of the oils when you prep them anyway.

What is most important to YOU in this situation? Do you prefer white diapers? Or would you prefer the unbleached (you also have the organic option in GMD's case) because the manufacturing process is a bit more environmentally friendly? (Whichever type you choose, you're still being kind to the environment by CD'ing!)

Re sizing, it might not be a bad thing to have a few GMDs per your original plan -- I don't know how they compare to the Osocozys as far as size goes, but sometimes it's nice to have a few options as your baby grows and changes shape. But with any prefold you usually figure out a better way to fold them as you baby gets bigger, so that probably doesn't matter either.

If straight up cost is the most important, then it's a pretty straightforward decision.

petitmonstree · August 2013

Yeah I ended up getting 6 Diaper Rite bleached NB prefolds and I ordered 6 more infant sized unbleached indian prefolds from cotton babies. I'm not sure how much bigger the infant sized ones are but I decided not to buy a ton of NB prefolds because with a prefold I'd assume you could figure out how to make a slightly bigger size work rather than having something that your baby may grow out of quickly depending on how big he/she is.

We're going to get a dozen more and I'll probably get some osocozy unbleached prefolds or more indian prefolds. Not sure. I've heard the ones from osocozy are good too though!

hst · August 2013

I would go for the cheaper option. I'm one of those people who doesn't mind a bulky diaper on a baby, they grow so fast, I would not spend a lot on the newborn stage, save your money for your bigger diapers.

RangerVic · August 2013

I do really prefer unbleached diapers for various reasons. Also, if I end up going with the Osocozy, I'll end up using them longer than just the initial true newborn stage. Obviously if I go with GMD newborn prefolds, those won't get a whole lot of use before the critter grows out of them. I guess the sizing versatility was most important to me, but if the NB size is that limited I really hesitate to invest in them. And of course, the cost is definitely tempting....

tokenhoser · August 2013

I'd just get the best deal. Honestly: prefolds last forever. There isn't likely to be a huge difference. My prefolds are Rearz newborn size. I use them as NB diapers, then as pocket doublers, burp cloths, and change pad covers. They get lots of use and I don't think you CAN wear out a prefold.

robyn2201 · August 2013

Chickypoo2468 said:

I would never not buy newborn! L was 8 lbs 5 oz and I went out and bought more nb for this baby bc 12 was not enough last time.

Agree!

We didn't have GMD PF's, but we used the Imagine PF's which are very similar in size. I had 24 NB and 12 small, along with some NB pocket diapers. It was the perfect amount for us. I tried the smalls on DD2 when she was born and they were huge and bulky.

RangerVic · August 2013

Good information! In that case - if I go with whatever brand of NB prefolds is cheapest, should I worry about thickness? Some of them (GMD, for example) are 4x8x4, but some are only 3x6x3 (like Imagine). It is pretty logical that thicker=more expensive, but is the extra cost worth it for the newborn stage?

RangerVic · August 2013

And, is it worth getting 24 NB size along with 24 small/infant size? Or do NB and skip straight to Medium? I want to be as efficient as possible, so my husband doesn't take the credit card away...

mamatobe2012 · August 2013

phew, that's a lot of ? and info.

I only used infant sized oso cozy prefolds (unbleached) with my DS, he was 8lbs 12oz when he was born. We cd'd from birth and it was fine. I never wished I had smaller prefolds. I'm pregnant with baby#2 so I took the prefolds out of storage and they look brand new.

Also, I recenlty switched DS to covers with OsoCozy true fit prefolds and freakin love it. I always liked hybrid/AI2 diapers but would either get the stinks or the rise was getting to short on my son for certain brands (he's 98% in height and weight). Using prefolds trifolded with a cover is a cheaper AI2 and made me fall in love with prefolds again. Like a PP said prefolds can be used for so many things. They also hold a ton of liquid and are super forgiving when it comes to washing them.

RangerVic · August 2013

Remember, you're saving gobs and gobs by going this route. Cloth saves money, but prefolds and covers save tons more. I think its perfectly reasonable to have enough of each size to be comfortable, and still be frugal.

Tell my husband this! Each time he sees a new package come in the mail he cringes...

I feel like choosing prefolds shouldn't be this difficult, but it is like anything with cloth diapering - there are so many brands, sizes, thicknesses, differences in quality, etc etc to sort through. It is hard to compare all the options without my brain hurting. Plus, the frugal side of me would hate to invest in the "best" stuff, only to realize later on that the "ok" stuff is just as good...or worse, invest in the "ok" and realize I should have gone with the best!

Or perhaps my "holy crap I'm having a baby in less than a month" side is kicking in and I just can't make logical decisions anyway...

momofmanyinthemitten · August 2013

My 9 pounder wore NB GMDs for several weeks and was uncomfortable in the larger size (7-15lbs) that I had.

bumpuser5078523 · August 2013

I got a ton of use out of my NB prefolds. I highly recommend getting them. I hate huge diapers, though. If you love huge diapers on tiny babies, go for it.

bumpuser5078523 · August 2013

I actually ordered some preemie prefolds and some bummis super brite NB covers because my 6 pound 2 ounce baby was swimming in my other stuff.

freezorburn · August 2013

Has your Ob/Gyn been able to give you an estimated birth weight? That might help give you an indication of how long you'll need the NB sizes.

I don't think they do estimated birth weight for everyone ... I think we happened to do an in-office ultrasound to take a look at what my fibroid was doing, so as long as we were there he did some measurements. He was only off by 5 oz.

RangerVic · August 2013

Has your Ob/Gyn been able to give you an estimated birth weight?

One of the nurse practitioners just felt the baby by squeezing my stomach and gave me a vague "small-ish to average" size estimate. I don't think I'll be getting another sonogram so no more accurate estimate. I wish I had more of an idea of what to expect.

BicycleBride10 · August 2013

We had 2 dozen orange edge GMD PFs and DS grew out of the absorbency at around 5 weeks. We decided to stick with PFs but DH was weird about spending money on the yellow edge smalls even though they are (comparatively) dirt cheap so we skipped ahead to red edge mediums. I actually ended up being really happy with this route and would do it again. DS is a chunky baby and I think we probably stopped having to fold them down around 3 months.

Aurora_Borealis · August 2013

I did not have nb prefolds and was fine with it. DD was 7 lb 5 oz at birth. The OsoCozy size 1s were pretty bulky at first, but I was no longer able to snappi them at 9 weeks old. I moved straight to mediums at that point and have been using them ever since.

So if you're looking to get the most bang for your prefold buck (and don't mind a bulky newborn diaper), I would do OsoCozy size 1s and then mediums.

Also, IMO bleached/unbleached pretty much makes zero difference. I've used both and honestly can't tell the difference performance-wise.

Robi1 · August 2013

I agree, I see no difference with my bleached/unbleached prefolds.

My 6 week old is still in newborn GMD and the smalls are HUGE on her, even at 9 pounds. I don't see us switching for several weeks if not months. I guess it really depends on how big your baby is.

joyfultrex · September 2013

I had a tiny baby 5lbs 9 oz and skipped newborn and went straight to smalls. because he was so small i don't think any of my covers would have fit without the extra bulk of the smalls. It's all preference but i think if you want the quality of GMD then skip the nb go for the smalls and maybe in the end the price will be about the same.

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