Best Prefold/Flat Option

crunchylove77 · January 2015

I was planning on just doing sposies for #2 until he or she is big enough to fit into all our OS dipes, but I'm thinking of trying prefolds or flats again, as it would be cheaper. We used a diaper service the first month of our son's life, and they were horrible. I think it was maybe the brand they used, but I'm hesitant to waste money and have the same experience. What brands are best in your experience? Right now I'm debating between FSTs from Walmart or the pricier GMD prefolds. Thoughts?

RachelCA29 · January 2015

GMD are the go to brand around here - great quality. I used the newborn size I bought used and they were great. They hold resale value very well. I'm in Canada so getting GMD stuff is pricey to ship, so I bought Sweet Pea prefolds for the next sizes I needed. I can't complain about the quality of those at all, super soft, absorbant and good price.

ETA: I have Imagine brand flats and really like them too. I prefer the unbleached flats to the bleached/white ones as they are softer (IMO).

mrshudson618 · January 2015

I personally love the options from nickis diapers. The quality is comparable to GMD.

However, the pricier GMD can be resold for almost retail prices, so they are worth the investment.

Rrrrrachel · January 2015

I love my imagine bamboo flats but they're huge. My cotton flats from them are smaller and would be great on a noob. Fst would probably do fine but ime they are not as absorbent as "real" flats. But for a noob I bet they would do just fine.

Kelly11235 · January 2015

Remember that newborn sized stuff comes up for sale/trade a lot on these boards, so you may be able to score a bargain.

In my opinion, if you were thinking of FST, I'd just get some proper flats. They're not that much more expensive.

PipSqueak0313 · January 2015

I agree with @Kelly11235‌ , real flats are worth investing in over FST long term. However, if you're just needing/wanting a short term/trial option then FST or receiving blankets are a great way to test out if you like using flats.

crunchylove77 · January 2015

So, what's the better newborn option, flats or prefolds? I don't mind spending the money for GMD, as I can either sell them or use them as doublers for our pockets, but I really just need something until baby is about 12 lbs. My son hit that by about 1-2 months, and I'm sure my next won't be much smaller than him. We breed them big in our families, lol!

Do flats make good doublers or are they too big for that?

Rrrrrachel · January 2015

The advantage to flats is one size fits all.

Kelly11235 · January 2015

Flats rock.

We used small flats until my LO outgrew them, and now use the small flats to stuff his onesize pocket diapers, because we hate microfiber.

I've heard that the small (yellow edge) gmd prefolds also work well as stuffers for pocket diapers.

Try 6 of both??

Love4Science · January 2015

If you're looking at FSTs because of affordability, Indian prefolds from Nickis are almost as cheap. We used the Infant size for our LO and were pleased with them. They wash up nice and we could snappi them until she was about 12 pounds (then we just angel-winged them under a cover with no snappi). If you don't care about resale these are a great option, especially since NB stash doesn't get used long. I'm sure GMD is nicer but since we're in this for saving money, GMD was out of our budget.

Smallllmin · January 2015

I've never used the fancier versions, and I'm sure they're probably better.
But if you're looking to save money, our Gerber cotton prefolds cost like $7 for a pack of 4 and work well for us.

Rrrrrachel · January 2015

You are for sure the exception to the rule, there.

Smallllmin · January 2015

Mapleme said:

<snip>
Even Gerber does not recommend using their "prefolds" as diapers. They recommend them as burp cloths. FST from Walmart are 5/$5 and will give you more layers when folded and more absorbency. But I'm glad that you found something that worked for you.

Hmm, that's weird!
We just took them on vacation under flips and two of them folded together honestly lasted longer than his 4.0s (w/MF) do.
FWIW, I got the thinner cheese cloth looking kind... not the fluffy thick ones (we use those as changing pad liners).

ETA: You'll have to excuse me. For anything not BG FTs or Sbish fitteds, I'm still a total newb lol.

PipSqueak0313 · January 2015

@Mapleme‌ , I think (but could be wrong) that Gerber makes two kinds of prefolds. One has polyester filling to make it fluffy and not very absorbent and is labeled as good for burp clothes, etc. and the other one is all cotton and is ok/good for diapering. I have heard the Gerber flats are smaller than other flats so some people actually prefer them for nb diapering/doublers.....but I haven't paid much attention to them in the stores or tried them to have actual experience with any of the Gerber diaper products.

Smallllmin · January 2015

@PipSqueak0313‌ You're not wrong. We have both kinds and the fluffier one is definitely not designed for CDing. The kind I use (for CDs) is definitely made for diapering.

In a pinch, we had a gift card to BRU... they were pretty much the only option, and they were cheap (esp. when compared to our usual BG and Sbish).

If I was going to use prefolds long-term, I would probably pick something with better quality.
The quality is acceptable, but I can see how they would get raggedy after lots of use. It's good to know there are better and cheaper options out there. Thanks for the cost breakdown, @Mapleme‌ !

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