How to Use Prefold Diapers

I see lot's of questions online about how to use prefold diapers. I hope this little play by play of the ways I personally find them easiest to use will help dispel someone's apprehensions of taking this economical route to cloth diapering. I recruited a rather cute bunny for the cause. We'll call him "Fluffy" ;).

Sometimes I simply tri-fold the diaper and lay it in the cover. I primarily do this when I'm using prefolds while out and about.

1. Lay cover out, fold diaper into thirds, and lay in cover. You can also tuck one end under the tab as in the second picture:

2. My daughter has sensitive skin, so I lay a stay-dry liner on top. It does not absorb, but wicks the moisture away from the skin. Most pocket diapers are lined with fleece for this very reason.

*****MONEY SAVING TIP*****You do not have to pay a lot of money for stay-dry liners! I ordered a yard of micro-fleece and cut it into rectangles. No sewing is involved!

3. If I'm changing my baby right then, I just slip it under her and close it up just like a disposable! If I'm going to be out, I'll do that with a few of them and close them up as in the picture below and put them in the diaper bag. This way when I'm out shopping or visiting and have a less than ideal situation for changing, I can put it on just like a disposable! If you want to do this all the time, you can just prep as many as you have covers ahead of time so that they're easy to just grab and put on.

****MONEY SAVING TIP**** If you're really on a budget, consider this. Before I had any pockets, this is how I figured out to diaper my baby on the road very conveniently. It doesn't take any longer than stuffing a pocket diaper! Essentially, it is all the elements of a pocket diaper, just not sewn together. In my opinion, the best covers for using prefolds this way are Thirsties, Thirsties Duos (what you see pictured), and Bummis.


The above method seems to be what is considered the easiest way to use prefolds, but most of the time I use what is known as the "angel wing fold," using a Snappi fastener to hold it together.
Believe it or not, in my home where I have a system down, I find this the easiest. Here's a play by play:

1. I lay baby on the changing table and grab a prefold out of the drawer and lay it flat under her.
2. With baby on the diaper, I "trifold" the bottom part with my right hand while holding her legs with my left hand. Her body keeps the top flared out.
3. Since I use stay-dry liners, I then hold baby's legs down to hold the diaper in place as a reach for a liner and then lift her up slightly to place it on the diaper. (I keep prefolds, liners, and covers in the top right drawer so that they are easy to grab.)
4. Next I lay baby's legs down, which continues to hold the diaper in place so that I can bring it up through her legs.
5. Continuing to hold diaper as shown with my left hand, I grab those little "wings" or "tabs" that you see on the side there with my right hand and slip them under my left thumb and forefinger that are already holding the diaper.6. With my right hand that is still free, I grab the snappi and put it on. To put on the Snappi, you put the claws on one side into the fabric and since it is rubbery, you just take the other side and pull it over and put the claws into the opposite wing of the diaper. Then you pull the bottom claw down and put it into the fabric.
7. Now your hands are free to grab a cover and put it on!(I used a Gen-Y cover in this picture because I've recently found that I LOVE these for using over a "snappied" prefold! The side snaps are great and I love the fabric!)


That is it! I hope this is helpful and assuages some one's fears of using prefold diapers!

Thursday Thoughts - The Heart of the Matter

I've just been thinkin' that unless I have a right heart, I'll operate superficially in regards to living simply or having much, regardless of whichever of the two is my natural bent or situation. Even frugality can be a matter of pride. Anything outward, be it objectively speaking "good" or "bad," will be in congruence with the inward reality of my heart. What I have or don't have, and in a large way what I do or don't do are ultimately only outward things. The inward reality is infinitely more important, and yes it influences the outward, but it is possible for the outward to appear a certain way (even to self), yet the inward-our heart and heart motivations be quite the contrary. Ultimately it doesn't matter how much I have or don't have, but rather who I am.

In other words, are my heart and mind set on outward things, whether it be obtaining them or not obtaining them? Is my mind busy with many things while I neglect the one thing needful?

Ps. 139:23&24 " Search me Oh God and know my heart. Test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me and lead me in the way everlasting."

Toss the Premade Sauce!

Thanks to a mama on the Diaper Pin, I was brought to the realization that I was making spaghetti sauce already and didn't need Prego anymore! I was enlightened to the simple fact that diced tomatoes with a little tomato sauce, garlic, oregano and basil was pretty much what basic spaghetti sauce is. Why did I never think of this? I don't know, especially when I realized that I was already making it every time I made that YUMMY homemade pizza sauce! Seriously, it's as tasty as any pre-made sauce you can find without all the extra preservatives and who knows what else. (Let me say that I realize this is no "new" concept, but for me and perhaps other people like me who were raised on Ragu, it's quite a paradigm shift!)

We eat spaghetti on a very regular basis. It's easy, tasty, and makes a ton of good leftovers. I had been stocking up on Prego, Ragu, you name with the help of The Grocery Game, so we had some to use up. However, I was so ready to make my own I decided to give the rest of that stuff away and finally I made my very own sauce, throwing in a bit of brown sugar with the above mentioned ingredients, pretty much just making it to taste. It was SO yummy!

My mom always made our spaghetti creamy and I love it that way. Stay tuned for how I've learned to cream up the sauce naturally!

Scratch Spaghetti Sauce of my grocery list!!! Woo Hoo! There's more to come!

Menu Plan Monday

I can't believe it's almost Monday again. For the sake of keepin' it real, I'd like to take a moment to share how many things did not go as planned this past week :). Monday, we had free Chick Filet Sandwiches, not Pizza. I'd forgotten about that. Tuesday, the Empanadas were a total flop, but not the recipes fault. It worked great before. Thursday is my Bible study/play date with a friend, so we pitched the idea of trying a new recipe that night and my husband whipped up some pancakes. They were great! But as a result, on Friday as I was all ready to make Vareniky, I realized we were out of eggs. SO, we had the Vegetable Curry instead. The not having eggs hindered a lot of things, like the Creamed Chicken over Confetti Rice Squares, and Vietnam Fried Rice. We got home really late this evening (Sunday), so we made it a rotisserie chicken day. We did also happen to get some eggs so I'm trying again this week!

This weeks PLAN ;)

Monday: Creamed Chicken over Confetti Rice Squares (More With Less Cookbook pg. 187) I'll use leftover chicken from Sunday, homemade chicken stock , and leftover rice for this recipe.


Tuesday: Vareniky (More with Less, pg. 144) I'm determined to try this one!

Wednesday: Homemade Spaghetti and Salad (Friends for dinner! Yay!)

Thursday:Chicken Strata (More with Less, pg. 183) Vietnam Fried Rice (pg. 130) This will also
put the leftover chicken to use!

Friday: Homemade Pizza (3 of them...more friends for dinner! )

Saturday: Tentatively visiting friends for dinner, if not then Basic Chicken Curry (MWL, pg.171)

Sunday: These odd but tasty little chicken patties.


We have all ingredients needed for these recipes, except for a tomato I'll be using for the pizza, which I'll pick up this week when I re-stock the grains we buy by the pound at Whole Foods.

If you are interested in simplifying your grocery list, eating less processed foods, and simple but tasty recipes, stay tuned for a REVIEW AND GIVEAWAY of More With Less, A World Community Cookbook, by Doris Janzen Longacre!!

For more menu planning ideas visit Org.Junkie!