How Flats Saved the Fluff for Baby #2

We started cloth diapering our oldest son at about one month old using a Live GroBaby set (which we purchased before they re-branded to GroVia). When we found out we were pregnant with our daughter, we knew we wanted to use the same system but we couldn’t afford to double our stash of GroVia cotton soakers. I started researching alternatives but was struggling to find something that I thought would work and that was in our budget. At about that time, the Flats challenge was all over the internet on every cloth diaper site I visited. I had never heard of flats but I decided to give it a try, though I was skeptical. I wasn’t ready to invest in the flats available on Kelly’s closet (though I will say that I was SUPER tempted). I just wasn’t convinced that they were going to work for our family. How could they possibly be absorbent enough?!

So, instead, I went to my local store chain store and picked up a pack of flour sack style towels. I’d read that they make great flats and if they didn’t work, I’d only be out around 5 bucks. I tossed them into the washer and anxiously waited for the cycle to finish. Once they were done drying, I began practicing different folds. I decided that simply folding it into a long rectangle would be the easiest to use with our GroVia shells. I used one at my son’s next diaper change and I knew right then that I was going to LOVE them!

Here are the advantages to flats I’ve found over 4 months of use:

1. I've found that flats retain less funk than my cotton soaker pads because they come completely unfolded in the wash and are able to get cleaner more easily.
2. I’ve never had an issue with build-up.
3. They are surprisingly absorbent.
4. They are readily available.
5. They are inexpensive.
6. They are trim.
7. They are easy to fold.
8. They do not require a snappi or pins (unless you prefer a more complicated fold).
9. They can easily be hand washed.
10. They dry quickly.
11. My husband actually likes them, too!

Now that our daughter is here, we exclusively diaper her in the cotton soakers and our son in the flour sack flats. I found that the flour sacks were awkwardly long in a GroVia shell set at the smallest snap setting but they work perfectly on the large snap setting for our son.

I am so glad to have found flats. They have made cloth diapering that much more affordable and doable for two under 2. I plan to use flats on my daughter once she is on solids and a larger snap setting on our GroVia shells. I hope to participate in the Flats challenge this year!

Mindy is mom to a beautiful newborn girl and a wonderful toddler boy. She loves cloth diapering and loves to write about her experiences!