talk to me about flats vs prefolds

[littleknittles]

we've had a diaper service so far for DD2, which uses prefolds. i'm going to be stopping the service to save $$ and buying my own.

so i'm wondering what the difference is between flats and prefolds. i mean, i know the literal difference in that the prefold has different thickness in the middle, etc...but i wanna know about how they function diffferently.

DD has a long rise it seems.... she's 1yo (nearly) and is somewhere around 22-25lbs? i'm not sure. the pf's she's in work well but are extreeeeemely bulky and make her arse ginormous. i mean, i expected that with cloth but we used fitteds, etc with DD1 and her arse wasn't nearly as large in those. LOL

are flats gonna be a bit trimmer around the waist? are they easy to fold to add absorbency to the middle?

also, where should i go to purchase? i'm on a very very tight budget for them and would prefer to buy used if i can.

TIA!
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Michele

currently on hiatus from...fun.

[MrsMcCullen07]

i use both and i like prefolds better on my toddler and flats on the little baby i cant get a good fold on johnpaul ... i love my prefolds from green mountain diapers they are trimmed so not bulky i can pin a prefold with a thirsties cover and its no more bulky than a sposie .... they are on fsot at DS all the time ... do u have any receiving blankets you can experiment with (flats)
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Brandi mama to JohnPaul 08.07 and R.E. Lee 03.10 expecting a new squish 08.12

[littleknittles]

i already cut up all my receiving blankets to make wipes but oddly, my DD gets a horrible rash when they touch her skin. the rec'g blankets. odd.

anyway...hm. i've used gmd's before with DD1 and i think that some of the diapers that are rotated in the service are gmd's too. they tend to be my favorites.

maybe these diapers are just too big for DD2 then?? because they are seriously so bulky it's ridiculous. in sposies she can fit into 9mo pants. with her pf's on i have to squeeze her into 18mo. ???
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Michele

currently on hiatus from...fun.

[alivals]

Sounds like they might be too big. My little guy is the same age and I'm still using the infant size just trifolded in bsww's. The infant size is too small to snappi up around him though. With the next size if you do a newspaper fold to shorten the rise a bit, you should be able to snappi them nice and trim.

I tried flats with Mick and they were nice and trim but the trouble of folding them wasn't worth it. Think origami
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Alicia

Married to Michael
Mama to Joe, Kiki, Mickey, and Christian

~Will knit for yarn/ trades

[MrsMcCullen07]

When JohnPaul was little and in infant prefolds I loved them then he grew out of them and the next size I knew about was premium and they were way too big so i hated prefolds then I found GMD I love them again its all in having the right size....
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Brandi mama to JohnPaul 08.07 and R.E. Lee 03.10 expecting a new squish 08.12

[couchhound]

I love my flats. They are my trim-est diaper and I have snappi fitteds, fitteds and have tried prefolds. Maybe I should try the right sized prefold and I would love them but that would cost money! Flats are harder to find as they don't seem to be as popular. I have bamboo terry flats and they are nice and stretchy. I can also use a snappi instead of pins (which aren't my favorite).
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Ellen
wife to Computer Man, 6-95
mom to Bear 6-02 & Skunk 6-09
Grandmama to a new hounder, Molly
Much Love Amy Dog 4-28-00 to 5-31-09

[MamaAllison]

I like www.little-lions.com for cheap prefolds, and I think they have flats too. Check their seconds page for best prices, and try to hit the free shipping amount if you can.
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Allison
Mama to Belle, Dec, and Lissy
Ravelry

[MrsMcCullen07]

I have little-lions flats and they are great I also have osocozy flats i ordered from cottonbabies they have free shipping so it was only like 12.00 but they are a little smaller than the LL flats but 12.00 isn't that much to try out some flats . although my LL flats were only 19.00 shipped
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Brandi mama to JohnPaul 08.07 and R.E. Lee 03.10 expecting a new squish 08.12

[littleknittles]

i'm lucky in that Inge from DiaperWare is a friend of mine and lives about 15 minutes away from me. so i'm gonna go right to her store and look at stuff and buy them through her i think. shes got birdseye flats in stock. and lord knows i'll come away from there with adorable covers too. too hard to resist in person!!! LOL
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Michele

currently on hiatus from...fun.

[couchhound]