Cloth Diapers Part One

So, I thought I would take some time to review cloth diapers since I know a lot of people wonder how the heck I do it.  I figured this would be as good of a place to discuss than any.  I will have to say I first was very scared to cloth diaper (CD) but forced myself to because of the savings and now I will not ever go back!  I will try to cover the different ways you can do it each time I write about it and then I will have separate categories for care, washing, etc. Let's begin...shall we ?
There are a few different ways you can do it.  The kind I will talk about today is covers and prefolds.  I did this method the first 3 months with Riley and highly recommend it for newborns because it is very simple and there are some cute covers out there.  It is also the cheapest method.  If you want to be a little fancier, you can use a fitted or contoured diaper instead of a prefold.  The difference is a prefold is a peice of cloth (like in the old days but I used unbleached Indian prefolds that were super fluffy and absorbent) that you either pin on or use a plastic tool (snappie) to hold it on.  We ended up not using either and just folding under the cover and loved that method.  The contour is shaped liek a diaper that you also can use a snappie or pin to hold on and the fitted is a shaped diaper with snaps or velcro to hold on and usually has elastic around the leg openings.  The covers come in solid and printed materials (super cute) and they no even make covers that are ons size meaning they have snaps on the front to adjust them to fit 8-35 lbs.  I very well could still be a prefold and cover girl had that existed when Riley was born.
Everyone has a favorite brand and let me just say that they fit all babies different so take my advice with a grain of salt.  That said, I LOVE Thirsties brand covers and used Unbleached Indian Prefolds which I preferred over the Chinese ones.  To each him own, right?!  I will try to post a picture later :)
What I am thankful for today...that I have understanding children when I lose my patience.  Unconditional love truly is a wonderful thing.