Favorite Flat Diaper?

[Nicole730]

What is your favorite flat diaper - more specifically, where can I buy it?  I'd like to have a few, just to try.  I'll probably end up buying a dozen though since that is the best bang for the buck usually.  I bought some cheapy Gerber ones that washed up all wrinkly and I haven't used them as a diaper once.  I will us them as a diaper and as a diaper stuffer.  Thanks!

[EmTheWife]

I love my unbleached flats from Green Mountain Diapers!  They are super absorbent, and I like that the are slightly rectangular rather than totally square, because it allows for more adjustability.  I used the gerber flats for 2-3 weeks when ds was a newborn, and those were great then too.

It seems to me that all flats come out of the dryer wrinkly - try hang drying them instead for a smoother finish.

[DevaMajka]

I love the ones I got from granitesmith on ebay (they have a site as well). I got the ones that are serged on the edges, I believe. They are smaller than LL, so fit much trimmer. Ds2 is 20 mos, and they hold enough pee for him to go a couple of hours, but they do get soaked if I leave him too long. I try to change after every pee, so it's rarely an issue.

I really recommend them if trimness is more important than absorbency. If not, I also like my LL flats. I used to use them at night, and they hold everything they need to hold. They are a little bit bulkier than I'd prefer, even now, but I'm obsessed with trim (even at the cost of a few leaks- we have wood floors).

[LaydieBugs]

I second Green Mountain Diapers!

We started with 3 dozen "small" birdseye, which were $12 a dozen.  They compare to the Gerber flats as a cloth napkin does to a paper one!  We planned to just use these as a starter, but in the end we are using them to stuff/pad fold in covers still.  I got rid of all my other diapers.

The "small" are bigger than most other brands' large.  These are bleached.

I tried the "medium", which are unbleached.  They're a tad too big for us, right now (9 months), to use as a stuffer or for pad folding, except in a Flip cover at night.  They do absorb more and are softer, though over time they get "bleached" too from city water.  After 7 months most of ours are nearly white.

I just got their organic smalls ($20 per dozen), as a gift.  They are in the washing machine as we speak.  They are sooooo soft! 

The GMD ones are not serged, they have 2 selvege edges and 2 that are hemmed.  My son gets irritated from serged edges.  They are cut and hemmed perfectly with the grain line, so they are easy to fold (unlike the Gerbers).

As for wrinkles ... the GMD flats lose their wrinkles easily.  I take them out of the dryer, and lay them flat on top of each other.  As long as I don't delay step 2 more than an hour or so, the wrinkles fall out.  If I let them sit overnight, the only wrinkles are from being smunched up -- not like the Gerber flats that are nothing but wrinkles.

Can't say enough good things ... I also love the GMD 4 x 8 double-sided wipes (for everything from cleaning to exfoliating too), and their hemp doublers are amazing. 

[Nicole730]

What size do you think I should get for my DD.  I'm thinking the smaller ones.  She is 12 months, but 18.5 lbs and 28.5 inches.  So kind of tiny.

I think part of my reason for wanting to try flats is how fast they will dry out in the sun.  I'm spending the month of March dreaming of warmer days.

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by DevaMajka 

I love the ones I got from granitesmith on ebay (they have a site as well). I got the ones that are serged on the edges, I believe. They are smaller than LL, so fit much trimmer. Ds2 is 20 mos, and they hold enough pee for him to go a couple of hours, but they do get soaked if I leave him too long. I try to change after every pee, so it's rarely an issue.

I really recommend them if trimness is more important than absorbency. If not, I also like my LL flats. I used to use them at night, and they hold everything they need to hold. They are a little bit bulkier than I'd prefer, even now, but I'm obsessed with trim (even at the cost of a few leaks- we have wood floors).

What is LL?  And I will check out granitesmith, thanks.

[DevaMajka]

Sorry- LL = Little Lions :)

[monkeyma]

I don't think Little Lions does flats anymore... at least they weren't either time I bought. I wanted to try them out.

I have the medium unbleached from green mountain. They work great for us... no complaints at all. I know they only had a few dozen left of the unbleached when I ordered a few weeks ago and weren't sure when they were getting more in. 

We started CDing at a year, so I'm not sure if small would be better. We are expecting our 2nd baby any day and I got mediums for him, too. I figure I can just fold them differently if need be, but didn't want to have to sort two different sizes out. Hopefully they work! The mediums will definitely last us through potty training of our 17 month old DS. 

I normally hang mine to dry (can't wait for sun either!), but if I fold them right out of the dryer there are no wrinkles. 

[Nicole730]

Yeah, the site says the non-organic ones are out of stock.  I'm going to order some of the organic smalls and see how it goes.  If I had a medium option, I'd probably do that, but I'm too eager to wait to order.

[colorclash]

I like the GMD organic unbleached flats.  I think I got the size large, cause I wanted to be able to use them all the way through the potty training.  My 5 1/2 month old girl is about 15 lbs and 24-25", and I've been using them for about six weeks now.  They fit her well, and she has plenty of room to grow into them.  I love that they wash so well and dry so quickly.  I either hang them in the sun to get out poopy stains, or I will dry them in the dryer.  It the sun they take a couple hours, in the dry about 40 minutes.  I only have 6 right now and wish I had more.  

I have a dozen of the gerber birdseye flats also, that I don't hate.  I use those two at a time trifolded in a close fitting cover and they work pretty well.  They are super crinkly, but that doesn't bother me.  I also use them as doublers in other diapers for overnight. I've also been using her flannel receiving blankets as diapers.  They are about the right size for this age, and since they've been washed a million times, they are pretty absorbent.  It was a cheap (free actually) way to increase her diaper stash from having to wash every other day to being able to go 3 1/2 days.  And now I'm starting to look at other things around the house that could possibly used as diapers... 

[Nicole730]

Originally Posted by colorclash 
 And now I'm starting to look at other things around the house that could possibly used as diapers... 

Do you sew at all? T-shirts make awesome diapers, the stretch is great.

ETA:  I actually think I saw a pattern once where you just have to cut the t-shirt a little bit and no sewing involved.

[Perdita_in_Ontario]

I got a million billion receiving blankets when DD was born. They work very well folded into a Bummis wrap. I also have a half-dozen birdseye flats (no idea what brand) and they are working very well too.

My mother even gave me some of the old cloth nappies that she used for me and my brother in the 70s. Most are turkish toweling, and a couple of muslin liners. I double those up (they're a bit threadbare of course!) and use in a wrap too. Flats are so versatile!

[Nicole730]

Yippee!  They arrived today and are being washed (a few times).   Thanks everyone for your help!

[monkeyma]

Yay! I hope you love them!