Flat Challenge Day 1

Today is the first day of the now annual Flats Challenge!

For 7 days I will be hand washing in a bucket all our diapers!

I decided to participate in the Flats Challenge this year. I have had the flat love since my first child 10 years ago! Gerber flats were our very first cloth diapers, and we used them solely and entirely for his first year along with gerber pull on plastic pants and pins. We were to broke to even upgrade to prefolds and snap on covers. Seriously, we cloth diapered our oldest for $50 for an entire year! Since then, and through 3 more babies, I have always had flats in our diaper stash. They wash clean every time, and dry in a flash.  

Here is the link to the game and rules: http://dirtydiaperlaundry.com/second-annual-flats-and-handwashing-challenge-may-21-27-sign-up/

I think flats are integral to cloth diapering! At night (pad folded in a pocket) when pee is extremely concentrated, when your baby is in-between sizes, when your washer goes out, or power is lost, or camping, or for emergency supplies (my youngest developed a yeast rash after a round of antibiotics and I didn't want that in my pockets microfleece), there are just so many reasons to have flat diapers on hand.

Types of flats:

There are several different kinds of flats being manufactured. My personal favorites are, the birdseye fabric found at Green Mountain Diapers, http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/diapers.htm  often referred to as GMD's, and bamboo terry. I made my bamboo terry flats, but you can buy bamboo terry flats here: http://www.orangediaperco.com/  However, you can make a flat diaper out of just about anything!

Things I have used as flats:

 I've used receiving blankets, tee-shirts, sheets, tea-towels, flour sack towels, newborn ones out of 2 washcloths, (one pad folded in another). I had a very cute set of overnight flats I made out of printed flannel, that  finally wore out this Christmas. So I got to make some new flats out of beautiful, squishy, bamboo double terry for nights. They are AMAZING!!! 4 kids cloth diapered full time has allowed me to try various types of flats and be quite creative with making flats.

My old homemade flannel flats, with a T strip of snappiable material, doublers and wipes.

My Reason for doing the Flat Challenge this year: 

We go rustic camping for weeks at a time every year. Since we always have a little one, we use our flat diapers and bucket wash them. After last year, I decided I wanted a better system for flats that acted more like fitteds, and a better system for night-time diapering, that is, a diaper he couldn't undo in the middle of the night and was super absorbent!

A fitted that acts like a flat:

Over the winter I converted half my large GMD flats into a 2 layer OS pocket fitted, that you stuff with a small flat. I definitely wanted to try  them out before actually camping in them to make sure they wash well in a bucket, dry fast and perform like I want them too. I'm not sure if my upgraded flat fitteds fit the criteria of the Flats Challenge, because they are now two layers of birdseys fabric not one. However, they are stuffed with a small flat which makes them a pocket diaper and pocket diapers are allowed, as long as they are stuffed with flats, and hand-washed, so I'm going with that LOL. I will convert another 8 if this works out well.

My converted flats into OS fitteds. 

Two layers of birdseye, stuffed with a flat. This one is shown with a small flat doubler.
I use a small GMD flat, pad folded and stuffed in the pocket for quick changes on my toddler. 

Night-time super absorbency:

I have never hand-washed the bamboo double terry and I wanted a trial run to see how they washed up and more importantly how long it takes for them to dry before including them in our camping trip. I want diapers that dry in one night or 1/2 a day, so I can use them again right away. The bamboo double terry works so well at night for absorption it blows my mind, but I'm afraid they will take forever to dry!

My new Bamboo double terry flats and wipes.

A diaper he can't get out of:

Recently, I got some flat Disana Tie Nappy diapers on sale at tinybirdorganics. They are closing shop :'(. I've always wanted to try them, but never could afford them. They came today! Yay! I got them for camping trips and at nights since my little ninja can get out of all other type of closures except for pinning. I'm hoping that tying on the stretchy knit over the bamboo flat will be more comfortable for him, and me than pinning.
I've never used the tie nappies before and I am terribly excited to try them.

Dinsana Tie Nappy with a small GMD flat pad folded with angel wing spread.