How to fold a cloth diaper

To fold a cloth diaper, you first lay it out flat.  Note that I color coded the sides to make it a little bit clearer.  The colors are green, blue, pink, and orange. 

 Then, hotdog fold the diaper (you teachers know what I mean).  Fold it so you have a long rectangle.

Next, fold the diaper again by folding the rectangle in half.  Your diaper should look like this. 

Now, this is the tricky part.  Grap the top layer of the cloth diaper like this.  Hold down the other three layers.  The corner you grab is the only one with a loose corner you can pick up.  You are going to pull it across to make a triangle.

< = Like This!  Then you need to flip the entire thing over

Next, take the square part that seems separate from the triangle and fold it over itself to kind of roll it towards the center.  And finally....

You get this!  Yay you're done!

I color coded my first folding diaper until I figured out how to do it without keeping track of sides, but once you get it down, you can fold them really easily!

Putting a Cloth Diaper on a Baby

First, you have to catch your run-away baby who is trying to steal her clean diaper cover.

For cloth diapering I use:

Gerber Flat Fold Cloth Diapers

Thirsties Diaper Covers

Snappies

You need to fold the flat fold cloth diapers.  I like to fold them kimono style right out of the laundry so they are ready to go when I need them.  (How to fold post to come later).

You lay the diaper flat on a surface you plan on changing the baby on.

Then, place the baby on the diaper, where the long part of the triangle fits as the waist line.  The pointy end comes up to cover up the baby goods.

Note: the diaper's thickest part of the fold covers all baby exits.  This is important! 

Fold one side over.

Then the other.

Then secure with a snappie.  The snappies have little teeth that hook into the cloth diaper and hold it in place, kind of like a clothes pin, but without the "OH SHIT I STABBED MY BABY WITH A STRAIGHT PIN" hazard.

And finally, you put the diaper cover on over the cloth part and your kid is ready to take off!  Notice, that the cloth diaper hugs around her butt, so even as she crawls and rolls over, there is not a gap...unlike those crappy disposables that like to leak liquid poop.

Cloth Diaper Update

Well, after my mom (who was unwilling to cloth diaper) watched Evelyn last month, switching back to cloth has been very difficult. I have managed to get her back in them in the mornings when we are at home, but I'm finding it really difficult to be motivated to keep doing it when I feel like I have no support. All I hear is negative comments from people about cloth diapering. I know the research shows that it's good.

I'm trying to continue, but it's much more difficult when I am by myself. The first months Matt was home a lot and my mom was there to help, but now it's just me.

Ugh, maybe I'll make myself motivational posters and put them up around the house....