Folding a prefold diaper: Jelly Roll Fold

Nobody likes a poosplosion. And little butterball breastfed babies can really erupt, let me tell ya. And it always happens in the most inopportune moments, like right before baby's baptism when you're rushing around trying to get ready, or sitting on your lap at the restaurant. Not nice.

For us sposies always leak the worst. When we are away for the weekend or grandma's babysitting and the boys are wearing sposies, I can almost guarantee we will need a couple changes of clothes (perhaps for mom, dad and grandma as well).

A well-folded prefold and a great cover can almost always prevent poosplosions - the jelly roll fold is my favorite defense. Here's how you do it (please excuse the blurry pics):


Lay your beautiful babe on the diaper. This is my youngest son at about 11 wks. Pardon the wipe in the middle - that's merely for discretion. If you have extra length you need to fold down, I prefer to do it in the back before I start so the little fold acts as an extra poo barrier.


Roll the edges in toward the middle.

You want to roll the edges in enough so you can bring the diaper up between the legs.

Then pin or Snappi in place! The last thing I would do, not shown here, would be to make sure baby's legwarmers and shirt are not tucked into the diaper, or they will get all wet! Then I either put on a diaper cover or wool pants and we are good to go!

Like the leg warmers? They are pretty easy to make yourself if you have a sewing machine. Stay tuned to future posts!

Easy, No Sew T-shirt Diaper!

A cheap, easy way to diaper: use a t-shirt! Whether you use "sposies" and forgot to buy them when you went to the store, or you use cloth and you didn't get your diaper load in soon enough, running out of diapers is not a pleasant event. But I know we sure have a lot of spare t-shirts sitting around our house. Alas, we have a use for them!


I actually really like the t-shirt diaper. No sewing, pretty easy to fold, quite absorbant, soft and comfy. And free. I think you could probably cloth diaper your child almost totally without cost if you simply used cloth t-shirts and bought some simple covers. (You could even make recycled wool covers for pretty cheap - but we'll save that for another day!). Anyhow, here's how I do it:

Lay your t-shirt out flat.




Fold it in thirds (the long way), so the arms are still sticking out on the sides.



Fold the top down so that the sleeves are folded to half width, and fold the bottom up to meet the top. You may have to adjust that part so it's the appropriate length for your baby.

Place your baby on the t-shirt and fold the bottom part up between his (or her) legs.


Bring the sleeves around to the front.


Pin or snappi in place! Easy peasy.


So dig out those old t-shirts and put them to good use! Your baby and your wallet will appreciate it.


Now, go enjoy those little ones while they're still little!