Reader Contributed Prefold Advice

Laura C - I have some folding advice: either trifold lenth-wise and pull out the edges to the left and right at the waist to snappi, or just lay the prefold in the cover flat, and then trifold the front of the prefold as you bring it up in front of baby's butt. That's the way my husband and I both found ourselves doing it after a while. Extra material can be folded down in front before you snappi/pin. If the prefold is too tight/small to snappi, don't worry about it. The wrap-style covers are tight enough to hold it in place without any fasteners, which means you can use it for a long time!

Rose - We found that in the early days with our baby, the twist and snappi method worked best for us. Then as she grew we started doing tri-fold, and now that we've moved up in size we are back to the twist! Looking forward to reading more about pre-folds, although we are in a phase of using lots of AIOs because she doesn't like to sit still for a diaper change!

Pumpkin Bear - My best prefold tip is to try different folds and different covers. I was surprized by what worked for me and I actually do my own version of a fold and it seems to work great!

Stephanie - My advice is #1--Get some snappis, they are SO great! #2--Buy lots of preemie prefolds for those first few weeks/days. Little Luke is up to 7.5 lb & we are still using exclusively preemie prefolds w/ a cloth wipe as the doubler! Love them!

clm817 - Yay! I've only used prefolds and they are not as scary as people think! You can't get any simpler than trifolding a prefold and laying it in a cover. My son complains about snappi's so this is the go to way for him.

dotcomkari - My advice, invest in Snappis! they are so much more easier then pins and safer too as they will not prick your baby badly! :)
Also....
Gerber brand prefolds found at Walmart make better burp rags then prefolds.. instead stick to chinese prefolds or nicer brand ones found online... or a cloth diapering store.
Save money, skip the newborn prefolds and go straight for infant sized they last longer... and while they may be big at first, you just have to fold them over...:)

Karah - Prefold advice!
Chunky babies/babies with chunky legs, definitely try the Bikini Twist. I've found it to be easiest to use for us and the best with my chunky legged LO's.

Bethany - My secret to using prefolds at night with no leaks is to do the basic fold and fold them around a doubler. I have a skinny baby so I love the bummis super brite wraps because they have extra protection around the legs, oh and as everyone else has said snappis are awesome!

Laura C. - Re Snappis: We have two and have only ever used one. We used them mostly when the prefolds were on the big side for baby, to hold it in place while we fastened the cover on top. Now that she's bigger, the corners of the prefolds won't overlap enough for us to Snappi, and the wrap-style covers hold on a folded prefold just fine on their own. When she moves up to a larger prefold, I expect to go back to using the Snappis again. They're fantastic, much less pokey than pins. I can think of several instances when baby wiggled in a way that I expected her to be scraped by the Snappi, but she wasn't at all. If it had been a pin...

If you're just trying prefolds, maybe try 12 prefolds and 3-4 covers (Thirsties Duo Wraps are my fave cover, because they're adjustable size and because the leg gussets hold in messes and work better for a baby with big thighs and a small waist). A full stash in my mind is 24 prefolds and 8 covers (6 would be fine, but I always keep a couple in the diaper bag).

As far as getting husband to use them: I know a husband who won't use anything but AIOs, and I guess you pick your battles ;) BUT My husband will ONLY use prefolds because
1) You can toss the prefold in the pail without touching it!
2) You can reuse the cover, which is more efficient and makes for less bulk in a diaper bag.
3) They never leak! We use Thirsties Duo Wraps with Green Earth brand cotton DSQ unbleached prefolds. (Note: the thread color just tells you what size the prefold is.)

For nighttime, put a hemp insert under the prefold in the cover for extra absorbency. We never have leaks with just the prefold anyway, but it does get pretty soaked and hemp traps some of that extra moisture. We've got a 5-month-old, but she's a heavy wetter. Pockets leak EVERY TIME on her unless they're also doubled up with a hemp insert (try Thirsties hemp inserts for a go-to insert, or Joeybunz for a bigger one. Also, FYI, it took me awhile to figure out that hemp inserts are thicker than hemp doublers. I just went with the inserts, even though they're bulkier, so I won't have to buy a thicker hemp item later.)

Thank you for all of the great advice ladies!

I'm working on the questions that were posted and will get them up by tomorrow night. Also, check in for a post with different folds for prefolds (with photos)!