Why I love diaper pins!
Over five years of using cloth diapers, I’ve done
things backwards. I’ve gone from the
most modern cloth diapers to the most old fashioned. I used to be a pocket diaper junkie,
but now I prefer pinned prefolds. Flat’s aren’t really my thing in the traditional sense but I
stuff my pockets with them (for my husband and for daycare) because they’re so easy to
wash. I know why I switched to prefolds—they’re easy to clean and they work better
than pocket diapers for my son. I’m not sure what exactly lead me to fasten them with
pins rather than my Snappi or Boingo fasteners, but I have a couple of guesses. Maybe
it just brings me back to my very first cloth diapering days—7 years old and using diaper
pins and prefolds on my baby brother because those were the only cloth diapering
options back then. I guess there’s just something about diaper pins that feels safe and
familiar. I still remember when my mom would have to replace a package of them
because my sisters and I had lost all of ours. The heads on the pins those days had
different colored animals on them—yellow ducks, blue bears, and pink piglets. Most
people my age don’t know this stuff because disposables were on the rise during the
80s. But I remember those pins—using them, sticking myself with them, losing them, and
fastening diapers with them.
So there’s the nostalgia. That has to be the reason I started using pins, but it’s certainly not why I keep it up. There are a plethora of other reasons that I haven’t traded in my diaper pins for more modern options.
Great fit
Maybe it’s just that I’m not wellpracticed with a Snappi, but I really feel that you can get a better fit when using a prefold with diaper pins. Get that angel folded prefold wrapped around a baby’s bum and with gentle but firm tugs on each of the corners, you can wrap that diaper almost as tightly as a fitted when you use diaper pins.
Sturdy
Diaper pins are sturdy. They’re durable. They’re hardy. They don’t break or fall apart—especially if you buy the kind that are made entirely of metal.
Safe to go cover less
I like to let my babies go cover less. It reminds me to change their diaper as soon as they’re wet, and lets their sensitive skin breathe. I also like using prefolds. You can’t let a baby go cover less in a prefold if they’re using a Snappi or Boingos because those are easily removed and then the sharp teeth are exposed to sweet, little fingers. Diaper pins are safe to use on a prefold without a cover. Little fingers can’t unfasten them, and the sharp point is safely tucked inside.
Easy
Anything that you’re familiar with is easy. If you have never used diaper pins, you’d disagree with me that they’re simple to use, but if you used them all the time, the practice will make them pretty straightforward. When I first tried them on my daughter, all the practice I’d had as a kid was out the window. I just couldn’t get them to work. Because I use them all the time with my son, they’re now easy for me.
Narrow prefolds
Some of my prefolds are rather narrow. When I try to use a Snappi with these guys, it either makes the diaper too tight around Baby Bear’s waist, or it doesn’t reach at all. This problem doesn’t happen with my diaper pins (or my Boingos, to tell the truth).I’m not saying there’s anything wrong with a Snappi or Boingos. They’re easy and quick to use and fasten a diaper just great. But I just can’t help but prefer my diaper pins.
Maybe it’s because of the memories, or maybe it’s because of the reasons listed above, but they are and will always be my favorite fastener!
