Modern cloth diapers are the type of cloth diapers that combine the ease of use of a disposable diaper and the re-usability of cloth diapers.

They are what I call the perfect marriage between cloth and disposables.

When you first delve into the world of diapers you might be overwhelmed with the sheer number of types of diapers and the jargon used. In this post below I am listing the types of cloth diapers available in India and a brief description about them. If you have attended my online sessions on cloth diapers you should be able to understand better.

I will be dividing the cloth diapers into parts, namely the shell and the absorbents (soakers/inserts). Let us talk about the different kinds of shells first.

1. Covers

These are the diaper shells that can be used over anything to make it waterproof or leak-proof. You can use this in combination with flats and prefolds. Covers are versatile and have a very less drying time, making them excellent options for rainy days and for during travel. Yes, you can successfully cloth diaper when on vacation too!

2. Pockets

These are diaper shells with a stay dry layer on top, forming a pocket through which you can insert soakers/inserts. Pockets are versatile and can be customized in for various levels of absorbency and they dry quickly too. Pockets are budget friendly too.

3. All In One

All in one or AIO is the closest possible alternative to the disposable in terms of ease of use. There are two types of AIOs with the soakers stitched in (soaker is attached to the shell) and flap style. Flap style dries faster than the ones with stitched in soakers. AIOs generally have more layers of absorbents.

4. All in Two

An Ai2 is the upgraded version of the AIO. The difference being, option to change the absorbency, removing the soakers from the shells to wash and dry, hence bringing the drying time down. These are also usually designed to have many layers of absorbency.

5. Fitteds

These are the kinds of diapers where the shell itself is absorbent, meaning there is not leak-proof layer. If you have to make it leak proof, you should add a cover with this diaper. These are softer than the other kinds and come either handmade or mass produced.

Now let’s get started on the soakers/inserts. Here I will be talking about the types and also the different materials used.

1. Flats
   Flats are easily the most economical soakers you can ever get your hands on, because you can easily make them at home. Just cut up squares of size 60cm x 60cm to 100cm x 100cm of your old cotton sarees or dhotis. There are so many ways of folding flats. Plenty of resources available online to learn about the different folds. But the basic ones being pad fold and angel fold. To fasten the material together, you will use diaper pins or boingos or a snappi.
   
2. Prefolds
   Prefolds are more of a subtype of flats. These usually come as a rectangular piece of cloth with three sections, with the middle section having more layers than the rest. These can be used in a pad fold along with covers, or on their own in an angel fold for newborn babies.
   
3. Inserts
   Inserts are usually a rectangular piece of absorbent with many layers stitched together. Typically minimum 3 layers of absorbents. These are used in pockets, aio, ai2, and fitteds.

I will now list down the different kinds of materials used to make the above mentioned soakers.

There are so many other cloth diapering terms that you need to be familiar with in order to understand the world of cloth diapers. I will now list down those words:

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is RED.

Red is such a DOM color if you ask me. Its in all the places that need you to take action.

Its sexy, its dangerous, its powerful.

Whatever way you comprehend Red to be, for me it’s a boost of confidence. My earliest memory of wearing a red dress is from so many years ago, way back to the time I menstruated for the first time.

Mom was alive back then, I specifically asked for a red dress and she got me one. The dress was big for me, middle class people will understand this completely, new clothes are always one size bigger. Well, this particular dress is still big for me, don’t know what my mom was thinking. Probably thought I would grow in all three dimensions.

Menstruation um red, vangina dress um red, appove it’s been a calling pola..

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is ORANGE.

The color that I am finding the most challenging to write about is orange.. I think I never developed a relationship with this color..

Snippets of memories surface.. like that one orange dupatta I had. It was my favorite and it made me feel like a diva. I took so many pictures with it, which I sadly, have lost now. I almost lost the dupatta to the bay of bengal, felt like I lost a lover or something..

And the orange cake I baked before the first international trip I was going to take with the child. The amount of research and planning I put into the trip to make it as smooth as possible, the surprise of finding that a couple of my girlfriends had come to send me off. But paavam all that effort (it was a red eye flight y’all) and I came back permanently in just 4 months..!

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is YELLOW.

Such a happy color isn’t it? Always lifts the mood. Whoever rhymed yellow with dirty fellow is truly, a dirty fellow.

I was always intrigued by this color, had zero confidence to carry it, as I thought it wouldn’t be flattering on my not-so-fair skin. Then one day I read somewhere that Leo people should wear more gold, yellow and orange. I believed in Linda Goodman more than I did in myself, what can I say? So I tried wearing these colors and loved it!

Ever since then there have been several pieces of clothing in this color family that have occupied my wardrobe and I have made beautiful memories in them.

Look at me in this picture. Enjoying the newfound financial independence. Full of life, not a worry in the world.

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is GREEN.

I have no real explanation as to why I only think of my college lab coat when I think of the color green.

It must be the trauma of having expected a dapper looking blue coat for the lab and getting a dark green one instead. Our batch got the ugliest of all colors possible for a lab coat. Juniors got grey and our seniors had navy blue. Why da?

But green has been a significant part of my life. my school uniform was green, I believed that green was my lucky color, I wore green to all of my important exams. I smile thinking about my innocence back then.. pacha kolandha I was.. geddit?

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is BLUE.

My very first attempt at writing something that rhymes, very abstract but close to my heart.

In a strange place
I felt my heart race
middle of the night
Under the orange light
Came my knight
i saw first
in a blue shirt
i never knew
irresistible in blue
looking the best
awakening the lust
softest lips
adding to the mix
and that kiss,
I wouldn’t ever miss, again.

This post is part of the Chennai Bloggers Club’s CBC VIBGYOR BLOG TAG 2 where some of us will write a post on the colours of VIBGYOR each day starting 1st of May to the 7th of May, 2020.

The colour theme for today’s post is Indigo!

You know what’s typical #momlife about the whole thing with the color indigo? When I sit to think about what to write I can only hear Peppa Pig singing that rainbow song and saying “do you know what color is indigo George? *Oink oink* that’s right, it’s bluey purple!”

Indigo ruined for life!

Before I became a mother indigo brought along desires for beautiful mul sarees in that dye. I imagined myself in a beautiful indigo saree, red blouse and kick-ass chunky tribal German silver accessories.

All of this is because of that lady Alexa. I’ve heard her play that song a million times. Now all I can think of is that little pig! Enna koduma da idhu..

#CBCVIBGYORBLOGTAG2

One of the biggest questions I have always had is: what is violet and what is purple? is purple a dark violet? Then what is lilac? How many even know there is a color called lilac? Will I be called a show-off if I called a color its name? Or should I stick to being ignorant about the color and just stick to light violet and dark violet? Or use the descriptive terms, december poo color, kathiri poo color, vaadamalli color, krishnammal uniform saree color (when you have a sibling who did schooling there, its bound to be added into your color vocabulary)?

Whatever its called, I love the shades of violet. I couldn’t manage to get my hands on a good purple saree. If you’ve been following me a while (on Instagram) you probably know my love for not buying but borrowing. So I did just that, borrowed this saree from my mother in law, a readymade blouse from a @sreedevitextiles and I was sorted.

Now that brings back the other question, will I ever be able to go shopping again? Life after corona is definitely going to be an adventure.

Vaanga Palagalam.. Vaanga Polambalam..

An event we organised for last women’s day exclusively for women to come and vent. No solutions no judgements no advices. Just being heard, that was the theme of the day. Everybody had a story to tell.

A venting out session is not like a therapy session with a therapist. There will be no solutions or action points at the end of it. But still people loved it. Why?

To know why you have to understand the dynamics of female friendships. I know only a very few people who are close with their friends from school and college even after getting married. Women seem to just drift apart after a while. I am not sure who to blame, society or women themselves?

Many women lose their identities with time. That could be the reason for them not being able to connect with their friends from the past. Getting married and moving to a new family, having a baby, it all changes everything for many.

That is where such peer support groups and such sessions come into play. Especially if you are the odd one in the family.

You never know the power of a full fledged vent out session until you’ve done it. Try it with anybody that wont judge you. I guarantee that you will feel much happier and lighter post that.

If you are in and around around coimbatore and feeling lost and stressed, need somebody to vent to, here is the (e)vent for you! Check the poster above and register soon. Only limited seats.

Let us hear people without judging them, providing them a space to vent.