Flats Challenge Conclusions

Things I learned:

• Airplane fold
• Diaper bag fold
• Great solution for overnight: airplane fold with pad folded flat on top & a large Motherease stay-dry liner.
• I have definitely refined my diaper changing process. Of late, FInn has discovered his mobility & thus will NOT stay put for anything. What I was doing was just to change him while he was standing up in the bathroom. Now, I let him stand for me to take his diaper off and clean him. Then, I let him stand dipe-free for a bit while I prep his dipe (fold it, get the snappi, etc) then he will stay put long enough for me to quick snappi on a diaper. Then I let him stand for me to put the cover on. 
• I tried
• How to better distract Finn while changing his diaper (sing a song OR one of his favorite toys du jour)
• That I love flats. I've started using them a LOT more. Both as inserts in my pocket diapers and snappi'd straight on his bum.
• If I were doing flats full time, I'd need a few more covers! I essentially only had 3 for the challenge. Once my 2 homemade woolies dried, I used them a few times & he pooped on both with a day! (Even though I thought I put him in the wool once the poo was out that day - WRONG! is there something about wool that makes them poop?)
• If I didn't have enough money to buy the kind of cloth diaper stash that we have and/or we didn't have a washing machine, I would definitely use flats full time. 
• I am seriously considering selling off some of my pocket diapers in favor of using more flats.

Final thoughts:

• Although, looking back on this experience, I can say now that I am really comfortable using flat diapers - I do not think that I, personally, would have initially thought that I could use them . This would especially be the case with a newborn, and Finn being my first. So - I recognize that each family needs to do their own experimentation with cloth diapers to see that YOU CAN DO IT TOO! The essential component with this is education. Even though I did a lot of research before Finn came along (and cloth diapering commenced), I got the impression that using flats (and even prefold diapers) was extreme in some sense. After using both, they really aren't! I think once you get used to whatever cloth diapering system you use, they are equally easy.
• If education is the key - how am I going to share my experience? I am still thinking this over.
• I would recommend every cloth diapering mama have a stash of flats on hand. Even if you don't use them in your regular rotation, you might need them in an emergency! Think about how you'd go about diapering your baby in case of a natural (or man-made) disaster. Flats are probably the easiest to hand-wash and dry in a reasonable amount of time.
• There are so many ways to use flats with your current rotation. Use in a padfold inside a cover, use as an insert in a pocket diaper, snappi straight on their bum. Also, you can fully customize the diaper for your baby - put the most layers where they wet the most; fold it in the perfect size.