Cloth Diapers Overnight Help

You have so many helpful responses. How wonderful! I tried many, but not all, of these suggestions. However, we still had to go to disposables when my son was before a year old. I found that even if I managed to get the diaper to not leak he was so wet that he would wake or have irritated skin. I hated using disposables but felt like I was doing the best I could. Good luck. I hope you find something that works for you.

I agree with a lot of what everyone has said - try a pocket or AIO diaper, try a PUL cover, try using hemp inserts... HOWEVER, with my first DD we finally did have to switch to disposables at night (at around 8 mos) because NONE of the cloth diaper solutions were working. We tried Gdiapers at night too, but they leaked too much. Now with my 2nd DD (7 mos) we're switching to disposables at night too. I hate to use disposables, but for us it means better sleep for everyone in the house, and sleep is a precious commodity. Good luck!

Have you tried "G" diapers? They are partially cloth and partially disposable. Very environmentally conscious. You can find them on diapers.com

We had the same problem with our first daughter. I love using the cloth diapers, but when my daughter just couldn't sleep all night we had to make some compromises.
I tried extra liners, and even went to a nylon cover to help hold the leaks in. She just wet too much and it went right through.
I did some diaper research and found biodegradable, ecosafe diapers. I think they are from Sweden or something like that. They are compostable, and have no chemicals or unsafe ingredients. I purchased them at Diapers.com with free shipping.
I hated to make the switch, but it was only for night use and they were a life saver!!
With my second daughter we automatically used these at night and never had the same night waking problem. No leaks, no wet bottoms.
Here is the link if you wanted to check them out.
http://www.diapers.com/Product/ProductDetail.aspx?product...
I hope it helps.
-S.

Both my kids were such heavy wetters that I found I had to use disposables at night if I didn't want to change them partway through the night.

I did have some luck super-stuffing the diaper, but then it seemed so bulky that it would be uncomfortable. The other thing I did was to double up the pocket covers, with one stuffed and the other unstuffed - but again, the wetness became uncomfortable and woke them up.

I use pocket diapers and like them because I can stuff them with an extra insert. I'm not sure what kind of diapers you have but you can purchase extra inserts - even if you are not using pockets. I also use Sposoeasy and just use an extra insert on those.

Good for you for using cloth diapers! We are far too rare a species right now.

Have you tried fleece? This is in addition to, not instead of inserts. It is not the slightest bit absorbent, but feels good on the baby's skin and wicks away the moisture that might be waking her up. And yes, one of my children was such a heavy wetter that we used THREE inserts, and a cover that was several sizes too big, so that she wouldn't be soaking externally overnight. But that's not such a problem as the moisture waking up the child because she's uncomfortable.

I know some people who do use disposables at night, but I wouldn't do that until you have exhausted other options. It definitely negates many of the benefits, such as safety from toxins on the genetalia. Of course, if you do end up going that route, you are still saving huge amounts of money and landfill space on all the disposables you don't use during the day, so don't feel bad. But if you can make it work, try fleece!

Oh, so how to make fleece? Take one of those many receiving blankets she doesn't need to be swaddled in anymore, that you care about less than the others, and cut it into strips about 5 inches wide and a foot long. Just lay it over the insert.

Good luck!
K.

Hi S.,

I found that the wool covers do leak especially during the night. I have been using the Imse Vimse and Bummies covers that have a cotton outer layer and sort of "plastic" feeling inner side. These do not leak through so easily.

We did switch to using disposables at night time for our son at some point because we still had some leakage problems. He is now almost two and a half and most mornings he wakes up with a huge poop. It is just easier to use the disposable at night and cloth during the day.

I was just reading the other responses, and yes, The Diaper Lab in Somerville is a great store, but there is another one as well: Hatched in Jamaica Plain sells all kinds of cloth diapers and it is a fabulous store! You can also order online.

Good luck!

I make & sell my own cloth diapers. I came up with an AIO system where extra absorbency layers snap in. I have a very heavy wetter and she's not managed to soak through my overnight diapers yet.

My suggestion would be to try a few different types of cloth diapers for night time. Many people like pockets, but I don't like them (do not like to stuff them... and I have small hands). The materials used in the diapers make a difference too. Some absorb well but after absorbing aren't capable of holding it in.

I'm guessing you are using 2 prefolds at night... or two fitteds. Another suggestion I'd have is to lanolize your wool cover and wash your diapers a few times (maybe even strip them using dawn dish soap to help them be more absorbant). If you are using any type of fabric softener it will make your fabric less absorbant too.

If you have any more questions I can help you with please feel free to contact me.

I've heard that wool covers are great but compression will let the wet through.

As others have said, we use overstuffed pockets at night. I've used Happy Heiney's and Fuzzi Bunz, and put two hemp inserts and one microfiber, and most of the time that catches it all. The happy Heiney's have an insert system so it's not two full, but one with a little oval you tuck into a pocket of the main insert.

You could try hemp diapers, or put a layer of microfiber between the cotton layers? I got microfiber towels from the automotive section of Wal-Mart. It's just important not to put the microfiber right next to baby's skin, and never dry them on high heat.

I use G-diapers, either with the flushable inserts or with a flat cloth diaper folded to the right size, during the day, and a disposable at night, to avoid night time wet-through.
Also, cloth diapers are meant to be changed more often than disposable, because they don't have the super absorbency of disposable. So you just might need to change her a couple times per night. She should be waking a few times a night to nurse anyway, right? So you may need to change her then.

I have a heavy night wetter and I found that the pocket diapers work the best because you can stuff stuff stuff stuff those I like fuzzibunz and bumgenius I have rarely had a leak w/ them.

I use Fuzzy Buns cloth diapers with my daughter. I decided to use cloth to lessen my impact on the enviroment AND more importantly for me to lessen the cost of disposables. I also had problems with the cloth diapers leaking thru at night (lets face it, they can't absorb as much) so when my daughter was about 8 weeks old I started putting her in a disposable diaper for bedtime only. As soon as she wakes up in the morning she goes right back into her nice cozy cloth. My daughter will be 6 months old this week.

Our daughter was not such a heavy wetter but she would wake up wet with one diaper. She wasn't bothered by it, no diaper rash either, so we let it be. I didn't see the point in waking her up to change her diaper. I'm not sure who is bothered by her wetness more - you, or your daughter. At two, my daughter is still waking up with a wet diaper. It's normal from what I know. I didn't want disposable bc. I don't think they hold more than a double diaper, & I didn't want those chemicals on her body for a full 12 hours. If you have questions, I recommend calling "The Diaper Lab" or going there if you are close. It is a fabulous, & the only, cloth diaper store in MA, & it is in Somerville MA. on Highland Ave. Hop this helps.
K.

Hi S., We have Happy Hieney pocket diapers, they work great, most of the time. We have had leaks before and I have noticed that you really have to baby them when you wash them. We use a free and clear soap, and rinse them 2 or 3 times to get the soap built up off. It seems to help.

I know that this post is kind of dated, but was wondering what your decision was. I, too, LOVE cloth diapers. Unfortunately, I didn't use them with my own daughters because I didn't get any experience with them until my own daughters were bigger. But I alway encourage my daycare clients to use cloth. I even subscribe to a diaper service to make it easier for my momma's and daddy's.

In my experience, it helps to use a fleece liner right next to the child's skin as it helps to wick away the moisture. I'm assuming that you are using two prefolds to double up. My idea is that if you use one bigger prefold for the outside layer and the fold up a smaller prefold (maybe and infant sized one) and put it on the inside of the prefolds. I always placed the diaper flat on the ground and twisted it in the middle to go between the legs. Then put the infant diaper in as a liner folded into thirds. Put the fleece lining over that. Then use the snappie to close it all up around the child. I found that how you fold the diapers makes a difference in how absorbant they are and I always have good luck folding them this way.

Good luck!