I am participating in the flats challenge and will be using mostly flour sack towels as flats. (Sign up for the flats challenge!)
It’s time for cloth diaper advice! If I’ve received a question, I will answer it on Monday and ask my lovely readers to add their two cents.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Courtney M. says:
My LO is a heavy wetter & for nighttime we have to use Kawaii heavy wetters double stuffed with one or two hemp babies diaper doublers. They are soaked in the a.m. (but no leaks!) and they smell! I need some kind of solution that doesn’t involve ammonia or him being stuffed in a diaper so big he doesn’t move! any tips or suggestions? I’m hoping my days of middle of the night changes are over…
Post and linked posts may contain affiliate links. There’s a picture of my real model next to my previous model. 🙂 You have probably seen my reviews of newborn diapers that I did without a baby while I was expecting my son (and I think maybe even a few before!) If you’re ever looking for one, don’t forget about my review archive.
Have a cloth diaper problem? On Mondays, I answer reader questions, and ask my other readers to give their advice too.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Suki says:
Hi Maria, I had left a comment on your wall about my daughter potentially having diabetes. Well, it turned out that she doesn’t. She just hit that toddler stage where she pees a ton more. What I’ve done to keep up is to double stuff everything. That works during the day and diaper changes are about every two hours.
What I’m having trouble with is nighttime diapering. She is almost 18 months and drinks 16 – 32 ounce of milk each night and so I have to change her diaper once or twice at night or I get leaks. She’s a super duper heavy wetter at night.
I’ve tried a Super Do with a Loopy Do and that lasts maybe half the night. I’ve tried a combination of hemp and microfiber inserts (as many as I can without the leg opening gaping!). I don’t want them to be too bulky so I thought maybe some hemp flats?
I’m willing to spend some money but I want to increase my chances of something that would work.
Thanks!
I’m so glad to hear she doesn’t have diabetes! That much fluid intake will definitely soak a night time diaper! Since the Superdo (and a Loopydo, wow!) didn’t cut it, my next suggestion would be fitteds with wool. Fitteds are great because the whole diaper is absorbent.
When I was searching for really absorbent fitteds, I found the Guerilla Fluff Utilitarian. I had mine made with all the extras, like added Zorb in the soakers, and a wool precision doubler (I don’t believe she uses wool anymore though.) If you can do it without a leg gap, try adding a natural fiber (like a hemp blend) insert, doubler or prefold inside as well. Top it with an extra-thick, well lanolized wool cover. In the winter, I also used fleece PJ pants for an additional barrier!
If that doesn’t do it, you may need to continue to change her at night, until she is old enough to limit her fluids a bit before bed!
So how about the rest of you? Have you dealt with an epic super-soaker? What worked for you at night?
If you are looking for cloth diaper advice, on Mondays, I answer reader submitted questions, and ask you to give your opinion too.
Questions don’t have to be cloth diaper related, just email maria at change-diapers.com with “Mailbox Mondays” in the subject, or Fill out my contact form for readers, which you will always be able to find on my Contact Page.
Beth says:
Maria-
Hi, I’ve been using cloth diapers with my son since he was in size 2, yet we’ve always used disposables at night. Usually, a box would last a little over 3 months, so it never really broke the bank, and I really wasn’t concerned. Now, the prices of diapers is going out of control, and I’d like to switch to cloth overnight once my disposables are all gone. When I was looking at prices of fabric, it would be cheaper to buy a few yards of different absorbent fabrics then to buy a box of diapers. (I make my own, so I would be buying the fabric and making the soaker). The big thing is that my son is a heavy wetter at night, most nights wetting out of the disposable. So, I need to find the most trim yet absorbent night fabric. What should I use?
Thanks
Beth
Hi Beth! Figuring out a night time solution was tough for us! My son was a very heavy wetter and was leaking out of everything it seemed. We weren’t able to use disposables at night since they gave him rashes (my final motivator to switch to cloth!) so I did a ton of trial and error until I figured something out.
It sounds like your son is also a very heavy wetter, if he’s leaking out of disposables! I’ve heard at least one mom say that her son would actually cause disposable diapers to burst at night, and she was able to make cloth at night work for them, so I’m confident that you will be able to as well!
I don’t sew diapers, so I can’t specifically speak on that, but I can definitely tell you what things/materials worked for us. As a side note, if you’re a Cafemom member, there is a group called “Sewing Diaper Divas” that is a great resource!
What has worked really well for us at night is a very absorbent fitted with a wool cover over it, or a pocket diaper stuffed with a Knickernappies Superdo insert. I wouldn’t call any of our night time solutions trim, but they work!
If you are making a pocket diaper, you might consider using heavy duty Windpro Fleece as the outer, and using both microfiber and hemp in your insert (microfiber closest to baby inside the pocket.) For a fitted, consider using a mixed natural material, like a cotton/hemp blend or bamboo. Zorb is also a very absorbent material to use in soakers.
I know we have some ladies here that sew their own diapers. Do any of you have heavy wetters? What materials worked best for you in night time diapers?
Maria wants to live in a world where cloth diapers are the norm and moms can make parenting choices without judgement. When she’s not chasing her 18, 14 and 11-year old kids around, you might find her checking out the latest gadgets, organizing something (again) or exercising in the fresh air. Read More »
