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Sunday, November 1, 2009

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The Perfect Night Diaper, Fact or Fiction?

Ah, the elusive perfect nighttime diaper. *Cue strange nature program music here* I’ve heard tales of the existence of the perfect night diaper, but were they real or merely a fantasy conjured up by other mothers desperate for a good night sleep? *Big, scary nature crescendo* A few months ago, I set out to separate fact from fiction, fantasy from reality, and find the perfect night-time insert/diaper for my little boy.

I started my quest with micro-terry fiber. It’s simple, cheap, and best of all, I already had it on hand. Unfortunately one insert was not enough to hold Ian through the night, even when he was only a few weeks old. So I tried two inserts, then three. Three inserts worked like a charm, but looked silly and uncomfortable. As you can see from the picture, Ian did not like this arrangement. His bum was so big all the blood rushed to his poor little head. Clearly this was not the perfect solution.

Next I tried the Blueberry One Size Diapers. Several people raved about the near flawless design and the included insert with a combination of micro-terry fiber and hemp. I was hopeful this diaper might just be the one! I prepped the inserts, washing them several times so they would reach maximum absorbency – especially needed for overnight. Ideally we’re hoping to go through the night, roughly 12 hours!

Unfortunately this wasn’t enough to hold my little one through the night. (In all fairness, the inserts that come with pocket diapers are only designed for daytime use for roughly 2-3 hour stretches – they were not designed for overnight – especially for a heavy wetter!). The Blueberry One Size diaper and insert worked great for overnight if coupled with an additional micro-terry insert. Unfortunately, however, this brought me back to the “giant bum syndrome.” So I continued my quest!

I contemplated using wool, however, I discovered my son had eczema so wool was out of the question. However, I’d still recommend this option for those of you looking for a nighttime solution!

Finally, I tried some hemp inserts. Hemp holds a significant amount of fluid while still remaining trim. This is just what Ian needed to last through the night without a great big bum! I ordered two different brands, BabyKicks Hemparoo Joey Bunz Insert and the Hemp Babies Little Weeds, and waited anxiously for the mailperson to arrive with my package. When the package arrived I immediately prepped the items so I could use them that night. However, I had my doubts because the inserts/doublers were so much thinner than I’d imagined. I honestly couldn’t see something so thin working for him after all the bulk of microfiber didn’t quite work.

Nevertheless, we tried one hemp insert that night anyway and my little one looked comfortable! No giant butt! I put him to bed and hoped he would stay dry all night!

Ian awoke several times, as always, but stayed dry. I kept feeling him for wet spots and didn’t find any. The next morning came and he was still dry! We finally found our nighttime solution! If you’re still looking for a solution – keep trying new things! You may have a little trial and error but your solution is definitely out there! Good luck!

--by Kristi S.

25 comments:

Anna said...

It's always nice to hear what's working for others :)

DiscoverHope7 said...

thank you for posting this... we are on a journey to find something for all night

Attila & Tamara said...

We just did our first night in a cloth diaper and we had NO LEAKS! I was SO happy! We used a Happy Heinys with a Super Do and Microfiber insert. My son is 21 months so you can imagine how much that baby needed to hold!

Oh, how I am loving cloth diapering!

Upstatemamma said...

It is sort of trial and error isn't it?

Amber Liddle said...

I, too, have heard hemp works wonders! We use the BG with an extra insert, which is huge but works well. My daughter doesn't seem to mind the big bum and it just makes me laugh!

Kelly said...

We do the bum genius onesize with two inserts and two doublers! Sometimes it keeps my 19 mo daughter dry, some nights it doesn't hold up. I almost always put her in fleece pjs, so thankfully I am not constantly changing the sheets. But with my daughter, it really just varies from night to night. Some mornings she wakes up practically dry, others she is sopping wet!

Sarah, Ted and Eloise said...

just one of the hemp inserts works? I usually do a BG Microfiber insert and then a BabyKicks Hemp insert...maybe I am overdoing it....

Secret Mommy said...

I also started using Hemparoo Joey Bunz inserts as our nighttime solution. My 18 mo. old has never been a heavy wetter, but is 95th percentile size and outgrowing our bumGenius 3.0's with 2 inserts, which had been serving us well at night. But now either the Joey bunz in the bumGenius pocket or the Joey inside a fitted diaper and then with a wool soaker is our perfect nighttime solution. Yayyyyyyyyy!!!!!

Andrea Kruse said...

I haven't tried hemp inserts yet, maybe I should give that a go. So far the bumGenius 3.0 has held strong overnight for my 2yr. old.

Linda Klauck said...

Good news for us! Our little one is not yet born, but I chose some Baby Beehinds OS Hemp Fitteds for a night diaper and made up some newborn pockets with 2 layer hemp terry inserts as well. So stoked to hear how well hemp works!

Megan said...

We use Super Do inserts with Bum Genius 3.0's. Works every time!

Unknown said...

I have a heavy wetter and people make fun of me for giving him such a giant night time bottom. Our best "smaller" solution has been a prefold with a bamboo insert and bamboo lined cover. Unfortunately, we only have 2!

Crystal said...

I use FuzziBunz OS for overnight diapering, although I've also used BG OS and had good success. I either stuff with 2 microfiber inserts and one hemp babies insert or 1 microfiber insert and one Jam Tots OS hemp stuffer and we hardly ever have leaks. I would like to try the Hemparoo Joey Bunz inserts because hemp is definitely my trimmest option, although the big overstuffed diapers are cute in their own way!

Crystal

aboverubies15 at yahoo dot com

Kristi26 said...

Sarah: I use a hemp doubler with a microfiber insert. Sorry for the confusion!

jessnye said...

We use an Indian Prefold (premium) with a fleece liner and a Motherease cover. It works great and I can actually get the reek of nighttime ammonia out of the cotton, which is hard with microfiber.

Erin said...

this makes me feel way better about the prospects of night diapering (as someone who hasn't done it yet...) It has been one of the things i'm most worried about doing!

Anonymous said...

That's exactly the system we settled on! Actually, plain prefolds still hold up fine too, but she's wetter.

Laura C

laurakcowan/at/gmail/dot/com

Zoey said...

I haven't tried a hemp insert yet but I keep hearing good things and I am glad that they worked for you. When I get to that stage I will know what to try!

Alesha @ Full Time Mama said...

I'll have to keep this in mind! Thanks for sharing what worked for you!!

Arizona Girl said...

Its good hear what is working and not working for others. So far all I've found that unless I multi layer inserts its going to get us through the night.

Coupon Mama said...

I use a BG 3.0 pocket at night with the two microfiber inserts plus a Joey bunz or a preemie prefold. It is bulky, but it does work for 12 hours for both my boys who are 17 months and 3 years old.

Amanda said...

We just use prefolds on our 3 year old at night but I always keep my eyes open since we'll have a little boy in a few weeks and they seem to be heavier wetters from what I've heard. I've been wanting to try a few hemp inserts, maybe I'll try those ones out

fancygrlnancy said...

Thanks for sharing...we are always looking for a new solution. When something works one time it might not work the next.

Unknown said...

Thanks for the idea with the hemp inserts! I feel like my little guy has a pillow attached to his bum for nighttime too and know for our two new little additions the bulk will be even more on them. This convinced me to invest in some hemp inserts for nighttime!!

Lexi said...

i'm still not brave enough to use cloth at night. my 22 month old still wakes up at night for drinks. maybe i'll have to get some of these and try it out.