For daytime use my son stayed completely leak-free in his Flips and Prefolds. He also stayed leak-free for naps with double stuffed FuzziBunz One-Size Pockets or pre-folds and a cover. It was with overnight use that I was constantly having a problem. It seemed no matter what I did my son would wake up wet the next morning. Early on I realized that my son was a heavy wetter so I ended up buying some Thirstie's Hemp Inserts as well as Thirstie's Fab doublers and figured I would try both to see which I liked better. However even with the addition of the hemp insert or the fab doubler my son was waking up damp. I even tried triple stuffing and using one microfiber insert, one fab doubler, and one hemp insert and he was STILL damp in the morning. Why was this happening? I seriously considered switching back to disposables at night as I was getting incredibly frustrated. I decided to do some research and I discovered two things:
1) If the inserts don't lay completely flat in the pocket then it can cause leaks as there is no where for the urine to go if there are bends in the insert. Basically the urine would just roll around on the PUL fabric until it found an escape route out of the diaper. No amount of extra inserts would stop this kind of leak if the inserts aren't lying flat. All I had to do was, once the diapers would stuff, I would stick my hand to the top of the diaper and smooth the inserts out as I moved my hand back out of the diaper.
2) Tucking the microfleece layer of the pocket back into the diaper if it is sticking out will also cause leaks. For the longest time I thought that I was supposed to be tucking the microfleece back in or it would cause leaks... turns out it was just the opposite. So, I started letting the microfleece stick out of the back of the diaper and VOILA! No more leaks!
Not-tucking the microfleece back into the diaper was the turning point for keeping the diapers leak free. As soon as I stopped tucking them the leaks stopped completely.
So, by making these adjustments to my nighttime diapering routine my son has been able to stay completely dry all through the night. Even after sleeping 10 to 13 hours straight!
By Christina D.
24 comments:
I found I would get leaks if my son was laying on his side to sleep.
I am planning to cloth diaper entirely. I am first time mom and am not due until April. I had read once or twice before about solution number one that you wrote about. But NEVER have I read about solution two...That's nuts. Maybe it will all make sense once I start lol. All I know is I am glad I stumbled across your post for future leaking reference :D
I had to stop using FuzziBunz at night because my son leaked up the back and I ALWAYS made sure the fleece was tucked in...so now that I find out I'm not supposed to to that...I have to ask - why??? I'm so curious!
Wow, I need to check my dipes. I think I've been tucking the micro fleece on mine as well. Thanks for the heads up!
I am always tucking the fleece back in when it is peeking out! Hm...is that bc if you tuck it back in it creates a "space" for the pee bc if it is sticking out it means it is taut and when you put it back in you are making room for the insert to bunch up? Never thought of this. So do I need to pull out the fleece in the back if it is NOT showing??? haha. So weird.
My son used to leak at night sometimes. He is a heavy wetter for sure. I had been using a Flip organic insert in a FB perfect size medium. I have NEVER had a leak with that combo. I recently ordered a Babykicks Hemparoo Joeybunz insert and am LOVING it for night time. I haven't had a leak yet and it isn't even fully prepped. Also it is so thin!
yes, i'm dying to know WHY untucking works...
oh wow..thanks for sharing. our first babe is due in three weeks and i love reading troubleshooting posts like this BEFORE i get frustrated and give up! could you describe for us better what you mean by "tucking inthe microfleece" maybe a picture?? anyone?? thanks
What do you mean by 'tucking the microfleece'? I honestly have no idea if I am tucking or not, but it'd be great to face the morning dry for a change. :-/
Sarah, I haven't actually found a reason as to why the diapers leak when you tuck in the fleece, I just know that not tucking it in played a big part in stopping the leaks. I'll have to do some further research on that!
Tab, I heard about tip #2 from one of the diaper review videos that Kim did over at Dirty Diaper Laundry. It was either the FuzziBunz One Size review, or the Happy Heinys pocket review. I can't remember which now, but she says it on there. As soon as I heard that I started trying it and it worked!
Hmmmm, this makes me want to give my FuzziBunz another chance. I hate them and reach for them last because all they do is leak! It's frustrating because they do not need to be stripped and the elastic is set properly. So many people love Fuzzibunz and I could never figure out why. I think I will put one on baby girl her next diaper change. I'll try leaving the fleece out this time. Thank you!
Thanks for this post! I am new to CDing & my daughter's diaper seems to leak every night....
Wow! I too marvel at the tucking of the fleece! I feel like I have a lot of extra fleece, and leaving it out would cause the moisture to wick out.
We mostly use BGs double stuffed with one of the babykicks premium inserts. I have a kawaii over night that consistently leaves giant welts on the baby's legs... which I was told to solve by "breaking the diaper in"... but I can only continue washing and rewashing so often, especially when I see no improvement. Grumble.
But wow... a whole new world without tucking the fleece!
Thanks for the great tips! Im gonna have to try this. I use FB and usually get leaks after about 2.5 hours during the day. I usually just use one of the FB inserts. Ive never tried at night because of the short duration during the day. I have been using sposies during the night for that reason.
Thanks for posting this! I have to figure out something for my newborn. He leaks through everything! I have to wash every single outfit he has, everyday! Its getting old, real fast!
I'm curious what you mean by tucking in the fleece, too. I have just recently started having problems with my son waking up wet - which wasn't a problem before. Sometimes it's due to volume (some diapers are very wet and heavy in the AM) but other times the diaper is barely wet but his clothes are wet to his armpits! Not sure if this is a repelling issue - but would be curious to know if I am doing something wrong with the "tucking", too??
What I mean by tucking in is if you notice that the microfleece layer is sticking out the back of the diaper you tuck it back in under the elastic waist part. If you do that, that can sometimes cause leaks. It seems that leaving the microfleece sticking out of the back of the diaper (up by where the waist elastic is) helps prevent leaks. It must create a barrier or something. Microfleece is not an absorbent fabric, so it shouldn't cause wicking. That's why it's used as the stay-dry layer, it can't hold on to moisture so it helps to keep the baby dry.
I should also mention that if you use BumGenius or Kawaii's you won't have to tuck the microfleece in (for the Kawaiis) or the suedecloth in (for the BumGenius) as they aren't long enough to stick out the back. Both of those diapers also have that extra flap of stay dry fabric on the back that goes over the inserts, so that seems to prevent leaking anyway.
I hope that makes sense, it's been a long day.
Wouldn't the microfleece sticking out of the back of the diaper cause wicking onto the clothing? I am confused.
My son is a stomach sleeper with his kness tucked under him. The only combo that have worked for us lately is a Blissful Booty AIO with an extra gcloth laid in it. I cant believe how much he pees!
I've been stocking up on different doublers and inserts for when I have nighttime issues. Thanks for you insight. Especially about the tucking issue since I've been buying a lot of pocket style dipes.
This is REALLY interesting. I would have totally thought that you needed to tuck the liner in to avoid wicking. Good to know!!!
please elaborate on 'tucking the microfleece', i'm not picturing it.
My little man is a super heavy wetter, we use aios but he soaks them like crazy! I have even seen it soaking out through where the snaps are! My microfleece is not as fluffy as it once was too could this be a culprit as well? It seems like nothing is working! I tried smoothing the insert so it is flat but he still soaked his bed, he also soaks through them during the day too! Ahhh! So frustrated!
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