A friend I met at playgroup recently swapped two of her one-size fitted diapers (fitteds don't have a water-proof layer) for two of my one-size pocket diapers. Even well-loved, the fitted diapers were still soft and natural feeling. I was immediately charmed.
I had wanted to try them because I'd read (online) about moms who let their babies run around coverless. All the time! Initially, I was only interested in keeping dry cotton next to my baby's skin for a few hours per day. As the novelty wore off, however, I began to see an additional advantage. Used at home, a coverless fitted has the convenience of an all-in-one (AIO) without the inconvenience of prolonged drying time, and you don't have to sort and stuff inserts as you would have to with pocket diapers.
I had no idea that using those first two fitteds would change the way I diapered.
I told my mom about my experiment. She was horrified, thinking back to, I imagine, sopping-wet Gerber-esque training pants. In reality, my daughter and I spent much of that first coverless morning in the tiled kitchen – no surfaces, then, that can't be readily cleaned. I had assumed that I would need to change her in about 2 hours, sopping wet, based on the pinned prefolds I'd used years previously on my son. He had a habit of 'holding it' for hours before letting go with a flood. Instead, after feeling for outside dampness for the better part of the hour, I experimentally opened the dry-on-the-outside diaper to find it wet inside. She'd already gone, and the diaper had contained it, even without a PUL cover. I was impressed with how much more absorbent the fitted was than my prefolds. At the same time, it was not so absorbent that I was unable to learn a bit about her habits, since I was able to tell much sooner when she'd wet than I could when she wore a cover.
This lead to a significant change in the way I diapered, because I learned by using coverless fitteds that my daughter is not an infrequent, heavy wetter like my son had been, but a much more frequent one. I was able to customize her diaper-changing routine, which in turn leaves her less prone to rashes and irritation. Instead of waiting for what I thought was one big wet every 2-3 hours, I knew that even if I couldn't tell by touch, she'd be damp within an hour.I'm finding that I love putting my daughter in cute, soft fitteds to let her run around while I do the dishes or fix lunch. I like knowing that she's more comfortable, because I'm more aware of her habits. And I really like for fitteds on laundry day, since they dry quickly and don't need to be sorted and stuffed.
Note: Many know that a lanolized wool cover can be used over a fitted to provide a breathable, water-resistant layer, but did you know that simple, $3 -$7 pair of fleece pants will also contain the damp (but not flood!) without the need for lanolization? Look for 100% polyester on the label, and you'll have an inexpensive, breathable, damp-resistant layer for your carpets and furniture. Or just put a fleece blanket down on your sofa on coverless days.
By Angie S., Blog Contributor of TCDW
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