Last summer we were faced with a cloth diaper problem that we’d never been unable to solve before: night time leaking. My daughter has used bumGenius 3.0 (and now 4.0) pocket diapers almost exclusively since 3 months old for her nighttime diapering. (We did use fitted diapers a lot during the first couple of months because our stash of pocket diapers was still quite small and we were changing her multiple times a night). When we had leaks it usually meant we had to add another insert or adjust the sizing. But suddenly around age 2, we found that three inserts and the maximum diaper rise still resulted in leaks almost every night. This was incredibly frustrating.
While we could hope that potty training would come soon, we knew that nighttime dryness was probably still six or more months away. So I started reading up on night time diapering. Many of my cloth diaper friends resorted to disposables at this stage, something I was reluctant to do. This could last another year or more and that was a lot of disposables to keep buying. First I looked into hemp inserts. As it happened, I actually had a few that came with my Thirsties Duo Diapers. Let me just say, I love these diapers in theory but they weren’t a good fit for my daughter. But I tried using the hemp portion of the insert along with two full size bumGenius inserts. This definitely led to fewer leaks, but it left gaps large in the legs or her diapers since they were so bulky which sometimes still resulted in leaks. I was also pleased to find that the hemp inserts didn’t develop that terrible odor as quickly as her microfiber night time inserts. (I’ve also since concluded that toddler pee just smells awful. It’s worse in the morning because it’s been absorbing and sitting all night, so yeah, build up and smell issues will probably happen with almost anything but disposables.)
Around this time the new Thirsties Duo Fitted diapers came out. As a lover of almost all Thirsties products, I was ecstatic but of course I couldn’t justify buying more diapers since my stash is ample. Until I read a review where a few moms said that using a hemp insert in the stuffable pouch of the Duo Fitted diapers plus a Thristies cover was the only night time leak proof protection they could find. So I took the plunge and ordered 6 Thirsties Duo Fitted diapers on sale; buy 5 get 1 free. I ordered three in Size 2 and three in Size 1 for the new baby coming next year. (I still love a fitted and cover for holding in nighttime breast fed poops). The leak issue disappeared almost overnight.
Now I do wish I could afford more of these diapers. We usually have to resort to at least one night of a double stuffed pocket diaper while I wash the other diapers. I have also discovered that they need periodic stripping because of the beating my daughter’s nighttime urine gives them. She never gets a rash, but eventually the ammonia smell of her morning diaper change is staggering. (I’ve taken to holding my breath anyway since my sensitive pregnancy tummy doesn’t do so well with diaper smells). The two layers also discourages my daughter from taking off her diaper. The only problem we have with leaks now is when her pajama pants get tucked into the front of her diaper.
So for now, we’ve found a working solution. Hopefully she’ll dry out at night before she outgrows these diapers otherwise I’m not sure what we’ll do next.
Have you had trouble with using cloth diapers at night? Did you find a solution that worked for you? Share with us.
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