Friday, March 11, 2011

Cloth diapering overnight woes

S has recently taken to sleeping on her side at night. It's cute, but it has also introduced a pesky problem - diaper leakage! Boooo.

Up until this point, we have been using mainly Kawaii snazzy minky OS pockets stuffed with a single microfibre insert as her night time dipe, and this worked well when she slept on her back. She's not a super-heavy wetter so the single insert generally contains everything just fine for 8-10 hours. Now that she's sleeping on her side, however, some of the pee simply runs out the leg hole rather than absorbing into the insert. Now, one thing we've noticed with the Kawaiis is that the leg openings tend to be somewhat loose on her. This is more pronounced on some of the diapers than others (odd, huh?) which has led us to only use the 5 tightest ones unless we're in a real pinch. However, it appears that even these cannot reliably prevent leakage when she's on her side.

At 5 AM this morning, she'd leaked yet again but unfortunately I was a bit late on the laundry this round and the tight-legged Kawaiis were still in the dryer, unstuffed. So I reached for one of our two AMP one-size duo pockets, which have unfortunately been sitting unused because they have leaked as well, but in this case out over her waist. I checked and double-checked the fit, and it appeared that it was fastened as intended. But nope - another leak out over the waist, a mere 2 hours later! (I'm currently emailing with a CSR at AMP who is helping me troubleshoot the problem as it's perplexing indeed!)

So now I'm wondering a couple things:

1) Am I missing something key with the AMPs? Here are a couple pics of her wearing one early this morning. Does something look totally wrong? I really want these to work as they're so cute & trim!






































(Hmm - it appears from the first picture that the left leg gusset is a bit wonky, but she must have done that in her sleep as it was pulled around nicely like the right one when I put it on. Plus, the issue with these isn't in the leg hole - it's the waist area! Does this part look odd to you?)

2) What are the best overnight diapers for side-sleeping babies? I found a couple forum threads on this which suggested fitteds and extra-stuffed pockets as good options to try. So I'm going to see how a double-stuffed Kawaii holds up, and also explore the fitted option. Now the question is which one(s) to try, as I don't currently have any. I'd love to win one or two via giveaways first before splurging on a bunch of them!

Welcome any thoughts...

7 comments:

  1. Just a quick note (while nursing @5am) to say that although we haven't started nighttime CD'ing yet, our Motherease Sandy's fitted CDs have worked great for us with no leaks so far. You can often find them for sale on kijiji.

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  2. It's too bad you got the OS AMPs...I prefer the L in the two size system. They've fitted Kieran fine since about a month old and they were the only diaper that still fit Caleb up until he potty trained. And done up on the tightest setting they NEVER leak. I would try doing the ones you have up more snuggly though - it looks from the pic like you don't have it on the tighest leg setting (the lower of the 2 snaps on each side) and it should be if you're having leaking issues through the leg. From there for overnight I'd probably stuff with a hemp insert AND a microfibre insert or doubler if you're still having issues (you'll probably have to adjust the fit again though).

    My only other advice is that if you find something that works now for overnight, don't go nuts and get a whole bunch thinking they'll always work. Just get 2 or 3 because soon enough, your overnight needs will change again. And again. And again.

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  3. @Christina - I've heard from a few people now who use Mother-ease and have good things to say about them (both diapers and covers) so maybe I'll pick a couple up! I see them on Kijiji fairly often.

    @Wendy - I'll try tightening the leg a bit and see if that helps, though the AMPs seem to leak out the waist and not the leg. As for the Kawaiis, I doubled up on the microfibre last night and no leaks! So we'll stick with that for awhile. And yup, definitely a lot of trial and error as baby grows! Luckily cloth dipes have good resale value so you can recoup a lot of what you spend!

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  4. Hello! New follower! I saw your comment on Manager to Mom's blog and thought we all had a lot in common so I wanted to stop by your blog too! A recent find for nighttime for us is the Best Bottoms system....we used two inserts (you may only need one) or they have nighttime inserts (haven't tried those yet but will) but their legs have gussetts to hold it in - they may work really well for you! There are several blog giveaways going on right now for them and I'll have one posted this week as well...maybe you can win one and try it before buying any?

    I'd love for you to stop by and follow when you get a chance and maybe enter some of my giveaways!

    Happy Sunday!
    April
    http://greenmissionmama.blogspot.com

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  5. Thanks for the join and the suggestion, April! I've entered a couple giveaways already for Best Bottoms (intrigued by how the system works but would definitely prefer to "try before I buy!") and would love to enter yours as well when it's up! (Assuming it's open to Canadians!)

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  6. I have several OS AMPs and have never had any leaks (and I have a skinny baby!). From the pic, it looks like your insert has either slid down or wasn't stuffed all the way to the top of the pocket to start with? I've had leaks with other diapers for that reason before.

    I'd buy them off you if you were selling for a good price! :)

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  7. Hi Tara! Thanks for the thought - I'll double check that the insert is in properly next time I try it on her! I do want these diapers to work for her so not planning to sell just yet, but if I do I'll keep you in mind!

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