Cloth Diapers at Night?

Updated on January 14, 2010
J.B. asks from Grosse Pointe, MI
25 answers

My son will be 6 months at the end of the month and I've switched him over to cloth diapers now that he eating some solid foods. I had trouble with my first son in cloth diapers during the breastfeeding poops because they would leak all over, so I decided to wait.

Everything is going very well, but I'm having some trouble at night. He doesn't sleep through the night yet, but he has been doing pretty well about only waking up about 2 times. The past couple nights, he's been waking a lot more than that, maybe 6 or 7 times. I think it's because he's really wet. The first night I had to change him in the middle of the night because he had soaked through his diaper and cover. The second night, I put him in a double diaper, cover, and a plastic cover on top and he didn't soak through, but he was up alot. Last night, I put him in a disposable diaper (because I'm sick and couldn't take another night of being up 7 times) and he only woke up once (so far).
So, any advice from moms that cloth diaper? I don't like to change him in the middle of the night because it wakes him up and is hard to get him back down. Is there a brand of cloth diaper that works better for this sort of thing? Thanks!!

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A.H.

answers from Detroit on

I used a piece of poler fleece I cut to size and that keeps the wet diaper off baby's skin. I also added a hemp or micro fiber doubler or even just a 2nd diaper. It does make the but huge, but it worked.
Good luck, A. H

1 mom found this helpful
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J.W.

answers from Detroit on

Hi There!

I also used cloth diapers, but always used disposable at night. I wanted him to sleep well without me needing to wake him to change him or risk diaper rash. It worked. He was a great sleeper at an early age.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

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C.L.

answers from Detroit on

We've cloth diapered since birth and always just double diaper at night and have never had a problem. You could try a wool cover so it's more breathable or triple diaper him? You could call The Little Seeding in Ann Arbor for diaper advice too.. they have a website that you can google and find. I've never had a problem with my son waking cause of the diaper. Is it possible it's not diaper issues and it's something developmental or teething? Maybe try disposable a coupel nights and see if it improves.

1 mom found this helpful
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A.K.

answers from Detroit on

We use cloth on my son but always disposable at night. It was too difficult changing him at night, especially if he was sleeping through the night. Sorry I can't help you on cloths that work overnight.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.G.

answers from Saginaw on

Well Joy,
We use the good old pin kind. The only brand I found to work for our 3 yr old was Dundee. Our little guy would go through anything else. I don't know where you are from so I'm not sure where you would find them, we get them at Meijer. There should be a website you could find them on. Oh, I always folded 1 diaper in 3rd's, placed it in the middle of 2nd one; then fold that for the diaper. I know this is the old fashioned way of doing it, but when I find something that works I go with it. Do hope you get it all figured out.
M

1 mom found this helpful
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Y.U.

answers from Jamestown on

I've had good luck with the Happy Heiny's as well although my son has a bit of a problem moving around at night with his giant diaper butt. Having said that I know a couple who sell cloth diapers out of their home but use disposables on their son at night because he's a VERY heavy wetter.

1 mom found this helpful
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H.L.

answers from Detroit on

Hello- good for you CD-ing!
I had the same problem a few months ago- and never ended up finding something that works- so we now use 1 disposable diaper a day- for night time.

I read the posts and the 1 thing I did not try was the aristocrat wool thing- might invest in one and try it out.

also- have you checked out diaperswappers web site....please do- its a forum for CDing very very helpful

Good luck1

1 mom found this helpful
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E.A.

answers from Detroit on

Have you tried Diaper Doubler inserts? Many Toys R Us stores sell them in the diaper section for $3-$4 per pack of 30. They're absorbant soft inserts that you can use with cloth diapers or disposables.
Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.T.

answers from Benton Harbor on

I use pocket diapers and just add more inserts at night. I would try using 2 doublers.

1 mom found this helpful
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L.N.

answers from Benton Harbor on

I would do whatever works. If disposable works well at night, do it! I would much rather have a comfy baby than worry about cloth and a waking baby...

~L.

1 mom found this helpful
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J.D.

answers from Saginaw on

I ran into issues when my lo turned one. Her cloth wouldn't hold through the night and neither would a disposible. We switched to a Bamboozle fitted diaper (made of bamboo) or a Happy Hempy (made of hemp) at night with a fleece or wool cover. I love my wool cover. We use it much more frequently than the fleece. It absorbs more and doesn't carry any lingering odors. Wool is more expensive, but its worth the cost. My wool cover are shorties that were hand-knitted by a gal in GR and they are GREAT!

Before she turned one, I used a BumGenius with 2 inserts and never had any problems. But I highly recommend the fitted diaper with a wool cover!!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.S.

answers from Grand Rapids on

joy; i used cloth diapers on my oldest son, i had the fortunate chance that he slept all night, but it does seem like there are pads type things that can insert into cloth diapers, well they had them when i was usuing cloth, not sure if they still do, however you can always insert some sort of obsorbant, it could help not sure, soemtimes kids jusst wake up, my second child would wake up alot, and he was in disposables, so i had the opposite problem, but i loved cloth and how it made me feel like they were clean and ready to go, so keep up the good work, and keep on trying things, and maybe just use a disposable at night, either way enjoy life and keep on being a good mom, D. s

1 mom found this helpful
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D.Y.

answers from Detroit on

There are certain diapers that wick away wetness that you could try. BumGenius is one of them. I would recommend trying those (or another pocket style diaper, as they're easy to customize absorbency). When you buy a BG diaper it comes with an infant insert and a regular one. For nighttime, try using both of them for the extra boost. You may still need to change him once or so, but it sounds like you're needing to even with sposies.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from Detroit on

I have used cloth since birth and have no problems at night with them... we use the prefolded 4x8x4 DSQ's
but and I am anti disposable it would stand to reason that a disposable can make a baby feel dryer even when soaked and if your little one isnt use to that wet feeling he could be uncomfortable :(

If I were in your shooes I may do the disposable thing until you feel better then try cloth again

1 mom found this helpful
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A.M.

answers from Detroit on

I bought some fleece liners for at night. They keep them feeling dry. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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J.L.

answers from Detroit on

I have tried several different options- and I found the Happy Heiny's pocket diaper the best. I use two inserts. My 6 month old sleeps 12 hours at night, and while I have some leakage at times- most mornings are dry. Plus- because they are fleece lined, he never wakes from being wet. They sell them at The Little Seedling in Ann Arbor (formerly Tree City Diapers).

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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S.D.

answers from Detroit on

I also use the fleece liners as they repel moisture away from your child's bottom. But I also use and cannot stress enough, the awesomeness of the Aristocrats Wool Cover. Wool naturally breathes and keeps them dry, while the plastic covers trap the moisture in, causing them to either wake up or get diaper rash. They are a bit pricey, around $30-40, but well worth it and you only need one since they only need to be washed (lanolized) about once a month.

You can find them at www.softclothbunz.com or www.greenmountaindiapers.com or a number of other online providers...

1 mom found this helpful
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S.K.

answers from Detroit on

I was having the same issue at night with my daughter, but then I switched covers. I now use Disana wool covers at nap and night time, along with a DSQ prefold and doubler. I actually use the cheapy Gerber "prefolds" from Target or Meijer as my doubler. My daughter no longer wakes up with compression wetness or leaks.

This is where I found the best price for the cover: http://www.asmallgreenfootprint.com/store/Disana-Wool-Dia... Well worth the investment, I my opinion.

The Little Seedling store in Ann Arbor sells pretty nice prefolds. Check out there website. http://www.treecitydiapers.com/store/category/1049/66/Pre...

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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M.W.

answers from Grand Rapids on

What kind of cloth diapers and covers are you using? I use cloth at night with no problem, although it did take a bit of experimentation to find a couple of diapers that would work for us. In my experience, the cheap diapers from wal-mart and meijer will not work overnight, as they just do not have the absorbancy needed to go that long.

Some great places to find about different types of diapers are:

www.diaperpin.com
www.diaperswappers.com
www.mothering.com (you need to go to their discussion forum, and then to the diapering forum)

I would be happy to help you if you have any more questions.

1 mom found this helpful
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K.H.

answers from Detroit on

I use an aristocrat wool soaker with a prefold at night and it doesn't leak. It is good because it allows the diaper to have some air flow without leaking. I would try that...
Cloth diapers feel wet compared with disposables that don't. The other thing you can do is put a piece of polar fleece inside next to the skin, it wicks the moisture away and so it doesn't feel as wet. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful
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M.M.

answers from Jackson on

Dear Joy-
I sleep my 10 month daughter in a bumgenious pocket diaper. I stuff it with a regular liner and a hemp liner. The hemp is designed to soak up slow leaks and it does a great job. She almost always wakes up without leaking. She also nurses several times throughout the night. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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B.L.

answers from Jackson on

Hi I have using only cloth w/my lil girl since birth-she is now 14mo,and still is breastfeeding.At night i love "bluberry" with a hemp doubler or I have even cut a few prefolds in 1/2 and then fold it in half and stick it inside the pocket. Sometimes I will add a wool cover too.Also I went to the fabric store and bought fleece and flannel sewed tham together and I place the flannel side up it seems to help draw some of the moisture away-which also helps prevent diaper rashes. Hope these ideas help-and just a little note there are still night when little miss nurses often I too may have to change her,I usually have a bumgenius ready to go and do this while nursing. best of luck. And yes he will have a bubble butt but hey at least the sheets will be dry.
xoxo
b

1 mom found this helpful
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J.P.

answers from Detroit on

I'm not sure if there is a store bought solution but in my own desperate creativity I made polar fleece diaper liners. I used left over pieces about 3 inches wide and 12 inches long (sewed together so it was 2 layers thick). These worked great at night. Another thing that helped me was Walmart carries a tafeta like diaper cover that seemed to prevent a lot of leaks. Hope some of this helps and good luck!

1 mom found this helpful
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D.K.

answers from Detroit on

I think I would just use the disposables at night. And cloth during the day. Your still doing good for the environment because it is still less waste. Good job!!!

1 mom found this helpful
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