Help with Cloth Diapers

Hi S.,

We use cloth diapers, but the first concession I had to make was going to disposables at night. For the daytime, I didn't even bother keeping track of how often I changed him - just whenever it needed it. But I never used the inserts inside the diaper - I placed it on top (when you're looking from the inside) and changed that out a lot so we could keep using the snappie/whisper wrap.

Congratulations on twin babies!

If they've been here a whole month,
I wouldnt think twice about waking them to change them.
But they're your babies, and you'll need to do
what you feel is right with that.
My son would have been a red mess of skin
had I waited so long to change him.

I used old school cloth diapers, no inserts,
save another diaper, folded as a liner.
I used vinyl covers, and the new fangled covers
came into the market in my area
towards the last six months of my diapering.
I loved those things!

Your kids will grow,
you'll figure it out,
everyone has already said
one thing or another
about anything I'd say, really.

THey'll be bigger in no time
and their wee legs grow larger.
You'll be changing them more frequently soon
and then, you'll barely blink your eyes
and they'll be heading off to college.
Savor the soppy , sappy moments. hahaha

I see that you have gotten quite a wealth of information already. I agree you can fold a little down from top to bottom so that it is less likely to stick out. Also you can get plastic pants, usually wear they sall potty training underwear, that are a little larger, and double up the cloth diapers. This may help you while they are actually sleeping three hours at a time. As long as they are I would not wake them to change them. AS little as they are they need all the sleep they can get, and you need the extra time to relax. Good luck! Congratulations on the wonderful gift times two. :)

Hi S., good for you for trying the cloth diapers. The environment really thanks you :-) When my son was at your sons' age, I used the Bummis Whisper Wraps and now he is using Bummis Super Snap (he is 13 mos now). I also use non-bleached prefolds. I doubt that your Superbrites are much different as far as the cover goes. I use cloth about 95% of the time - using a chlorine free disposable at night and occassionally when we are out running longer errands. I can honestly tell you that I've had far more leaks with the disposables than the cloth. So cloth will work for you very well once we figure out the root of the problem.

The first thing that really jumped out at me in your question is that you only change them every 3 hrs. Of course they are completely saturated. I change my son every hour that he is awake (and upon awakening from his naps). When he was one month old, I normally found saturated diapers as well..and that was every hour. I took that as a good sign that he was drinking enough. So you should be happy that your boys are eating/drinking well. Only recently, do I check him and find that he sometimes still dry since the last change. One month olds average about 12 wet diapers each day(or maybe 10 disposables if I remember what I've read). The cloth is natural and does not contain all the chemical gels that absorb the urine and allow you to go 3 hrs between diaper changes. You need to change cloth diapers more than you would a disposable. I think the three hours between changes is a big part of your bad experience with leaks.

Also, you are correct that the diaper must be completely inside of the cover. It does makes sense that if a wet diaper is sticking out of a cover that whatever it touches will also become wet. I do remember that when my son was only a month..it was harder to fit the diaper in the cover...since the diapers are pretty much always the same size, but the covers are so small. When my son was your sons' age, I folded the diaper by folding up about 4" from the bottom and then folded both sides to the center. That normally made it to where the diaper would lay completely centered in the cover/the entire length of the cover w/o going over. The side that I folded up from the bottom (kind of doubled-up) was what I used in the front to give him that extra layer of absorbency. Eventually as he grew into larger covers, the diaper can now only be folded in one strip (two sides folded to center).

Also, I remember when I first purchased the diapers, I was supposed to wash them several times in Hot water before using them the first time. This was supposed to break down the natural oils in the coton and increase their absorbency. I suspect after a month of use, you have washed them many times already..so this probably is not your problem. However, if you are not using low-residue detergents (like Charlie's Soap etc) you may be experiencing issues with your detergent leaving residue on your diapers which coat them and cause the liquid to "pill" and run instead of absorb. I believe I read the recommended washing methods/detergents in the literature that came with the bummmis, so you may have already read/covered this piece. If not, I know its on their website. Good luck and feel free to ask me additional questions on the Bummis and I will try and help you.

do u use plasic diaper covers ? They help with leaking.

You can use doublers to increase the absorbency. Also look for fleece liners to help them feel dry.
Since they are probably still really small, check out the square prefolds they sell (orange thread) at www.greenmountaindiapers.com They will fit in the small covers better, and have less folding. There is a lot of great info on that site as well.
Another great, but pricey, option for nighttime is www.snapez.com Those diapers have the fleece lining built in and you stuff the diapers to the needed absorbency. Plus her pocket stuffers are really absorbent.
let me know if you have any more questions: ____@____.com

Hi there,

Congrats on your twin boys! How exciting!

I used cloth diapers with my first all the way, but still had to use disposibles at night.

none of the prefold material can stick out of the diaper cover or it will leak. If your boys are soaking through, I would use inserts with the prefolds or double them. You might also want to invest in a higher quality prefold (thicker material than the standard ones). It will be bulky, but cloth diapers usually are. I think babies look kind of cute with those big, bulky bums. :)
Good luck!

Do they have skinny legs? Our son has skinny legs and we had ALOT of leak issues when we started cloth diapering. We use prefolds and covers. We found out it was the type of fold we were doing. We now lay the prefold flat, fold it around his legs, and open it back up in front. We use a snappi to hold it. We have to make sure it is snug around his legs or there will be leaks. We started when he was 10mo (about 16lb) and he is now 19mo (about 20lb). Also, have they been prepped or do they need to be stripped. Make sure you are using the appropriate detergent and not using fabric softeners. You can google cloth diapers and check out some of the websites if you have any problems.
And we use disposables at night, that is one thing we did not change when we switched to cloth.
Good Luck!!!

S.

When my girls were babies I used cloth diapers. They worked great for me. My Mom told me that the secret to diapering a baby is to put the bulk of the material to the back for girls and to the front for boys. Most people don't realize that. Also I doubled my diapers. But then I probably checked them more often. I never once had a leak.

I wouldn’t even waist my money on the plastic pants they are so notoriously leaky that is what prompted all these companies to create the diaper covers. You probably need to use a doubler and 2 diapers at night. A cheap way to do this is to go to Wal-Mart to the automotive section and get the micro fiber car washing towels. They usually are bright colored and have 2 or more colors in the pack. They don’t have anything on or in them any different than the much more expensive micro fiber inserts except they are dyed. Just before you fold your diaper into thirds put on of those folded up in the diaper. You probably will have to cut it so it will fit a bit better and with as young as they are you probably only want the cotton touching there skin. Although I can assure you that they wont harm your boys skin as I use them for menstrual pads and for the first time in my life I don’t have a horrible rash by the time it is over. Also try doing the twist fold. I thought it seamed so odd when I first saw it but tried it and found it was the only way I could keep the diaper in the right place and seemed to help with absorbency.

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/howto.htm

http://www.diaperpin.com/home.asp

You may need to was the inserts a few more times....they can take 10+ washings to become absorbant. Be cautious of the amount of detergent you are using and make sure you have them rinsed well. Detergent residue affects absorbancy too. You may want to experiment with the types of inserts that work best for your little one, especially for overnight. Bamboo and hemp and the ones labeled as super-soakers will hold the most.

Actually 3 hours may be too long to wait in between changings.... that may be ok for a disposable with all that gel stuff, but I don't really ever wait longer than maybe 2 hours to change a cloth diaper...

Honestly, for a newborn sized baby, I don't think they should be leaking so much. I use inserts into Fuzzi-Bunz so it's a different style and I'm not as familiar with daily use of the kind that you have..but I think it maybe a combination of waiting too long in between changings, the insterts not being absorbant enough yet due to not being laundered enough or having residue from detergent (also NEVER use any fabric softeners or high chemical detergents!).... I would log into a Yahoo group fro cloth diaper users.... they will have LOADS more answers! Good luck!