New to Cloth Diapering with gDiapers and Having Issues

Honestly when it comes to cloth you would be better off in a prefold and a booster. This would give you much more overall absorbancy. However don't buy the gerber ones. I personally would recommend the Unbleached Indian prefolds from either Green Mountain or Alltogether Diaper company. Snappis will make them that much easier to use. They make a little bulky but I don't think it will be as bad. If you are still having issues look at getting a wool soaker. They are the best things for preventing overnite leaks

I'm afraid I've never had luck with cloth overnight, and I LOVE CDing! My son also pees all the way through - and all the way through regular diapers, too. He requires the Huggies Overnights.

However, having said that, Gdiapers have a bit of a reputation for leaks. You might check out Jillian's Drawer's because they have a trial package (I think several companies do, actually, so you could do a Google search):
http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/products/clothdiapers/tryc...
I personally am a huge fan of Mother-ease Sandy's Diapers, and I use hemp and microfiber inserts, which is what you have for the Gdiapers, and so you could use the inserts you already have with these diapers. It is a little bulky - cloth diapers are. It's worth it for the benefits.

I can't help laughing a little at your husband and nanny - do they know that you're not supposed to put human waste in our landfills, either? You're always supposed to dump the poop, whether or not you're using cloth, but so few people do. Although in my opinion it is an unnecesary expense, Bum Genius does sell a spray hose that attaches to the back of your toilet to make cleaning off the poop that much easier. You might see if hubby and nanny can get on board with that. Another possibility is what I do, which is dump as much of the solid in the toilet as possible and then toss the soiled diapers in a bucket of water to soak. Later, when I do the laundry, I pull it out and the poop mostly flows out. But it is gross to stick your hand in that bucket!

If all else fails, don't worry, cloth takes some getting used to. It took me about 6 months to really figure it out, and now that's all I use (except at night). You might look for a seminar or class in your area (if you have a Green or vegan store somewhere, they may know where classes are offered). Good luck!

Look into one size pocket diapers. There are tons of manufacturers, so you'll have to decide what works best for you. Pocket diapers are very similar to a disposable. There is an outer shell that is lined with PUL and fabric. There's a pocket in the back (or front depending on the diaper) that you put the insert into. Since your son is older, you'll probably just have to dump the BMs into the toilet.
Unlike gDiapers, the cover is not reusable. You have to get a new one each time it becomes soiled. If you like the hybrid system, look into Flip or GroVia diapers. I've heard good things about them both. You can also buy flushable liners for the inside of the diapers.
We use a combination of One Size Pockets (Fuzzi Bunz, Smarti Pants, Baby Kicks USA Bumboo Pockets), prefolds with covers, and all in ones.

I always recommend people check out The Cloth Diaper Whisperer before making any cloth diapers purchase. They have so much information on the different types of diapers.

I haven't used gDiapers (I've used a variety of different ones, but not those). However, for the poopy part of the problem, I would suggest looking at the flushable diaper liners. Bummis and ImseVimse make them, and I think one of the other companies does, too. You just toss the whole mess (flushable liner & poop) and flush it down the toilet. It won't take care of every little bit, but it sure makes it a lot less gross to deal with. My DH, not a man with a strong stomach, can handle cloth diapering because of those. He said that if we had tried cd'ing w/o the flushable liners, he'd have quit after the first poop. Now, he's still grossed out by them, but he can deal with it. :)

In terms of leaking, can you use microfiber towels in the diapers? You can buy a pack of those in the cleaning or auto sections of a store like Meijers. They are thin, and soak up a ton of liquid. However, you need to be sure that they don't touch his skin directly because they will dry his skin out.

If you have a Whole Foods or similar market, or a "natural parenting store," (here in Columbus, it's called "Sprout Soup"), you can probably find cloth diapers for sale, and you could buy one each of a brand or two to try out, or talk to the salesperson and ask them what they recommend.

You can also try www.myuseddiapers.com or www.diaperswappers.com (I think I have those sites listed correctly, but you might have to google them). They offer people the chance to see used cloth diapers and it's a great to try some kinds out without having to pay "new" prices.

I use mostly Chinese prefolds, sometimes with an extra layer of absorbency (I sewed some flannel over some microfiber towels and use those), and I use mostly ProRap covers, and haven't had any leaking. Our 22-month-old holds his pee all night and lets it go usually right after he wakes up and the diaper is pretty darn wet but no leaks, as long as I make sure none of the prefold is sticking out.

I do know some people end up doing disposables for night time, and cloth during the day. I figure whatever cd'ing you're doing, it's good for the pocket book and the environment....

You might also want to post your questions at one of the online cloth diaper forums.

I'd suggest the BumGenius OS dipes. I love cloth diapering and found that these have worked for my son & daughter overnight especially. My son was/is a heavy wetter, although now trained, BG's worked well. Another option (more cost effective) would be prefolds w/ a fleece cover/soaker. Never had any leaks when we did this method at night. We also LOVE blueberry diapers....they make up the majority of our stash.
I will say though that when my husband changes he often reaches for a BG or a BB w/ aplix (velcro)- those are full proof! ;)
Good luck!

I had nothing but cloth diapers for my babies and that was a long time ago but if you put rubber pants on them over te diaper and dont give any liquids after a certain time at night and maybe waking them up to potty before you go to bed at night then you may save yourself the mess, and as far as the hubby and nanny go, cloth diapers have been around forever and so has poop. Poop and kids go together and if you have a kid you have poop so they will just have to deal with it.

I'm not sure how far you are from south part of Pittsburgh, but I highly recommend GreenEarthBaby.com. She sells the best options for cloth diapering and holds free workshops to explain everything!

I have 2 friends who hated the gdiapers, so I don't have any advice about them in particular.

Also look into the chemical free disposables. They break down in 2yrs and hold tons. We used them up to size 5. Nature BabyCare were our fave.

Good luck!

Everyone who does cloth has their own overnight and poopy solution... but there are solutions! I would talk with my CDing guru, Inge at www.diaperware.com -- she is incredibly knowledgeable, has just about every kind if cloth diaper in stock, and can help you find something that will work with your and your family's needs. I suspect she will tell you to look into hemp fleece prefolds, which are her go-to overnight solution. They are really thick, but they do work very well! My DD was a really heavy wetter, and though I love BumGenius (my husband was not enthusiastic about anything more difficult to use than a pocket diaper), they didn't really hold up overnight no matter how many inserts I put in there.

As for the poops, this was a challenge for my husband as well. The ImseVimse liners worked well for us and helped a bit. I wouldn't bother with a "wet pail" for the poopy ones, just throw them in a dry pail and then pre-soak them when you wash the dipes to loosen the poop and then go through your usual wash cycle. The wet pail is just gross and not really necessary, and your DH or nanny won't have to worry about touching them at all if you have a cloth bag to hold them in for washing -- just dump out the bag in the machine and then throw in the bag with everything else.

At this age (2 1/2) it's not an easy stage to be cloth diapering, I found -- it's much easier with a little baby whose poops aren't so solid and where there's far less mess to absorb. But it's still worth it, and it can be done! Good luck!