Cloth Diapering For Nights
Many moms start cloth diapering enthusiastically but prefer it only during the day. Night time Cloth Diapering looks like a big battle to most of them or is it a mental block if I may say! The thought of having a leaky diaper, crying baby, wet bed or having to change at 2 past midnight is not quite pleasant for an already exhausted mom, and disposable diapers look like the best things for nights, but if they aren’t good for the day, they aren’t either good for the night! Night time CDing is doable with a little experimentation and is pretty easy once you know what works for you.
If you are new to cloth diapering do check out this related post that I wrote sometime back.
I started using cloth diapers when my son was 2.5 months old, soon after full days of CDing and having built enough stash, I started to cloth diaper him during the nights as well.
Warning- This post does not guarantee a leak-proof night time diapering solution; because honestly, I haven’t found any. It is to help you understand the various options that you could choose from and also to let you know that it’s okay to have a few leaky nights, you and your child are on a much bigger mission, that of saving the environment from disposable diapers!!
During the first few weeks the pocket diapers worked well for us, they used to be heavy and dripping by the dawn though, but they sufficed.
My son has been a heavy wetter (drinks a lot of water and nurses through the night, even now at 27months) and there are more than occasional leaks, but that hasn’t deterred me from using Cloth diapers at night.
Cloth diapering is about experimenting, learning through trials and errors; from your experiences and mistakes and those of other moms.
Just when you start the night-time diapering see how long your regular diaper lasts during the day; add an additional layer or 2 of insert ( I started by adding an additional insert in our regular pocket diaper). See if it works fine for you. It should work if the diaper fit is perfect and if your baby is light to medium wetter.
If this isn’t good enough for you, try adding a hemp or bamboo insert. Hemp and bamboo are known for high absorbency. Keep changing the combination of inserts to see what works best for your baby.
While using a pocket diaper adding too many inserts can make it bulky and also can hamper the fit. See that the diaper fit is intact from the legs and that the baby isn’t uncomfortable in the diaper.
Here are a few other things that you can try apart from adding extra inserts to your pocket diapers.
• Try an AIO (all in one) or AI2( all in 2), if these too are being outpeed, try adding an insert to these as well. I happened to try an AiO by Bumberry and I must tell you that it works perfectly well during the day for my son (a heavy wetter) and with an extra insert for the nights. They are soon going to launch the AIOs for sale on all their platforms.
• A fitted diaper with a cover: Not many brands offer fitted diapers, a fitted diaper is made up of hemp, cotton or bamboo fabric which is gentle on baby skin. These diapers are highly absorbent all over and hence are good for tummy/side sleepers. Since these diapers don’t have a PUL cover it is advisable to use a diaper cover with these for nights. Also being natural fabric, these fitted diapers don’t have a stay dry layer, for nights it is advised that you top it up with a fleece liner. I haven’t tried a fitted diaper, so I won’t be talking much about it.
• For tummy sleepers another option is to use a muslin or other soft fabric around the waist. My son sleeps on tummy and on sides, to avoid the leaks from the waist I started putting an insert horizontally across the tummy (right where we tuck the snaps). I waited for him to show signs of discomfort but was fine and slept well without any leaks! So, an extra insert sideways works for us.
Few more points to ease your night time CDing-
• See that the baby pees right before you set him/her for the night diaper change.
• Change the diaper only around the bed time.
• Keep a set of diaper handy by the bedside (if you co-sleep) or by the baby cot, to change if there is any leak.
At the end, do not worry about occasional leaks, keep experimenting with your fluff and you will have it right soon!
This blog post is a part of ‘Conscious Diapering and Sustainable Living’. A blog train sponsored by Bumberry hosted by Genevieve of Life.of.gen & Me. Here 18 Supermoms have joined hands to share their perspective on cloth diapering and living an eco-friendly sustainable lifestyle.
I thank Preeti, the founder of DelhiBlogger for introducing me. The next station of this blogtrain is thehappymummablog, blog my Priyanka, who writes about her motherhood journey. Priyanka is a passionate babywearer and a clothdiapering mom.
Hop on to our blog-train for it needs no tickets; spread this love for clothdiapering by sharing this post and others in the series!
Happy Cloth Diapering!
What’s in my diaper bag??
My first introduction to The Diaper Bag, “new mom’s most useful companion when out” happened when I was 39 weeks pregnant preparing to pop. That’s when I ordered a “Pink” coloured diaper bag (please don’t ask me why), it was a disappointment and I barely used it.
Back then my only criteria was a pretty looking, spacious bag with many pockets and separators.
However, the bag that I use now is a back pack that we recieved with our duty-free perfume shopping. It is a lovely silver/grey coloured bag, with one pocket inside and one on the outside.
I have a thin body frame with narrow shoulders, carrying handbags is never too comfortable for me. Also with a baby I prefer my hands to be as free as possible. So, babywearing and a backpack make going out super smooth for me.
Below is the list of items that you will always find in my diaper bag.
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Prepping, Washing, Storing and Stripping the Cloth Diapers
Initially, I hand washed all the baby clothes, but I have found machine wash better than hand washing. I use regular detergent (Tide/surf excel/Ariel) and they seem to do pretty good job for me. You could also give a try to the eco-friendly detergents that are available in the market. Conditioners and fabric softeners are a big No-No for CDs, as they tend to leave a non-absorbent coat on the fabric, which may affect the absorbency of the diaper.
Step Three: Fold the front part towards inside, and keep rolling until it becomes compact like the picture below (in step 4).
Stripping the Cloth Diapers
Other things that have been great aids in my CDing journey so far are:-
1. A Diaper Pail
2. Eco-friendly CD liners
3. Wet Bag
That’s it from me.
The Poo-Pee keeper (An introduction to cloth diapering)
#2. They make this earth a cleaner place by not adding to sanitary waste. How disposable diapers add up to the pollution is non-debatable; and this should be a good enough reason for environment conscious parents to switch to CDs.
#3. Skin friendly; since its just the cloth it is safer and better for your baby’s skin.
#4. They serve more than one purpose; yes, you read it right! the cloth diapers (covers) can be used as swimming diapers; these diapers save you from buying bloomers/underwears that you would otherwise buy to cover disposable diapers.
#5. They are bright, beautiful & colourful making you want for more as your little one’s bum get smarter/cooler and cuter. ( well that’s why perhaps some brands are SMARTBOTTOMS,BUMGENIUS etc)
As a new mom who learnt through trial and error I will just give my two cents to help others with smoother diapering experience. In the beginning it may look like a mammoth of a task to choose from the whole range of diapers ( they come at a price and you must think before plunging in). Before spending a fortune, it is best to try out different options to check what works best for you and your baby. Some common kinds of cloth diapers are:
1. Prefolds: the traditional grandma’s diapering choice. These are rectangular shaped diapers that are folded lengthwise in three sections and secured with snappy/ velcro or safety pin. I have personally never used flats or prefolds, but there are moms who swear by their goodness. Firstly they are real cheap, you can customise them to your baby’s shape and need and they need much less care.
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prefolds image source: osocozy website |
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Covers |
3. Pocket diapers .Pocket diapers are my first diapers and half of my stash consists of pocket diapers. These mainly consist of a water proof outer layer, another stay dry layer, and a pocket opening where inserts/soakers are put. Most of these pocket diapers are lined in either fleece or suede cloth to have the baby feel dry because the urine is absorbed by the insert that is inside the pocket.
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Pocket Diaper |
4. AIO- This stands for “All in one” these are diapers with attached/sewn soaker and these leave you free of the hassle of fixing the inserts. Though convenient to change, AIOs can be slightly expensive as compared to other CDs.
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All In One |
5. AI2- these are all in two diapers with a main soaker and a mini soaker. these could be just used as covers or with your choice and no. of soakers. Most of them have pockets as well, so the soakers can either be inserted or snapped on; the shell can be reused if the inserts are snapped in. These are extremely easy to use and cost effective.
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All in 2 |
Hope you found it helpful for your cloth-diapering journey; more about prepping, cleaning, maintaining and folding the cloth diapers Here.
Happy diapering 🙂