Cloth Diapers at Night, vol 2

A few months ago I wrote about our night time cloth diaper solutions. They've changed a bit since then, so I wanted to write an update.

I do laundry every other day, but sometimes laundry runs late, so I have three main night time diaper options. Sometimes G will sleep all night in one diaper, so I need them to be super absorbent because she usually eats at least once in the night and is a "heavy wetter" in general. Other times, though, G will go #2 in the middle of the night so we have to change her and don't need the capabilities of the diapers below. She's not predictable with the bowel movements, so I always have to assume she'll be in one diaper all night. I really wish there were a way to stop the midnight poop-scapades. Any tips are appreciated.

My number one night time choice for a cloth diaper is actually one I received free from spending a certain amount on KellysCloset.com. Anytime I've used the coupon code for a free pocket diaper it's always a Kawaii Baby. I have 4 total "free" Kawaii Baby. One I pretty much hate because the closure tabs are horrible. One I like enough, another is pretty good, and then there is the most recent addition to our stash. It's yellow and amazing. The aplix is great quality and the inside is 'stay-dry'. I can't tell a difference in the inserts, but the pocket opening is much improved from the other three. I also LOVE the strip of fabric at the front of the diaper that keeps 'over-the-top' seepage leaks from occurring. It has super-stuffing room and the Aplix closure makes it easy to get on G, who is especially wiggley at bed time.

My second choice is our new Thirsties Duo Fab Fitted, Hemp Insert, and Duo Wrap. You can read my review for the specifics. I really like it for night time because of the "poop protection" fitted diapers offer. I like it better than our Mother-ease and Kissaluv fitteds because it is softer and more absorbent. It also fits better (and longer, thanks to the Duo sizing). I beef up our absorbency by using a large hemp insert (and maybe a small hemp insert tucked inside the Fab's sleeve). I don't feel like the surface of this diaper is quite as "stay-dry" as the other two night time options we have, but G's never gotten irritation or a rash from it...I am just basing that opinion off of how damp it feels when I touch it compared to the other night time options.

My third choice is our trusty Smarti Pants. Everything I wrote months ago in my review rings true; I still love this diaper. It's third on our night time list not because of anything it lacks, but because it's just tougher to double stuff and I have to finagle the inserts so that they aren't exposed to G's skin. Another reason it's lower on the list is because it is a trimmer fit diaper, and I like to use it during the day because it fits better under clothes. As with the Kawaii Baby, I stuff it with a Thirsties Hemp Prefold or a Hemp Babies Little Weeds doubler, and a Thirsties Hemp Insert--plus the microfiber insert it came with.

As with the last time I posted about night time cloth diapering, I really feel the key is to have good things to stuff inside quality diapers. Doublers, Inserts, and hemp are really important for night time use with heavy wetters. I cannot recommend Thirsties prefolds, hemp inserts and hemp prefolds enough. They are true to their name; they are "thirsty" to soak up G's night time floods! The Hemp Babies Little Weeds doublers are really great too, but I just prefer the soft feel of the Thirsties jersey hemp to the rougher Hemp Babies feel. Although hemp products are really absorbent, they don't absorb as quick as microfiber inserts. To keep flash-floods from occurring, make sure to have one microfiber insert (or fitted diaper) to do the quick absorbing. The liquid will soak through the microfiber and into the super-absorbent hemp. The stay-dry materials will keep baby feeling dry throughout the night. The covers will keep baby's clothes and sheets dry, and voila--your night time cloth diaper problems are solved!