The honeymoon is over, it seems: I’m falling out of love with cloth diapers. Can this relationship be saved? We are having two big problems lately:
1. With Julius, the diapers are leaking. Our pockets and AIOs leak 9 times out of 10. I keep adjusting the fit, trying different configurations of inserts and doublers, and still they leak. It’s not just that I don’t want to change his outfit every time he pees (although, there is that), but we’re getting pee and poop on the baby wrap, on the bed, on the carseat, everywhere. And I hate to take him out of the house in a cloth diaper because chances are I’m going to have to do a full wardrobe change – at the playground? In the store? No. Not good.
Julius in the infamous one size Fuzzibunz. Guess what? It leaks.
He fares slightly better in a prefold plus cover… this arrangement probably leaks less than half the time, but it still happens. And I don’t really like using the prefold plus cover. Julius is a pretty squirmy baby and I don’t find it particularly easy to get the newspaper folded diaper laid out just right and get it all on and tucked in quickly. I never could get the Snappi-fastened way to work at all, even trying different folds. Maybe I am a diapering klutz, I don’t know. Also, Mike won’t use these at all. So when he outgrows them I don’t see us buying more.
Julius a few weeks ago in a prefold and Thirsties cover – I’ve used this photo before.
If Julius takes a nap, he’s going to have a pee leak. No question. You are supposed to change cloth diapered babies about every two hours, but guess what? If he naps for three hours I am not going to wake him up to change his diaper. I’ll deal with the peepee clothing, thank you very much.
Julius in a Flip diaper with a stay dry insert plus a gDiaper gcloth as a doubler. Very bulky. This did not leak, but then again he only wore it for about 20 minutes before he pooped and got changed.
Another factor we deal with is that depending on what diaper he’s wearing, his car seat straps may be too loose. And his infant seat can only be adjusted from the back. So that’s fun too. Are you picking up my bitter tone? I’m grouchy about this.
Julius in a Grovia cover with organic cotton insert. This leaked horribly, and soaked his outfit just as we arrived at the park. Good times. He won’t be wearing this one again for a while.
2. Problem number two is number two. Specifically, the poopy diapers of a two year old. Are. Horrifying. Newbie cloth diaperers, you have been warned. It’s all fun and games when you are cleaning out breastmilk poop. I mean, seriously, I won’t go into details but OH GOD NO. Mike and I can’t even handle it anymore – we both kind of simultaneously reached our breaking points and agreed to keep him in disposables until after his morning constitutionals. This doesn’t always work if he has a surprise afternoon poop, but for the most part it is waaaay easier and less traumatizing for us. I don’t find it too terrible to use two disposables a day (one overnight, one in the morning) but I’m also considering liners as a possible solution.
I like that cloth diapers are economical and good for the environment, but honestly I can’t make myself a martyr to the cause. The main thing keeping us in cloth is that right now we already have enough diapers for two kids and the prospect of buying disposables for them full time is financially unappealing. Hopefully as Julius gets bigger he will fit into the diapers better, and also be able to wear doublers more easily since apparently he is an extremely heavy wetter (?). And perhaps someday Miles will be potty trained.
Side note: in the midst of all our cloth diapering issues, I am changing my vote for favorite all around diaper from Charlie Banana to BumGenius. We have a few of them now and they just seem to fit my kids the best, plus they are by far the easiest to use, stuff, and adjust. Going with the mainstream on this one I guess. Honorable mention to Kawaii, which is very similar in shape and fit but just a notch below for quality.
Do you think it’s a fit issue causing the leaks? Or could it be build up?
Either way it sounds incredibly frustrating. I don’t blame you for not wanting to use them. We haven’t had any issues with out cloth and there are still weeks when we rely heavily on disposables. It’s all about doing what works for you.
Build up is the first thing that came to my mind. Have you tried stripping your diapers?
I like the hemp and wool suggestions as well.
I’m totally talking out my ass since I haven’t started CDing yet (baby comes in July) but I’m chest-deep in research so I can’t help throwing down my two cents.
I commend you for your continued efforts! Good luck!!
Buildup is probably a factor, although the same diapers that leak on Julius work fine on Miles so it’s not the only problem… I would love to get them professionally stripped at our local diaper store but just haven’t gotten around to it.
Have you talked to your local cloth diaper store people about this? The cloth diaper store here (babycottonbottoms.com) will do a phone consult to troubleshoot with you. Dani is amazing- she helped me with several issues that have come up over time with our cloth diapers.
Also, two ideas- have you looked into hemp liners for Julius’s heavy wetting? They seem to be the solution to overnight wetting for Iris and some other kids I know. Also, the disposable liners are awesome! We can flush the ones we have without much fuss (I’m pretty sure they’re the Bummis size large).
I hope you find a solution- you’ve put a lot of time and money into cloth diapering!
I should talk to my diaper gurus… maybe I will go in to buy some liners and explain the situation!
I applaud your use of cloth for both environmental and personal health issues for your babies. I can only imagine how frustrating it must be, and shamefully admit that while I will reduce, reuse and recycle all the days of my remaining life, I cannot give up my disposable diapers. I blame the fact that my gag reflex is usually on overdrive for that!
Everyone picks and chooses, including me. We can’t all do it all.
All right, you know I’ve been trying to avoid getting others caught in the addiction, but I have to say: WOOL. Wool x 300. If you’re really in love with using AIOs and pockets (which is totally ok–I get it if you’re not enjoying prefolds at all), slap a wool cover on the top. It will catch the leaks. I swear it. We put Anni in disposables at night + a wool cover and even those “supposedly awesome” disposable end up leaking at some point and THE WOOL CATCHES IT! Every time!
Some people like knitted wool, but I am a major lover of interlock. I’ve got a couple of covers I would be happy to loan you if you want to try them. When all else fails, I’m telling you, wool is the answer. And you don’t have to clean them more often than every couple of weeks (unless you get poop on it. Then you probably want to). The magic antibacterial properties of wool.
It’s an addiction, and an expensive one, but it can save you from having to chuck the whole system.
Yes… wool. I should. This has been said to me before (Molly!). I’m quite sure I could find some used wool to get started with and I think I will!
I was told if you use creams like A+D it makes the diapers less adsorbent…..
I like the idea of a wool cover. I actually bought a repurposed one off etsy for pretty cheap.
Also, Wes would leak through a lot too. I just used disposables more on him. Definitely for outings, naps and overnights. You may just want to put more into the mix until he gets bigger. Wes is now able to use cloth 100% of the time.
Oh and the toddler poop is terrible (so is baby starting solids btw. I forgot, ugh). The liners do work well and if Miles poops regularly then you really only have to use it once a day. Then again, until you get solid poops it just might not be worth the hit to your sanity. Never underestimate the importance of mommy sanity!
I totally hear you about the toddler poo. We just stopped using our cloth because it was too gross. But I’m sorry you are having such a hard time w J. I have been super excited by how well our BumGenius 4.0 one-size pockets fit Felix at 8 pounds. They did NOT fit our Miles well when he was wee.
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