If you follow me on Facebook, you know I’ve had a world of issues with my guy at night.
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I found that he woke up frequently at night, but when I put him in disposables, he would sleep through the night. So, since he has sleep issues that will require surgery shortly, I turned to disposables to get him the sleep he needed.
When I posted my issue on my Facebook page, so many of you were wonderful with providing suggestions. And it was the wonderful fan, Ruth, who brought up a suggestion that I had not thought of: maybe he is waking up NOT because of the stay dry feel of a disposable, but because the layers upon layers in his diaper were so uncomfortable that he was waking up.
Smack head, I had not really thought of that. It’s not like I put a huge brick of layers on him, I use the same stuff that my daughter does (generally a Knickernappies SuperDo, which is awesome) and she sleeps just fine.
So I tested the theory. I used the same amount of inserts, but with a Flip disposable on top, and what do you know, he woke up throughout the night. This helped me conclude that it wasn’t the disposable feel that was helping him sleep.
So then I stuffed a pocket with 2 Joey Bunz inserts (love these)–this made the diaper so trim. It worked very well, the little man slept ALMOST through the night, but at 5am he would wake up with a leak. So this told me trimness helped, but I needed something slightly more absorbent to get him all the way through the night.
Finally, I found the ultimate combo. So let me share the 3 factors that I feel contribute to my now uninterrupted nights…
1. Trim, yet absorbent diaper: I am finding that I have the most luck with the Sustainablebabyish Organic Bamboo fleece diaper. It is very trim, and with a fitted diaper there is more surface area for the diaper to absorb pee, since it is all around the diaper, not just between the legs. The Sbish fitted is the trimmest (and yet most absorbent) fitted that I have found. I use the booster it comes with too. I did get a gap in the legs with the booster, but that’s where an awesome cover comes into play. Many people on my page suggested wool…I haven’t quite gotten there yet but I will have a wool week shortly and will fill you in on how it works.
2. Cover with FULL coverage: I really struggle with covers in our house. If I get one with a high rise, there is generally a lack of coverage in the top of the thighs. I think I have finally found the best night cover in my Swaddlebees Capri. Because it is duo sized, it gets much larger than one sized covers. And this thing is sturdy! You also get the double gussets, so there is some additional coverage on the legs. But I think what is key is a sizing that goes a bit bigger than most one sized diapers, so you get full coverage over a fitted that has a booster and to ensure it is covering the stomach (key if you have a tummy sleeper).
3. Fleece liner: I popped this in to give my son a stay dry feel and it made a wonderful difference. Just cut up some fleece fabric and it should work just fine.
All three of these factors, in combination, helped me solve my night issues with my son and I am SO happy.
A few lessons learned through this experience. First off, don’t beat yourself up if you have to turn to disposables for a bit. I’ve said it time and time again, I don’t think that disposables are evil or anything (in my own opinion), but of course it is most often better to not use them. In my case, my son’s sleep was my #1 priority. BUT, if you can, try and troubleshoot for a little bit and think outside your box. I wanted to show you guys the importance of taking advantage of the knowledge of those around you. Hop on a forum, or post on my page, there are tons of people who are willing to help you. Even someone like me who WRITES about cloth diapers for a living had something to learn from others. Don’t think you have all the answers, seek help.
If your baby is a heavy wetter, place feel free to comment and let us know how you finally figured out how to get a leak-free & uninterrupted night.