First time cloth, totally soaked

[Ila]

I used an Indian prefold with a snappi and a Thirties for the first time this morning on my almost 7-week old boy. 2 hours later, everything was soaked through - diaper, cover, onesie and jumpsuit. His poor wee feet were very cold.
With a size 1 Huggies he did not soak as much. What do I do to avoid this or am I doing something wrong? I want to start using cloth.

I have 2 dozen prefolds, 5 covers and 2 fuzzibunzes.

[odoole]

first question -- were the prefolds '"prepped"?

second question -- was any part of the prefold sticking out and not covered by the cover? Even a tiny bit can wick out moisture and soak a whole outfit.

i will say that in my CD experience, we still get wet outfits from time to time, but we never get poopy blowouts like we do with 'sposies. wet onesies are really easy to wash compared to poopy outfits, so i don't complain.

[junipervt]

you have to change more often w/ cloth (especially prefolds) than you do with disposables. Sometimes as much as every hour depending on your little ones wetting habits.

[rhianna813]

You might need a Doubler which is a thick super absorbant extra pad you add atop the prefold. Unlike the prefold the Doubler is narrower and looks a bit like a maxi pad LOL They are usually topped with fleece so your babies skin stays dry. They can be used in Fuzzibunz too. We typically only used these at night when diaper changing was less frequent. You might notice he pees more at certain cycles during the day, in relation to how much he nursed or when.

This page will show a variety of Doublers so you can get an idea:

http://www.greenmountaindiapers.com/doublers.htm

Also, check to see if your prefolds are have been washed enough to be super fluffy and absorbing to their maximum.

Congrats for your new baby bay!

Rhianna

[tayndrewsmama]

Originally Posted by junipervt

you have to change more often w/ cloth (especially prefolds) than you do with disposables. Sometimes as much as every hour depending on your little ones wetting habits.

Babies don't pee on schedules.

[Juliacat]

It's not normal for clothes to soak through in just 2 hours. I second the previous suggestions of making sure the prefolds have been prewashed enough times, making sure the entire diaper is inside the cover, and using a doubler if you need more absorbency.

[cristeen]

Originally Posted by Juliacat

It's not normal for clothes to soak through in just 2 hours.

Eh. My guy does it on occasion. And then sometimes I go to change him in hte middle of the night, and his night dipe is dry after 4 hours.

But I was definitely having this problem until I realized that I wasn't getting a snug fit on the cover around his skinny little legs. At 9 weeks and about 12 pounds, he's still in a NB Imse Vimse cover, and it's just starting to fit around the legs.

But I've also found quite a few fleece outfits in the store right now - one-piece or pants/shirt combos, and he's just wearing those as covers half the time.

[Ila]

Thanks for the replies and the congratulations.

Yes I think I washed the prefolds the required number of times, I forgot how many. And yes, the prefold was sticking out all over the cover, I had no idea it was supposed to not do that. Duh.

I do have the fuzzibunz inserts. Rather bulky to use since my baby is small but I'll try that. I think I'll have to experiment with the folding technique also. I'll try the fuzzibunz and get more if they work better, and more other all in one diapers of other brands. And change him more often.

[JessieBird]

Originally Posted by tayndrewsmama

Babies don't pee on schedules.

Sure they do! Okay maybe not 100% reliably but with close observation and lots of nakey bum time, you can figure it out within a few days. I know exactly what times of day or in what situations I need to be vigilent about changing more frequently to avoid a saturated diaper, or when we can safely go naked with little risk of a puddle or pile. I'll admit that I never would have paid attention except that I was encouraged by my friends who ECed. We only EC part time but still this knowledge is really useful if you use diapers especially if you have a super soaker baby. For example, OP, you may only need to use an extra insert at certain times of the day.

[Ila]

I'm going to try and notice the times when his diaper is more soaked. He is a big wetter, which makes me happy, since I am EBF on one breast only.

But I cloth diapered again this morning and made sure the prefold was all covered up with the cover. It worked. An hour later, the diaper was soaked but there was no leakage at all to the clothes. Right now, I have a disposable on him because he naps for 2 to 2.5 hours in his swing every afternoon and I don't want to wake him to change in an hour or to let him stay wet and cold in the swing.

I'm going to try EC from 3 months or when he is more conscious of what's going on.

[jimblejamble]

I had the same issue with prefolds. I am now happily using bumGenius one-size and am going to take the prefolds to Kid-to-Kid.

[leavemealone]

One of my boys is a heavy wetter and we use disposables during nap and at night. Otherwise, he'd leak right through any cloth diaper in no time. I have to change every 1.5 hours during the day and he takes about a 2.5 hour nap. Even changing 1.5 hours, he can still leak out of a cloth diaper so I have to watch him carefully and change him shortly after he drinks something even if it's only been 30 minutes since his last diaper change.

[Ila]

Sandcastle, exactly my experience.

On another thread, I have read about Babykicks organic and saw the video on their website. I am going to order just one and try it first. I have not tried the Fuzzibunz I have. I am getting the Babykicks instead of Bum Genius. If it works, I'll order more.

[confustication]

When we have a siuation like that, I can guarantee that DH put the diaper on, and that he either didn't tighten the legs enough, or that he was oblivious to the fact that there was absorbant material poking out somewhere.

This morning, I undressed the soaked babe to discover a Sandy's fitted under a medium minky cover with all the edges poking out the gaping legs.. *sigh* DS is 2 months old- medium covers are still too big.