Fuzzi Bunz leak at night

[superlove]

I use a night time doubler with my Fuzzi Bunz perfect fit, but they almost always leak at night, which is a huge pain cause I have to change DS's clothes in the middle of the night.  Does anyone else have this problem with Fuzzi Bunz or am I doing something wrong.  

[Sharlla]

sounds like you need additional insert (I use microfiber towels)  or a wool soaker.  If you know how to knit here is a free pattern  http://www.crazyhatlady.com/franticmamasoaker.pdf.  how often are you changing dipes at night.  typically I do a change at 10 pm and 2 am

[MayasMama88]

We've used FBs since our DD was 4 months old. She is 14 months now, and we STILL use them. However, at a certain point we had to change our nighttime routine. She had been able to wear her diaper with only a single MF insert for months and suddenly she was leaking all over the sheets (and we co-sleep). So I invested in some hemp doublers. That helped a TON! And now, we have to change it up again because she pees even more and the doublers aren't enough. I don't believe in stuffing a child's diaper so much that they can't lie on their backs properly or close their legs if they want to (that's just my opinion and I'm not judging anyone who does), so we're switching to hemp inserts. I purchased one of the new FuzziBunz OS with the Joey Bunz hemp inserts and it works GREAT! I do usually change DD once during the night, but with the hemp insert I didn't have to change her at all (that wasn't actually intended, but it worked out that on the night I tried that diaper, she slept very very well). You could add another insert, which would make it a lot more bulky, but obviously more absorbent. Just remember to adjust the diaper accordingly. If you have more stuffing, you'll probably need to snap the FBs on the next largest settings to accomodate the extra bulk.

Alternatively, the wool cover isn't a bad idea. Personally I prefer to use them only with natural fabric diapers (cotton fitteds, etc), but that's only because I have wondered if wool over PUL is less breatheable. This could totally not be the case, I honestly have no idea (something to research today!), but I do know that wool works fantastic at preventing leaks.

[superlove]

Well, to be honest with you, i try to get away with not changing them at all,maybe that's my problem... DS goes to bed between 6 and 7pm, and sometimes he leaks through to his clothes as early as 12am... Maybe that's part of my problem, but when I change him, the pads don't seem too soaked, but maybe because of the material, they feel dryer than they actually are. 

MayasMama88, how are the Fuzzy Bunz OS?  I'm thinking of trying them out instead of getting the medium which DS is ready for.

[superlove]

oh, i just read on the fuzzi bunz site that i shouldn't be using fabric softener.  Which I have been using.  I was told to use Calgon on my diapers once in a while because we have hard water...  Does anyone know what should be done with Fuzzi Bunz after using a fabric softener, or if this could be causing problems?

[Ola_]

Fabric softener can cause repelling, test both the pockets and the insert by pouring a bit of water on - it should absorb rather than beading up and running off.  That may also be why your inserts aren't feeling very wet, if they're not really absorbing or at least not as much as they should.  To try and fix it you can strip your diapers and inserts, or just try doing it by hand on one diaper/insert set - scrub it with some blue Dawn dishsoap and rinse in hot water.  I'd try this on an already clean diaper and once dry use that one at night and see how it goes.

Good luck!

[MayasMama88]

The FuzziBunz OS are great. I actually like them a bit more than the Mediums, which (at 14 months old) STILL seem too big on her. I mean they fit, but they seem a little bulky/baggy still. The OS are much trimmer in the crotch area, which is awesome for infants because then you don't have so much in between their legs (which can give them that "I can't close my legs even if I wanted to" look). And when they're older, it's great also because they fit more like underwear would. In general I find them to fit trimmer than the perfect size diapers (and even trimmer than the RaR I have), and they're so adjustable that you're bound to get a great fit. And obviously there is the added bonus of saving a bunch of money because you won't have to keep buying more as your LO(s) size up.

As for the fabric softener, it's totally fixable (and the most likely cause of your leaking issues). As PP said, I would definitely strip them all and see if that helps, especially since you said that the inserts don't feel soaked and he's leaking anyway. I have a feeling it will.

[clovergirl]

Originally Posted by superlove 

oh, i just read on the fuzzi bunz site that i shouldn't be using fabric softener.  Which I have been using.  I was told to use Calgon on my diapers once in a while because we have hard water...  Does anyone know what should be done with Fuzzi Bunz after using a fabric softener, or if this could be causing problems?

Calgon is not fabric softener, it's a water softener and totally safe to use with cloth diapers.  It's designed to counteract the issues that high amounts of minerals in the water can cause- basically that the detergent can't do it's job because the mineral deposits bind to the detergent particles.

I have a question about the leaking in general.  When you take the insert out, is it totally soaked?  If so, then yes, you either need to up the absorbency (an extra insert or perhaps a hemp prefold in place of the inserts).  If not, then it could be that you have some build-up on the fleece which is causing repelling issues/leaks.  Or perhaps the fit of the diaper isn't good anymore- a lot of times people assume only diapers that are too big can leak, but actually a diaper that is too small can leak too.
 

[superlove]

Thanks so much for all the advice and input!

Oh, water softener... So is calgon something I'll need to strip?

Also, about size,  I think maybe they are too small, I have a fairly long baby and the diapers sit pretty low on him.   Also, the leaks are always out he top of the back of the diaper... maybe the diaper is too low?  

Also, I tested the diapers and the pockets are repelling a decent amount... So I'm off to strip them.  I have one more question,  Can I strip them in an HE washing machine that uses a very small amount of water?

[clovergirl]

If the build-up you have is being caused by mineral deposits in your water then yes, Calgon will help with stripping the diapers.  In theory it will "unlock" detergent that is stuck in your diapers.  You can strip diapers in a HE front loader, it will probably just take a few extra wash cycles to do it.  Good luck mama!