THAT'S IT!!!I cannot take the leaks for another day!

[Daisie125]

nak

Okay, I need some serious help here! I am thisclose to breaking out the sposies and not looking back. I don't want to, I HATE sposies, but the extra clothing laundry is KILLING me.

I'm posting this here because they are homemade diapers, and I have no intention of buying any.

We are using homemade XS VB AIOs, Pul outters, alova suede inners with terry soakers. We change every 2-3 hours, before every feeding, and after if needed. His back ends up TOTALLY soaked between each change. His diaper is never REALLY wet (so it's not that he's overfilling the diaper) and the wetness is ALWAYS on his backside. The diapers fit perfectly, no gaps at the back, none in the legs, and I always make sure he's pointing down. We have a few pocket diapers made with the same pattern, and use those stuffed with a microfiber towel, and we have the same problem.

DH will throw a royal fit if I can't make this work. I just can't figure out what the problem could be, and it's making me crazy. We really can't afford sposies, but I feel like ALL I'm doing is laundry, he only has like 3 sleepers!

HELP!

[Mama Dragon]

Have you tried pointing him *up* instead of down?

[Amari's Mama]

Do you perhaps have build up? Have you tried stripping the diapers? I.e. Wash on hot, rinse, repeat. Until you see no more bubbles in the wash cycle?

Do you have any than have an absorbant inner instead of a stay-dry inner like suedecloth or microfleece? Do those have the same problem? If you don't have the same problem with those, it sounds like the stay-dry layer is not wicking the moisture quickly enough and so it's running out the back of the diaper.

[rebeccalizzie]

Originally Posted by Amari's Mama

Do you have any than have an absorbant inner instead of a stay-dry inner like suedecloth or microfleece? Do those have the same problem? If you don't have the same problem with those, it sounds like the stay-dry layer is not wicking the moisture quickly enough and so it's running out the back of the diaper.

In my totally unexperienced opinion, I agree that it may not be wicking fast enough if you have a super fast pee-er. I got a bunch of the Alova suede and I haven't used it yet because that's what I'm afraid of--if I dump water onto it to test it, it beads up first and then soaks in, more slowly than it does on microfleece. I have washed the fabric on hot, but I'm thinking of stripping it with Dawn before I even consider sewing with it, and if I can't get it to quit beading up I'm going to make it into little baby shoes instead! I don't know what kind of stuff is on it from the factory...but I'm not using it for dipes as long as the water beads up on it when I test it.

If you don't have any with an absorbant inner, can you make a lay-in soaker of the terry and see what happens? That may tell you if it's the suede.

[capemom]

I agree with the PPs - sounds like build-up - the pee is rolling off the top layer instead of soaking in or it is not soaking in quickly enough. Try cleaning them with Dawn liquid dish soap to remove the build-up and rinse in hot until the bubbles go away. Hopefully that will make them work better for you.

[Daisie125]

I'll have to try stripping them (pointing him up just moves the soaking through to the front instead of the back ) Although they have been doing this since day one. I don't have any diapers without suede... guess I'll have to try that next if stripping them doesn't work.

Any ideas of what I could use? Would flannel work for long term use, or should I try something else?

Thank goodness I got my suede on sale, or I'd be really ticked.

[Jes'sBeth]

flannel works really well though it does 'age' quickly and doesn't look 'new' fairly rapidly. I'm REALLY loving velour these days (look for 80% cotton, 20% polyester or a higher cotton content) it's still feels a bit dry when it gets soaked but it completely absorbs too. You can try to add a doubler in the diapers you already have. If you just top one side of the doubler with the suedecloth and put that side up and you leave the bottom with just absorbant material it should help if it's a problem with the suedecloth not moving the moisture fast enough.

Our daughter pees pretty fast and will wet out if we just use microfibre too. We need to have a natural material to soak pee up fast. it's all about getting the right combination.

You can always try a different pattern too. The darling diaper pattern fits longer babies a bit better than the VB pattern (at least it fits our long skinny baby better!)

By the way, you can also use cotton jersey/ interlock, terry towelling, sherpa, french terry and any other material that is 80% or greater cotton content for an absorbant layer.

[Daisie125]

nak

Well last night we tried putting an all cotton doubler in one of his AIOs, and he went 10 hours overnight without a leak, so I guess for one reason or another the alova suede just isn't wicking the moisture in fast enough. I'm just gonna make a few with flannel inners and see how that goes.

Thanks!

[mehndi mama]

If you're looking to save money while salvaging your diapers, try cutting up old t-shirts to make your doublers. 6 layers will do the trick, and they work GREAT. And you can get rid of some scungy old tees while you're at it

eta: t-shirts work excellent for diaper inners, too, and look nice far longer than flannel does. Absorbency is comparable, if not better with the t-shirt knit.

[Daisie125]

Originally Posted by mehndi mama

If you're looking to save money while salvaging your diapers, try cutting up old t-shirts to make your doublers. 6 layers will do the trick, and they work GREAT. And you can get rid of some scungy old tees while you're at it

eta: t-shirts work excellent for diaper inners, too, and look nice far longer than flannel does. Absorbency is comparable, if not better with the t-shirt knit.

Thanks for the tip! I have a whole box of DH's old t-shirts here! Plus there is always the thrift store!