(Here's the video to this topic: https://youtu.be/tUU74yFc3bo )
Your baby is out-peeing everything you put on them - disposable or reusable diapers? You need a solution that will last all night? Here's our guide to cloth diapering your heavy wetter!
This is mostly concerned with babies who don't poo at night anymore as this would mean a diaper change anyway. It's also not focused on daytime diapering, although if you need solutions for a heavy wetter during daytime you can definitely use all or parts of the solutions offered here.
You need 3 parts to cloth diapering for a heavy wetter:
1 - The Right Type of Diaper
Don't think you can conquer a heavy wetter with a pocket diaper, All-in-One (with some exceptions), All-in-Two, etc. There just isn't enough absorbent fabric there to hold in all the liquid.
You will inevitably end up with a fitted diaper, a flat diaper or prefold. All parts of those diapers are made of absorbent fabric and there is just a lot more of it than you could ever stuff into a pocket.
Apart from that, putting more inserts into pocket diapers/All-in-Ones/All-in-Twos eventually causes the fit to be too loose and leads to leaks.
With a fitted diaper you can add absorbency to the outside (between the diaper and the cover) and still have absorbency AND a good fit around the legs.
Flat diapers have even more area that can absorb, but they are often not an option if you have a wriggly worm on your hands. But don't give them away just yet. Hold on to them, use them as burp cloths, wipes, bibs, impromptu playmats, picnic blankets, to clean off wet slides at the playground - until your baby is more cooperative as they get older. You may yet get to use them as diapers when they're older...
Prefolds are an economical night time diapering solution. They likely still need to be boosted with extra inserts but you can also use a prefold as in insert if you fold it into a pad shape. This makes them super versatile.
There's only a few All In Ones I would currently recommend for overnights - Mother-ease Bedwetters and SuperUndies. They don't work for every heavy wetter but they're a good option to try, especially if you child is getting more independent and wanting to put them on by themselves as they can just be pulled up and down.
2 - The Right Fabric
You need a fabric that absorbs quickly and holds a lot of liquid.
Your best options for heavy wetting babies are natural fabrics. Cotton and hemp being at the top. Bamboo is also a possibility and probably somewhere between hemp and cotton in terms of absorbency. It's a good option if you line dry and have hard water as bamboo tends to remain soft whereas cotton/hemp will feel hard and scratchy.
As babies grow so does the capacity of their bladder and they are able to hold more liquid and release in one go, giving you a Niagara Falls in your diaper. So the fabric closest to their skin needs to be quick absorber. Cotton is the best option for this, but don't despair if all you have is bamboo or hemp. It can still work - give it a go and see.
But even if it doesn't and you need some cotton, you can always repurpose a wash cloth or a dishtowel if you have nothing else.
Further away from skin should be a fabric that can hold a lot of liquid. The best is hemp. Most of the time hemp is actually a mix of cotton and hemp because hemp fibres by themselves are quite stiff and scratchy.
But you may also get by with just using cotton. It's easy to find and relatively affordable.
3 - The Right Cover
This can make a surprising difference. The best covers let some of the moisture evaporate meaning the diaper inside can absorb more as the night goes on.
In Canada your options for those kinds of covers are:
Fleece Covers - you will often find these on Etsy made by Work at Home Moms, e.g. Fleece and Fluff. Agrumette also make a version that's a mix of PUL and Fleece.
Find out why and how Fleece Covers work in the blog post here
Wool Covers - sometimes called Wool Soakers. Check out https://bumbywool.com/ or https://tkclothingvictoria.com/collections/underwear for Canadian made wool covers.
You can also get other wool covers from your favourite diaper store - find your closest one here: https://ko-fi.com/s/8c484eeaf4
Wool needs a bit of a more special care routine which can seem a bit daunting at first but isn't too time intensive if you're only using it at night. You will likely only need 2 covers, making it very economical, too.
If you've come here from the Youtube video, here's a list of other things you can get in Canada to help you cloth diaper your heavy wetting baby:
Fitted diapers:
Lilly & Frank
Mother-ease One Size or Sandy's
AMP Fitteds
Omaiki Fitteds
Kushies
Planet Baby
Echo Ecolo
Agrumette
Lya
Flats:
Rig n Gig
Lilly & Frank
Arigalie
Prefolds:
AMP Organic Cotton
Thirsties Duo Hemp
GroVia Bamboo
Inserts/Boosters:
AMP trifolds hemp or bamboo
Oak & Acorn (Easy Peasies) bamboo inserts
Mme & Co trifold bamboo/cotton
Rig n Gig
Thirsties
Geffen
This list isn't complete. For a full list of small makers, stores and manufacturers available to Canadians, download these lists on our ko-fi account:
Small Makers: https://ko-fi.com/s/1cf1144aa4
Manufacturers & Retailers: https://ko-fi.com/s/8c484eeaf4
And don't forget to check for preloved inserts, prefolds, etc. You will often find great deals 2nd hand.
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