Who knew it could be so easy?

After all my night time diapering dramas, I have suddenly found the perfect night time diapering solution for Emersyn.  I'm using a fitted - or a pocket, with a pad folded flat as a booster, then putting a fleece cover or a woolen cover over top... and bobs your uncle!  No leaks, no wet clothes, no wet bedding - and not a lot of bulk either!  I forgot how absorbent a simple pad folded flat can be.  I think all I need now is to get my A into G & make some fleece liners, so that they can have a staydry layer, and it'll be perfect.

I don't even really care which fitted or pocket I use, because I know that the addition of the pad folded flat will give me enough absorbency (me/her) - and with the wool or fleece cover over top, it's pretty much a bullet proof solution!  When I use a pocket diaper, I use two microfiber inserts as well, but I could probably get away with just using one.

I think the ONE thing I have learnt from all this night time drama, is that the COVER you use is the most important factor, and that pocket diapers often leak if they are by themselves, no matter how perfect the fit is.  Obviously with wool and fleece you do need a reasonable amount of absorbency in the actual diaper, but if you do have enough, the wool/fleece is essentially bullet proof (well, wee proof!).

It makes me laugh to think that for SOOOOOOOOOO many months I refused to use fitteds overnight (and to be honest, I have no idea why...) - and in the end it was FITTEDS that were part of the solution.

Now to get my hands on more woolen soakers, and to make some more fleece soakers - the perfect task for my new sewing machine I'm getting tomorrow! (happy birthday to MEEEEEE)...

Have any of my readers fallen in love with wool or fleece for night time?

fpp challenge day 3 - introducing the kite fold

I guess my 'challenge' isn't REALLY much of a challenge, because I enjoy using flats and prefolds so much...  My one issue (I believe I've mentioned it in the last fpp post) is that I can't get flats snug enough around the legs, they're always gapey - I think I need to find a fold where I can do a 'jelly fold' at the legs, to get the best fit possible.  That said, I'm wondering if perhaps it is the fabric of the flats that prevents getting a snug fit around the thighs - they are made of flannel, and a lot of the flats I have seen pictures off online - mainly on DiaperSwappers and JustMommies, look to be made of a more stretchable cotton material.  I aim to have the perfect fold by the end of the week! 

I promised some folds-tutorials back on Monday, and seeing as it's now Wednesday, I thought I should come through on that promise...  So I now present to you - the kite fold....

lay flat out... well, flat... baby crawling on the flat is not a required part of the fold.. nor a recommended one....

with the flat in a diamond shape in front of you, fold one corner into the center

repeat with opposite side - you now have a kite shape... as the name of the fold suggests!

fold the top of the diamond down - you now have an upside down triangle shape

fold the bottom of the 'kite' up toward the top - as high as you want (this forms the rise)

fold down the top a little - I go with about 2 inches

again fold one side in toward the center

and repeat with other side

open up the top of the diaper - this creates the wings to do the diaper up with

place baby on top of diaper

bring diaper up between legs

bring wings up and over babies belly

then pin!  if required hold babies feet at ankles so you can actually take a photo of the completed diaper....

then chase the baby when she escapes your clutches...

put cover on & then release

The fpp week long challenge.... day one

in her first fpp challenge flat

This week I have decided to take on a 'flats prefolds and pins' challenge as the name suggests, I'm only going to use flats or prefolds - pinned, breaking the rules slightly while she's at daycare [where they prefer not to use flats or prefolds] and at night, although at night time I do USE a prefold inside a pocket, so I guess technically I'm still keeping with the challenge, for the most part.

I decided that since I'll be using flats, it's going to be the perfect opportunity to do some 'folds tutorials' on my blog, so for anyone who is curious about the various folds out there, stay tuned.  I'm sure I'll find there are some folds I like more than others - and I hope to find a fold that fits well around the legs, because at this point all the folds I've tried have gaped at the legs.  Right now she is in an origami folded flat, which is probably the fold that most people think of when it comes to flats - I shall do a tutorial later on today.

origami folded flat, covered by Bummis Super Brite

There is however one issue with this week long challenge.... I am due to get a Jade Bitti D'Lish this week - which means I will have to wait until next Monday to use it........ How WILL I resist the temptation to put the jade beautifulness on her???

Yes, beautifulness is a word... I said so....

the night time diaper debacle... continues...

The stupid earthquake in February seemed to bring with it my what now feels like NEVER ending issue - finding the right night time diaper, or really the right night time diaper combination...  To begin with we were quite happily using a pocket diaper with two mirofiber booster inserts and an extra insert, or a microfiber booster, but then all diaper hell broke loose, and suddenly our tried and true combo just wouldn't work.

Sooooo I got hold of some bamboo trifold inserts and threw one of those in with our microfiber - very bulky - but it worked... for a start.  After that I began putting in two of the bamboo inserts instead of the microfiber - again it worked... sorta... but not well enough.  Eventually I began fooling around with prefolds and bamboo, and recently flats and bamboo [and covers, of course].  Both of those worked better than the bamboo-in-a-pocket combo, so perhaps I am on the right path?

What I know DOES work, is using fleece covers - I have a Bummis fleece cover that works well enough - but I do find if she gets too wet, it leaks out the sides and up the top.  I have a FunkyBumz fleece soaker which I LOVE - it works better than any other cover I have... and I'm also still using my fleece-blanket-cheapskate-cover - and may I add, still without a leak too.

So I generally know I'm okay if there is fleece on top - but preferably a cover with two layers of fleece [as with the FunkyBumz and my homemade pinnable cover].  I BELIEVE that pad folded flats may be the answers to all my night time issues, I have used them the last two nights in a row, and Emersyn has been dry upon waking.  To this point I have been using them inside pockets - primarily because of the staydry layer the microfleece on the inside of the diaper provides.  Tonight we might try something new though...

It's been suggested to me to use the padfolded flats, inside a cover - because the way a pocket goes when it is stuffed to the max, can sometimes cause leaks, purely because the urine rolls right off the diaper - and that makes sense.  So tonight... I'm giving it a go and trying the flats inside a cover, as always with a bamboo booster for a little extra absorption.  I will put the fleece soaker over top - because I really don't want her to wake up at 4am soaked through.... but maybe... just maybe... with the flats/cover combo, I won't need to worry about a fleece soaker.

I think that one of the reasons I've been having so many problems, is that lately Emersyn has been waking up once or twice a night for a bottle - so she ends up having a lot of urine output, and it makes sense that a diaper can't handle 12-14 hours with all of that output.  It can only be pushed so far before there is no more absorbency left.  The first night I used flats inside a pocket, she slept through completely - ie, no extra liquid intake/urine output, and then last night she had one bottle early in the morning - but luckily she still woke up dry.  Obviously one simple solution would be to change her diaper when she wakes, but for some reason it doesn't occur to me, particularly if she's woken me during a deep period of sleep... it's not unless she keeps me awake for a prolonged period that I think "ohhhh.. change her diaper"... so maybe I need to just try to remember to change her diaper when she's up during the night - but that is so much easier said than done, particularly with the sub-zero mornings we've been having lately.  Not that that's an excuse.

SO..... 
What I know works is fleece, flats and bamboo boosters. 
What I know annoys Emersyn is the lack of a staydry layer between her skin and the top layer of the diaper
The obvious solution seems to be:  Using flats, with a bamboo insert and some form of staydry layer, and a fleece cover over the top.
Still to work out is whether flats work better for Emersyn when they are used inside flats, or when they are used inside a pul cover with a fleece liner over top of the top flat [for the staydry layer].

I hope like heck that the above little 'equation' is my getting very close to the end of this whole debacle, and finally finding a night time solution that works.  I'd love to find a night time combo that isn't hugely bulky - but right now I'd take one that is horribly bulky and works, over a trimmer option that DOESN'T work...

.... I guess time will soon tell.

flat is fab

my first ever attempt at using a flat

 

Over the past few days I have gone back to basics and have been giving flats a bit of a go... I really did think I wouldn't like them, or that I'd think they were 'okay', but then not really give them a second look.  HOWEVER, I am thoroughly impressed by these 'old school' diapers, and think they may become an important component of my fluffy wardrobe. They are definitely on par with prefolds, and possibly actually better [in my opinion] than prefolds, because of the variety of ways they can be folded, and the fact that they are really a one size fits all diaper solution... I find that with prefolds, once Emersyn has grown and is closer to the end of the weight range for a certain size of prefold, they become quite hard to do up - there isn't a lot of fabric left at the 'wings' of the diaper.  Admittedly with a snappi this doesn't cause a lot of problems, but if you're pinning - it does.
 
Why do I like them?  I think it's the absorbency mainly - and the fac t they can be folded in certain ways, so that the absorbency is where you need it.  I have tried three folds - the airplane fold, the origami fold and the kite fold, and I think my favourite of the three is the origami fold.  I remember my Mum [and Aunties] using the origami fold on my sister and cousins - and it always looked so hard, and complex - very adult... but it only took a couple of goes before I felt like I was somewhat a pro.  I think that is part of what is so great about flats - they are almost the 'blank canvas' of the diaper world - and you can modify them to suit your own needs...  I imagine the airplane fold is great for using on boys, and the kite fold is probably very adjustable and could be used on a newborn.  


I have actually found flats to be so good, that I'm now using them overnight.  I have found that for Emersyn they are best used in the origami fold, with a Real Nappies night time booster pad on top - and then a pad folded flat on top of that... there are umpteen layers of absorbency - WHERE it is needed,  and when accompanied by a fleece cover, or a Bummis Super Whisper Wrap, they seem very much leakproof - and foolproof.

So are flats overrated?  In MY opinion - NO... infact, I think it's quite the opposite - flats are UNDERRATED...

Back to the beginning...

I thought it was time to take some photos of the different types of diapers, so that those of you who haven't come across modern cloth diapers before, would have more of an idea what the heck I'm talking about!  In amongst all the AIO, AI2, OSFA, OSFM, FB, BG, PF abbreviations & associated cloth diapering jargon, are the 4 (well, 4 of the 5) basic types of modern cloth diaper - the AIO & AI2 (all in one & all in two), the fitted, the pocket & the prefold.

We will start with the pocket diaper.  This diaper consists of a waterproof cover, which has a stay-dry layer on the inside - and in between the waterproof cover & stay dry inner, are insert - which provide the absorbent layer/s for the diaper.  They do up with either snaps or velcro/aplix, and come either sized (small, medium, large, x-large) OR in a OSFA (one size fits all) style.

the waterproof outer

the stay-dry inner (microfleece)

the cover and an insert

the insert slides in between the two inner & outer layers

Next, we have the fitted diaper.  The fitted diaper has all it's absorbency sewn in, and often will come with an optional soaker which can be snapped in, OR is sewn in as a flap.  Fitteds are NOT waterproof and require a waterproof cover.  As with pockets, these can be fastened with either snaps, or velcro/aplix

fitted, fastened with snaps

inside the fitted, you can see a detachable soaker pad

Now we get on to the AIO & AI2.  They are a combination of the fitted and the pocket, in the way that the absorbent layers are sewn into the diaper, and again there can be the snap in, or sewn in soaker flap, but unlike the fitted - and like the pocket, the outer material of the AIO is waterproof.  There is a distinction between the AIO & AI2 however.  The AIO - as said above, has all the absorbency sewn into it, whereas the AI2 has the cover - referred to as the 'shell', however all the absorbency needs to be added to it - generally with snaps.  The AI2 is sometimes referred to as a 'snap in' or 'snap in one'.

the AIO & AI2 are the same on the outside

the AI2 has a shell - with all the absorbency separate & to be snapped in for use

all the absorbency that can be snapped in (you can customise to suit your child)

the AIO however, has all of its absorbency sewn in, with or without an extra soaker flap

And last but not least, we have the prefold.  The prefold is the closest thing to the old school flats that were used 'back in the day'.  The diaper is essential sewn in thirds, with absorbency on the inside.  The two outer sections with less absorbency, the inside with more (usually 4x6x4 layers), and they can either be folded into a pad shape (trifolded), or they can be folded & fastened as with flat diapers.  As with the fitted diaper, prefolds do require a waterproof layer over top of the diaper.

a prefold in its flat state - you can see it is sewn in thirds, lengthways

a prefold in its trifolded state

Another option for cloth diapering - as I mentioned with the prefolds, is using flats.  I haven't added them as I don't have any personal experience using them, however I do plan on purchasing some & giving it a go - so stay tuned for my flats experiment! 

the search is over!

I have FINALLY found THE right night time combo for Emersyn.  I have been having issues with this for a month, and believe I have done a couple of posts about it already.  After I started using the Bamboo fleece inserts, it was only a couple of nights before the leaks started again, and to be honest I was close to just giving up and using disposables overnight.  Then one night I dug deeper into the back of the shelf where my cloth diapers were (at my parents, while we were staying there) - and pulled out a FuzziBunz.  I decided it was worth a try, since I have had absolutely no problems with them in the past.

I stuffed the FuzziBunz with a bamboo towelling trifold insert, and then added a pad-folded flat... to be safe I put a Super Brite cover over the top, but as it turned out the next morning, I hadn't needed the cover!  The outside of the FuzziBunz diaper was actually dry - for the first time in weeks!  I tried the same thing the following night, with the same result - and am glad to say that a week down the line it looks like i have FINALLY found the right night time combination!

I think it has something to do with the width of the FuzziBunz - when I put the two inserts in, there is still space between the leg elastics, and the inserts, which I am picking eliminates the potential for the urine wicking into the fabric at the front of the diaper....  Looking at the diapers I've used up until now, when the inserts have been in, there has been no gap between the inserts & the leg elastic, and I really think that the issue was wicking.

Last night I forgot to put a cover on over her diaper, but this morning when she woke up, there was no wet outside-of-the-diaper! 

Hallelujah!