Leaky diapers

cookingardener

So my lo is just over 2 weeks old. I've been using a mix of cloth diapers and disposables. So far we've had 4 leak episodes, all with the cloth diapers. All the reading I did ahead of time suggested less leaking with cloth than disposables.

When I got the I ran them through the wash 4-5 times with a dry I between each wash. I have all newborn sizes in 3 different brands. Grow via, bum genius, and tots bots. I'm pretty sure that I've had leaks from all 3, through the leg opening.

Any ideas? If they're going to leak like this I'm going to switch to all disposables. None of the ones that leaked were particularly full diapers and one leaked all over the carseat. Ick.

Aurora_Borealis

Are your diapers one size diapers or newborn specific? If they are one size, they are leaking because your LO isn't big enough for them yet. Newborns have scrawny legs and most OS diapers don't get small enough at the leg opening for them. My LO did not fit OS diapers until she was 6-8 weeks old and she was a very average size newborn. So don't give up on cloth yet. Wait a couple of weeks and try your diapers again when your baby actually has a chance of fitting them properly.

If they are newborn AIOs, it is possible your LO has outgrown the absorbency already. Mine started peeing through her newborn BGs by 3 weeks old...which is when I found an unexpected love for prefolds and covers.

cookingardener

I'm pretty sure they are newborn sizes. They're pretty tiny. She's about 7 1/2 lbs and does have pretty scrawny legs.

The bum genius are aio. But the tots bots are pockets and the gro via are... Not sure what to call them. They have the attached flap like a pocket but there's no pocket to stuff.

Aurora_Borealis

Based on my own experience it's not out of the question that the BGs would be lacking in absorbency at this point - I was not impressed with them at all. DD was about 7.5 lbs at 2 weeks old, so about the same size as your LO. I've never used the other brands, but have heard of people having leak and wicking issues with the Grovia newborns.

Do you have any prefolds or fitteds with covers you can use instead? I ended up having a newborn stash of fitteds, prefolds and AIOs so I wasn't completely stuck when the AIOs ended up not working out. But if I hadn't had the others I probably would have just used disposables until one size diapers fit at 6-8 weeks.

kjsmith9

I'm with the PP - legs are probably just too skinny (if they're the one size diapers), and there are A LOT of posts on here about BG newborns having terrible absorbency.  Not sure about tots bots tiny fit (if that's what you have), but our tots bots easy fit diapers have only leaked once or twice, and that's because daycare didn't snap them on tight enough.

ETA: What kind of detergent are you using?  Diaper cream?  Maybe something you're using is causing the diapers to repel?

cookingardener

I don't have any prefolds. I'm doing a 12 week rental/trial with a local shop and didn't pick out any prefolds to try. They seemed like they'd be too much hassle. As far as detergent goes, I'm using some bulk stuff they carry/recommend based on the water where I'm at. I don't know what the name of it is. No diaper cream. I've used coconut oil once on her over a week ago. The tots bots are the tiny fit.

I'm thinking ill call the shop tomorrow and ask them about prefolds. And the leaking too.

mon.petit.chou

My NB grovias all wicked out the leg holes and I got rid of them. My favorites were the NB blueberries and swaddlebees. I also really liked the size S bumgenius, which is an older version they don't make anymore (not the NB).

proudmommytoE

Prefolds and covers all the way for newborns!  They really aren't as much of a hassle as cleaning up constant messes from leaking diapers. I have a newborn BG AIO from a diaper trial service, and it sucks, never held from day one.  I tried laying a hemp insert, and it did help with absorbency, but still leaked around the legs. I'm sending that one back!

ForeverEverAfter

I had issues with grovia nb wicking out the legs. For the other ones, if the diaper is really wet, its the absorbency. If its not that wet, or you just changed your LO its a fit or repelling issue. The store might be able to help you troubleshoot. Also, they have to be done up very tightly, more so than disposables. It might leave a slight red mark but they fade very quickly and don't hurt.

cookingardener

Thanks for your responses. It sounds like I'm not alone for leaky newborn cloth diapers. .

ForeverEverAfter

Haha, you're definitely not alone. But once your LO gets a bit bigger and into one-size you will have way less leaking with cloth than disposable-promise!