Fleece vs. wool for cover

aschleser

I love wool already - and have 2 NB soakers and a NB shorty pair, a Small soaker, and a pair of small longies being custom made - But, wool is undoubtedly expensive.  I see lots of fleece soakers, shorties, longies for sale and they are much cheaper - I've heard about compression leaks with these, so I assume they aren't good for overnight over fitteds - but what about during the day? Are compression leaks still an issue?

Also - do you wash them each time they get a little damp, and do you wash them with your diapers, or do you treat them like wool?

If you like fleece, where did you get it from? Or do you recommend just keep looking for good deals on wool?

Also - would fleece and/or wool longies be too hot in the summer?  How about shorties/capris?  I figure well be in newborn for a good portion of the summer, maybe transitioning to smalls come late summer/fall (I'm due the end of May).

bmstee03

I am ridiculously allergic to wool. We use fleece and they have worked great for overnight. No issues with compression leaks so far, but we haven't been using them very long.

His(1&only)wife

We use a combo of fleece and wool.  I love fleece during the day and when DS was younger it worked at night.  Now he pees so much at night that fleece works if I use a soaker and longies.

DS wears shorties during the summer made out of fleece and they work well.  We use the A/C inside so he wears longies all year round indoors.

I make my own fleece longies and shorties and soakers and if you're interested I could make you some as well.  They are definitely less expensive than wool.

I generally am able to change his diaper often enough that the fleece doesn't get damp and that way he can wear the same pair all day long.  I just wash them with out normal laundry.  You do have to wash after every wear.

daenikoffre

My baby only fit into NB wool for 2 weeks. Don't stockpile too many soakers! 

 

& About your question: I put our fleece pants in with the regular laundry after about 2 wet diapers. I'm sure you can use them for more, but I use mostly wool and only use the fleece when the wool is still damp from lanolizing.  

flyer23

Compression leaks are definitely still an issue during the day for me.

Fleece gets stinkier MUCH faster than wool. It's good for maybe a couple of diaper changes if it doesn't get too damp, but not much more than that.

Fleece can be washed with diapers, but I don't like to do it, because washing fleece on hot makes it super pilly. So I usually throw it in with my dark laundry, which gets washed on cold.

As for wool/fleece in summer... not sure where you live. I live in Texas, so summers are HOT. I would not dream of doing wool or fleece longies in summer. DS is already getting a little sweaty right now when he's in wool longies. But wool shorties are fine all summer long. Fleece is pretty much too hot for summer, period -- even fleece shorties.

Overall, I MUCH prefer wool. I do mostly recycled wool, which is pretty much as cheap as fleece. Actually, probably cheaper than the really good Malden Mills fleece. (If you're looking at fleece soakers/longies/etc. and they are cheap, it's almost certainly made out of cheap fleece, like the stuff at Joann's. It really doesn't perform well at all.) Wool is trimmer, too. And you don't need as many pieces because you can go a lot longer between washes.

LurkieLoo

I always had compression leaks with fleece but not with wool.  I use upcycled wool so its very cheap like Flyer said.  I have some merino wool longies and shorties that we use during the summer (in South Carolina) and they our perfect for DS.  They are thinner than most longies/shorties but still don't leak like fleece (although its thinner than fleece).  The merino shorties are actually thinner than his other shorts (denim, khaki, even the play shorts from Children's Place and Carter's).  Check out some upcycled sellers on Etsy