GMD prefolds soak right through - am I doing this right?

gwendarling

My almost 3 week old goes through GMD prefolds like crazy - We wrap in newspaper fold and then cover with thirsties. As soon as she pees, we have to change because the whole prefold is soaking wet. Is this what's supposed to happen? Sorry for the stupid question, but with disposables, we can let her go a bit longer with just a wet diaper, so hacing to change as soon as she pees is getting a bit frustrating.

brittas

How many times did you wash the prefolds when you prepped them? It sounds like they aren't as absorbent as they should be. What detergent are you using? 

gwendarling

I washed them about 4 times, and have been washing them everyday since we started cd'ing about a week ago. I use All free and clear. When you say they're not absorbent, do you mean they're not sopping up the pee, or they're not absorbent enough that the prefold isn't wicking away moisture?

nanabanana06

gwendarling:

I washed them about 4 times, and have been washing them everyday since we started cd'ing about a week ago. I use All free and clear. When you say they're not absorbent, do you mean they're not sopping up the pee, or they're not absorbent enough that the prefold isn't wicking away moisture?

You may need to get a different detergent for your CD's. If I remember correctly All free and clear isn't good for CD's. I use Rock n Green. I like it. However, I think you need to use a CD safe detergent and wash them a few more times. They don't sound absorbent enough. I washed my prefolds 6 times on hot and then dried them in the dryer after every wash. 

lynn97

Definitely switch to a CD-friendly detergent (although I don't think that's your problem).  Did you dry them between each washing? You have to dry them completely between washings to fully prep them. My GMDs have taken a lot longer than the 3-4 washings they recommended for prepping...

aerotigergirl

Maybe I'm confused...But, if the problem were insufficient prepping, wouldn't the prefolds be repelling? From the OP, it sounds like the prefolds are absorbing, but they're getting saturated very quickly, resulting in having to change her DD's diaper very often. If that is the case, would more prepping really help?

Maybe I'm misunderstanding the question...

In any case, we started out with prefolds and thirsties duo covers with my DS. I have since switched to pockets, because I didn't like the idea of a wet prefold up against DS's skin. But, you can also line your prefolds with micro-fleece so that even a wet prefold feels dry against your DD's skin.

 

2bKEdwards

If I'm understanding the question right, they aren't leaking they are just soaking wet when you change her.   That's how mine are I think it's normal.  They aren't a stay dry material so they're going to feel wet as soon as she pees.  I didn't like that at first either but they never bothered her and she didn't get diaper rash.  I used them almost exclusively for until about last week when she got big enough for BG smalls.

gwendarling

2bKEdwards:

If I'm understanding the question right, they aren't leaking they are just soaking wet when you change her.   That's how mine are I think it's normal.  They aren't a stay dry material so they're going to feel wet as soon as she pees.  I didn't like that at first either but they never bothered her and she didn't get diaper rash.  I used them almost exclusively for until about last week when she got big enough for BG smalls.

Yes, it's this exactly. I get that it's not a stay dry material, so was wondering if it was expected that I change her diaper immediately after she pees, or if other ppl keep a wet diaper a bit longer like sposies.

shanbrite2

gwendarling:

2bKEdwards:

If I'm understanding the question right, they aren't leaking they are just soaking wet when you change her.   That's how mine are I think it's normal.  They aren't a stay dry material so they're going to feel wet as soon as she pees.  I didn't like that at first either but they never bothered her and she didn't get diaper rash.  I used them almost exclusively for until about last week when she got big enough for BG smalls.

Yes, it's this exactly. I get that it's not a stay dry material, so was wondering if it was expected that I change her diaper immediately after she pees, or if other ppl keep a wet diaper a bit longer like sposies.

I think it depends on your baby, a bit. Our LO didn't mind being wet at all, so she would sometimes sit in a wet diaper (not for a very long time, tried to never do more than 2 hours, and only if it wasn't totally soaked. She usually didn't make it that long since she pooped A LOT and she got rashy if she sat in poop so we changed those right away). If you don't like the idea of her being in a wet diaper, you can buy microfleece and cut it into liners to help her feel a little more dry.

PearlPink

Our LO is the same way with her newborn prefolds, and i don't like it either, she SOAKS them. I'm so glad I didn't  make my stash out of them because after 2 days in them and me changing her regularly she had a rash. Which doesn't surprise me I have super sensitive skin and I can't imagine sitting in a wet diaper that wet and getting a rash. Her BG are working out great now that she is getting close to 7 lbs but I'm glad I'm not alone in not loving prefolds.

May_31_2008

My 2 week old LO soaks through the GMD prefolds also.  I am pretty sure I sufficiently prepped them as well.  It is very frustrating, and I feel like a bad mom if I don't change his diaper right away.  I thought breastfeeding every 2 hours was bad ... I could literally change his prefold every 30-60 minutes.  So I guess this is normal that the prefolds get soaking wet?  Again, I feel like a bad mom letting my son sit in a soaking wet diaper like that. I'm still using the orange, and wonder if its time for me to move to the yellow, and see if that helps?  Thank goodness I have other diaper options, and will probably switch to those soon.  It seems like so many people rave about the prefolds .... I'm just feeling a little disappointed!!  

Thanks for posting this question because I too had the same concerns! 

flyer23

From what I can recall, it was very similar with my son. They're on a liquid diet, and a lot of liquid going in means a lot of liquid coming out

I don't really see the issue, though? I mean, it's not like they pee more when you put on a prefold. Either way, she's sitting in her own pee until you change her. I guess you just feel less guilty with disposables because it's not so obvious that you were letting her sit in her own pee?

Even now, I'll change my son as soon as he pees in a prefold -- he doesn't soak the whole thing, but if I know he's wet, why would I let him keep sitting in it? Yes, that sometimes means I'm changing him every 30 minutes or more, but it's not like I have to pay every time I change a prefold!

MamaViking

gwendarling:

My almost 3 week old goes through GMD prefolds like crazy - We wrap in newspaper fold and then cover with thirsties. As soon as she pees, we have to change because the whole prefold is soaking wet. Is this what's supposed to happen? Sorry for the stupid question, but with disposables, we can let her go a bit longer with just a wet diaper, so hacing to change as soon as she pees is getting a bit frustrating.

May_31_2008:

My 2 week old LO soaks through the GMD prefolds also.  I am pretty sure I sufficiently prepped them as well.  It is very frustrating, and I feel like a bad mom if I don't change his diaper right away.  I thought breastfeeding every 2 hours was bad ... I could literally change his prefold every 30-60 minutes.  So I guess this is normal that the prefolds get soaking wet?  Again, I feel like a bad mom letting my son sit in a soaking wet diaper like that. I'm still using the orange, and wonder if its time for me to move to the yellow, and see if that helps?  Thank goodness I have other diaper options, and will probably switch to those soon.  It seems like so many people rave about the prefolds .... I'm just feeling a little disappointed!!  

Thanks for posting this question because I too had the same concerns! 

 

My LO was a heavy wetter AND could not stand a wet diaper. The minute he peed even a little bit he would start fussing, so we were changing A LOT of diapers the first few weeks.

I would 1) switch to yellow edge (if you're still using orange), 2) add a fleece liner next to her skin and then maybe a hemp doubler or tri-fold an orange edge inside of the yellow edge for extra absorbency. Hemp Babies makes a small trim hemp liner. I use the large ones as doubler over night and we've never had a leak despite how much he pees. GMD also makes their own prefold doublers. I haven't used them but they may be less bulky on a small baby than hemp or a nb PF.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

bethandjoe09

I agree that it really comes down to how frequently they pee (and with newborns, it's pretty dang frequently) and whether or not you're willing to leave them wet.  We generally change DS as soon as he's wet, and even now that means many mornings I'm changing him every 30 minutes (he pees a lot in the mornings).  I'm pretty sure we changed him really frequently as a newborn, but frankly that part of my memory is all blurry :P

If you can't/don't want to change that frequently, I'd recommend getting a stay-dry liner of some sort.  They're not perfect; they're not going to wipe all the pee off your LO for you, but they will provide somewhat of a barrier against the worst of the wetness.  Any synthetic fleece will work - you can go to JoAnn's and pick some up, or if you have an old fleece lying around that you don't use you can cut that up.  No need to hem, it shouldn't fray.