tiny newb + rookie parents = leaks.. Help?

kcdc6211

We have a newborn in cloth and this is our first child, maybe someone could give us some advice? He is 6 weeks and around 7.5 lbs right now. We brought him home from nicu at 2.5 weeks and used cloth about 3/4 of the time and things seemed pretty well. More recently he leaks every single time no matter what combo of dipe/ covers we use and it's normally in less than two hours.We have prefolds with rumparooz, thirsties duo, bummis original and green earth covers, lil joeys, grovia nb and thirsties duo aios, a couple fitteds, happy heiny and swaddlebees pockets.    He is baby #1 so I have nothing to compare to but I assume he is a heavy wetter [at least it seams a lot]. For the most part though, ebf poo is always contained. It seems like some how the wetness travels over the leg elastic and gets on to the outer fabric totally bypassing the pul layer thus soaking his clothes between every diaper change : I don't feel I leave them on too long for all the more he should output.. also on the grovia and the pockets, where the inner and outer fabric meet at the leg seems like it could be the place where moisture is being exchanged from inside to out, more so on the grovia since they are serged..   If anyone has had these problems or any solutions/ advice please let me know? Annie from Nicki's diapers agreed he sounded like a heavy wetter and suggested doublers. I feel bad when hes so padded he can't move his legs though :[ SO is getting discouraged [as am I] and I'm afraid if we can't figure it out we may have to throw in the towel.. Still I'd probably try EC before going to paper diapers lol Also, I have a pair of wool longies en route and hopefully they work better, any thoughts on wool? Sorry for my long rant.. at the end of my rope I feel

barnwife

I only skimmed that wall of text...but what jumped out at me was "it's normally in less than two hours."

At that age, we were definitely changing at least every 2 hours. And often more often than that. Heck, even now, unless he's sleeping or we are in the car or something we still change at least every two hours. And J. is closing in on 1 1/2 years old!

Our diaper change schedule looks something like this: 7 am (when he wakes), 9 am, 11 am, sometime between 1 and 2 pm (when he wakes from nap), 4 pm, and 6:30 pm (before bed).

You should definitely be changing LO at least every 2 hours.

Also, is the PF or fitted or insert saturated when you change him? If so, changing more often is definitely part of the solution.

Dr.Loretta

A few things:

1. There is a learning curve. Having a few problems along the way is pretty much par for the course

2. Adding doublers/inserts may be just what you need, and it's not going to affect your child's mobility long-term. As he gets older, things will start fitting better in general and it will be fine

3. Have you checked to see if the diapers are repelling?

4. As the pp noted, 2 hours is probably the max you want to go between diaper changes anyway. You may want to try every hour to 90 minutes for a while and see if it helps things at all.

5. Wool is great. It's not like it will magically solve leak problems, but it may be a good option for you.

Let us know how it turns out.

BrendaLou1969

I changed my daughter every hour and a half in the beginning. But here is a thought.  What direction are you placing his male bit in, up or down when you put on the diaper? 

Also, it does sound like repelling, what detergent are you using and what is your washing routine, that may be the culprit.

dcnm

A few thoughts, sorry if these have already been mentioned: 

If the prefold/absorbent inner is soaked when you change him, he needs more absorbency and/or needs to be changed more often.  We change DD every 1-2 hours at 13 months and stuff her pockets with two microfiber inserts and a newborn prefold.  She moves around just fine, and hit all of her milestones early.

If the prefold/absorbent inner is not soaked, you have repelling and should strip with Dawn, then examine your wash routine. Are you using rash creams? Dryer sheets? CD safe detergent?  Do you have hard water?

Make sure his penis is pointed down.

Make sure all absorbent inners are COMPLETELY tucked inside the cover.  And use tee shirts, not onesies.  Onesies wick pee out through the leg elastic in my experience.

Also be sure there are no gaps at the legs or waist when you fasten the diaper. 

GoldenPeaches

Point his penis down!