Strange Machines

In principle, the naturalbluecloud wool shortie was supposed to be the solution to all the leaking problems but really, I had ordered a size too big after the other wool covers appeared to have shrunk a little from washing.

I’d ordered L but my skinny boy was swimming in the waist, although the legs were sort of fine. They gently enveloped his leg rather than clasped it with a vise-like grip.

So after 2 days of leaks, first from the waist – my solution: tuck the wool into his waist – then from the legs (where he firmly insisted it leaked although I felt nothing, but there was drippage down from the leg side when I felt about) – I had used the XL Loveybums instead of the L that night.

Tonight, we tried on Twig & Vine’s exquisitely soft bamboo fleece diaper (definitely the best I’ve ever used on the kids) in L, in between the fleece a brandless hemp insert from Whoopeekiddies, on top of that, a L Loveybums organic cloth diaper with another hemp insert, an XL Loveybums wool cover over and a naturalbluecloud wool shortie over that.

hemp insert in bamboo diaper -> hemp insert over cotton diaper -> wool cover -> wool shortie

Overload! At 3am Bear woke and told me he’d leaked. Same leak, just down the inside of his pant leg, and thankfully nothing on the bed. I checked the multiple layers and only the first layer of hemp had been mildly soaked and a bit of the side of the Loveybums diaper. It was only one pee.

So I realised my mistake. I should have concentrated on TIGHT, not THICK. I took out the wet hemp insert, removed the dry one too. Used a fresh bamboo insert inside the Twig & Vine bamboo diaper, closed that. Took out a fresh L Loveybums diaper. Put that over the bamboo diaper, wool cover + wool shortie. Thinner, but definitely tighter.

Looks like this from baby’s bottom:

bamboo diaper with bamboo insert -> cotton cover -> wool cover -> wool shortie

The wool is supposed to absorb the extra fluid so I should really let it do its job than overstuffing the diapers which causes a huge gap between skin and diaper, and that is exactly where it leaks.

Let’s see how it goes in the morning.

I guess cloth diapering, especially with new diapers, takes some trial and error in getting the right diapering configuration. And during the trial, remember to get your baby to sleep on a rubber mat or there’ll be lots of laundry to do.