The problem arises when a wool cover cannot completely cover the diaper, leading to night time leaks. That’s when you either pop on a wool shortie or use a smaller diaper.

But if you had to get only one, I’d go for the cover. Measure your baby and any existing diapers you’ll be using with it very carefully.

If all fails you can still buy a shortie and hope your child doesn’t complain to you that it is itchy!

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.

The XL simply did not fit the XL wool cover. The L fitted it perfectly.

The leak had seeped out the side where it was peeking, although the soaked through hemp soaker and diaper technically should have contained it if the wool had covered it properly.

Now, Kitten is using a L-L combo and the cover covers all quite comfortably so I suspect either the XL was accidentally shrunk or Bear’s simply grown.

The solution: forget wool covers, just buy a wool shortie (underwear with cuffs) for your wool+diaper solution. That will solve the diaper peekaboo problem (and if I find a diaper without too-tight elastic on the back and thighs, I’ll get them all).

The hemp insert is pretty thick so it causes a gap between his legs and diaper. Hence when moving, the gap increases and causes leakage especially when he is peeing at that moment.

This time it was a side leak.

I made no fuss. Quickly changed him and put 2 towels in the wet spots and am nursing him back to sleep now.

He didn’t sleep again till 9ish and I was beat, having fallen asleep only at 3. Thankfully he dozed for another 2 hours but during which Kitten woke and kept me up too.

She’d also leaked from the back of her BumGenius which had the Loveybums fleece layer inside it. The diaper was completely soaked through so I knew she needed more padding.

Tonight she wears the same combo but with the hemp soaker inside. I tried the L Loveybums diaper with soaker and the Loveybums wool cover or BumGenius over it but there was just too much gap between the leg and diaper that I abandoned both ideas.

Bear wears the same Loveybums diaper, hemp soaker, and wool cover over. This time I flattened the whole soaker instead of folding it. Let’s see how that goes.

Meanwhile, I seriously need sleep… Can feel my system shutting down…