Bum Genius users...

Brown_Eyed_Girl

I bought some Bum Genius to use at night, and I'm wondering how long should I consider "at night" to be, i.e. how many hours do you keep one diaper on at night?

Also, for a newborn, how full should I stuff it?

Last night, I put in the regular microfiber stuffing and a microfiber double, and it leaked after 6 hours or so (I can't remember now).

TIA!

Kaia

Back when he pooped at night, I changed him whenever he pooped. Once he stopped, he'll go 8-10 hours in one diaper at night. He started leaking a couple of months ago, so now I use either a hemp Happy Heiny's stuffins with the small BG insert in the pocket or a hemp prefold wrapped around a MF insert.

PixieCurl

I don't use BG's, but I use other pockets at night (Fuzzi Bunz). He's gone up to 12 hours before; I don't change him overnight unless he poops. We use a microfiber insert and an infant prefold in the pocket.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

Now I'm really frustrated...

Last night I put Lydia in a BG with a prefold wrapped around a microfiber insert. Two hours later she woke up crying and when I picked her up, her swaddle blanket and everything under her was wet. When I took off the diaper, the inserts were barely wet. It's like the fleece is repelling the urine.

I washed these with Charlie's Soap before using them. And that's all I've used since. I only started using them this weekend, so I don't see how they would need to be stripped already.

Help!

Amneris

I changed them after every feeding because he pooped after every feeding until he was about 6-7 months, then he stopped pooping at night so I leave them on all night or maybe change them once ("night" being about 9-10 hours of sleep with wake-ups in there.)

When he was newborn, I usually had 2 inserts and a pre-fold. If they're leaking, maybe they're not tight enough around the back or legs? When he was tiny, I sometimes had that issue with either cloth or disposable diapers.

Kaia

Wow, it sure sounds like it's a repelling issue. Did you get the diapers new? Did you wash them several times already? Have you washed them together with hemp or unbleached cotton? Have you washed the prefold several times? Do you use fabric softener for your other laundry?

marielle448

I agree to look at how she's fitting into them - as far as gaping around the legs, back, etc. if the inserts are dry. Newborns are finicky to fit into diapers in general until you figure out what works for your child's build.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

Bailey422 wrote: »

Wow, it sure sounds like it's a repelling issue. Did you get the diapers new? Did you wash them several times already? Have you washed them together with hemp or unbleached cotton? Have you washed the prefold several times? Do you use fabric softener for your other laundry?

It's possible that they don't fit tight enough, but I tried pouring some water on the fleece just now, and it doesn't soak in.

So, yes, I got the diapers new. I can't remember how many times I've washed them, so I'll wash them several more times with the other diapers before I use them again.

I've washed the prefolds many times, and I don't have any issues with them when I use them with a Bummis or Thirsties cover.

I don't use fabric softener at all although I used to months ago. It seems like if there was residue in the dryer that it would affect the prefolds too...unless the fleece is more sensitive?

Kaia

I would just go ahead and strip them. Fill your washer with hot water on the small load setting (or whatever covers your diapers. Add about 5 scoops of Oxyclean and turn the washer on for a minute to agitate and mix it all up, then let it soak for 4-6 hours (or overnight). Then finish the load and make sure to do an extra rinse to get all the detergent out. Hopefully that will solve the problem.

geeky

In my experience, the BGs seem like the fleece repels even if they are OK. Right after stripping mine, water beaded up when I put drops on the cover, but they did not leak. You may need more rinses. My repelling issue, even with Charlies, was buildup. I did several hot washes with no detergent and it fixed the issue.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

geeky wrote: »

In my experience, the BGs seem like the fleece repels even if they are OK. Right after stripping mine, water beaded up when I put drops on the cover, but they did not leak. You may need more rinses. My repelling issue, even with Charlies, was buildup. I did several hot washes with no detergent and it fixed the issue.

So are you still using Charlie's and just rinsing several times every time you wash them?

marielle448

also how much charlie's are you using? I use 1 scoop for all the laundry but diaper laundry never more than 1/2 scoop or I end up with buildup issues.

PixieCurl

Is she sleeping on her side to nurse in the side-lying position? One thing I've found with our pockets at night is that all the absorbency is in the middle of the diaper, so sometimes we get leaks when he sleeps on his side. Also, as other posters mentioned, make sure the diaper is snug around her legs. When I double-stuff a fuzzi bunz, it's so bulky that there's gapping around the legs and sometimes the pee leaks right out of there, without even giving the diaper a chance to absorb it.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

marielle448 wrote: »

also how much charlie's are you using? I use 1 scoop for all the laundry but diaper laundry never more than 1/2 scoop or I end up with buildup issues.

Yeah, I've been using 1 scoop since the package said it wasn't like other detergents and you could use the full amount. :dontknow:

So I guess I'll strip them tonight, then wash them using half the amount of Charlie's, and give them several extra rinses. Does that sound like a good plan?

This is why I used disposables for the first couple weeks. If this had happened just after I gave birth, I think I would've had a nervous breakdown.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

PixieCurl wrote: »

Is she sleeping on her side to nurse in the side-lying position? One thing I've found with our pockets at night is that all the absorbency is in the middle of the diaper, so sometimes we get leaks when he sleeps on his side. Also, as other posters mentioned, make sure the diaper is snug around her legs. When I double-stuff a fuzzi bunz, it's so bulky that there's gapping around the legs and sometimes the pee leaks right out of there, without even giving the diaper a chance to absorb it.

Yes, she was sleeping on her side. You make a good point about the stuffing. I didn't seem to have a problem with the one I used when we were out yesterday, but she wasn't on her side then and I only had one insert in the diaper. It did seem pretty snug around her legs, but I'm new at this, so I'm not sure how to tell if it's snug enough.

PixieCurl

Brown_Eyed_Girl wrote: »

It did seem pretty snug around her legs, but I'm new at this, so I'm not sure how to tell if it's snug enough.

If it seems snug I'm sure it's good. Sol's gaps so much that I can fit a finger between the elastic and his leg.

marielle448

LOL - even when I had 2 in diapers most diaper loads around here aren't full loads. So even with 24+ diapers per load (minus the ones you're using at the moment) and doublers,liners, wipes, etc. it should be fine with half a scoop.

geeky

I switched from Charlie's recently because I think she is getting rash from it. But before that, I cut back the detergent amount like Marielle said, and no more leaks for the most part. We do get those side nursing leaks sometimes.

Kaia

I use a full scoop of Charlie's and it hasn't caused buildup in 3 months, so i don't think that's it. It may just be they're too loose like others are saying. A lot of people say BG's don't fit newborns well, and she's only a week old.

Brown_Eyed_Girl

PixieCurl wrote: »

Brown_Eyed_Girl wrote: »

It did seem pretty snug around her legs, but I'm new at this, so I'm not sure how to tell if it's snug enough.

If it seems snug I'm sure it's good. Sol's gaps so much that I can fit a finger between the elastic and his leg.

Actually, I paid more attention, and I can fit a finger in all her covers, even the newborn Proraps. The disposables fit her this way too, so I didn't think much of it. :oops: (Some days I really wonder what I've gotten myself into with this whole mom thing.)

I guess I should just be happy we aren't having more leaks than we are. I stripped the BGs and rinsed several times after washing just in case, but I think I'll put them aside for a bit and try again later. For now, the prefolds seem to catch most everything despite the gaps at her legs.

Thanks for all your suggestions!

ETA: It is nice to know that I can use less Charlie's though since it's a little expensive.

cosmicfly

Aidan is really skinny and he was leaking out of disposables and cloth (kissaluvs size 0 and a proraps cover, which worked for newborn Maya). I have found that I have to wrap the disposables really tight or he pees out the side regardless of his position. I am not having luck with any cloth diapers that I have so far, and I think it's the fit.

Kaia

cosmicfly wrote: »

Aidan is really skinny and he was leaking out of disposables and cloth (kissaluvs size 0 and a proraps cover, which worked for newborn Maya). I have found that I have to wrap the disposables really tight or he pees out the side regardless of his position. I am not having luck with any cloth diapers that I have so far, and I think it's the fit.

Have you tried the twist method of putting on prefolds?

PixieCurl

Brown_Eyed_Girl wrote: »

ETA: It is nice to know that I can use less Charlie's though since it's a little expensive.

I'd like to take this moment to put in a plug for the homemade laundry powder I've been using....

1 bar of Fels Naptha soap, grated (~$1.40)
1 cup of Borax (~$2 for big box)
1 cup of washing soda (~$2 for big box)

I use 1 tbsp of the mixture per load and it gets our laundry really clean, including Sol's diapers and my husband's gym clothes. All the ingredients were in the laundry aisle at my local grocery store. I use white vinegar in the fabric softener dispenser of my washer too.

cosmicfly

Bailey422 wrote: »

cosmicfly wrote: »

Aidan is really skinny and he was leaking out of disposables and cloth (kissaluvs size 0 and a proraps cover, which worked for newborn Maya). I have found that I have to wrap the disposables really tight or he pees out the side regardless of his position. I am not having luck with any cloth diapers that I have so far, and I think it's the fit.

Have you tried the twist method of putting on prefolds?

No, I haven't even tried prefolds- all of mine are icky after 2 babies. Maybe I will try, there might be a couple in decent shape at my mom's house- she wouldn't have been using them to dry her hair like I have been... He's finally not leaking out of a newborn disposable, so that's what I'm using at night, I hate waking up in pee.

PixieCurl

I may have been too quick to plug my home-made laundry powder :sad3:

We've been having terrible leaks lately with our pockets for overnight, and after trying all different stuffing combinations I just made the connection that my new laundry powder could be building up on the pockets (works fine on the prefolds). I'm so bummed because I love it otherwise, and it gets everything really clean... but I never had this problem when we were using Charlie's. Guess I'll try stripping and see if it helps...

Simbathekat

Everytime I read threads on cloth diapers my head starts to spin! While I plan to use BG, there seems to be a huge formula with maintenance. Even the terminology used on this thread is complete foreign language.

I guess it's a matter of testing to see what works for you and baby in the cloth diaper world.

sariroo

Simbathekat wrote: »

Everytime I read threads on cloth diapers my head starts to spin! While I plan to use BG, there seems to be a huge formula with maintenance. Even the terminology used on this thread is complete foreign language.

I guess it's a matter of testing to see what works for you and baby in the cloth diaper world.

I totally agree. My problem is I just don't spend the time researching most of these parenting topics that others do but I don't have the energy or the drive to do so. I would rather use cloth diapers for environmental reasons but can see myself abandoning the idea if it becomes too difficulty or problematic. :sad8:

Kaia

It's really not as complicated as it seems at first. I know exactly what you mean though. When I first started I was like, fitteds? AIO? AI2? WTF??? You get a hang of it very quickly. Most online cloth diaper stores have a tutorial. Here are a couple of them: http://www.abbyslane.com/faqs.php and http://www.sunshinediapers.com/cloth-diaper-university/

Amneris

I never did anything fancy or complicated! I just bought my diapers and started using them. I don't do any stripping or fancy laundry stuff - the whole reason I do cloth is I want it to be easy, and it is.

fuzzbucket

I think I may have finally gotten DH on board to CD using Bum Genius. We've been using Gdiapers with some success, but it is getting expensive. Can I ask two dumb questions to help fuel my argument?

1. How many do you have in your stash?
2. How often do you do a diaper load of laundry?

PixieCurl

fuzzbucket wrote: »

1. How many do you have in your stash?
2. How often do you do a diaper load of laundry?

I don't use BG's, but I'll answer your questions anyway. I have 24 prefolds and 4 pockets (but had only 2 until very recently). I was washing every other day but lately I can sometimes go every 3rd day because he seems to not go through them as quickly.