Pocket Diaper Leaking

[osh]

New to cloth diapering and I’m out of ideas. Help!

I’m using Nora’s Nursery pockets with bamboo inserts. Leaks are around legs. Baby is 12MO.

We get leaks during the day (single insert) and at night (double insert).

Washing routine: cold rinse, hot deep water wash w/ extra rinse. Borax in both, ALL F&C powder for the wash cycle. Wash every other day.

Fit: I go as tight as I can around thighs. For kicks and giggles, I’ve tried looser and that didn’t help either.

We change every 2-3 hours during the day and need a nighttime diaper to hold for about 9 hrs.

Any suggestions? TIA!

 

[graceadele]

@osh This happens to us with pocket diapers if I don’t change my 12mo in less than 2 hours. 2 hours is the absolute maximum length of time before she starts leaking also around the legs, so I typically keep it around 90 minutes but that leads me to believe it’s an absorbency issue. You could try two inserts? I’ve seen a few times now that Nora’s inserts are actually microfiber in disguise so maybe if you changed your insert you could use only one?

 

[marry]

@osh Once our baby hit about 7 months we upped our absorbency. We do 2 NN liners during the day. And at night we sandwich in a hemp insert between the two. She has a massive tush, but we never leak even at 12 hrs of overnight.

I'd like to try a different insert like a cotton prefold to try to reduce the bulk...but I just haven't brought myself to doing that yet because I hate the idea of trying to troubleshoot leaks again.

 

[tobiahjude99]

@osh Does Nora/Alva actually sell bamboo inserts, or are you using their microfiber ones?

I know back when I shopped, what Nora/Alva sold as "Bamboo" were actually 2 layers of microfiber wrapped in a thin bamboo outer and boy did I feel burned when I figured that out. I dunno if they have more products now though.

If you're using their standard microfiber ones, at 12mo those definitely failed us because baby was super mobile and they sponge out pee any time they are squished.

You might want to give another type of insert a try - you may have better luck with (actual) bamboo inserts (as in, a blend of bamboo/cotton, no microfiber involved) or 100% cotton, or any hemp/cotton/bamboo blend.

 

[osh]

@tobiahjude99 Oooh that is very interesting! I’ll have to look into this a bit. Thanks for the insight!!

 

[cqbchase]

@osh I almost quit cloth diapering because I used Alva and wegreeco pocket diapers. I’d get compression leaks all the time. I switched to cotton prefolds and thirsties duo covers and it saved my journey! Plus cotton is super easy to wash. Maybe it’s worth looking into for you.

 

[cqbchase]

I bought clotheez prefolds by green mountain diaper. I tried others and it didn’t compare to their quality! They currently have a Black Friday sale right now.

 

[teacher2002]

@osh I use wegreco for overnight or for when I know he’ll need to be in a diaper a little longer than usual for any reason. For overnight, I stuff two bamboo liners, wegreco brand. My baby is almost 5months and 13 lbs. hope this helps!

 

[teacher2002]

For clarity, Wegreco pocket diapers. Bought 2 6 packs off Amazon for like 30$ each. Snaps set to the smallest setting since our babe is little. We love them. Never any compression leaks even overnight

 

[stephisme]

@osh We had to switch to fitteds (Twinkie tush night-nights but I would've done Pooters too) and a cover at night because pockets wasn't working for us. In case that is helpful. We almost never have leaks now! (the 1-2 times we have it was because it wasn't put on right lol)

 

[osh]

@stephisme Thank you!! This is good to know.

 

[envisiondavid]

@osh The Nora's Nursery default inserts aren't fabulous - I've been stuffing our NN pockets with cotton prefolds and that works really well. You'll need to up your daytime absorbancy, for sure, either with 2 inserts or something different.

For overnights - I can't get pocket diapers to last, so I use a fitted diaper with a booster, in a cover. You might be able to do a fitted diaper and use an NN diaper as a cover.

 

[prettypinkzz]

@osh Add a hemp insert (my favorite is thirstiest) and it'll give you an extra few hours. Add two hemps and change out the bamboo insert to a cotton prefold for overnight.

 

[osh]

@prettypinkzz Good rec. thank you!!

 

[cees]

@osh You’ve gone this long with a single insert without major leaks!? I had to switch to double insert around 6mo

 

[osh]

@cees Oh, I didn’t start CD until 11 mo. I’m a newbie!! And maybe a little delusional for thinking 1 insert was enough…LOL!

 

[kv78b]

@osh Welcome! I had to switch to using two NN inserts at like 3 months for daytime. I use one disposable each night, though.

The NN inserts are really bad… try getting some Cotten prefolds! Those are super cheap and the best!

 

[wren84]

@osh For me the microfiber material themselves causes leaks. It just repels liquid a bit and doesn’t allow it to absorb quick enough. I would try having the insert directly on babies skin and using the pocket as a cover, and possibly even switching inserts if youre using the ones that they came with. I find them just not absorbent and I use them as rags.

 

[osh]

@wren84 Thanks! I’ll try that next and will look into a different insert if need be.

 

[meki]

@osh I can’t use pockets with regular inserts. They leak every time. Even with hourly changes.

I bought cotton prefolds from GMD and I fold them and use them as inserts for our pockets.

We also use workhorse at night with a flat and have had absolutely zero leaks.

I bought this
And I wish I would have started here instead of using pockets but I do like the pockets so I just use the prefolds from this kit inside of our pockets.

Hope this helps!