Camden has been daytime potty trained for several months now. I usually put diapers on my kids at night until they have well proven themselves to be able to hold their pee. Naptimes I am too trusting and about 30% of the time Camden has an accident.
Finding a nighttime solution for Camden (he will be 3 on January 3rd) can be quite challenging. Some nights he pees a ton, others the diaper is almost dry.
This is where having a million different brands of random inserts can be helpful.
Last night Camden wore a Ragababe 2 Step system with 4 inserts laid in. And naturally this was a morning where the diaper was barely wet. All that wasted stuffins.
Every night I stand at my diaper shelves and contemplate what to put on Camden.
Here are my current choices. Next to them I will write whether or not they hold up to massive pee. The inserts I keep on hand are Geffen Baby Newborn Quick Absorbers (hemp and cotton), Ragababe (organic cotton and bamboo) doublers, and Hemp Babies doublers.
- Anne Marie Padorie AI2 w/ hemp insert + doubler. This is one of the best systems. Only once did Camden leak and it was a flood so not sure what diaper could have held up. It’s all about the inserts. The hemp insert trifolded and combined with a doubler or two holds a lot of liquid.
- Thirsties Duo AIO w/ doubler stuffed in pocket. Absorbency-wise this system is 100%. But, it leaves deep red marks on Camden’s legs. One night we had a sad episode. The tag was sticking out and laying against his skin. Because of Camden’s high ammonia pee the soaked tag highly irritated his skin and left small sores. Needless to say, in the middle of the night Camden was crying for his diaper to be changed. Lessons learned: tuck tag in and make sure diaper isn’t on too tight.
- Ragababe AIO w/ doubler. About half the time this combo is enough absorbency for Camden. If I lay in (or stuff in) 2 doublers it is absorbent enough but is a bit of a snug fit with the size AIOs that I have.
- Kawaii Goodnight Heavy Wetter w/ included 2 microfiber inserts + doubler. 100% on absorbency and fit. This system is pretty much the perfect nighttime solution for both my boys.
- Little Fancy Pants w/ hemp doubler + Rumparooz cover. The cover seals the deal when using an LFP or any fitted for that matter. A fitted diaper plus doubler can hold a lot of wetness. I have lost (most likely I left them in Texas) my favorite covers, Sweet Pea, so I am using my next favorite, Rumparooz. I prefer Sweet Pea because they stretch so well and fit over any fitted. I like Rumparooz because of the thick TPU, gussets and front elastic. Rumparooz don’t adequately fit over a one-sized fitted therefore leaving exposed diaper which usually gets something wet.
I try to always put on a pair of wool pants for pajamas and an extra barrier. There have been many times when the wool kept the bed dry.
I’ll admit that lately I have been more unsuccessful than successful at choosing nighttime cloth diaper systems for Camden. The only positive thing about lots of accidents is I’ve gotten good at cleaning mattresses.
What are you using for your heavy wetting toddler at night?
Autumn is a wife, mother, homeschool teacher, friend and most important a follower of Christ.
Kara says
Once you are down to a diaper a day, what are you doing for laundry? I wash diapers every 48hrs now and am about to potty train, but seems wasteful to run my washing machine for 2-4 diapers only.
Jennifer Reinhardt says
You can rinse them really well in the sink and then wash in with your regular clothing.
Jennifer says
Hello Autumn,
My 4.5 year old is potty trained, but cant seem to make it through the night… or sometimes makes it all night, but pees in a diaper when she wakes up. I use a disposable at night, but would rather switch her to cloth – for several reasons. What would be the best choice for her? And, I don’t mind if she feels that the diaper is wet… I think it would be better if she knew she was wet.
Thanks,
Jennifer
Jennifer Reinhardt says
Hi Jennifer, I’m not sure exactly how big your 4.5 year old is. But Applecheeks just came out with size 3 covers that should be big enough. I would try that and maybe some Geffen Baby Prefolds or super absorbers.
Irina Johnson says
Excellent advice on what to use for a kid who is not potty trained.
Carly Tribe says
This is great advice! ever since I started using cloth nappies I have had trouble during the night times. I really look forward to finding a better solution. Thanks again!
Allison says
We had great success with a Flip organic nighttime prefold and a Flip stay dry day time liner on top. DD has very sensitive skin and can’t spend a night “feeling” wet without breaking into a rash.
The absorbancy of this Flip combo worked great at night even now that she is three but the rise no longer fits. She is over 35lb and tall for her age. I need something with a taller rise. Any suggestions?
Billie says
I have a 7 year old that still wets the bed every night. We are using disposable Good nights on him but I would like to find a cloth option. Does anyone know of a good place to find something for an older child who weighs about 65 pounds? He is also a heavy wetter. We also have a 5 year old who wets the bed, and wears a pull up at night, and a stubborn 3 year old who refuses to potty train. He is in disposables until I can find a good pull up alternate. All of the cloth trainers I have found wont fit him. HELP!!!!
Julie says
Try Happy Heinys pocket trainers. They go quite large. My 40 lb 4 yr old is only in a large with lots of room to grow(he still fits medium too), I think there is still a size left after that. I got the large hemp stuffin with the ovals and it holds him all night. He sleeps so deeply that he pees every night.
BIllie says
Thanks, I’ll try it. Do I go to their web sit, or are they sold in stores?
Gretchen says
I’m curious what you put on the ammonia burn. My daughter was in her nighttime diaper through breakfast yesterday, which is unusual and she had red marks on one side of her legs where the elastic is. All day I put hiney honey on it until for the last diaper of the day I put her in a disposable I had with desitin. It seemed to help a little and anothe spot. Then I put her in her night diaper with some hiney honey. This morning we wake up and the spot near the elastic looks worse…
Majaliwa says
What? No Pooters fitted in the nighttime rotation? :-)
Autumn Beck says
I left them it Texas! This is a negative of having two residences :( Pooters would definitely work!
Athena says
How big is Camden? i’m having toddler size troubles. DD is only 18 months and 31 lbs and 35 inches tall. We are just starting to sit on the potty during the day and I’ve only gotten one night time dipe without pee. Usually is soaked. The rise is starting to become my issue. she’s heavy but not chunky (dense i guess) but she’s awfully tall for her age and the sbish larges are starting to “hurt” her she tells me. so i need to get to XL’s but she’s only 18 months i see myself running out of options.
Please share any toddler size brands you know of.
Amelia says
So……. You’ve gotten good at cleaning mattresses, eh? Do share your secrets…..
Staci says
Hi Autumn, thanks for the article! I’m curious, you said you’ve gotten really good at cleaning mattresses, and we’re not at all. We have 2 daughters that share a bed and are bedwetters who can soak through every system we’ve tried when the mood strikes them. Our resolve has been replacing mattresses when needed. But it’s expensive and wasteful. Would you care to share your mattress cleaning tips? And also, would you say there is a foolproof combo of diapers for camel kids? Thanks!
Rebecca says
Get a mattress protector plus take a shower curtain liner and lay that under the fitted sheet as an extra protection. Washing sheets way easier then scrubbing mattress! Bac out helps with smell
Nicole says
My almost 3-year old goes to bed in a Kawaii GNHW stuffed with the “overnight” Flip Organic insert with some kind of doubler (usually: AMP 3 layer doubler, thirsties size 1 hemp insert, thirsties fab doubler, or babykicks joeybunz). Lately I have also been putting an Ecoposh cover over that for extra insurance.
Jane says
I have been waiting for this post! My getting-closer-to-three-year-old has finally challenged us out of all of our cloth diaper options for night. We are doing disposables which we NEVER do because I’m so perplexed. Prior to this we were using SBISH with a very old Imse Vimse wool cover that I used on my older son (now 9). The covers are stained and just worn out from so much use. I could keep using the SBISH but they too are worn and they never seem to get clean enough. Sadly they seem stiff and smelly and I’d rather go straight cotton or maybe less bamboo now. This combo worked beautifully up until age 2.5. So we are looking for a fitted that is really thick and capable and wool cover. To me it’s the wool that makes all the difference. Advice?!?
Rumsita says
We used Ecoposh at the end with my daughter, with a wool cover. I was never disappointed. My son is only 14 mo and the Bamboozle Stretch and GroVia KiwiPie, both with a hemp booster in the wet zone, with wool cover. Not sure they will be enough a year from now, but I prefer their stretch for now. The Ecoposh is quite rigid.
kate says
My toddler is not a heavy wetter, so any natural fiber has been fine for us overnight, but both my baby (5 months, heavy wetter) and toddler (2), sleep on fleece liners I made for them as nice, soft mattress covers! Works great to protect their (and my!) Beds. (:
Lori says
I am using Superundies with your bamboo/organic cotton inserts trifolded. It seems to be working so far. I’m not crazy about the Superundies, but they are doing the job.
Jennifer H says
We’ve been using the Kawaii Good Night Heavy Wetters with success, too. We stuff them with a Flip organic nighttime prefold, a Hemp Babies Little Weeds doubler, and a homemade bamboo fleece wipe.
My DS is on the last set of snaps (he’s @ 28 lbs), however, so we just started using Motherease Bedwetter Pants in size XS (for 30-40 lbs, IIRC). They’re excellent if poofy (DS doesn’t care). Nice to not have to stuff something for overnight. Only downside is they take a long time to (line) dry.
Athena says
Oh that sounds promising i’ll have to check those out.
Maria says
I love Geffen Baby M/L hemp jersey refolds in a pocket. So trim, and they hold a ton!