I clearly had overnight cloth diapering easy with Cub. My “overnight cloth diaper sandwich” was a huge success for me and the many moms who continue to tell me they use it and love it. Little Miss Cub is an avid night-nurser, and she’s typically in her overnight diaper for at least thirteen hours. She needs a pretty hefty overnight solution, and these are the three options in regular rotation at our house.
Each of these options is paired with wool. Now, wool can be intimidating, but it need not be. Wool is naturally breathable, antibacterial and water resistant—all important qualities for overnight pee-containment. Wool can seem like a lot of maintenance, but because these three options are already so absorbent on their own, your wool cover or wool longies won’t actually be in contact with that much urine. If you use the same wool cover every night and it comes in contact with a lot of urine (in other words, when you take off the cover, the diaper underneath is completely soaked through), then you’ll probably want to wash and re-lanolize once a month. With the three options below, the inside of your wool barely gets damp, so the need won’t be as frequent. I rotate between four different covers, and I haven’t washed them in many months. (I promise, I’ll wash them if they even smell faintly of urine, which they do not … wool is amazing!)
If whatever you currently use almost works—in other words, you’re just trying to solve small leaks—start with wool. A pair of wool longies instead of pyjama pants, or a wool cover underneath pyjama pants could completely solve your problems by absorbing those small leaks before they hit the sheets. If your current overnight diaper floods the bed, you’ll probably need to upgrade! (Click the diaper name to read my original review.)
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HumBird HumCloud … $65
For us, the HumCloud is more than sufficient overnight using just one of its three included inserts. Handmade in Germany by a WAHM named Dawn, this diaper has been tested independently to contain 42 ounces. Made with organic bamboo cotton, it fits approximately 10–35+ lbs. Of the three options I use, this is the only one that is actually wet on the outside in the morning. This is normal, however, because it is also the only option that doesn’t already have a waterproof layer, meaning it is designed to be used with a cover. The HumCloud is a fabulous option for those in search of a ridiculously absorbent, 100% natural fibre, fitted diaper.
The only downside of the HumCloud is that it’s expensive. It’s expensive because it is carefully handmade with top-quality materials, not because Dawn is swimming in a pool of coins like Germany’s Scrooge McDuck. Note that the price will fluctuate depending on the exchange rate.
The Just 4 You Baby Designs Nightly Essential is made local to me, just outside of Calgary, and just like the HumCloud, comes with three super-absorbent inserts. We only need to use the largest insert to make it through the night. Because this diaper has a hidden layer of water-resistant fleece, you may be able to use it without a cover on top. When I pull the wool off in the morning, the outside of this diaper is still bone dry. Wetness only occurs at the waist, and is always easily contained by even the thinnest wool covers. What I particularly like about the J4Y diaper it that the inside is lined with polyester, so only the inserts get wet. My daughter’s hips and bum cheeks stay dry since the wetness doesn’t spread throughout the entire diaper.
Like the HumCloud, the downside is the price. And also like the HumCloud, this diaper I made with costly materials and great care by a WAHM. Jocelyn is also not a Canadian Scrooge McDuck!
Order by sending Jocelyn a message on her Facebook page
When you add up the price of each of the elements of this combination, it is the cheapest of my three options. The price could go down even further if you find a retailer with the old-style bumGenius elemental on clearance! You’ll know it’s the right version if it does not have a sewn-in lining. Because the diaper I use in this combination was discontinued, if you want to try it you’ll have to find a retailer who still has the bumGenius elemental 2.0 in stock. You can definitely recreate this combo with the newly released bumGenius elemental 3.0, but it’s a tighter fit for the Flip overnight insert.
Even though this combination uses a diaper with a waterproof exterior, I still need to put wool on top to be completely leak-free, especially at the tummy. This is the overnight option we use most often, simply because we only have one of each of the diapers listed above, but I have four sets of this combination.
Find components using my affiliate links to Lagoon Baby, Cozy Bums, Bumbini or Nicki’s Diapers
Conclusion
I’m not going to pretend that overnight cloth diapering for a heavy-wetter can be done on the cheap. My recommendation is to have four overnight diapers in your rotation, so I realize that could mean an initial outlay of over $200. All three of my proposed options are one-size options, as is my suggested insert combination for moderate-wetters. I took a quick glance at the price of overnight disposable diapers, and saw an average price of 50 cents per diaper. If you use an overnight diaper every night for two years, that could cost you upwards of $350. My son needed an overnight diaper for three years, and I’m reusing components from his stash on his sister. If you can stomach—or perhaps stagger—the initial investment, overnight cloth diapering a heavy-wetter will save you money in the long run!
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