Really annoyed at my MCNs- help needed!

[KatieRabbit]

Well have been using MCNs now for about 4-6 weeks and I am seriously cross with lots of them. I have tried a number of brands and have mostly OSFM and a few sized butDD is 18 months and 12kg so a good fit for the OSFM on the big settings.
My problem is that DD wets through lots of the nappies really quickly and I can't figure out why. The leaks seem to be around the waist and around the legs even though the nappies appear to fit well here. But I find that I have to change her trousers with each nappy change which is about 1-2 hours every day and I run out of clothes really quickly! I mostly have pockets with bamboo or microfribre inserts and I have tried boosting with bamboo boosters which is ok but then leaves a leg gap.
I have:
Greenkids- serious leaks
CT basix- just doesn't work
CT Coutures- literally 60 minutes to wet trousers
BumG- not too bad- can go 2 hours
Swaddlebees- not too bad- will try another insert to make 3
IB- not too bad but can't boost
Bamboo fitted- good except overnight
Happy Heiny- leaks
Haute- leaks

I don't want to keep 'trying' nappies at $30+ each and postage to find they don't work but am at a loss as to what to do. At the minute am putting PUL covers over pocket and AIO nappies to get thru the day but feel that I shouldn't have to do this. DD is no longer breastfed but has normal water or very diluted juice during the day and a small bottle of milk overnight.
Does anyone have any suggestions for poor old me?

[Arimeh]

Thats bizarre that they are leaking around the waist? I only get leaking around the waist if he's sleeping or something and it leaks out the top cos he's a belly sleeper.

Are you using compatible inserts with the brands? I only use my green kids inserts with my green kids. You can only really expect to get about 2 hours out of microfibre anyway, it just doesn't hold that much, especially with a heavy wetter.

Or you could try putting the pockets in the dryer on low for a few minutes to try and reseal the PUL? It might be that.

Or it could be - because you get leaks with your green kids and not swaddlebees, maybe your bub is more suited to narrow crotch nappies? Green kids are really wide. We get severe camels toe here, but no leaks, so they aren't too bad here.

Thats all I can think of at the moment. How many times have you washed your bamboo inserts?

[KatieRabbit]

Thanks Mel!
Have seen the waist leaking a number of times but around the legs ALL the time.
My inserts match the outer- I am weird about them going with the right one!

Or you could try putting the pockets in the dryer on low for a few minutes to try and reseal the PUL? It might be that.

I just thought that it is weird that it is a variety of nappies and that I just can't find one that I think "I would like a dozen of those". Would PUL need resealing this early on?
The Greenkids are superwide aren't they? I can't figure how the leaks happen? I can't see any obvious camel toes...
Bamboo inserts have been washed probably a dozen times I am guessing?
I am not exaggerating on getting an hour out of the nappies! I spoke to the lady at CTs about them and she said you could get up to 5 hrs from a CTC- now I wouldn't leave a baby in a nappy 5 hours nor expect to be able to but 60 mins??

[teruteru]

im not much of a troubleshooter but will try:
* r the inserts soaked when u pull them out to wash?
* have u done the waist too tight so itd leak?
* have u been washing with only small amount of washing powder?

As u dont seem to have as much trouble with fitteds, maybe just use them?? Ive learnt that 2nd hand nappies sometimes r better than new

Sorry im not much help. Hope u find a solution soon!!

[alioops]

I have to agree with Mel hun, sounds like she is a narrow crotch suiter. I get the same problem that you are having with wide crotch on my girls from narrow crotch nappies. What doesnt suit you can put on Buy for Baby or Nappychic and get some of the cost back.

[~Raven~]

What type of detergent are you washing them with? How much do you put in? Too much detergent leaves residue in the fabric and can stop absorbancy!

Do you use fabric softener in your machine with other clothes? It can leave a residue in the machine and also affect the absorbancy of your boosters.

I'm thinking if the boosters aren't absorbing properly then there is nothing to stop the wee from running out.

[~Saram~]

Yep I would be looking at washing first too - sounds like a build up problem. Maybe try a strip wash a few times and see how you go.

The dryer might help on the PUL nappies - although I agree it would be odd that you get the same problem with so many different nappies - PUL generally needs to be resealed if you get leaks from day dot as the needle holes from sewing are what need to be resealed.

If the boosters are soaked through as well as the leaks then you might have a super heavy wetter on your hands mabey fitteds and covers would be the way to go?

Which swaddlebees are we talking - OSFA or sized AIO? Cause the Swaddlebees OSFA and Bum G are both wide crotch nappies.

Where are your Hautes and HH leaking? Legs or waist or both?

Between all the fab ladies on here hopefully we can get you back to loving your MCN

[suse]

I've also found that wide crotched nappies are more prone to leaks around the legs on my narrow crotched guy, but mostly because the inserts 'bunch'. BumGs have always been a lot worse for me than GKs, which work brilliantly because the hourglass shaped inserts don't bunch. I also use GK inserts with BumG pockets with success. So perhaps it's a case of working out which shape inserts work best as well - maybe your GK shells will work well with BumG type inserts (ie: straight edged ones)? I think that the rule is that the insert needs to be as wide as the narrowest point in the crotch.

It does seem that narrow crotched nappies suit your DD best, and most OSFMs are wide crotched, so you may be better off with sized nappies. But that doesn't mean that your OSFMs can't be 'forced' to work for you, I've made mine work for me, it can just be a little trickier at times.

If your daughter is 'between' sizes on OSFMs then the bunching and leaks will be worse, I've always had huge problems with BumGs in particular whenever he moves up a snap setting. Because the shell was a bit looser than it should be, the inserts would bunch up and he'd just leak straight out of the side, and the insert itself would be nearly dry. But once they fit him better they don't leak. At these points a cover did help, because it prevents the inserts shifting around as much. So you may be experiencing an 'inbetween' stage at the moment, it might not last.

The other issue could be under-boosting. My 19 month DS has been known to wet through a d'lish in under an hour, lasts about two hours with a BumG with both microfibre inserts, and for going out or for a nap I add either a GK booster (3 layers of bamboo) or a narrow folded 4 layer bamboo booster. For nights I use either a dedicated night nappy, or a GK with the six layer hourglass insert plus two of the three layer boosters.

I also find that I don't get leg gape if I boost with a booster that is narrower than the original inserts, as the extra bulk is concentrated to the centre of the nappy, not the edges.

HTH!