Surely it's not the mcn's fault?

[jshappers]

I'm finding myself having to change bubs clothes and bedding for the last couple of 3am feeds as he's a side sleeper and seems to have a wet patch around his hip/back when he wakes.
Is it likely that this is a Magicall or BG leaking or just a hot and sweaty bub (either way I know it's mums user error) The nappies feel dry but sure enough the inserts are wet but not always sopping.
I really have no idea what clothes to dress the little fella in for night sleep time but generally go for a singlet, wondersuit and bunny rug as blanket rather than wrap.

Hoping that someone can shed some light for me.

[Arimeh]

It could be a leaking problem - how's the leg seal? I wonder if because he is a side sleeper, the crotch could be a little wide and when he has his legs together, it bunches it too much creating a gap? Just a thought anyway.

I never had any success with magicalls - the only pockets I use of a night time are green kids - but not for the new bub - I use baby beehinds fitted and a wool cover for her.

[jshappers]

The leg seals seem fine when I put them on... certainly better than the prefolds w/ covers we use during the day which is why I made the change. A pee is still just a pee to me, as in, I haven't figured out a pattern of when he pees or poos more or less at particular times. I have a BBB w/ wool cover that I've only dared put on once as he definately has a bit more growing to do for that one.

[Snacks]

Sounds like a leak if it is only around the hip area, KWIM? If bubs was sweaty, surely there'd be more than one sweaty patch?
Could you try extra boosting? (Sorry, I am generally ignorant of 'boy' issues, LOL! But...) Are you 'dressing him down' (i.e. so he doesn't pee right out the top)? Do you have other types of nappies you could try to see if there's a better fitting one? GL with it!

[~Kim~]

I don't find pockets a good enough of a seal for night time. No matter which one I used.
I still use a fitted nappie and a cover at night. 2 rows of elastic mean 2 barriers against leaks IYKWIM? also pockets seem to wick especially if they get overfull on the seams. If he is a side sleeper, like a sponge whe moisture will still follow gravity and thus where the inner meets the PUL meets the sheet, there will be leakage.....did that make sense?

[SunnyRain]

My bub sleeps on his back and the bum genius leak out the back. If he sleeps for more than 3 hours I'll find him lying in a puddle. I'm guessing the moisture wicks out the back where the PUL and the liner are sewn together, there's nothing stopping moisture escaping.

What IS a good nighttime MCN? A flat nappy with a PUL cover works better than a BG.

[Captain]

I never had any problems with a BG leaking when DD sleeps on her side, but I wouldn't use them over night. DD will just wee right through them. He could just be a big weer too and need something like a fitted and cover. The BBB and wool covers work really well for us.

[Gigi]

some night nappying guidelines i have read about, tried, worked for us, so we keep on using them (hope some might help you)

- avoid using PUL at night (long nappy wear), use wool or fleece for waterproof outer instead

- don't tuck in singlets, tops etc, avoid onesies with tight crotches - esp withthe snaps up the crotch (compression leaks)

- use a loose highly breathable sleeping bag instead of pj bottoms, if your pj botttoms are getting wet

- use clothing for bed that is natural fibres, not synthetics - they breathe better

- if child sleeps on tummy, put extra boosting on tummy side of nappy, do the reverse if they sleep on their back

- for young bub, change at every feed over night

- for heavy wetter, if child wakes during night, change them then

If wool is too much for you to consider right now (lanolising, handwashing etc - which is not hard, but it IS one extra step to do), think about fleece night covers.

they can be machine washed, adn dry very fast, so you don't need many of them (if you wash the MCN daily). examples are Bear Bottoms night weight covers, pullon style, so no snaps or velcro to deal with in the middle of the night.

there are many dedicated night nappies on the market, they cost more than day nappies, cos there are DOUBLE the amount of absorbent fabric layers in them, so do your reserach carefully before you buy one.

measure your child's rise especially, no point buying a great nappy, if it shows heaps of bottom crack *and therefore will not have PooTainment Value for your child.

find out as much as you can about night nappy products, look at reviews, ask the seller all your questions, try and find night nappies that are similar (in closure and fit) to the nappies that suit your child in the daytime.

your child might be great in low rise nappies for day, but for night, you really need HIGH RISE nappies (for the containtment needs, lying down for such a long time, wriggling aroudn etc).

night nappies are extremely do-able, as in, we have not had a leak in two years, but learning what to look for, does help.

i read heaps of posts on Nappycino on the "Sagas on the night nappies" forum, to help me work it out. Learn from other people's mistakes, cos night nappies are too exxy to learn by buying the wrong ones (for your child).

when people give you recommendatoins, unless THEIR child is a similar wetter to yours, similar body build etc, not much chop. All night nappies work for different bubs.

i recommend the Kester Kovers AIO on the possumpouches website, but not as a night nappy for EVERY child, i just know that one has been excellent on my child. (medium wetter, from 7kg to now, 11.6kg at two years old).

Night nappies with Malden Mills fleece on the outer (windpro or 300wt) is a good sign to look out for too. Or night covers made out of that same fabric.

We started using wool about four months after baby arrived. Very impressed with wool, after thinking i would be too scared to use it! we use woollen handknits like shorties. so easy, they do up with drawstring, no elastic on their thighs.

hth

[~Kim~]

yep BBH fitted and cover or Mandy Macs night time

[Gigi]

i just re-read your post and realised how young your bub is.

so my revised ideas, to make it easier for you (life iwth a nb is hard enough!)

- cute tooshies bamboo delights fitted nappy - sold at bubblebubs now
or a itti bitti boo in small - sold at itti bitti, nurture nappies
- bear bottoms small night cover (nurturenappies website) or nb sized staccinator 300wt cover (booroi website) or the smallest swaddlebees fleece cover (theweewuns)

newborn sized bamboo boosters at sustainable hemp products - brilliant

If you are unable to buy that much new stuff, my other idea, buy Greenkids bamboo boosters to put inside the BG INSTEAD of microfibre insert it comes with.

Some nb's wet more than others, or another thing, you may need to change him more often than at present. Does he have long sleeps - making it hard to change him?

there is a thing called DREAM CHANGES. you change the bub, when they're asleep. some bubs are fine with that, other bubs, it rouses them too much. My bub could cope with it, UNLESS i had a cover with an APLIX, the sound of that woudl wake her up.

my bub pooped and wee-ed SO frequently, we had to change her 20x a day at newborn stage! once BEFORE two hourly feeds, and once AFTER the feeds.

a suggestion for how to dress a nb for bed - not sure of your climate

bunny rug - i would worry if about SIDS with a rug at this age, it could slip over his face and suffocate him. babies move in their sleep.
swaddling would be safer than the rug, at this age
until they can hold up their own neck, i would avoid rugs
if you are not confident/happy with swaddling (fair enough) what about cotton sleeping bags? i see them at bestn less and big w (under $20).

singlet or spencer
nappy and cover
sleeping bag or swaddling
cotton sheet
we put a lambskin UNDER the sheet for even more ventilation

a few ideas for you, sorry to bamboozle you with previousl post, i didn't realise we were talkiing bout a NEWBORN here.
'
congrats on your new baby!

[jshappers]

Thanks everyone for your advice. We are now officially calling it a leaking nappy and the couch cushion cover is drying on the line
I might give the BBH another shot and start researching night nappies. Gigi, you are right, the thought of lanolising wool at the moment would probably send me over the edge! but I had been curious about stacinators so shall start there and check out the nappycino forum.
As for dream changes, the little man starts to scream as soon as the nappy comes off so I'll be content with the fact that he's sleeping from midnight and only waking once before the sun comes up.

One last question about dressing for bedtime if you don't mind... Gigi, do you put a onesie on at all or is bubs simply in a nappy, singlet and then the sleeping bag? We find that DS needs his little hands out or the house is screamed down so swaddling hasn't gone as I imagined it would.

Much appreciated again.

[~Raven~]

I think it could be the microfibre inserts. If you wanted to keep using the nappy then you could try boosting with bamboo to see if that helps.

[Gigi]

if your bub is a SIDE sleeper, we got this gadget to make bilby sleep on her BACK. it's like two cylinder shaped little pillows, one either sid eof baby, with a little bit of fabric inbetween (that baby lies on). This was a safety thing i got at Target to avoid SIDS, worked great.

back to what to wear to bed
if your bub liked having hands FREE< then the sleeping bags could be the answer.
i have both the sleeveless ones for hotter weather, and the long sleeve ones for warmer weather.
i avoid CLOSEFITTING onesies, esp in the leg area - for the mcn to work, you need VENTILATION. if fabric is too firm around nappy, you get COMPRESSION LEAKS.

dunno where you are climate wise, but another very easy care option is FLORTIES or FLONGIES. these are the fleece versions of the woollen shorties and longies. so machien washable. great for night time. too hot to use them where i am this time of year, but you might be somewhere colder, or maybe just remember the idea for next autumn./winter.

my bub tonight is in

• fitted night nappy
• woolly soaker
• singlet
• sleeveless sleeping bag

today was 28 degrees

only a few weeks ago it was

• fitted night nappy
• woolly soaker (or if cold enough, woolly longies)
• spencer (long sleeved tee)
• sleeved sleeping bag

she wears the woollies all year round, even when it's 45 degrees, the woollies keep her the most comfortable, becuase they breathe so well.

but if lanolising is a bit too much right now, no worries, fleece is a good compromise. better breathability that PUL, not quite as good as wool, but the tradeoff is the easy care factor.

there is also a SPRAY LANOLIN, that you massage into the soaker with your fingers.

there are a few wool mcn products that ARE washable, e.g the ecobubs wool pockets. I'm not sure (cos i don't use them) if that means you use spray lanolin on htem after washing. they're on sale at nurture nappies right now.

hope that helps you

[jshappers]

Ok, did a little experimenting last night and here's what happened.
Midnight to 4am DS wore a cotton prefold in bummi's cover and managed to get him asleep on his back = no leaks
4am to 8am (a little longer than he usually sleeps) BG OSFA with bamboo prefold instead of microfibre insert, 2nd time in a row he went to sleep on his back = wet patch wasn't just contained to hip area but spread far and wide like someone knew that I was doing washing this morning anyway! The bamboo was still wet though...

Gigi, we were actually given one of those double roll thingies from SIL but didn't quite know how to use it but will now be digging it out of the box from whence it came.
Also, am just waiting for my ecobubs to be delivered, they certainly look like a good nappy and people seem to like them but I wasn't sure if they would make a good night nappy given they had the layer of PUL in them (breathability?) Only one way to find out.

For the record, I'm a Melbourne girl and the city is living up to the whole 4 seasons in a day thing which is why dressing is confusing me at the moment. When I put layers on and take them off all day and night what chance does the little man have.

[Gigi]

i'm a bit further west than you, but we can also get very variable weather too.

the thing i think about, from when you put them down, to when they wake, it's a long time. temperatures always drop in the middle of the night too. So it has to be VERY hot before i use the sleeveless sleeping bag, or i use it in conjuction with a sleeved spencer. just so she's got herself covered for those middle of the night coldest parts. i love the sleeping bag, cos it zips up and she can't kick it off, so no matter how much wriggling goes on during hte night, it's like she has a soft cotton sheet over her ALL NIGHT, no matter what.

for your experiment - sounds like the two part system works best for your bub. i am surprised that you got four hours out of a cotton prefold and cover, that's excellent. Especially the NO LEAKS part!

if it were me, i would try a bamboo trifold and a MM fleece cover next. the bear bottoms and sugar peas mm covers have a high rise too, great for wriggly bubs.

can you stop using the BG for nights? it just doesn't sound like it's worth the grief of all that extra washing, if it ain't working for you, why use it? i'd save them for day time use instead.

with the cylinder roll thingy - how to use

• put the roll thingy in the cot or your bed, wherever baby sleeps.
• lay it flat
• roll, flat bit, roll
• get your baby ready for bed e.g in their night nappy and sleeping bag
• hold your baby and lower baby onto the gadget so that their body is on the flat bit
• the TOP of the rolls (trying to remember now, it's been so long), i think the thing is designed to be from their armpits to their thighs.

anyhoo, once they're on it, they can move their arms and legs easily, but rolling over is hard (whole idea of gadget, to keep them on their back, and protect them from SIDS.)

anyhoo, it's hard to explain in words, i coudl SHOW you in two secs IRL! hope you get it somehow thru my badly expressed words.

hth

[jshappers]

Thanks Gigi.
Nappies first... I think you're right, BG's are now for daytime use and I've got a bunch of bamboo prefolds so will definately continue the experiment. Did notice that the way I was doing them up left a little room for error too but am happy to keep an eye on that in daylight hours.
Just checked out the bear bottoms and they are damn cute! Wish I had have held my nurture nappies order another week, thank goodness for their flat rate postage. Have been reading up on wool and might give a sugarpea a go if I can get the right sizing otherwise I'll grab a fleece one... Can you tell I'm getting addicted?

Thanks for the cyclinder info, I do understand exactly what you mean and don't think I could have articulated any differently lol.

We're a bit of a re-use/recycle family so I was lucky enough to be given most of O's clothes and bedding. The downside of that is that I never really investigated wraps or sleeping bags and have found that most of the clothes we have he was either too big for (4.7kg at 2wks) or just the wrong shape (long and lean) to begin with.
Oh well, gives me lots more things to look up on the web when I find I just can't/don't want to/physically unable to leave the house.