Need some troubleshooting tips for my current CD system!

[CloudyDay]

Hi gals!

I CD my 7 month old in cotton prefolds and PUL covers during the day. I haven't had the time to start trying CD at night but plan to try it soon! I'm needing some advice for my daytime CD troubles:

FIRST PROBLEM: PUL cover gets soaked
Since about 6m old, I've been finding that the covers get soaked through more easily than before. DS used to be able to go about 4-5 hours and the cover would stay nice and dry. Now, the cover gets damp sometimes after just 2 hours. The PF doesn't leak and doesn't smell after washing so I don't think they are building up residue/losing absorbancy.

SECOND PROBLEM: DS has been getting a mild diaper rash for the last month or so
DS never had any diaper rash at all from birth until about a month ago. I'm starting to suspect it might be because of the friction from the cotton PF against his skin, combined with the increased wetness from the pee. (We practice Elimination Communication so he rarely has poop on his skin).

THIRD PROBLEM: Bulkiness
I notice that the bulkiness of PFs are a problem with DS being more interested in doing activities in a seated position. When I take off his CD after he's been sitting for a while, he has very uncomfortable looking red "welts" or pressure points on his little tush.

I've started researching other alternatives and am considering these as solutions: (Can you let me know what you think?)

First, I'm thinking of making some fleece liners. I'm hoping that these will help wick moisture away from his bottom, helping to keep the diaper rash away. I'm also thinking that maybe putting a thin fleece liner next to his skin will reduce the friction from the cotton PFs.

Second, I'm thinking of buying some fleece or wool diaper covers. Would these help to keep the moisture in the PF versus soaking into the cover??

Third, I'm thinking of buying some bamboo doublers to partner w/ the PFs in soaking up excess pee and thereby keeping the covers drier.

My concern w/ all of these solutions is that they will make my poor DS's CDs so much more bulky!! How could that be comfortable for him?

 

[mommyof3co]

Problem 1
4-5hrs is a very long time in any cloth but especially prefolds. When they get a little older they tend to hold pee and then go more at once so that might be what's happening, she's going more. But really I'm surprised that 4-5hrs worked at anytime for just prefolds. Most cloth you need to change every 2hrs, some less, some a bit more...and then there is nighttime stuff that you bulk up more to hold. The cover might also be messing up, sometimes with PUL it's good to throw them in a med-high heat dryer and seal it back up in case that might be the issue. I wouldn't dry on that normally, normally just low but to see if it helps this issue if it's something with the cover.

Problem 2
I really think is from being in the diapers so long. Prefolds since they are just cotton have nothing that really pulls the moisture away from skin like say a pocket with fleece/suede cloth lining would do..or a disposable. So it's probably the moisture being up against the skin so long.

Problem 3
1st I think is a good idea, but really I think it would be best to start changing every 1-2hrs when he's awake. The fleece will help keep moisture away too though

2nd Fleece and wool tend to breathe better than PUL so that can help too...especially wool. But I don't think they will do anything for making the moisture stay with the pf more than when it's covered with PUL. Also with fleece and wool you can sometimes have compression leaking...where if they are sitting somewhere for awhile a bit will leak through. But again just making sure they are changed more often will prevent that too

3rd I really don't think is necc especially if bulkiness is already an issue, you don't really want to add more, again just changing more frequently will really help that

I'm not sure why he would be getting red spots from how bulky it is though. What folds do you use?

 

[Rachel_C]

Mommyof3co is the nappy guru so what she says!!!

I would just say that if you add a bamboo booster, I find that bamboo holds a lot more wee than a cotton booster of the same size, so you wouldn't necessarily need to increase the bulk much at all to get an extra hour or two from your nappies. I'm not sure whether you can get bamboo prefolds? That might be an option, coupled with fleece liners to keep LO's skin dry. In a prefold, Leyla wouldn't get much time at all and in other nappies like pockets we only normally get about 4 hours so I think you're lucky!

 

[CloudyDay]

Hi gals... didn't want to read and dash... will post a reply later tonight after monkey's asleep!

 

[CloudyDay]

Rachel_C: oh, how I know it... mommyof3co is a BABY guru, not just the CD guru! She's been super helpful to me every time she's replied to any of my threads. You're a super mom, mommyof3co!

Wow, didn't realize that 4-5 hours is considered very good for PFs! I guess he wasn't a supersoaker like I thought he was but could be more of one now. We do Elimination Communication so he gets on the potty several times a day so I can monitor the amount he wees each time. He does seem to have a stronger "fountain" than before. So perhaps he is holding it in longer than before, therefore soaking the dipe more.

When this problem first started a month or so ago, I immediately started to change his dipe more frequently (at least every 2 hours). That didn't help to solve the cover soaking or diaper rash. Hence, the search for other solutions.

As for the red pressure marks... I'd compare them to how the backs of my thighs look in the summer, after sitting on a wicker chair in shorts. Would other types of dipes be less likely to cause these marks?

Mommyof3co, you gave me such a wealth of suggestions... I think I will continue the frequent dipe changes and try using a fleece liner, to help keep his wee wee drier (the diaper rash is only in his wee wee area). If that doesn't work, I'll move my way through all the other solutions (including trying bamboo liners as Rachel suggested), one by one, until I narrow down what works for him.

 

[mommyof3co]

Awww that was really sweet but I'm far from supermom

I hope that helps him! Hayden sometimes gets really red right around the tip of his "man parts" and it's usually when he's been in a fitted or prefold and it was really wet or something, so hopefully adding the fleece liner will solve that.

For the red marks is it around his thighs where the cover's elastic lays? I wonder if it's just from something sitting in that same spot while he's applying pressure sitting on his butt? Some that might not do it as much are serged...but those can sometimes cause irritation in crawling babies from their legs constantly rubbing against that threading. Do the marks seem to hurt him or do they just look bad? I know Hayden would get marks like I"m thinking of from the diapers sitting in the same spot but they didn't actually hurt him. As he became more mobile where he was walking around and constantly changing position it stopped happening so much but now sometimes he has them after nap where he's laid in the same position for awhile. But it's not that the diapers are too tight, and it's never uncomfy or hurting him

 

[CloudyDay]

Anyone who can raise more than 2 kids should just automatically be considered a supermom! I can imagine handling 2... but... WHOA... more than 2?? Ha ha... but, really, I can tell from all your posts that you are a wonderful, very dedicated mom and I really appreciate you sharing your knowledge and experience!

About the man bits rash: the doctor had prescribed a betaderm cream for him, thinking it could be eczema. The cream does work, but I'm perplexed because eczema wouldn't act like this, persisting despite being constantly moisturized. Yet, at the same time, when I treated the rash like it was diaper rash (keeping it dry, applying Sudocrem), it only got worse! I've already made my own fleece liners to start trying... let's see how it goes.

About the red marks: I only started getting concerned in the last couple of months or so, since DS has been spending more time sitting on his little tush. Yeah, you're right... they don't look painful. If I think about myself getting similar marks from sitting bareskinned on a chair... the marks actually don't feel like anything at all. I guess I needn't worry after all.

 

[mommyof3co]

It could possibly be eczema...kind of an odd place for it though, does he break out anywhere else? Landon has eczema and it doesn't matter how much it's moisturized it's never fully gone on his legs or backs of his arms, it's just under control, if we were to stop doing what we do it would flare really bad, this way it isn't too bad but always there

 

[CloudyDay]

Yeah, it's odd isn't it?? It doesn't have the scaly look of eczema either... it's just red. He does get a minor breakout on parts of his face which can be easily controlled w/ regular moisturizer. He doesn't try to scratch it, either, like he does w/ the parts on his face... could be because it's inaccessible!