Are you looking for a cloth diaper solution for your baby or toddler that is cheap, simple, and really works? After much trail and error, I am here with a simple and affordable solution to your overnight diaper problems and what I feel like is the best overnight cloth diapers for toddlers.
Are you tired of expensive, disposable diapers that you have to throw in the trash?
I definitely was. Here is what I did.
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This is the perfect cloth diaper setup for a child who is potty trained, but still needs a “pull up” at night or when sleeping.
The only diapers that worked for my son for overnight and didn’t leak were disposable, kind of expensive.
Even though he is totally potty trained during the day, we were still spending $40-50 dollars a month on diapers for sleeping. I was tired of buying expensive, wasteful diapers for him to tinkle once or twice in and then throw in the trash.
There are lots of fancy cloth diapers out there and they will cost you dearly. This setup will actually save you money.
Here are the three things you need for this cloth diapering setup:
Cotton prefold diapers – I love the Osocozy brand linked here.
Waterproof, snapping diaper covers – Thirsties Duo Wrap covers are phenomenal. I recommend the snap version. The velcro is nice for awhile, but wears out much quicker. There are so many adorable designs!
DIY Fleece diaper liners (explained below)
How many diapers do I need?
That depends on how often you want to be washing them.
I have 5 covers, 18 prefolds (3 sets), and a dozen or so fleece liners.
Each day my toddler goes through one cover and about three prefolds and 2 liners.
Nap time diaper is cover, one prefold and one liner, and nighttime is same cover, 2 prefolds and one liner.
Perks of this prefold and cover diaper situation:
- You can use the same cover at least twice – You just fold and stuff your absorbent part inside, and when wet, just swap it out and keep the same cover. It saves on having to have so many. I usually use one cover a day; the same one for nap time and night.
- Choose your absorbancy – If you have a heavy wetter, you can fold a second prefold up and tuck it in for more absorbancy. For nap times or light wetter, just use one prefold!
- Low cost – I have spent about $100 on my whole cloth diaper stash. I would spend that much in about 2 months on disposables.
- Hardly any leaks – Thirsties covers have wonderful little snug leg gussets to prevent leaks. Leaking is very rare these days for us.
The purpose of the fleece liners is to create a barrier between the cotton prefolds and the skin.
Both of my babies would get rashes from having the cotton diaper straight on their skin, and I finally figured out with my son, that a fleece liner solved that problem.
The thin, micro fleece keeps the bottom feeling dry, as it wicks the liquid through to the cotton. This keeps rashes away!
Another perk of the fleece liners, is that you can use diaper cream along with them.
Ordinarily, you would not want to gunk up you absorbent, cotton prefold with water repelling diaper cream.
Zinc diaper cream is fantastic for rashes, but not so hot for cloth diapers. This way, the liner is the only thing that touches the cream, and if it gets hard to clean eventually, you can always pitch them and cut some new ones for only pennies.
My absolute favorite diaper rash cream is one that I make myself. It is super easy, and is so healing and good for tender bottoms. Go check it out, along with this ultra easy, yet super effective homemade baby powder that has none of the toxic junk in it that most store bought baby powders have.
How to care for cloth diapers
My routine is simple. Just keep a bit of water sitting in the washer in between loads, and dump wet cloth diapers in as they are used.
This is a personal preference, but since I am only using these diapers for nighttime wetting, I don’t mind washing them with other things. I just add them to the soak water and when I’m ready to run a load, they get clean too.
If you are using them for all the time for an un-potty trained child, then you would want to look into another solution for washing your diapers. Here is a great video on that topic.
Watch Me Assemble the Best Overnight Cloth Diapers for Toddlers in this video:
How To Assemble the Best Overnight Cloth Diapers for Toddlers
- Start with a clean waterproof cover and lay it out and open
- Grab your cotton prefolds and tri-fold them, meaning fold both sides into the center so it’s a skinny rectangle.
- Lay the folded prefold onto the waterproof cover, and add a second folded prefold if more absorbancy is needed.
- Then lay a fleece liner on top of all that.
- You can now apply diaper cream to the bum if using and then diaper your kiddo. It may take a few times doing it to get it just right. You want to make sure all the material is tucked inside and not peeking out the top or the leg gussets. Play around with it and see what works for your toddler/baby.
How to make your own fleece diaper liners for pennies
You need:
cheap fleece blanket from Amazon or Walmart
- Wash and dry blanket
- Lay your blanket out flat, and cut off the edging.
- Cut out long rectangle shapes that will fit well on top of the folded cloth diaper. You can get lots of liners out of one $2.50 blanket.
Pin for Later:
Do or did you cloth diaper? What are some of your tips for nighttime diapering? Let me know in the comments below!
Thanks for stopping by today, see you soon friends!
You may also like :
Healing, Homemade Diaper Rash Cream
Natural and Safe Homemade Baby Powder
Things that Make the Newborn Stage Easier
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