Cloth Nappy Night Time Challenge

Many of us don’t go all cloth immediately. We start using it at home and only during the day. The search for the perfect night time nappy is often the last step is having our babies in full time cloth.

Obviously, a huge concern for a nappy that our babies will wear for about 12 hours is absorbency. Even as their milk consumption reduces at night, over 12 hours, most babies will still soak through daytime nappies.

We’ve tested and tried a whole bunch of different nappies and here are our best suggestions for a dry night!

Top picks:

Milovia wrap and insert: This is my top pick, because it is such a slim option. I really didn’t believe it would last the night. Our 6 month old still wakes 2-3 times a night for feeds, but 12 hours later, she was still dry. The stay dry layer meant that she didn’t have any irritation either. We used a large insert, even though a medium would be suggested for day time use at her age. If your baby is big enough for a large insert for daytime use (over a year old), boosting it with a small or medium insert could bring up the absorbency to what you need.

Close Pop-In: This is our current night nappy. The Pop Ins consist of an outer waterproof shell and two inserts that snap in with poppers. Before our daughter was 4 months old, we were able to use the nappy with just the included bamboo soaker and booster and it would last the night. Now we use the night boosters and never have any leaks. These are also champions for containing any early morning explosions. If you’re using this without the night booster, use a fleece liner to keep your little one’s skin dry. The night booster has an integrated fleece lining.

Tots Bots Bamboozle Stretch and Wrap: This is a classic fitted nappy and wrap, which is the most trusted night nappy combination. The Bamboozle Stretch is a bamboo fitted nappy. A snap in booster is included. Because it’s made entirely of bamboo, a waterproof wrap is required to go over it. Tots Bots have two wraps available: the newer Stretchy wrap is very generously sized but the leg elastics can be a bit loose on younger babies. I found the older Flexiwrap to be better for us and they are still available. This is a fantastic night nappy combination as well, but is significantly bulkier than the Milovia and the Close Pop In. With the Bamboozle, a fleece liner is a must to keep your baby’s skin irritation-free.

BumGenius Flip and Bigger Weeds hemp insert: We tried the Flip with every insert and combination imaginable. The Flip cover is a water proof cover that you can use with any number of different inserts. While they sell a night insert, we found that inadequate on its own and too bulky combined with other inserts. The Bigger Weeds hemp insert, however, did the full 12 hours on its own. It wasn’t trim, like the Milovia, but it wasn’t comically bulky either. Hemp is another natural fabric, so a fleece liner is also a must if you’re leaving your baby in it for 12 hours. Honourable mention: the Tots Bots super booster also works very well with the Flip cover. It’s a little bulkier than the hemp but it’s a very soft and comfortable feeling fit.

The following nappies lasted at least 10 hours but didn’t make it to the 12 hour finish line. They may well work for your baby.

Tots Bots Easyfit V4 – The normal nappy works as a night time nappy with just the included snap-in booster. We got a good 10 hours and even after 12, she was only a little wet on her back. Many people swear by this as their night nappy solution, so it’s worth a try.

Wonderoos V3 – Using the bamboo and microterry inserts together, the Wonderoo was a reasonably trim and secure fit. Baby was dry at 10 hours but wet at 12. Still, if you have one for daytime, it’s worth giving it a try, especially if your baby takes fewer than 2 night feeds.

These nappies were just too big to fit our little girl. If you have an older and/or larger baby, these may work for you.

BumGenius 4.0 with Little Weeds hemp and One-size insert – While this would undoubtedly be absorbent enough for the wettest nights, it gaped around our daughter’s tiny thighs and leaked.

Tots Bots Easyfit with Superbooster: Again, it would undoubtedly last the night, but make the nappy so bulky it wouldn’t fit.

Troubleshooting your night time cloth nappy solution:

If your nappy is leaking, there are a few things you want to check before giving up:

1. Is the fit snug around the thighs? If you’ve over boosted and the nappy is too bulky, the gaps around the thighs will cause leaks even if it’s absorbent enough.

2. Tight vests. Night nappies are usually bulkier than daytime ones, so if baby’s vest is too tight, it can compress the inserts (especially microfibre or microterry) and cause “compression leaks”. Tight vests can also change the fit around the thighs and cause gaping. We keep a night time stash of vests in the next size up.

3. Girls leaking at the back and boys leaking in the front can mean you need to move the inserts or fold them so they double up in those heaviest-wet areas.

If your baby’s skin is red in the mornings, try a fleece liner. The fleece helps keep the wetness away from her skin.

Have you tried any of these before? What do you use at night? Hit the comments if you have any questions about any of these (or others!).