It dawned on me the other day as I was talking with my sister about nighttime cloth diapering that the tell-all problem leaks do have very easy solutions, however, it comes with trial and error. The more experience you have with something the more of an expert per se you become. I've cloth diapered two children and while that doesn't make me an expert it does give me experience. Problem #1 : The diaper is leaking up my baby's back. In my experience this means you need to use a larger setting/size on your baby and possibly add more absorbency. It's amazing but with both of my kids at three months of age it was like their urine output doubled overnight! More often than not it took me about a week to figure out that the leaks I was seeing up my child's back was because their diaper didn't have enough room to hold everything in. Think of it like an overfilled sink: if there's no where else for the water to go it will just spill over the edge. This is very relevant if you have a little girl who is a heavy wetter. And keep in mind that if you're baby is young and not yet mobile they are spending a lot of time on their backs. This adds pressure to the diaper thus squeezing excess out. Problem #2: My baby sleeps through the night and when I get him up he's sopping wet. This was my biggest problem with nighttime cloth diapering - figuring out that perfect amount of absorbency and fit. You want to max out on your absorbency but you don't want a bulky diaper. When my oldest was in diapers I only used pockets. I cannot tell you how many times I got him up in the morning after he had been asleep for the entire night and he was soaking wet. I soon figured out that while I was using the correct number of inserts in my pocket I had created a major gap between his legs and the diaper. When he let loose it all went out the sides. I think that if you're having nighttime cloth diapering issues you really should look into using a fitted diaper. The thing that I love about a fitted is that it provides layers upon layers of absorbency without adding bulk. It's constructed as part of the diaper. You'll need a cover but other than that I've had great success with using a fitted at night. The other thing to remember, especially if you're needing to add a little more absorbency without the bulk to your nighttime diaper is

to use that good old prefold diaper. I just used one tonight in my daughter's nighttime diaper. In my Duo Wrap I used two inserts with a prefold, folded into thirds on top. I just laid the inserts and prefold on the Duo Wrap and voila! A nice snugly fit nighttime diaper with the absorbency to withstand a 12-hour sleep. How do I know that it'll provide enough absorbency? I know because my prefolds are Thirsties and they're made from hemp; paired with the inserts (a hemp and microfiber terry combination) and you have a perfect setting for maximum absorbency. Please, keep in mind that these solutions are ones that have worked for me and both of my children but every child is different. What works for one child may not work for the other; boys and girls are very different in where their absorbency needs to go (front versus the back). What do you do with your nighttime cloth diapering? Do you have any tips to share?