Have you been faced with the challenge of a heavy wetter child while cloth diapering? Even disposable diaper families struggle as some kids can out pee a disposable diaper in the “2-hour-change-the-diaper” window.
There aren’t any official guidelines surrounding whether or not your child is a heavy wetter. What authority would regulate something like that? And even then, why does there need to be an authority about that? There doesn’t.
Cloth diapering isn’t science; it’s just practical.
If you’re wondering, “Do I have a Heavy Wetter?” There’s a good chance you don’t. Your child just pees.
In the mom groups and online forums, everyone talks about their heavy wetting child. Then you ask, well, what cloth diapers are you using? And whats going? Usually, the story turns out that they are leaking out of a single microfibre insert after 3-4 hours of use… okay, it doesn’t always play like that, but it does more often than not.
Boldy, unlike any other blogger before me, I’m creating a list of possible scenarios that might help you decide if you have a heavy wetter and need serious absorbency, or your kid just pees.
4 Considerations for the Heavy Wetter.
Do I have a Heavy Wetter?
- You have a heavy wetter if the child out pees a natural fibre all in one cloth diaper before 2 hours.
- You have a heavy wetter if the child out pees two microfibre inserts before an hour and a half.
- You have a heavy wetter if flats and Prefold cloth diapers don’t do the job.
- You have a heavy wetter if you ever boost a cloth diaper with a cloth diaper booster.
Again, I’m not an authority. However, if any of these scenarios play out for you, then chances are your kid pees a lot and you need a cloth diaper to withhold the task! Luckily there are tons of great options for heavy wetting children. Personally, I prefer a receiving blanket insert. You can also just add more to your diaper, but check out why that might not be the best solution.
My Personal Experience.
I don’t have a heavy wetter.
My first is my normal and would out pee most AIO around 2.5/3 hours. I think that’s a good gage because a cloth diaper should be able to hold most children pee within that golden two-hour window.
If you need to boost the diaper to last 2 hours, it’s not because the diaper is terrible (although it might be) but more because the child pees a ton.
My second is my fairy princess. She’s an extremely light wetter (except two hours after waking). You could forget about her in a diaper for a couple of hours, and she’ll still be dry. Sometimes I think I should talk to a doctor about it, but my boobs are empty, and she keeps growing.
Light wetters are easy and cheap. They make overnight cloth diapering a breeze, and you can use affordable cloth diapering inserts like flour sack towels (FST) and microfibre. Meanwhile, the moderate and heavy wetters throw us for a curve because now natural fibres are king and boosters rule the game. I’ve never used boosters with my daytime diapers because of my kid’s are not heavy wetters, but there are so many options. If you’re on a budget consider receiving blankets and t-shirt diapers.
Do I have a Heavy Wetter? Join the conversation below.
I don’t, but what about you? What challenges do you face when cloth diapering and meeting your child’s absorbency needs?
Check out these other great posts on the topic of heavy wetting.
The Cloth Diaper Whisper: Heavy Wetter 101
A Blossoming Life: How to Cloth Diaper a Heavy Wetter
Thanks for this article Bailey, it is very informative. You are lucky you do not have a heavy wetter. My 1-year-old boy is a really heavy wetter. He used to wake up all soaked. My greatest challenge was finding cloth diapers with very high absorbency Luckily, I found a few, which I used along with inserts especially the bamboo inserts absorb quite a lot.
My son was 95% BF until he was 7/8 months old – he had a reluctant start to solids – and during that time he became a VERY heavy wetter – soaking a cotton flat plus a theee layer hemp booster in 2-3 hours. His nighttime diaper was a Motherease Bamboo Fitted plus a bamboo Insert and hemp 3 layer booster all covered in wool, that’s the only thing that wouldn’t land us in a giant puddle of pee in the morning. Now, at 10 months, he nurses only 4 or so times during the day and two or three times at night, and now pees fairy dust too 😅 Crazy how much it can swing from one end of the spectrum to the other!