Pocket Diapers Are Not For Nighttime

Nothing against pocket diapers, I like pocket diapers, and they certainly have a place as fantastic daytime diapers with a design that allows you to customize the absorbency you put in the pocket. But, let's be real, pockets are not what you want for nighttime cloth diapering.

Sure, you may be using pockets with no issues at all - even at night - and if it works for you, of course go with it. However, generally speaking, a lot of families find that by about 6 months or so when baby starts sleeping longer stretches and moving around a lot at night that pocket diapers are no longer reliable as a night diaper.

This is because in a pocket diaper (or even an All-In-One or All-In-Two), the absorbency is concentrated between the legs in the wet zone and once it's saturated there's no where else for liquid to go. Additional absorbency can be added yes, the issue is that if you stuff too much in the pocket, it gets too fat, the elastic seal on the legs gets compromised creating a gap and then you get leaks. Inserts can also shift with movement and many toddlers sleep on their tummies which invites leaks too.

Fitted cloth diapers are absorbent all the way around, so there's more coverage and more places for liquid to disperse creating more total absorbency. As baby grows, add boosters or inserts to match absorbency needs. Fitteds are fluffier than other diaper styles though, which is why pockets, AIOs, or AI2s are more popular daytime options.

A fitted does require a diaper cover on top be waterproof, so don't forget that.

As long as baby doesn’t poop, they can stay in the same diaper till morning and you’ll wake up with dry sheets and a happy baby.

The Thirsties Duo Fitted or Mother-ease Sandy's Fitteds are excellent nighttime choices. I recommend 3-4 fitteds and 2-3 covers for your naptime/nighttime set up.

*NOTE: Esembly Inners are technically a fitted diaper as well, however, they are a very trim style fitted meant mostly for daytime use. Esembly Inners can work at night but will definitely need additional inserts/boosters.

Here's what a successful nighttime set-up could look like: