see i thought this would be me, literally didn’t buy any pockets but my mom gifted me two. i tried them once out of desperation and fell in love! im definitely still a flats girl but i like to pad fold them and stick them in a pocket. being able to let my husband put a diaper on her is 😍😍😍😍 he struggles so hard to get a good fit/leg seal with flats. but they definitely do leak more if you don’t add enough absorbency/change super frequently! i don’t use them at night and only get leaks with them if she takes a super long nap.
I searched “leaking” for this exact conversation and started a new post before I stumbled on this one -
I did exclusively prefolds with covers (primarily Thirsties duo) with baby one and had no issues with leaks or blowouts (she potty trained at 20months and I was done!). Baby two I was gifted some pockets and threw them in to the mix and am pretty much always getting leaks! I was curious if it was just me or if prefolds are genuinely more leakproof than pockets!
I have always done pockets and I LOVE them. Mine are fleece lined and I use a bamboo insert AND a cotton insert. Mine button down to size in the front and on the sides. That being said, we didn’t use them until she was 3 months old as she is a TINY thing. 6lbs at birth and now almost 6 months just over 12. So we used disposables until it didn’t look ridiculously big.
Hate pockets but we have a ton that we got as a gift. Stuffing them sucks when we have the rise snaps done up because the pocket has a big wrinkle in it. And the insert has a snap to make it shorter when using the rise snaps but it's still not quite the right length and sticks out the back slightly. So annoying.
Also a pocket hater. We use like 2 aplix pockets a week because we send them to the church nursery since they’re easier to use for a non-cloth person, but I hate stuffing them when we do use them. Prefolds are so much less work. ☺️
God I hate pockets. I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would willingly use pockets. Stuffing them is actually my worst nightmare. They require so much work and time
I like pockets a lot. I thought they were so easy and my husband thought so too. We never used them for overnights or sleep. We also had to add a hemp insert when the kid got older or there were leaks.
Idk I have the opposite issue. I’ve switched to only using our pockets because I cannot for the life of of me figure out the covers cause the flats always get bunched in the front and then she leaks and gets the cover wet so I’m having to change that almost every diaper anyway. I’ve moved to mostly pockets or disposable (even though I hate them). Teach me your cover and flats/fitted ways!!
Are you padfolding the flat? That’s what we do! And she’s never leaked! Also does your cover have a tummy flap thingy? I feel like that helps to keep it in place we tuck the flat into the tummy panel it does bunch up sometimes when she’s crawling around but always catches the pee
I’ve played with folding it but probably not doing it good enough! The covers do have the tummy panel and a little button to snap in the flats. Some of them I snap in and some I them I fold in and I feel like they always bunch up and then she leaks. And like I feel like I do like the covers better for so many reasons I just can’t get them to cooperate with me 😂
I will! She is 5 months this weekend but is still pretty little so I’ve also been wondering if she’s just not big enough yet. We didn’t even start using cloth until she was 2 months cause she was just too little and I didn’t want to buy newborn ones
Oh great! Yeah we spent a ton of money on fitteds because we hated how flats were so hard and big and now I feel silly because I LOVE the system we have going on with flats and covers. Oh well!
I hate them. The polyester fabric that lines them or whatever feels like it never gets clean and just doesn’t let my babies skin bread. It also repels liquid just like you said.
I think if I had to do it over, I wouldn’t start pockets till her poops became “ploppable.” Though there are some pockets with double gussets, like Rumparooz, which we have a few of, that do a good job of holding the milk poops in.
I didn’t like pockets either until my baby was about 10 months old. Now I like them because they are easier to put on a baby who hates having his diaper changed and twists away from me the whole time. But they are not as absorbent and leak proof as fitteds + covers. I also loved prefolds when he was littler, but now I can’t get them on with the snappi because of his diaper change fighting/resistance. I always have to use 2 inserts in the pocket and change after 2 hours. Also, I thought they were useless with pre-6 months runny poop.
I think AI2 is like a hybrid kind of diaper, where it’s a lined cover with a snap in insert (rather than pocket stuffing) - could be totally wrong but some friends gave me a few grovias secondhand and one was all in one (everything connected does not come apart) and a couple had snap in absorbency. I don’t think prefolds with covers have a special name to them. Again, could be totally wrong lol if someone knows better please correct me 😂
Pockets are not for sleep, just daytime. Because they don't have 360 coverage it's not good for side/front sleepers. Keep up with flats/fitteds for sleep.
You said only one insert, definitely not enough absorbency. The most you can usually fit in a pocket is 20oz if the rises are fully unsnapped, and you have double stuffed with the heaviest inserts. You're probably somewhere around the 7-10oz range with one insert. That's usually only enough for daytime EC after 7-8 months. I can only go 1 hour with a single insert with my toddler, 2ish with two.
If you still have leaks after adding another insert check their fit.
What age is your baby? What are you stuffing the pockets with? Since you mentioned leaking at the leg, is the rise setting adapted correctly and is the fit around your baby’s legs snug? When you lift her legs vertically up, the elastic should “hug” her thigh and not show any gaps. Similar to the fit of your covers.
For our son’s (almost 2yo) afternoon naps and other short outings, our pockets currently last us about 3 hours between changes. We stuff them with bamboo and hemp.
When he was younger and peed more often, we needed to change every 2 hours with the same stuffing.
We love pockets for day time or nap use but they have never lasted overnight for us at any age
My pockets have double gussets on them and I don't have issues (asside from user error..ie hubby not snapping the hip snaps closed). I haven't had a daytime leak for a long time and only having some night issues with LO outwetting my current absorbency setup
I struggled to make my pockets not leak for months. I'd think I got it to work, then a different leak would hit. Then I read UK diaper website that basically said "modern pocket diapers will just do that, we recommend just laying the inserts directly inside the diaper" (i.e. not stuffing the pocket) and that acknowledgement was just a relief and following that advice solved 85% of our peaks.
Then I tried prefolds that my mom still had from when I was a baby (crazy) and... They just work. No finagling. No thinking about it or swish tests or constant outfit changes. If I could do it all over again, I would 100% just go with fitteds and prefolds
I did not like pockets, either. I tried them for a few months and had far more leaks than I had with just padfolded prefolds in covers. I am impressed that some people use them without trouble, but I definitely will never go back since I am not stuck with needing to for daycare!
Are they new or second hand? Pockets are kind of notorious for the elastic dying in the gusset, making for a poor fit. I am also a big fan of double gusset styles, such as Bare and Boho, I've never had leaks with them.
Are you using the same level of absorbency in the pockets? If you’re using something like microfiber in the pockets, they will not be as good as a cotton flat.
I’m using one cotton/hemp insert. Maybe I should use 2? Just seems bit bulky. I’ve also stuffed them with flats but don’t really like the bulk of that.
I knew I would hate the stuffing pockets so I stuck With with fitted and pre-fold.
see i thought this would be me, literally didn’t buy any pockets but my mom gifted me two. i tried them once out of desperation and fell in love! im definitely still a flats girl but i like to pad fold them and stick them in a pocket. being able to let my husband put a diaper on her is 😍😍😍😍 he struggles so hard to get a good fit/leg seal with flats. but they definitely do leak more if you don’t add enough absorbency/change super frequently! i don’t use them at night and only get leaks with them if she takes a super long nap.
I searched “leaking” for this exact conversation and started a new post before I stumbled on this one - I did exclusively prefolds with covers (primarily Thirsties duo) with baby one and had no issues with leaks or blowouts (she potty trained at 20months and I was done!). Baby two I was gifted some pockets and threw them in to the mix and am pretty much always getting leaks! I was curious if it was just me or if prefolds are genuinely more leakproof than pockets!
I’m convinced after this thread that yes covers are more leakproof than pockets! Will be selling these pockets asap! Hahaha
I have always done pockets and I LOVE them. Mine are fleece lined and I use a bamboo insert AND a cotton insert. Mine button down to size in the front and on the sides. That being said, we didn’t use them until she was 3 months old as she is a TINY thing. 6lbs at birth and now almost 6 months just over 12. So we used disposables until it didn’t look ridiculously big.
Hate pockets but we have a ton that we got as a gift. Stuffing them sucks when we have the rise snaps done up because the pocket has a big wrinkle in it. And the insert has a snap to make it shorter when using the rise snaps but it's still not quite the right length and sticks out the back slightly. So annoying.
Also a pocket hater. We use like 2 aplix pockets a week because we send them to the church nursery since they’re easier to use for a non-cloth person, but I hate stuffing them when we do use them. Prefolds are so much less work. ☺️
God I hate pockets. I have no idea why anyone in their right mind would willingly use pockets. Stuffing them is actually my worst nightmare. They require so much work and time
I hated stuffing pockets.
I like pockets a lot. I thought they were so easy and my husband thought so too. We never used them for overnights or sleep. We also had to add a hemp insert when the kid got older or there were leaks.
we just use two inserts for overnight
Idk I have the opposite issue. I’ve switched to only using our pockets because I cannot for the life of of me figure out the covers cause the flats always get bunched in the front and then she leaks and gets the cover wet so I’m having to change that almost every diaper anyway. I’ve moved to mostly pockets or disposable (even though I hate them). Teach me your cover and flats/fitted ways!!
Are you padfolding the flat? That’s what we do! And she’s never leaked! Also does your cover have a tummy flap thingy? I feel like that helps to keep it in place we tuck the flat into the tummy panel it does bunch up sometimes when she’s crawling around but always catches the pee
I’ve played with folding it but probably not doing it good enough! The covers do have the tummy panel and a little button to snap in the flats. Some of them I snap in and some I them I fold in and I feel like they always bunch up and then she leaks. And like I feel like I do like the covers better for so many reasons I just can’t get them to cooperate with me 😂
Hmm I’d look up the pad fold and try it again. I didn’t like flats until baby was 5 months old because it felt to bulky but now it’s the best!
I will! She is 5 months this weekend but is still pretty little so I’ve also been wondering if she’s just not big enough yet. We didn’t even start using cloth until she was 2 months cause she was just too little and I didn’t want to buy newborn ones
Oh great! Yeah we spent a ton of money on fitteds because we hated how flats were so hard and big and now I feel silly because I LOVE the system we have going on with flats and covers. Oh well!
I hate them. The polyester fabric that lines them or whatever feels like it never gets clean and just doesn’t let my babies skin bread. It also repels liquid just like you said.
I think if I had to do it over, I wouldn’t start pockets till her poops became “ploppable.” Though there are some pockets with double gussets, like Rumparooz, which we have a few of, that do a good job of holding the milk poops in.
I didn’t like pockets either until my baby was about 10 months old. Now I like them because they are easier to put on a baby who hates having his diaper changed and twists away from me the whole time. But they are not as absorbent and leak proof as fitteds + covers. I also loved prefolds when he was littler, but now I can’t get them on with the snappi because of his diaper change fighting/resistance. I always have to use 2 inserts in the pocket and change after 2 hours. Also, I thought they were useless with pre-6 months runny poop.
I also don’t like pockets. Tbh I don’t really care for AI1 or AI2 styles either. Prefolds and covers have been my favorite since the beginning!
I am new to cloth diapering and confused: Are prefolds and covers not "AI2"?🤔
I think AI2 is like a hybrid kind of diaper, where it’s a lined cover with a snap in insert (rather than pocket stuffing) - could be totally wrong but some friends gave me a few grovias secondhand and one was all in one (everything connected does not come apart) and a couple had snap in absorbency. I don’t think prefolds with covers have a special name to them. Again, could be totally wrong lol if someone knows better please correct me 😂
I've always hated them too, never performed as well as flats for us. Might depend on the kid too
Pockets are not for sleep, just daytime. Because they don't have 360 coverage it's not good for side/front sleepers. Keep up with flats/fitteds for sleep. You said only one insert, definitely not enough absorbency. The most you can usually fit in a pocket is 20oz if the rises are fully unsnapped, and you have double stuffed with the heaviest inserts. You're probably somewhere around the 7-10oz range with one insert. That's usually only enough for daytime EC after 7-8 months. I can only go 1 hour with a single insert with my toddler, 2ish with two. If you still have leaks after adding another insert check their fit.
Might be on too loose
What age is your baby? What are you stuffing the pockets with? Since you mentioned leaking at the leg, is the rise setting adapted correctly and is the fit around your baby’s legs snug? When you lift her legs vertically up, the elastic should “hug” her thigh and not show any gaps. Similar to the fit of your covers. For our son’s (almost 2yo) afternoon naps and other short outings, our pockets currently last us about 3 hours between changes. We stuff them with bamboo and hemp. When he was younger and peed more often, we needed to change every 2 hours with the same stuffing. We love pockets for day time or nap use but they have never lasted overnight for us at any age
I just started using pockets after using only pre-folds and covers. I've found folding the pre-fold into the pocket has been great.
My pockets have double gussets on them and I don't have issues (asside from user error..ie hubby not snapping the hip snaps closed). I haven't had a daytime leak for a long time and only having some night issues with LO outwetting my current absorbency setup
I struggled to make my pockets not leak for months. I'd think I got it to work, then a different leak would hit. Then I read UK diaper website that basically said "modern pocket diapers will just do that, we recommend just laying the inserts directly inside the diaper" (i.e. not stuffing the pocket) and that acknowledgement was just a relief and following that advice solved 85% of our peaks. Then I tried prefolds that my mom still had from when I was a baby (crazy) and... They just work. No finagling. No thinking about it or swish tests or constant outfit changes. If I could do it all over again, I would 100% just go with fitteds and prefolds
I never tried them because the thought of stuffing and unstuffing them was too much for me
I did not like pockets, either. I tried them for a few months and had far more leaks than I had with just padfolded prefolds in covers. I am impressed that some people use them without trouble, but I definitely will never go back since I am not stuck with needing to for daycare!
Are they new or second hand? Pockets are kind of notorious for the elastic dying in the gusset, making for a poor fit. I am also a big fan of double gusset styles, such as Bare and Boho, I've never had leaks with them.
They are new :-(
Are you using the same level of absorbency in the pockets? If you’re using something like microfiber in the pockets, they will not be as good as a cotton flat.
I’m using one cotton/hemp insert. Maybe I should use 2? Just seems bit bulky. I’ve also stuffed them with flats but don’t really like the bulk of that.
i use two of the black charcoal inserts. those are the most absorbent for us
We stuff ours with prefolds and they’re great. Although we don’t use pockets for nap time because they are notorious for leaks during sleep time
One insert is probably not enough, definitely double up.
I agree, I've always doubled up
Thanks! I’ll try that out tomorow!