Stay Dry

One advantage that disposables may have over cloth is their ability to keep a baby feeling drier, longer. While this may be an advantage of sorts the downside is the use of gels and chemicals as well as infrequent diaper changes due to the diaper not feeling wet.

While cloth diapers have the advantage of being chemical free, far too often, when soiled they can feel exactly like what they are: wet cloth.

I forget this every now and then and am invariably reminded in the middle of the night when my son starts to toss and turn and grunt, sputtering through a broken sleep.

A quick feel of his diaper reveals a cold, wet cloth. A quick change (which he hardly ever fully awakens from) is all that is needed to set him back to a deep, peaceful sleep.

It bothers me, however, that his sleep (and therefore mine) is disrupted by something as simple as a wet diaper.

Not to fear, however, as cloth diapers are not without their "stay dry" or at least dry feeling solutions.

There are certain fabrics that do not absorb moisture well and therefore even when wet they have a deceptively dry feel to them. Fleece is one of these fabrics. Cloth diapers all over (this one included) have taken to placing a thin, fleece liner in diapers to give the baby that "dry" feeling.

There are also other fabrics that do not feel as wet as others. Hemp has an amazing "dry" feel even when wet though it can get a little chilly.

Some diaper manufacturers even produce diapers with stay-dry liners built right in to keep a baby feeling dry and comfortable.

BumGenius has what is called a suede-cloth in all of their pocket diapers (except for the limited edition ones where they used fleece instead) and are amazingly dry-feeling.

If you have ever gotten your clothes wet and then tried to sleep without getting changed you may begin to understand what it feels like to try to sleep in a wet cloth diaper. I don't blame my son for having difficulties resting peacefully when I forget this little tid-bit, especially when all that is needed to fix the problem is a small piece of fleece.