Breastfed Poos and Gussets

[peta73]

Hi ,

DD is 3 mths and Breastfed. We have been having some issues with runny poos leaking out of leg holes, mostly with terry flats. I am currently making my nappy stash and will be making mainly pockets, with some fitteds with snap in boosters as well.

My question is, do gussets work? and is it worthwhile adding these to my creations or do you think that the leg elastic will be good enough to contain the leaks?

We have only recently switched to cloth and when DD was in sposies she used to get red marks from the elastic on the inside of her chubby thighs so I don't want to add anything that might make her nappy uncomfortable for her, but I'm also sick of wearing her poo and always having to wash the cover on the rocker!

Thanks for your time,
Peta.

[Bek]

I've always found that leg elastic was enough to hold the poo in without too many problems. most of the poo I've worn was when he was in a terry flat without a cover
fitteds with a cover do tend to hold poo in better than just a pocket, but the main thing is just making sure that the leg elastic is snug enough without being too tight. nappies with a bit more 'generous' cut through the bum/crotch tend to hold poo better too, the really trim ones are more prone to leaks with breastfed poo.
hth

[KristyMum]

All Zeke's home made OFM with gussets worked excellent.
not one poo leak until about 6mths and that was my fault

[bilbylove]

hi Peta, i was lucky enough to be lent some nb fitteds with leg gussets when i had my newborn, this time last year, they were really good and i would recommend that design. Even after she grew out of those, i continued to use PUL covers with leg gussets, brilliant for containing the explosive runny poos.

What sort of covers are you using at the moment? At first, i used to "wear" lots of poo and wee, cos i didn't realise it at the time, but it only took a clothie to watch me once, change my bub, for her to realise (and thankfully tell me) where i was going wrong - because i was OVER ANXIOUS *not* to hurt her delicate little skin, i um, rather stupidly, (i was very sleep deprived and unwell, so try not to laugh too hard!!!) had been doing up the covers SO LOOSE that there was NO leg seal AT ALL, just LEG GAPE!!! so no wonder!!!

ha ha, i can look back and laugh now!

Also, i thought buying nb size was a waste of time (before bubs arrived) and as a result, my covers were also too big. Yes, i got a quick reality check, got some nb size covers with leg gussets PRONTO, did them up FIRMLY, achieved LEG SEAL, and bob's your uncle - no more leaks!!!

I think my friend made the WeWaka nb fitteds with leg gussets, it's an extra step, and i regard her as a pretty confident sewer.

i've recently read of people whose bubs has a reaction to FOE (foldover elastic) so they then buy the covers with the hidden elastic in the leg casings, or use the woollen soakers that have no leg elastic. My bub seems to be ok with the FOE, so many things like that, you only work it out, once bubs arrives and you get them to "roadtest" the MCN!.

With a nb and the constant cover washing cos of the explosive poo, i found the PUL and the fleece ones dried very quickly.

[Turando]

Hiya

I love gussets on my newborn. There are a few times when runny poo has gone into the cover near the leg but nothing came out as the gussets contained it all

[AngeA]

DD is 7 weeks old and BF.

I find the gussests on the PUL covers are much more efficient at poo-tainment than the PUL covers i have without gussets.

Having said that. the fleece covers i own are a great fit around the leg without a gusset and contain any leaks very well. They also have hidden elastic, so they don't irritate DD's thighs. (The FOE on the PUL covers sometimes irrititates DD's thighs)

[Kat-Pati]

what's an ofm?

[Candice]

i am assuming its a typo KP - OSFM - one size fits most

[peta73]

Thanks everyone for your assistance.

I think I'll make a couple with and a couple without and see how it goes, I can always make more of the ones I like. I just didn't want to make a dozen nappies and have them not work properly.

I am using the wee weka (S-M-L) pocket and have made one of them, but I have also taken out 1 1/2 inches in the rise to make it more of a small to medium fit and have made one of those also. I am using an inner layer of microfleece and an outer layer of 1 x polar fleece and 1 x microfleece so I don't plan on using covers with them. They will be for daytime use only.

So far I don't think we have had any leaks with the bought mcns, it only seems to happen with the terry flat. I have a bummis original cover and find it doesn't cover all of the terry flat and I have a bummis whisper wrap which covers the nappy, but because it is the medium size, it is a bit big and doesn't quite seal properly at the legs. I also have a whizz kidz fleece cover (got it 2nd hand) which has only seen one poo. It did fairly well in the containment stakes until DH patted DD on the butt and squished it.

Thanks again for all your help.
Peta.

[Emma]

I didn't sew gussets on the newborn and small fitteds that I made for my DD... I found that the leg elastic along with a good fitting cover was enough to contain that explosive poo! I think we had one or two covers that had gussets, but I don't think they're essential.