Fitting Diapers on Big Kids

Archived Q&A and Reviews


Questions


Diaper for my big two year old!

Sept 2008

My son turned 2 in June and is not quite ready for potty training yet. We have a new baby coming in November so I don't want him to have too much transition happening around him. My problem is, he seems to have outgrown his diapers! He's been wearing G Diapers since he started on solids and we love them. I'd really hate to have to switch to disposables for the next few months. The G Diaper inserts are about the size of a cloth prefold so I'm wondering if I can find a larger cloth diaper cover to use the G Diper inserts in. Anyone have any experience with this? My little guy is about 38 inches tall and weighs just over 38 lbs. Thanks so much!! Diaper conundrum


I got my 2 year old twins diaper covers at http://www.nickisdiapers.com/ -- I did a lot of research when buying covers, and this was the cheapest site I could find, plus it's free shipping for diaper covers. Their ProRaps are the cheapest, especially if you get the plain white and XL goes up to 45 pounds. I called around (Rockridge Kids, Baby World, etc.) and only Baby World had 1 brand of diaper covers. I also called about 6 children's consignments stores and those that had diaper covers only had really small sizes. So buying on the internet seemed to be the only option. Cloth diaper convert


I was in the same boat -- on the cusp of potty training with an new baby on the way -- and decided to EC my infant and ''diaper-break'' my 2 yr old at the same time. Turned out to be a big thrill for my toddler to show the new baby how to use the potty (and master it much more quickly). I don't have any advice on diapers, except maybe to consider moving away from them sooner than you had planned? The Diaperfreebaby.org East Bay chapter is about the most progressive and most supportive group of parents I have ever met. If this option sounds at all enticing to you (clearly you are taking the environment into consideration), please sign up to the Yahho group and give us a holler! Good luck whichever way you go... Double Diaper Ditcher


11 month old wearing size 6 diapers - what next?

Oct 2007

My 11 month old daughter already wears size 6 diapers (disposable), and as far as I can tell, these things only go up to size 7. Help! She's not overweight, she's just veeerrrry tall (she's in the 75th percentile for weight, but only because she's in the 99th percentile for height) and does have nice baby-chunk thighs. The size 6s say they are for 35lbs+ but she's needed to wear them since 22 lbs. We've tried all sorts of brands, Pampers runs larger, and Huggies, Walgreens brand and Babies R Us 'Especially for Baby' brand all run smaller. But the Pampers size 6s are starting to get snug, so umm....what do I do after size 7? We've got at least a whole year of diaper-wearing to go still! Love my tall girl


how about pullups? anon


Try pull-ups for toddlers. I would start with size 3T-4T. Available at Costco and anywhere diapers are sold. If she grows out of those, there are goodnights for older kids who need some overnight protection. Andi


her growth will probably taper a little so you might not have to look for larger diapers, but there are adult diapers. suzie


Her legs will slim down in a few months -- once she starts running/walking. I, too, have an off the charts daughter in height(40-inches tall at 2 1/2) of normal weight. I remember going up a few sizes before going down again -- she was in 4s at 10-months and then 3s before she turned 1 (she started walking at 10.5 months) jan


Need a larger night-time diaper for tall 3-year-old

Sept 2007

My 3 year old daughter is very tall and wears size 5 and 6 clothes. She is potty trained in the day but not at night. I am currently buying Huggies Nighttime Pullups in size 5T but they are getting to be too small. Is there a larger option that I can buy? I have not been able to find anything larger than size 5 and I'm worried that no one makes larger diapers since presumably a 6 year old should be potty trained through the night.


They aren't hard to find--Goodnites diapers are marketed for older kids who are still wetting at night, but they are shelved with the diapers. They have prints for girls and boys. They pull up, and come in two sizes. We used them nightly for 2 years for my eldest, starting at about 3 to 5. Heather


What about Good Nites for overnights for kids 4 to 12? http://www.goodnites.com/na/Default.aspx?WT.srch=1_id=502928_ID=502928 I've seen them at Long's, target, etc. Andi


Which overnight diaper for 40 pounder?

June 2006

My son is not yet potty trained at night and I'm not even going to bother trying until he's older. We've been happily using Huggies overnights, size 5, and in the mornings they're sometimes completely dry and sometimes very VERY full; except size 5s are getting a little snug and they don't make a size 6. So I'm looking into other options but I haven't bought anything yet. Which overnight diaper is the most absorbent and can be worn in larger sizes? I'm considering the GoodNights, Luvs SleepDrys or even just regular pull-ups or pullups with a diaper doubler. (I've read the website) Thanks much! Jill


Our almost 6yo who weighs about 43 pounds wears the small Goodnites at night. They generally work very well, though I also put a ''bedwetting pad'' under his fitted sheet just in case. I tried a storebrand product once when RiteAid was out of Goodnites and it was awful, to say the least.

Before we started using the Goodnites, we used a cloth version with a doubler in it, but my son felt like he was wearing a diaper at night. Hope this helps! Been there, done that


we had the same problem. we used nature boy/girl by day, but had trouble finding a solution for keeping our big 40lb+/40''+ toddler dry.

we now use 7th generation size 6, day and night. they sell out fast in stores so we order them from amazon by the case at a discount. they're excellent. our overnight diaper used to be pampers cruisers size 6, but now that 7th generation has improved their diapers, we've stopped buying the pampers.

one suggestion i have that works for us is to cut off (or limit) liquids after about 5pm. we make sure our son is fully hydrated by day, then only give him a little water in the evening if he explicitly asks for it, or if it's unusually hot etc. on those occasions, we add an extra liner to his diaper. gerber makes them. they're ok. not great. hope this helps. good luck! dry boy's mama


We use the regular Huggies n. 6 (we get them at Costco) and have never had an accident. As your son, ours is over 40 pounds, almost 4 years old, and sometimes the diper is almost dry and others it feels soaked. Not sure if this will be a solution for you, but it works for us EP


Huggies and pampers both go up to 6 in regular diapers so I'd give those a try. They have more absorbing power because of the greater surface area. anon


22-month-old has outgrown Size 6

April 2004

My 22 month old has been in size 6 diapers since he was 6 months old. He is now growing out of size 6 (we have been using Huggies ultra-trim). Potty training is still a ways off, and we have to keep a diaper on him! I am open to both cloth and disposable solutions, but he was too thick for cloth as a newborn, and I don't think it would work now (he wouldn't be able to wear his clothes with a very bulky diaper.) Duct tape can only do so much. Does anyone know of diapers larger than size 6, and where to get them? Also, would pull-ups work, or are they not absorbent enough? Patty Try Huggies Supremes-- they run a bit bigger than the Ultratrims, I think-- maybe just because they have more stretch. In my experience, the pull-ups run smaller, but were sufficiently absorbent ( and maybe they have bigger sizes). Probably headed for the same problem!


Everyone I know with kids who outgrew the largest regular diapers before potty training used pull-up diapers. They work the same way and they come in considerably larger sizes. Like regular diapers, you may find that a particular brand or type fits your child better than another, so try some different ones. anon


My 27-month-old has recently made the transition from size 6 Ultratrims to pull-ups. That was the only option I found, and I was desperate -- we'd had several very messy accidents due to the diaper tapes not closing far enough. So far, pull-ups are working just fine. They are somewhat less absorbent than the diapers were, but as long as I keep an eye on things, it's not an issue. When he had diarrhea the other week, we were able to keep it (mostly) contained by layering a larger-sized pull-up over his regular one. Sara


Well, I can certainly sympathize with you! I was afraid that we were going to have to put my then 3 yo old in adult sized Depends if we didn't get him potty trained! Instead, what we did was buy the Huggies Overnights Pull-ups. They have pull-up diapers that go up to like 100 lbs....it's for those kids that still have trouble staying dry all night long. They are super absorbant and fit pretty comfortably. The best price I found for these was at Wal-Mart. Good Luck! Jessica


First, if you need larger than 6 because you need more absorbancy (but the fit is OK), try Huggies Supreme in size six. I have found it to be much more absorbent than the ultra trim type. For example, I can use it for overnight on my 60 lb, 6.5 year old child (although she usually prefers a pull-up these last couple of months for face-saving purposes).

Otherwise, go for the pull-ups. As you may know, they go up to a size sufficient for a 100-lb. child (in the Good Nites line). I have found them to be every bit as absorbent as ordinary diapers. Again, I have found the more expensive brands to be better fitting and more absorbent than the generic Toys R Us or Longs brands.

One more note, I have found leakage problems to be as much an issue of speed at which the pee is coming out, as it is an issue of amount. In other words, if the child is allowing some pee to build up in the bladder over time and then releasing quite a bit all at once, it is more likely to leak, because the diapers are designed to absorb X amount of pee per second. A downer with respect to diaper using, but a positive note in terms of potty learning. This is because it is much more difficult to potty train a child who is peeing every 5 minutes than it is to train a child who is peeing every 45 mintues or so. In other words, maybe the leaking diapers is one sign of bladder maturity. All the best to you. meg


Very absorbent diaper for big kid

July 2002

Does anyone have a recommendation for a very absorbant diaper for a larger child (50lb)? My son is a very sound sleeper and cannot wake up to go to the bathroom at night. Currently we are using Good Nights but we usually seem to have wet mornings despite taking him to the bathroom twice during the night and limiting his evening fluid intake. Any advice would also be welcome.


Have we been there! Unfortunately, it may be while there are things you can do to help, NOTHING will really work until your child's hormones that regulate letting him/her know that my bladder is full, I have to WAKE up and go pee starts working. Unless of course you decide that you want to try hormonal spray (I've heard it absolutely works, but we didn't want to do hormonal therapy on a child - we did give our son at 10 1/2 a say in the decision and based upon our admittedly prejudiced info he also said no thank you.) We didn't use diapers, but had our son take responsibility for the wet bed (had to strip the sheets, etc. and help put everything in the washer and help remake the bed). We treated it as something that you were born with (hormonal deficit), have to deal with, and yes, its embarassing but its something you (and us) can cope with - not to mention more kids than you'd believe have the same problem (just know one talks about it) and you WILL outgrow it. What helped was - limiting liquids right before bed time (but didn't help that much), making sure he peed right before going to bed, what worked best: setting an alarm clock for about 1am. and/or WAKING him up ourselves and dragging him to the toilet . Even so, wet beds happened regularly. He's now almost 11 1/2 and has had only 2-3 wet beds in the past 4 months - all when he stayed up VERY late and forgot to go pee right before he went to bed. As our pediatrician said (and HIS son wet the bed until almost 10) by 11 if it doesn't earlier, it will start to get better (assuming its hormonal and not an underlying physical problem and if the uncontrolled bed wetting is only at nite - its almost definitely hormonal. Before 4 months ago it was regularly 2-2 times a week. EVERYONE in the family is relieved he's growing out of it. It is a SERIOUS self esteem issue so I don't throw stones at those who decide to do the hormonal therapy method. ANONYMOUS PLEASE


I came across a product recently called ''Diaper Doublers''. I found them at Rite-Aid and they are diaper inserts that you can put in any size diaper. They truly do double the capacity of a diaper, which is especially helpful at night. Give them a try! Linnea -


One possible thing to try are ''Diaper Doublers.'' It's basically a very absorbent pad that is designed to fit inside a diaper to double its absorbency (and they work great). I've never tried them in ''Good Nights'' but it should work for that too. They sell them in a lot of safeways. They come in packs of 30 and sell for around $3.99 I think. Karen