# Problems with the fit of my newborn nappies, please help! :)



## My_littlbump

Hi ladies! I've asked lots of questions about nappies while I was pregnant, and thought I would be good to go once I'd had my baby, however, I'm having some problems with them! 

I had my little boy a week ago :happydance:, and intended to use my nappies from birth, however I chickened out when in hospital as I didn't want to damage his little cord stump, and all of my nappies apart from 'lil joeys were too high. So I used Eco disposables that I had. 

Since being home I have been using a mix of the disposables and cloth as it's trail and error finding out which nappies work best/how long they will stay leak free (I'm sick of getting baba changed into a fresh outfit to have it covered in wee a second later!!)

I'm not sure if my problem is the fit of my nappies. How do you know how tight to make them? With teenyfits LO got a bit of peeling skin around his waist (not sure if waist was too tight, or maybe had got damp and rubbed?)

And with other nappies he has had red marks on his legs where the elastic has been digging in. Is this normal?

And another occasion he had a little rash around his bum hole(tmi!) and I was worried that the nappy had been squashing his bits and made him sore.
Im using LL fleece liners in his nappies which seem to make the insides very bulky and I'm scared he's getting all squished up!

I've had wee leaks (out of the front waistband, up the back and out of the legs) but not poo. I've had some wee leaks with the disposables too, again I font know how tight I should be fitting them around the waist and legs!

How do I know if a nappy is fitting correctly? Do the legs/waist have to be very tight? LO hates having his nappy changed and cries and squirms when i do it, so i dont like to prolong the experience by keeping adjusting the fit once its one! Also I'm not sure if the leaks could be due to the nappies having not reached full absorbency yet although they have all been prewashed about 3 times I think!

I'm using a mix of teenyfits, bumgenius newborn, 'lil joeys, LL bamboo and bamboozle stretchies.

Please help me! I am determined to use cloth but am sick of leaks, and don't want to hurt LO by fitting them wrong! 

Thanks for reading! :) x


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## Rachel_C

Congratulations for having your baby!

It really is trial and error as to how to fasten nappies, with cloth or sposies. I normally aim to be able to get a finger in the elastic at the legs or waist without having to use a shoe horn! But the elastic should spring back quickly when you take the finger out. The nappy should touch baby's skin all around the legs and waist with no gaps. If you wiggle his legs around and have a look, no gaps should appear with movement. 

It is ok to have some red marks, think like the marks socks sometimes leave around your ankle - they don't hurt and they're not a problem. They disappear fairly quickly with a bit of time or a rub. If the marks look painful, I'd say the nappy was too tight (or if they're around the back, it could just be that LO was lying on them so the pressure caused the mark so that isn't a problem so much). If you're worried that a nappy is too tight, wait 15 minutes then peek in the leg and waist to check for soreness/painful marks. 

I very much doubt that a nappy sitting close to LO's skin/squishing him would make him sore. Wee or poo would make him sore, but not being squished. The best thing you can do to prevent rash or soreness is to make sure you clean every little nook and cranny that could have gotten dirty! I remember with my first LO I didn't clean in one of her creases at the top of her leg properly and it got a bit red, but it soon cleared up with some water and air. With my second daughter, she's so incredibly fat that it's a nightmare trying to clean all her creases :rofl:. So just keep cleaning and using stay dry liners and he will be fine :) 

Don't worry about bulk/squishing. Babies have been in cloth nappies for centuries! It's only with the invention of disposables that nappy problems have increased. 

If you're having wee leaks but not poo leaks, that suggests to me that the fit is fine (poo would leak if it wasn't, if he's doing properly liquid poos now not just meconium). So I would say it's either that the nappies aren't fully absorbent or you aren't changing often enough. No newborn AIOs are terribly absorbent because they're so tiny and newborns poo so often that I think nappy makers assume you'll be changing all the time anyway. I would aim to change him at least every 2 hours. If any nappies have boosters, use them (e.g. Teenyfits were only good for us with the boosters). Have you had more success with the fitteds? If not, give them another couple of washes. They keep getting more absorbent up to 10 washes, sometimes more. So either change more often for now or wash them some more. 

If you're still not sure about the fit, you could post some photos so we can see.


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## My_littlbump

THANK YOU!! :)

Maybe I've been leaving the nappies on too long between changes, especially when he's asleep as I haven't wanted to disturb him! I'm just figuring out when best to change him(midwives told me to change him before a feed, but I've started changing him after a feed as he always poops as he's being fed!) So I'll definately start changing more often! :)

Well, he's just been wearing a bamboozle stretchie with a gen-y classic wrap, no leaks when I changed him and it was very heavy with wee (no poop) so hopefully I got the fit right! :) he's got a 'lil joey on now so I'll see how we get on with that!

Oops, I actually forgot to use the boosters with the teenyfits(didn't know he would need boosting yet!) would I need the liner as well as the booster? (can't remember if it has a fleecy side!)

With the leg openings on nappies do I want to be getting them fastened into the crease bit?(where his leg meets his body) or just fastened around the top of his leg? Sorry if this sounds stupid, I'm learning bit by bit!!

Thanks!! X x


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## Rachel_C

It is tricky timing nappies and naps isn't it? It does get easier as they get older and a bit more predictable!

I would use the booster with the Teenyfits from now. We used them from about a week old I think and it made them work a lot better. I would use a liner as well because Teenyfits aren't stay dry inside. You probably don't need them but I prefer to. 

Different nappies fit in different ways, some are lower around the legs than others. Generally I would have them fastened around the very top of the leg where it meets the body I think but wherever looks most comfortable should be fine as long as the fit is good. You could try adjusting it to see if it helps with leaks. When you're using fitteds, I like the have the fitted quite high up on the leg and then the wrap fitting a little lower. If you have the wrap only just covering the nappy, there is more chance of leaks I've found. HTH!


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## Aunty E

Yup, there needs to be a little room between the nappy and the wrap on the leg with fitteds (and terries). Otherwise it'll wick far quicker than it would otherwise. Newborns do peel, so I wouldn't worry about that. Nobody ever seems to warn you in books that a lot of newborns shed their skins like little lizards! We called Imogen the lizard baby for about two weeks.

We never used liners at all unless we were treating a nappy rash, until the kids got to eating solid foods. Just didn't seem to make any difference to us.


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## Rachel_C

Oh yes, I forgot, my oldest LO seemed to shed her skin constantly for the first month or so! I started off using vegetable oil to try and moisturise it but in the end I stopped and let it all fall off and she was shiny and new again :rofl:.


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## My_littlbump

Thanks ladies! :) yeah he's started shedding skin all over quite a bit today, so I'm not as concerned that I'd caused it by having nappies rubbing! I'm still having a few nappy issues, eg I checked the 'lil joey earlier thinking he'd need changing, but he hadn't pooed and didn't look like there was any wee either so I fastened it back up and redressed him, and then his clothes were sopping wet all up the back as soon as I'd done them up!! Don't have a clue how!! I think I'll just have to play around with the different nappies to try and get the best fit, and to see which ones we get on with best. But in the meantime I'm gonna prepare myself for leaks and lots of outfit changes while we get the hang of it all! Hopefully perseverance will pay off! :) x


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## My_littlbump

Ps, I might try them without the liners, as they always seem quite wet on his bum! Are the liners basically just for baby's comfort to keep them feeling dry? (and poo collection pre weaning) Or is there another reason eg their skin shouldn't be in direct contact with certain fabric? X


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## Rachel_C

With the Lil Joey leak, maybe he'd just weed as you took the nappy off and it poured up his back as you took the nappy off?! 

With all nappies, the fabrics in contact with skin without liners should be completely 'safe' for baby. The only fabric I wouldn't ever have in contact with skin is microfibre (the normal kind like the cleaning cloths, there are other kinds of microfibre like minky is a microfibre but they don't just call it microfibre, if you see what I mean!). Natural fabrics like bamboo, hemp and cotton won't feel dry for baby but they won't cause irritation other than if baby doesn't like the damp. Some of your nappies are lined with stay dry fabric anyway, the Lil Joeys and the BG so I wouldn't bother with liners after meconium has passed. I would with the bamboo nappies but you don't really need to.


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