Baby diaper sizes have always been a mystery to us. During the initial months, our little one was getting bigger every single day, but as we saw her every moment, she looked the same to us. However, this wasn’t the case for the diaper. After a couple of weeks, it became more difficult to put on the diaper, especially during blowouts. During those months, my husband, our little one, and I used to go out with our car to do Uber Eats. She was kept in the car seat, facing backward. Most of the time, she would sleep as soon as the car started, but sometimes she would begin to cry, mostly when she was hungry. Anyway, that’s another topic. What made these little trips within our city horrible were blowouts. At first, we thought the diaper was leaking. We even tried changing the brand of the diaper, but the situation didn’t improve. The car seat got dirty, she got all the poop on her lower end, and on top of that, she was crying out loud because she was hungry.
After a while, we figured out that her diaper was too small. There are a couple of ways to figure out if you need to move up a diaper size:
You need to know your baby’s weight. Most diaper boxes from all manufacturers have a scale that states which size is a good fit for what weight range. If you have visited the doctor recently, that’s fine, you know your baby’s weight. However, in our case, the earliest visit to the doctor after the two-month visit was the six-month visit. So within this period, we had to change diaper sizes twice. So my point is, it is essential to know the weight. If you can, you can buy a baby weight scale. Or if you want to save some money, you can weigh yourself holding the baby, then weigh yourself only and get the difference by subtracting the two values, and voila! This is your baby’s estimated weight. Now, use the scale or table provided by the diaper manufacturer to figure out the correct size.
The fitting should be like a bikini. It will most likely be smaller than you want it to be, so watch out for that. The diaper should be straight and symmetrical, and the waistband should be right at the waist. It shouldn’t be too high or too low. You definitely don’t want it to be too high on the back, because that’s how blowouts happen.
Look for red marks or rashes around the legs and waistline. It may seem like it’s contaminating the weight-size relationship, but trust your gut. If the size is too tight for its skin, move up a size. It happened to me once. As a result, my baby got rashes on her waistline. Then I had to use Vaseline and Aquaphor on all the red marks. Fortunately, everything was fine the next morning. So, to avoid such things, you need to be a bit extra cautious.
While you are putting on the diaper, the flap should easily attach to the flap of the other side around the waist without stretching it. This is a good indication that you are not using an undersized diaper. Another clue is that when you are putting on the diaper, it should reach a little above the belly button. When wet, it should go a little below the belly button. That’s how a properly sized diaper should fit.
Another quick indication is if your baby is leaking through the diaper and making the cloth wet, it’s a sign of an undersized diaper. If it happens occasionally, then it’s fine. But if it’s a frequent phenomenon, you need to reconsider a new size.
That’s all for choosing the best diaper size. Hope it helps you at least a little.