The best diapers are those that fit your kid perfectly! Here are a few pointers on how to get that awesome, leak-proof fit on your baby:
- Adjust any rise snaps at the front to appropriately reflect the baby's rise height/length. The diaper shouldn't go up to the kid's ears, but neither should you be able to see baby's bottom peeking out over the back! You don't need to unsnap the rise snaps for each wash, but do adjust them as baby grows so the diaper always fits the baby correctly.
- All modern cloth diapers have elastic at the back of the diaper. Use it to get a snug fit. A properly put on diaper will be as tight on your baby as a sock is on your ankle - you will likely notice a mark on the baby's body from the elastic when you change their diaper, just as you notice a sock line on your ankle when you remove your socks! Most leaks result from diapers just not being snug enough.
- The leg of the diaper should always encircle the smallest part of the baby's leg, which is the groin crease, way up where the baby's leg meets their body. If your baby has lovely squishy thigh chunk, you will need to make an extra effort to roll that chunk out of the way, and hike the diaper up above it, into the crease of their thigh.
- Keep prefolds nice and narrow between the legs, but feel free to expand the front and back edges to allow diaper to go around baby's waist.
- Make sure any absorbent material is completely covered by the waterproof part of the diaper. If you can see prefold or fitted material sticking out from beyond the cover, tuck it under the cover. Any exposed absorbent material is going to wick and cause baby's clothes to get wet.
- Remember that snaps don't have to be "even" on both sides. You can have one side on the third snap and the other side on the fourth snap if that's what works for baby's size. If there are two snaps on each side, these can be offset (snapped "diagonally") to make a slightly smaller waist and bigger leg, or vice versa.