You take off the diaper and there they are: red marks around the thighs or a clear line across the tummy. Sometimes the diaper is also wet at the edges. It feels like two different problems. It's almost always one. A diaper that pinches is sitting wrong, and a diaper that sits wrong leaks.
Good news: it can be fixed. Usually within a couple of days.
Why is the diaper pinching?
Light marks from the elastic are normal. Think of the imprint a sock leaves. Marks that stay for a long time, are bright red or make your baby fussy at changing time are something else. That's a diaper pressing too hard.
The most common causes:
- The size is too small. Your baby has grown and the diaper hasn't kept up. This is cause number one.
- The diaper sits too low at the back. All the stretch ends up around the tummy instead of being spread out.
- The leg elastic is folded inward. A folded-in elastic digs in and lets liquid through at the same time.
- The wrong style for your baby's body. Some babies are round around the tummy, others have slim thighs and a long back. Open diapers and pant diapers fit differently.
How to read the marks
The body tells you what's wrong. Take a look at the next change:
- Red marks on the thighs: the leg opening is too tight. Go up a size, or try pant diapers, which have a more generous leg opening.
- A mark across the tummy: the waist is too snug, or the diaper is sitting too low. Pull it higher at the back and check the two-finger rule (more on that in a moment).
- Leaks at the back or between the legs: the classic sign that it's time for the next size. The diaper simply fills up before your baby is done.
- Leaks at the sides but no marks: the elastic is probably folded in. Fluff it out around both legs.
The two-finger rule
Slide two fingers between the diaper's waist and your baby's tummy. If they go in easily, but without a gap, the fit is just right. If they don't go in, it's too tight. If you can fit your whole hand, it's too big and will leak.
Same thing around the legs: the elastic should lie against the skin, fluffed out and smooth, not folded in.
Bammies run slightly large. Plan for it.
This is good to know before you order. Our diapers are slightly larger than many other brands in the same weight range. If you've just gone up a size with another brand, you can often stay put a while longer with us.
If your baby is between two sizes, one simple rule applies:
- Open diapers: choose the larger size.
- Pant diapers: choose the smaller size.
That's because pant diapers generally have a larger waist and leg opening than open diapers in the same weight range. So they rarely pinch, but they can get too loose if you go up too early.
Our sizes
- The Mini 3 to 5 kg
- The Newborn 4 to 7 kg
- The Baby 6 to 9 kg
- The Toddler 8 to 14 kg
- The Kiddo 10 to 16 kg
- The Explorer 14 to 20 kg
The weight ranges overlap on purpose. Weight is a guide, body shape decides. An 8 kg baby with round thighs may be happiest in The Toddler, while a slim baby of the same weight fits nicely in The Baby.
Open diaper or pant diaper?
When the marks don't go away even with the right size, it's often the style that needs changing, not the size.
Open diapers let you decide how snug the fit is. You adjust with the tabs, pull it up high at the back and get a fit that follows your baby exactly. Great for the littlest ones and for babies who lie still during changes. See our open diapers.
Pant diapers have a flexible waistband that stretches around the whole body instead of being fastened at two points. The leg cuffs are soft and 100% bamboo. For little ones who crawl, climb and have opinions about diaper changes, this is often the end of both marks and wrestling matches. See our pant diapers.
Soft against the skin makes a difference for marks
A stiff, plasticky diaper makes every pressure point harder. With Bammies, 100% bamboo sits against the skin, soft and breathable, and the whole diaper contains significantly less plastic than conventional diapers. That makes it move more easily with the body. Many parents notice it the very first time they pick one up.
No lotions. No perfumes. Just bamboo fibers against the bum, and up to 12 hours dry.
And if the diaper still causes a rash, you get your money back. That's our promise.
Quick checklist for the next change
- Pull the diaper up extra high at the back.
- Fluff out the leg cuffs around both legs.
- Two fingers at the waist, no more, no less.
- Marks on the thighs or leaks between the legs? Go up a size.
- Still pinching? Change the style, not just the size.
Try before you decide
You don't need to buy a whole box to find the right fit. Order a sample kit of open diapers or a sample kit of pant diapers and try them for a few days.
And if the fit still isn't right: get in touch with your child's weight, age and the size you've tried. We'll send samples in a different size at no cost. We want the diaper to fit right just as much as you do.
Soft against the skin. Just right around the tummy. Dry all night. That's the whole point.
