'One Size' (or One Size Fits Most/OSFM) cloth nappies are marketed as being able to last your child from birth to toilet training, so it can be extremely frustrating to discover a few months in, that it looks like your baby will be outgrowing their One Size nappies any day now.
While it's not something that will affect all cloth nappy users, it is not uncommon for parents to worry that their still young baby is already growing out of nappies they expected to fit for a couple of years longer.
Usually this problem occurs for several weeks somewhere between 5 and 10 months, with babies whose combination of shape (not necessarily fat) and developmental stage means that nappies don't fit as well as they should. It is usually just before they start to crawl or, in some cases, older babies just before starting to walk. Thankfully, once they become more active, babies lengthen out and trim down, and all of a sudden the nappies start fitting again - often on a smaller setting.
It can happen, though it's fairly rare, for babies to not fit their nappies at all for several weeks. Usually they're just on, or close to, the highest setting for that time. For parents experiencing this, it probably seems impossible that the nappies will ever fit your child again and it's confusing to see photos of the same nappy being comfortably worn by 2 or 3 year olds.
Remember too, that how a nappy is worn will change as your baby grows, with most one size nappies being worn 'hipster' style on the hips for older children, rather than old-man 'Harry Highpants' style high up above the belly button for infants.
Sometimes, it may also be a matter of getting the best fit for the nappy - especially if the issue is the rise (or length) of the nappy. If you have a baby who's well within the weight range of a nappy, and yet you're experiencing plumbers' crack, changing how you put the nappy on can make a huge difference.
Fitting Tips
1. Take advantage of the stretch in the elastic of the legs. One Size nappies usually have a lot of elastic here, and just by stretching the leg elastic out before pulling it up between your baby's legs, will automatically give you a longer rise. Watch out with pocket nappies especially, that you grab just the shell of the nappy to pull - if you try pulling on the insert inside as well, the elastic will not stretch as far as the baby's weight is holding the insert down.
2. When you pull the front of the nappy up between the legs, don't let the leg elastic settle across the thighs, instead, try fitting the nappy so the leg elastic falls in the leg crease instead.
We're happy to have a look at the fit of a nappy you're having problems with. Just send us through some photos showing the nappy on your baby or pop into the shop for a fit check and we'll help you out.