My Favorite Cloth Diaper For a Perfect Fit (And a Chance to Win Your Own!)

One of the most difficult elements of cloth diapering is getting your diapers to a perfect fit. So many of them are created to pull double- and triple-duty by fitting a baby at various stages of growth so that you only have to buy minimal diapers. With most diapers, you change the diaper's size by moving the snaps along the legs or waist to make them smaller or larger. While this is great for cost-savings, inevitably, a child will fall somewhere between the snaps and for a time, the diaper will be too small or too large, while you're waiting for her to grow into the next size.

Which is why when I found out about SoftBums diapers, I was really excited! They have gotten rid of using snaps to size the diaper leg openings. Instead, they offer a "Slide²Size" feature that allows you to get a perfect fit around your baby's legs (where most leaks occur). Plus, this will accommodate babies  from 5lbs up to 35lbs! The "Slide²Size" feature is basically an elastic ribbon that runs along the legs (see photo below). You can reach inside the diaper and there's a tiny drawstring toggle that you can loosen or tighten to get the perfect fit. Tuck the toggle back inside the diaper out of baby's reach, and you're good to go.



The ability to get the best fit possible is an incredible feature to me, because when you do, you experience significantly fewer leaks with a properly fitting cloth diaper than you do with disposables. I love that!

They sent me one of the SoftBums Omni diapers to review to try this feature out for myself. Here's what it looks like on Claire:



It did take me a bit of trial-and-error to get the slides in the correct position so that the elastic around the legs were tight enough to keep in leaks but loose enough to be comfortable on her without leaving red marks. (I did find that to have the diaper tight enough to keep leaks in, she did have some pressure marks around her thighs, but they don't seem to bother her.) The diaper comes with suggested lengths for how long the elastic should be, depending on the size of your baby's legs, to ease this process, though.

One of the other features I like about the Omni diaper, in particular, is that it offers you more flexibility with how you use it: You can put it on over a prefold (which is the typical way I cloth diaper). Or, you can purchase SoftBum's "pod system" which are basically microfiber pads that snap into the diaper so that they stay in place. There's a pocket in the back of the diaper that you can stuff the pod into, making it a pocket diaper. You can also just lay the pods (or folded prefolds) on top of the diaper lining so that you can reuse the cover again until it's soiled. (Find out more about the Omni System from SoftBums here.)

I love all the options! It really allows you to experiment and figure out what system works best for you. Do you want to prefold and use it as a diaper cover or stuff and use it as a pocket diaper?

Plus, the interior is nice and soft against baby's skin. I am loving the microfiber terry that lines it and that the pods are made of, which help wick moisture away. (That is why SoftBums diapers protect against rash, and according to their website, prevent up to 80% less rash than disposables!) I found that the microfiber worked so well that sometimes I couldn't even tell if she'd wet her diaper or not. I love that effectiveness and can only imagine how much more comfortable it is for her sensitive skin!

All in all, I loved the versatility of the SoftBums Omni diaper and would wholeheartedly recommend it to others who are interested in cloth diapering. Fortunately, SoftBums is offering one Life Blessons reader the chance to receive an Omni diaper of their own. Simply leave a comment on this post telling me which SoftBums diaper you would choose, and I'll select a winner on Saturday, December 28. Find out more about SoftBums diapers and follow them on Facebook and Twitter.