Adjusting The Rise

Often times we run into the question of when to adjust the rise setting on our kiddo’s cloth diapers. The beauty of cloth diapers is that you can completely customize the fit to your child’s body type, instead of just their weight. The struggle many have is that there is not a hard and fast rule of when you need to open the rise (to make the diaper bigger) or close the rise (make it smaller). Use these guidelines to find a fit that works for you and your little one.

When It’s Time to Open the Rise:

Deep red indentations on legs that do not go away quickly
Deep indentations from the wings on the top of the thigh
Wings angle strangely and stick out oddly
Tummy panel pulling down (a small gap is fine)
Leaks around edges (First- be sure to check for absorbency issues here and learn how to add additional absorbency if needed here and here.)

Many times there are a couple different settings that will work for your baby. Try out different settings to see what you like best.

Tips and Tricks for When You Open to the Next Rise Setting:

Change the rise on 1 or 2 diapers a day and leave them in the rotation. When you feel like the adjusted diapers have a much better fit, then adjust all of them when you next do diaper laundry.
For many kids, when you open the rise, you may need to bring the waist snaps in on one or both sides.
Be sure to start with the back elastic low on the baby’s bottom (for fit help go here)
Check for leg gaps
Different rise settings create different lengths from front to back. There are different folds for your diapers that may work better for the setting you are on. (Here are some different folds!)

“The Rise Is All the Way Open & Baby Is Young! What Do I DO?!”

Sometimes a baby may need the rise fully open long before they will potty train, leading caregivers to panic that baby will outgrow the diaper. So often, these babies slim down as they begin to crawl and walk and then need their rise setting to come back down. You may notice the need for this if you have leg gaps or “saggy” looking diapers.

As always, if you are still having trouble, join our Facebook chat group or email us with any questions. Be sure to follow the blog (click the “Follow” button in the sidebar) for more great tips and info each week!