Parents who use cloth diapers know the problem: pants or bodysuits usually have to be bought a size larger because cloth diapers make the bottom look bulky. Some parents are also worried that the bulky diapered bottom could affect their child's motor development.
In this article, we want to address the issue of bulky diaper bottoms when using cloth diapers and show possible solutions.
Motor development or movement restriction due to cloth diapers
Cloth diapers are immensely beneficial for the healthy development of children. Newborns' hips, in particular, benefit from the wider coverage provided by cloth diapers.
In terms of motor skills, children wearing cloth diapers are in no way inferior to children wearing disposable diapers. They don't learn to crawl or walk later. Cloth diapers are less common these days (but are becoming more prevalent again), and this unfortunately sometimes leads to myths that are no longer true.
Therefore: Cloth diapers contribute to the child's good hip development and do not hinder motor development.
Clothing for a chubby diapered bottom
With some cloth diapers, the bottom can be quite bulky, especially if the diaper is a modular system with different inserts. Parents often resort to skirts, dresses, or slightly larger trousers, as these fit without any problems. If you also occasionally use disposable diapers, you can reuse the old trousers that no longer fit over the cloth diapered bottom for those disposable diaper moments.
For bodysuits, there are also body extenders that simply clip into the bodysuit, allowing it to grow with the child. These body extenders are not only useful for parents using cloth diapers, but also generally, as they extend the overall lifespan of the bodysuits.
Cloth diapers with a small diaper bottom
However, if a smaller diaper size is important to you, you can compare different cloth diaper systems. If you use modular cloth diapers, you can choose thinner and more absorbent materials (hemp and bamboo), while with all-in-one diapers, some brands offer better absorbency and thinner materials than others.
Lybbie diaper
For our Lybbie diaper, we tested various materials to select the most absorbent yet thinnest. This results in a diaper that is comparatively thin while offering high absorbency.
