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My 2 week old son has at least 1 diaper leak per day. I am not 100% sure but the leak seems to always be along the top of the diaper, near the sides. Initial reading tells me that this is a common problem overnight but in our case it is happening at any time of day.

Are there any techniques, products or suggestions to prevent diaper leaks like this from happening?

The laundry situation is busy enough as it is... thanks in advance!

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  • At the risk of being insulting: You are pointing his penis downward when putting on the diaper, right? I only mention it because before my son was born, it had never even occurred to me until my sister-in-law pointed it out. My daughters had certainly never needed such treatment. :-)
    – afrazier
    Jun 23, 2011 at 18:12
  • @afrazier - yes, this is something that didn't occur to me at first but it does make a difference. Jun 23, 2011 at 18:54

6 Answers 6

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One possibility is that the diaper is the wrong size. Diaper leaks sometimes indicate that it is time to move on to a larger diaper (it can also indicate that the diaper is too big, but that should be fairly self-evident from putting the diaper on). For a 2 week old, though, this seems unlikely.

Another reason for leaks is that the diaper is not being changed frequently enough. Given how frequently newborns soil a diaper, this is a possibility.

When our son was first born, we ran into another complication with leaks. We found that ensuring that his penis was aimed down when we put a new diaper on reduced the chance of a leaky diaper. If it pointed up he would frequently leak out the top of the diaper, or occasionally through one of the legs.

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  • thanks for the size tip. I guess it might be time to move to the next size. Jun 8, 2011 at 19:03
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    Accepted your answer since it is thorough and includes what turned out to be the solution in our case... pointing his pistol downwards. :) Jul 7, 2011 at 21:21
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We had lots of diaper leaks in the beginning, and we tried a few different brands until we found one that worked well. As our infant grew, the story repeated itself and we switched to a different brand again.

Try a few, and see if that helps. Every brand and every size is different, and not all fit perfectly.

Also, make sure that the edges of the diapers (around the legs) are placed correctly and not tucked inwards. The edges should "seal" well if they're not tucked in.

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  • Same thing here. Each family swears that their brand is best because they have gone through the same problem as this asker and found one that worked for them. Jun 23, 2011 at 1:54
  • Huggies always leaked horribly for us, but Luvs/Pampers fit perfectly.
    – cmcculloh
    Jun 18, 2012 at 3:08
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For a diaper to fit correctly, the following must be true:

  • The back must go above the top of the "butt crack"
    • or urine will leak out the back, because the crack breaks the seal
    • If this isn't true, you probably need a bigger diaper so it can go higher up the back
  • The straps must go above the hips, and be tighter than the hips
    • or the diaper will slip down, and everything will pour out
    • If it's not tighter than the hips, it needs to be tighter
  • The legs must be tight enough to make a good seal
    • or stuff will leak out there
    • If this isn't true, you may need to stick the straps further downwards
    • Also make sure that the top-front flaps and pulled out

Other things that can go wrong:

  • For a boy, the penis should point down
  • The diaper is simply too full
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I certainly wrapped my second newborn higher and tighter than the first, because I was no longer scared of doing so. In true geek fashion her waist band was past her belly button in newborn diapers. She leaked less.

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I created a solution to nighttime diaper leaks no matter what brand of diaper you use. The Soaker Stopper is a diaper extension that catches diaper leaks in the front and sides of the child so you and your baby can sleep through the night uninterrupted by leaks. With 3 little boys that would all wake up in the middle of the night soaked, I had to find a solution. So I created the Soaker Stopper out of my own nighttime leak frustrations and have had great success with it.

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  • 2
    I don't think you should remove the link. Not only did I have to dig in to the edit history to check it out, but she disclosed it's her product and it's topical. If you really think the post is unacceptable, just delete it. Jun 3, 2014 at 14:03
  • According to parenting.meta.stackexchange.com/questions/642/… , product suggestions that answer the question and are not "spammy" in nature are allowed. Sep 14, 2018 at 23:38
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I'm assuming you're using disposables. My baby managed to wiggle out of her diaper at 3 months. So, first, make sure that the diaper is secured and that the little tabs on the sides overlap each other properly at the hip. Take it from me, this is a surprisingly important detail.

Each brand of diaper is going to fit a little differently than others. It could be you need to use a different brand.

I change my baby very frequently so the only time I've run into leaks is overnight when the diaper is just overly full. My baby still wakes up during the night (unfortunately) so I just make a point of changing her every time she wakes up, even if she's groggy and half-asleep or cranky and doesn't want the change.

If she leaks at all during the day, it tells me that I need to go up a size. Leaking out the top is an indicator of this--the "rise" of the diaper may not be high enough. This can even be the case for a newborn; diapers are sized in part based on the weight of the baby, and newborn diapers typically only seem to go up to 8-10 pounds. Even if your baby was 8 pounds at birth, it's possible that he's grown out of newborn diapers already.

I'd suggest trying a few store brands; my baby does quite well on generics (better than brand-name diapers; those burned her bottom and gave her allergic rash). They're a cheap way of experimenting with what diapers fit best and what ones don't.

Good luck!

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