Fix Your Leaks Week- Day 3, Fit of the Pod

Today we will go over the Fit of Pods and the 5 main leak culprits and how to fix them.

 

Common fit problems: 

• Pod pulled up too high
• Pod positioned too low
• Pod position not appropriate for boy / girl
• Pod bunching
• Stuffing pods in omni pockets wrong

Problematic Pod Pictures

Pod pulled up too high:

 

Pod positioned too low:

Pod bunching:

 

Stuffing pods in omni pockets wrong:

 

So what do you do to fix these fit problems?

Pod pulled up too high:

Cause: If the end of the pod is visible (as pictured above) or touching clothing outside of the shell your going to have wicking leaks.

Solution:

• You want the pod to come up as high as 1 inch below your babies belly button, and then you want to position the aplix strip on the shell directly above the end of the pod (either the fold or end of the pod)
• Here is a fit video that may help:

Pod positioned too low: 

Cause: If the pod is too low (especially for boys), the pod will work its way down further (gravity and not being pinned in place by the wing of the shell), then when peed in, the urine hits the shell directly which isn't going to absorb and the liquid will find the path of least resistance (so maybe a different spot if sitting/standing/laying down)

Solution:

• You want the pod to come up as high as 1 inch below your babies belly button, and then you want to position the aplix strip on the shell directly above the end of the pod (either the fold or end of the pod)
• Here is a video that might help:

Pod position not appropriate for boy / girl:

Cause: If you don't have adequate layers in the appropriate areas per gender (especially for babies who pee a lot at once) if the liquid isn't absorbed it will end up pooling on the fleece of the shell and find its way out the leg areas especially if the baby is moving around a lot.  

Solution:

• When adding additional absorbing layers (such as mini pods) be sure to place them for boys in the top front, and girls middle and back (in the back especially at bedtime).

Front End

Middle Back

Pod bunching:

Cause: Pod not being high enough or smoothed out while the diaper is being put on. Pod that is saturated will bunch after a long period of time & lead to leaks.

Solution:
If your experiencing pod bunching and leaks you need to do one or all of the following:

• The pod may be too low starting out when you put the diaper on your baby. If it isn't high enough and pinned down by the front wing it will cause gaps and the urine will then hitting the shell directly.
• If it creates a pocket of air between the pod and the baby's skin, urine can just sit on the fleece and without the pressure of the baby, won't absorb and will just roll off onto the shell and then out the diaper, so be sure to have the shell snug enough so the pod is against the baby's bottom comfortably.
• If the pod is always saturated when you are experiencing leaks & pod bunching you need to increase absorbency or changing more often will help.

Stuffing pods in omni pockets wrong:

Cause: With DryTouch pods (microfleece topped/ microfiber bottom) If you stuff the pocket with the fleece side up you may get leg leaks. The reason is because there is now 2 layers of the microfleece (non-absorbing layers) for the urine to past through to reach the microfiber. 

Solution:

• Stuff the pocket so that the fleece side is down facing the back of the shell, allowing the microfiber to absorb urine faster.



Pod Adjustment Testimonial:

Right around 5 months I started noticing my daughter leaking quite frequently. I couldn't figure out why she was leaking, because the pods weren't saturated. I checked out the Softbums fit videos and realized that I had two issues, the pods were not up high enough in the front and the legs were way too tight! I quickly adjusted those and she was leak free from that point forward! I'm so thankful for those videos and resources because now we LOVE our Softbums! ~Ruby H

 

If your experiencing leg leaks and you ruled out the "fit of the pod" and your pod isn't soaked, this could be caused by repelling, refer back to our repelling post here: http://loveclothdiapers.blogspot.com/2013/07/week-of-leaks-day-1-prepping-repelling.html

 

Check back tomorrow to read about Absorbency. http://bit.ly/19sYlut