How often to change cloth diapers

Cloth diapers are wonderful for your baby for many reasons.

They are eco-friendly, healthy, and save you a lot of money as compared to the disposable diapers.

The main difference is that Cloth diapers do not contain SAP (super absorbent polymer) gel, which make the disposable diapers trim,  and yet so absorbent.

The average disposable diaper needs to be changed after around 10 pees.

Whatever diaper type you use, You must change your baby every 2 hours during the day. This will keep the baby’s skin healthy and prevent rashes.

It will also prevent leaks from the diaper.

So the questions most mothers ask are , “How many hours can I leave my baby without changing the diaper?” or “How often to change cloth diapers?”

The most common answer is, “Until you notice they’re wet!”

The general rule is that diapers need to be changed 8 to 10 times in a day.

However, the answer is not that simple and there are a lot more points to be taken into account.

Babies of different ages will have different outputs.

So you will need to have a general idea of when  to check the diaper, and how many ready diapers you need  for each age.

There maybe some babies that may not let you know when they are wet or dirty, so it is advisable to check the diaper over regular intervals.

As mentioned earlier, diapers should be checked every 1.5-2 hours during the daytime.

However for older babies you may check over longer intervals.

You will soon understand  the elimination routine  for your baby, and will adjust accordingly. 

Another factor is the absorbency of the diaper and that will also determine how often baby needs to be change.

Some babies are fussy and do not like to stay insoiled or wet diaper for any amount of time, whereas some may not bother too much.

However make sure  that a soiled (number 2 – poop ) diaper should be changed immediately – whether it is day or night.

Further many new parents may not realize that their babies have different outputs at different times during the day.

So they must keep a watch and understand how the amount of output can change based on the age of the baby and time of day.

Generally newborns are likely to output more at night-time, but as said before, there are many factors that affect this.

Newborn babies output a higher amount of fluids, but it is over more frequent intervals.

This is understandable, since they are primarily on a liquid diet.

The older babies need fewer diaper changes as they start on solid foods and have more control on their stools and also have  a greater bladder capacity.

So to summarise how often to change cloth diapers, you can use the following guidelines

• Change as soon as possible if you find poop, whatever the child’s age
• For Babies upto one month – change every two hours during the day.
• For Babies upto  6 months – change every 2 1/2 hours during the day.
• For Babies/toddlers over six months – change approximately every 3 hours during the day
• For Toddlers over 12 months –  4-5  nappy changes in a 24 hour period (subject to poops)
• For a one off occasion at any age, you can add a booster to make a nappy last as long as you need (or at least until the next poo). 

Once your child is sleeping through the night, a well-padded real nappy will easily last 12 hours.

We suggest the following Absorbent nappies  for night time -Bumbles, Bambeasy, Little Lamb Bamboo, Bamboozle Stretch.