How Many Cloth Diapers Do I Need?

The number of cloth diapers you need depends on the age of your baby and how often you plan to wash diapers. You will need fewer diapers in each size as you baby grows.

Some styles of diapers will need changing a bit less often. For instance, pocket diapers have a moisture resistant barrier between the baby and the absorbent insert. This means you can change baby less often unless the diaper is dirty so you will likely use fewer diapers. Prefold cloth diapers are very absorbent, but will feel wetter to the baby unless you use a stay-dry liner.

If you have a heavy wetter your baby will be on the high end of the number shown. You can extend the absorbency of diapers by using a diaper doubler or using two prefolds doublers for older babies.

Of course, you can also add a few other styles of diapers to your stash such as some fitteds or all in one diapers to make it easier for babysitters or others who are not familier with cloth diapers. This will also give you a few back up diapers in case you don't get a chance to do laundry or the baby is sick.

If you can't afford to invest in a lot of cloth diapers all at once, you can start with one day's (or even half a day) worth of diapers and then add more the next time you get paid. Our cloth diaper layaway program is another great choice for spreading out payments over time. Other frugal diapering options include using Regular size prefolds for infants by folding them down to fit. They will be a bit bulkier, but you'll buy fewer diapers over time.

You will want to get a few extra diapers to have on hand while you are washing cloth diapers. Nothing is worse than having a sick baby and no clean diapers.

You will need one cloth diaper cover for about every 4-6 diapers you have. Covers can be reused a few times by airing them out between changes unless they are dirty. It is always a good idea to have one more cover than you think you need in case one gets dirty at a bad time!

Wool diaper covers can go even longer between washes if they are properly lanolized when they are washed. Properly lanolized wool diaper covers can be washed every 10-12 days or longer as long as they smell fresh. PUL diaper covers are easily cleaned and dry quickly if the need to handwash one arises between loads of laundry.