Key Points:
- During the first two years of a baby’s life, changing diapers will take up a lot of time.
- The number of wet and dirty diapers is an indication of the baby’s health, with eight wet diapers a day being normal after the first month.
- It is important to change a diaper as soon as it is wet or dirty, and to check frequently since it may be hard to notice in disposable diapers.
- The number of diapers a baby needs may vary depending on the baby’s individual needs and feeding method (breastfeeding vs. formula).
Your baby is already one month old and you’ve had plenty of practice changing diapers –but you’re just getting started! During the first two years of your baby’s life, you’ll feel you spend a lot of your time changing baby diapers. However, the good news is that, with practice, it will only take a minute to change them. Similarly, remember that the number of wet and dirty diapers you change is a good indication of your baby’s health. That is, if you don’t change enough wet diapers, it might mean that your little one is dehydrated, and if you don’t change enough dirty diapers, they might be constipated.
How many baby diapers a day should I change?
After the first month, your baby will wet about 8 diapers a day. You’ll also notice that you’ll change less dirty diapers as bowel movements decrease; there might not be one every day. As long as you don’t see your baby in pain or that their feces are hard and dry, they are not constipated. On the other hand, if you think your baby is constipated, don’t hesitate to contact your pediatrician.
With this in mind, you will be changing around 8-10 diapers a day, about 240 diapers per month. So many diapers! For this reason, it’s advisable to buy a few different brands of diapers to see if you like them and if they’re a good fit for your baby. When you find your favorite brand, estimate costs, look for coupons and acquire them when you have the opportunity to save as much as possible (they can get expensive!). On the other hand, if you use cloth diapers, make sure to have more than 10 clean diapers ready every day to meet your child’s needs.
Remember it’s important to change a diaper as soon as you notice it’s wet or dirty. It’s often hard to notice a wet diaper when it’s disposable since it usually won’t bother your baby, so check their diaper frequently.
Another important thing to keep in mind is that every child is different and this is an approximation about how many baby diapers they will need; they can end up using more or fewer than other babies. Also, it is important to know the number of diaper changes will vary depending on how you feed your baby —breastfeed or formula. Since the formula is digested slowly, your baby will poop less frequently than if they were breastfed, resulting in less use of diapers.
