When Will My Baby Need Fewer Diaper Changes?

Even every people without kids know that diapering is a major part of taking care of a baby, but I bet hardly anyone knows exactly what that really means. After having a little boy myself, I also had to find out that “diapering” is nothing static or linear, but a constant, ever-changing journey for the both of us.

I asked questions like: How often do you have to change a diaper? How many diapers does a newborn need? Does that number change over time? How many diapers will I change over the course of my beloved little one’s early years? And when will the number of diapers used decrease?

Will diaper changes ever slow down? Yes! About every 3 to 6 months you will notice a decrease in your baby’s use of diapers. Depending on whether you use cloth diapers or disposables, and whether you combine diapers with the practice of elimination communication, the total number of diaper changes for the first 3 years will vary from roughly 3,000 to 6,600. Experience shows that diaper changes are not a linear digression but rather a declining curve with ups and downs within it.

Different circumstances like hot or cold weather, sickness, teething, or big events such as long-distance traveling, starting daycare, or the arrival of a new sibling also influence the number of diapers needed per day. The graphs below provide a great overview and further explanation of baby’s diapering needs.

I also found that unfortunately the numbers given on the Internet do not line up with reality and are most likely at best unreliable, and -possibly even total baloney. I know this is a rather bold statement, so let me explain why I came to that conclusion.

First: What is “reality”?

In this article “reality” is my own experience: I jotted down the exact time and number of wees and poops my little one did every single day for 183 consecutive days. (No, I’m not offended if you think that was crazy – looking back on it I think so too!) There’s a picture of my results at the end of this post.

About three quarters of a year later I took notes again for another 60 days in a row. I filled in the missing parts by memory and as well as the trend I could see in the data I collected.

Since we switched from disposable to cloth diapers when my little one turned 3 months old, and started elimination communication just a couple of weeks before that, the numbers I found may be quite different to what you are experiencing yourself, for example, if you are using disposable diapers and not practicing elimination communication. But don’t worry, you are still in the right place, because…

Second: Cloth compared to disposable diapers.

I took several hours to complete my research and compared the information on this topic for “cloth-only”, “disposables-only”, and “no elimination communication” parents. The results were quite surprising.

How many cloth diapers does my baby need from 0-36 months?

In the graph above you can see the ranges I found on how many cloth diapers per day and month little ones need from the age of 0 (newborn) to 36 months (3 years old). As you can see, the number declines over time (a minor jump about every 3 to 6 months), so there is indeed hope that all of that washing, drying, and folding will come to an end.

In total, the numbers I found add up to between a minimum of 3,400 and a maximum of 5,460 diapers over those 3 years.

Number of cloth diapers per day depending on baby’s age:

Total number minimum cloth diapers from 0 to 36 months: 3,400 diapers.

Total number maximum cloth diapers from 0 to 36 months: 5,460 diapers.

How many disposable diapers does my baby need from 0-36 months?

In this graph you can see the ranges I found on how many disposable diapers per day and month a little one needs, also from the age of 0 (newborn) to 36 months (3 years old). Here the same principle applies as with cloth diapers: the number declines over time and you can see a minor jump of about 2 diapers per day every 3 to 6 months.

In total, the numbers I found add up to between a minimum of 4,200 and a maximum of 6,560 diapers over those 3 years.

Number of disposable diapers per day depending on baby’s age:

Total number minimum disposable diapers from 0 to 36 months: 4,200 diapers.

Total number maximum disposable diapers from 0 to 36 months: 6,560 diapers.

Cloth vs. Disposable

After comparing the numbers on cloth diapering and disposable diapering I was surprised that with full-time cloth diapering you apparently need fewer diapers than with full-time disposable diapering.

Seriously?

I use cloth diapers, but as much as I love them and as much as it would delight me to see every parent use them, I seriously doubt that the numbers I found in the course of my research are correct. Why?

The significant difference between a cloth diaper and a disposable diaper is that disposable diapers are designed to absorb and keep all the liquid chemically bound so that the diaper always feels dry. When your beloved little one pees in a cloth diaper, on the other hand, it also gets absorbed, but the cloth is (and feels) wet.

Therefore, cloth-diapering-parents tend to change the diapers way more often than disposable diaper-users because they don’t want their little one to sit in a literally wet diaper. As a matter of fact, a good friend of mine said she would never want to cloth diaper her children because with a disposable one she could leave the diaper on for 3-4 hours and not bother with changing it. On the other hand, I as a “clothy-mom” changed the diaper as soon as I realized it was wet, which included checking and sometimes even changing a couple of times per hour.

So, which numbers do you think are more likely to be true? Please feel free to leave a comment below.

Reality Check

In the graph below you can see the results on cloth diapering and disposable diapering compared to what I experienced in real life.

We started off with disposable diapers and used them for about 3 months. At the time we used those very practical ones with the indicator stripe that changes colors when baby pees, so it was easy for me to see when his diaper was not fresh anymore. In this time my baby boy had several diaper rashes (the first one when he was just a week old), even though I changed the diaper as soon as it was soiled or I realized it was wet.

After 3 months I switched to cloth diapering during the day. We kept the disposable diapers during the night for about 10 more months. After that we got rid of them for good and only used cloth diapers. When little one was 2.5 months old I also decided to give elimination communication and diaper-free-time a go – and never regretted it.

It should also be mentioned here that our little one was exclusively breastfed about every 4 hours from 0 to 8 months. I weaned him from his night feeds when he was about 6 months old, and two months later we slowly introduced solid food.

I stopped breastfeeding when he was 14 months old. Apparently little ones who are fed formula have fewer bowel movements (since mother’s milk is easier to digest) and therefore also need fewer diapers, especially in the first 0-6 months. But those differences probably fall within that range of minimum and maximum diapers needed.

Since my husband and I combined elimination communication with cloth diapering I needed way fewer diapers per day than what is considered average. But that does not mean that taking care of my boy’s needs was less work than diapering. If I also take into consideration the times when we went to the toilet with our beloved little one as well as the amount of diapers I changed, it looks something like this:

You can see our days from 5am to 9pm (left to right), split into 5 minute-intervals, for age 17-23 weeks.

• Light blue: sleep;
• red: breastfeeding;
• light green: awake (and happy);
• dark green: awake (unhappy – fuzzing or crying);
• dark blue: evening ritual with ayurvedic massage and bath-time*;
• yellow: relieving himself on the toilet;
• orange: diaper was wet/soiled and was changed.

Our days usually started around 6 am, I fed him and changed his diaper. After that he went straight back to sleep for about 1.5-2hrs. He was happy and awake before I fed him again at about 10 am and stayed up all afternoon, with usually one 45 min nap around noon. I fed him again at 2 pm which was usually followed by another nap. He had his second to last meal at 6 pm, directly followed by our evening ritual. We then stayed up and snuggled and played until he was fed the last time at about 8 pm. After that I changed his diaper again and went to bed.

(* if you want to know more about how to massage and bath a newborn, read my articles here:

How To Do Ayurvedic Massage On A Newborn Illustrated Guide;

Bathing Baby in Tub-Enjoyable Step by Step Bath Procedure)

* on the toilet (or somewhere else ; ))

Yes, diapering and toilet training are a major part of being a parent…

What if your baby has fewer than average wet diapers?

Every baby’s needs to relieve themselves are individual and change over time. Still, if you are under the impression that your little one is peeing very little compared to others, dehydration might be the cause. I strongly advise you to see your pediatrician as soon as possible to ensure your beloved little one is fit and healthy.

Every baby is unique and individual, and so are their needs for relieving themselves. I therefore believe that there are no absolutely correct answers or ways to approach the topic of diapering. What I do believe though is that the more relaxed the approach is and the more it’s centered on baby’s needs, the less it will lead to frustrations or even tears on both sides.