How Many Cloth Diapers You Will Need

A full “stash” of cloth diapers is 2- to 3-day supply. Washing diapers every 2-3 days keeps stinks and stains at bay. Any more often than that, though, and your diapers might wear out because they’re working so hard (and I’m pretty sure you’re going to get tired of doing laundry). Since a newborn will soil about 10-12 diapers in a 24-hour period, and an older baby will go through about 6-8 diapers a day, this means a 2- to 3-day supply of diapers is 24-36 diapers. Please note the numbers below are for diapering one kid at a time. Also, I recommend having a variety of kinds of diapers in your stash, so your stash will probably be a combination of the following scenarios, but I wanted to give you a basic idea of what you will need as a starting point.

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ALL-IN-ONES

All-In-Ones are about as simple as you can get–just an absorbent core sewn into a diaper cover that you velcro or snap onto baby. Because the absorbency can’t be adjusted in an AIO, though, very few manufacturers make a one-size or adjustable-size AIO–the absorbency required for an older baby would be way too much bulk for a newborn–so you will need to buy small, medium, large, and maybe extra-small/newborn diapers. This means you need 24-36 of each size. If you do buy a one-size AIO, such as the new Kissaluvs Marvels AIO, it may not fit very small babies, so you may still need to buy newborn size diapers in addition to your one-size diapers.

Stash #1: Sized AIOs

24-36 extra-small or newborn AIOs

24-36 small AIOs

24-36 medium AIOs

24-36 large AIOs

Stash #2: One-Size AIOs

24-36 extra-small or newborn AIOs

24-36 One-Size AIOs

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POCKET DIAPERS

Pocket diapers have adjustable absorbency: just insert one or two terrycloth, bamboo, or hemp inserts into your pocket for the level of absorbency you need. Because these diapers have “adjustable fluff settings,” it’s easier to use them from birth to potty training, but just like the AIOs, they may not fit newborns.

Stash #3: Sized Pockets

24-36 extra-small or newborn pockets

24-36 small pockets

24-36 medium pockets

24-36 large pockets

Stash #4: One-Size Pockets

24-36 extra-small or newborn pockets

24-36 One-Size pockets

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FITTED/PREFOLD DIAPERS AND COVERS

This is my favorite option, because I like efficiency and a slim diaper bag. If a prefold or fitted diaper is just wet, you can reuse the cover, so that means you don’t need to buy as many covers as fitteds/prefolds. Like one-size pockets or one-size AIOs, one-size diaper covers don’t really fit from birth to potty training, so I recommend Thirsties Duo Wraps, which come in adjustable size 1 and adjustable size 2 to REALLY fit from birth to potty training. If you don’t like the look of adjustable snaps on the rise of your diaper, you can also buy sized diaper covers for a trimmer fit. The following stashes are just examples. You can combine one-size fitteds with one-size covers or do sized fitteds and sized covers, and so on. Also, you will want to start with infant-size prefolds, and eventually you may need to size up to premium size, but premium prefolds are A LOT bigger than the infant size, so if you’re just getting started, infant size are the best size for you:

Stash #5: Sized Fitteds and Adjustable Covers

24-36 extra-small or newborn fitted diapers

24-36 small fitted diapers

24-36 medium fitted diapers

24-36 large fitted diapers

8 size 1 Thirsties Duo Wraps or other adjustable cover

8 size 2 Thirsties Duo Wraps or other adjustable cover

Stash #6: Prefolds and Sized Covers

24-36 infant-size prefolds

24-36 premium-size prefolds

8 extra-small or newborn covers

8 small covers

8 medium covers

8 large covers