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Somewhere between the sleepless nights of endless feedings and the days spent walking around unkempt with baby spit-up all over your shirt it hits you and you start to realize: babies are hard work!
All the nesting, all the waiting, all the anticipation is over.
The warm thoughts of holding your baby in your arms while they coo with a smile have been replaced with the realities of long nights, even longer days, and prayers for long naps.
You run into a friend at the supermarket, your one errand that masquerades as alone-time. You look a mess, stressed and tired, and you are savoring your free-time like a gambler savoring his last $100 in Vegas.
An old friend approaches you with congratulations in her eyes and compliments you on your “glow” then asks, “what can I get for you and the baby?”
You give your usual response, “Well…we could always use more diapers.” About the only thing you can think you do more of than feeding is changing diapers, and well…you aren’t wrong.
How Many Diapers Do Newborns Need
During the newborn stage, newborn babies go through LOTS of diapers. In the first month, newborn babies have between 3-4 bowel movements each day. Also, newborns tend to pee after each meal.
This means your newborn may require between 6 to 12 diapers each day. So when your friend splurges and gets that pack of diapers size 1 that come with 120 diapers in a pack, she doesn’t know that pack won’t even last 2 weeks!
The first few weeks may feel like an endless blur of feedings and diaper changes, but it’s important to keep in mind that the diaper stage is only temporary. According to a report from the EPA in 2017 over 4-thousand tons of disposable diapers were generated in that year alone!
What to Expect From One to Five Months
Between month 1 and month 5, babies tend to need fewer diapers, although not much less. The average seems to fall around 8 to 10 diapers daily. In case you haven’t been counting that’s still between 56 and 70 diapers per week!
What to Expect After Month Five
The good news is as a baby gets bigger, so does its bladder. This is good news for your baby and for your wallet. Even so, between months 6 through 12, expect your bundle of joy to need a diaper change an average of 8 times per day.
Consider this:
- In the first 3 months alone, a baby can use up to 700 diapers
- The average amount of diapers a baby will use in the first year is 2,500
That’s a LOT of diapers!
Understanding Diaper Sizes
It’s important to understand diaper sizes when you are buying diapers in bulk. Maybe you’re picking up your diapers at the local supermarket. Maybe you’re buying your bulk stash by googling: diapers Amazon. Whatever the case, it’s good to keep good tabs of your stash in ratio to your baby’s weight.
In the first year, your baby will most likely progress through the stages of diaper sizes from N, for newborn, to size 3 or even 4. It’s good to know what to expect and be prepared for when your baby levels up.
Newborn Diapers
Your baby will use newborn diapers until they are up to 10 pounds. Given that the average baby is 7 pounds 5 ounces at birth, some babies may progress out of this size quickly.
Diaper Size 1
Depending on the length and leg width of your baby, they may progress to size 1 diapers between 8 and 14 pounds. Notice the overlap between newborn and size 1 when it comes to weight.
Therefore it’s important to be cautious to have both handy. You can expect your baby to wear size 1 diapers between the ages of 2 to 4 months.
Diaper Size 2
Expect your baby to reach the size 2 stage between the weight of 12 to 18 pounds. Again, you’ll notice the overlap here so it’s important to be stocked for when your baby needs the next size up. Babies tend to wear size 2 diapers around the ages of 4 to 7 months.
Diaper Size 3
Babies between the age of 7 to 12 months of age will tend to use size 3 diapers, but there is no hard or fast rule. During this stage, babies wearing size 3 diapers will weigh between 16 and 28 pounds.
Diaper Size 4
Although your baby is a year old by the time they fit into these diapers, I thought it important to include as some babies can be bigger than others. Size 4 diapers tend to fit babies with a weight between 22 and 37 pounds.
Final Words on Diaper Sizes
Depending on the brand your family prefers, your baby may fit in other sizes. For some brands, a size 4 on this scale may actually be a diaper size 6 in their brand size. The important thing is to learn more, do your homework and look at the packaging to adjust to your baby’s weight and size.
Key Takeaways
Being a parent is tough. It takes tons of patience, love, support, and ingenuity. With no guidebook for parenting being available or fitting all types of families, it is up to you to decide what’s best for you and your baby.
All parents want the best for their children, so why shouldn’t diapers be any different. Is there anything more important in the first months of your baby’s life than having comfort before they potty train.
Some people say it’s important to keep mama happy, and they are right, but a happy mama starts with a happy baby. A happy baby starts with finding the right fit and style of diaper for your little one.
By using this guide, you will have a good idea of how many diapers, and what sizes to keep handy in those all-important first months of firsts. With all that’s going on in your baby’s life, the last thing you want to figure out is diapers.
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