The first thing to remember is that there isn't one right answer. The number of cloth diapers you need depends on your baby's wetting pattern, how much you like doing laundry, what type of cloth diapers you are using as well as your budget!
Building a stash of cloth diapers is a necessity and although the upfront cost may seem a little steep, it'll definitely pay off! You stash size depends on how often you wish to do cloth diaper laundry as you'll need to have enough to last between washes. Your choice of cloth diapering during the daytime, nighttime or full time also matters when considering how many diapers to buy. Our suggestion is to buy a couple of diaper initially (4 -5); try them during the day and nighttime and see what is working for your and your baby. You can always purchase more diapers after this trial period.
Each 'Bum Print Baby' diaper comes with a set of super absorbent inserts. During the day, you can change the diaper every 3 to 4 hours. This would mean that you need 3 to 4 diapers to last the whole day. Where as during the night, you can use our diaper with multiple inserts for 10 - 12 hours! If you were to do laundry every day, you could comfortably diaper your baby with just 12 to 16 diapers.
Why are the extra diapers important?
1. Doing laundry everyday might not always be feasible! There will be a few days where you just don't have the time to do cloth diaper laundry. This is when your extra's will come in handy! You can use your extra diapers to fill in until you find the time to wash your used diapers.
2. Your diapers may not dry in time! When the sun is out and bright, your diapers and inserts will dry quicker than you think but on those rainy cold days, drying time might be longer than you've accounted for. Your extra diapers can then substitute for the couple of extra drying hours.
3. Poonami's when you least expect it! If your baby is dealing with a bad stomach and is pooping or peeing more than normal, you will be changing the diapers more frequently than the 3 or 4 times you normally do. This is when you bring in the subs!
4. If you're traveling with your baby, you definitely don't want to be dealing with laundry and drying time. Carrying a larger stash than normal would be ideal!
Should I purchase extra inserts?
We would recommend purchasing extra inserts as this makes your diapering journey easier and less time consuming. Drying diaper shells is much quicker than drying inserts - having more inserts to switch out could mean you don't have to do laundry everyday.
I want to diaper only during the day, do I still need 12 - 16 diapers?
Take a look at our infographic to see how many diapers to buy! Since you only need 1 diaper during nighttime, you'll need to subtract 2 overall form the stash count. 10 - 14 diapers is ideal for diapering during daytime.
I want to diaper only during the night, how many diapers do I need?
Take a look at our infographic to see how many diapers to buy! Since you only need 1 diaper during nighttime and considering the extra diapers for emergencies, an overall of 6 - 10 diapers should suffice.