Babies and Diapers

How often do I change my baby's diaper?

I get asked this a lot. The answer is - it depends. It depends on how old your baby is and how much your baby is taking at each feeding and how often the baby feeds. Obviously, more food means more wet and messy diapers.

Just like we don't like wet or dirty clothes, neither does a baby. Their communication skills are slightly different from ours, so we have to be more alert about their condition. In addition to that, their skin is much more delicate and extended contact with a wet or dirty diaper will break down the skin and create a rash and/or sores. You want to make sure that doesn't happen.

Disposable or cloth?

This is a decision you should probably make prior to your baby's birth, so you can be prepared.

Disposable diapers

There isn't much preparation for disposable diapers, except to buy them. In infancy, disposable diapers are sold by size related to weight. If you have a premature baby, there are preemie diaper sizes. As your baby gets older, the sizes are based on approximately age. If you have a child well above or below the standardized norm for the age, just adjust accordingly. It's time to move up to the next size when you have difficulty fastening the tabs on the diapers - and definitely time to move up if they pop open by themselves!

Did you know you're not supposed to just throw away the disposable diaper, complete with contents? Solid waste is not supposed to end up in the trash and landfills. Solid waste should be tipped off the diaper and into the toilet before disposing in the trash.

Disposable diapers are engineered by very smart biochemists to provide a lot of absorbency and wicking away from the skin. To some, this might translate to "you don't have to change them as often." However, there is still moisture that's kept inside, against the skin, due to the outer layer that prevents everything from wicking all the way out. The rule of thumb would be - if it's wet, change it. You don't want moisture staying against your baby's tender skin because that's an invitation to diaper rash. And absolutely change any dirty diaper as soon as you're aware of it.

Cloth diapers

Cloth diapers take a little more work but many people feel it's worth the effort. Cotton is soft, absorbent and a renewable resource. However, it takes a lot of hot water and more work to clean them. Then again, they don't take up space in landfills.

The obvious choice, if you can afford it, is a diaper service. I used cloth diapers and a service for all of my babies. They supply the diapers and come once or twice a week (depending on the service you request) to pick up the hamper (which they also supply) and trade it for a clean one, with clean diapers. No muss, no fuss. The diapers are clean and soft. Because the service uses industrial-strength cleaning processes, they are cleaner than you would be able to get them in your own washer. That doesn't mean you can't get them clean yourself, but that's another article entirely.

Cloth diapers do need to be changed more frequently than disposable diapers. Although cotton is very absorbent, it is just cotton, not a carefully engineered paper product, like disposables. When you realize the diaper is wet, it needs to be changed. As with disposables, dirty diapers need to be changed immediately.

You will also need diaper covers and if I can find some really neat ones like I used to get, I'll share a link. There's an amazing stylish variety (which you can use with disposables, if you like) and they're very easily washed.

Diaper pins are a necessity, of course. I learned the "double pin" technique years ago when disposables were considered pricey and didn't work as well as they do now. Double pinning ensures a better fit and is easy to do. (Pictures when I can find one - I don't have babies any more, so I'll have to dig up an illustration of this technique because it really does work.)

One problem I did encounter with cloth diapers was that many day care providers don't want to have to deal with them, so if your baby is going to day care at some point, check and see if they will accept cloth diapers.

So how often do I change the diaper?

OK, back to the original question, right? Less with disposables, more with cloth. More with newborns, less with toddlers.

Always change a dirty (as opposed to wet) diaper immediately. In the first few days of life, your baby will have bowel movements that are black to green and stick. Don't panic! This is called meconium and it's standard issue (if you'll pardon my pun!). After passing meconium, breast-fed babies will have bowel movements that are yellowish and fairly loose, which is also normal. Formula-fed babies will have bowel movements that are darker and smellier than a breast-fed baby's.

As far as "just wet" diapers, don't wait until the diaper weighs 2 pounds, no matter how expensive diapers are! Use your judgment - all it takes is practice. If your baby is crying, food and wet or dirty diapers are the first things you should check.

In the first 24 to 48 hours of life, your baby should have at least one bowel movement, most probably meconium. If not, consult your pediatrician for advice. Wet diapers should be frequent. If you aren't changing wet diapers every couple of hours, it may be a sign that your baby may not be getting enough milk. It's harder to judge this when breastfeeding. Wet diapers are a sign of a baby that is being adequately fed, so check with your pediatrician.