Quantity

The number of diapers you need largely depends on what style of diaper you chose, how often you'll keep up with laundry, and whether or not you wish to cloth fulltime. Most families was every 2-3 days. Some have successfully done 5 days to a week between washes (particuliarly during potty training when there are fewer diapers to wash). You'll have to do a little trial and error to see what works best for your family.

You also need to factor your baby's age. Newborns go through anywhere from 12 to 18 diapers per day, while infants and toddlers generally go through 6-10. Some children do not like being in a wet diaper at all, and some aren't much bothered.

You may choose to change your baby's diaper before and/or after each feed. Generally, you'll want to change the diaper every 1-2 hours (including overnight). If you follow Eat-Play-Sleep, change the diaper when baby wakes up and before the next nap. Newborns urinate constantly! When infants start holding their pee around 6-8 weeks, changing every 2-3 hours during the day and 6-12 hours overnight (with a dedicated nighttime diaper) is appropriate.

Pro Tip: Mix and match your stash! AIOs are great for daycare but you prefer pockets when at home and fitteds with wool at night make for a leak-proof combo. The ideal stash is whatever works best for you.

Example Stash: AIOs (all-in-ones)

Baby's Age: Newborn

Diaper Type: AIO's

Wash Frequency: every other day

Number of diapers: 30-36.

Example Stash: Prefold/ Flats/ Fitteds and Covers

Baby's Age: Newborn-Infant

Diaper Type: Prefolds and Covers OR Hybric/ AI2

Wash Frequency: every other day

Number of diapers: 24 prefolds (or absorbent inserts/ flats/ fitteds) and 4-6 PUL/TPU covers.

LPT: Covers can be wiped and aired out between changes, most of the time. Have two in rotation (air-dry one while the baby wears another) until baby poops.

Example Stash: Pockets

Baby's Age: Infant

Diaper Type: Pockets

Wash Frequency: every 3 days

Number of diapers: 36 pocket diapers and 72 inserts.

LPT: During the newborn days, you may only need to stuff the pocket diaper with one insert. Around 3-6 months, baby will start to urinate more at once. When the inserts are completely saturated at the 2 hour mark, you can boost the abosrbency of the diaper with a second insert.