How Often to Change Newborn Diaper? A Thorough Guide

Becoming new parents is a lovely but tough experience. As you enter this initial phase of parenthood, you’re left with so many questions regarding your newborn that it can be quite confusing. The baby comes with no thorough guide or care instructions and so you’re left to look for advice. As your little ones enter the world, they not only bring overwhelming joy and cuteness into your daily life but also a stinky mess that can be hard to deal with. The so called frequent ‘diaper change’.

Hence, if you’re looking for some promising advice on “How often should you change a newborn’s diaper?”, “When to change a baby’s diaper?” or anything related to diaper changing then don’t worry, you’ve come to the right place as we’re here to clarify all your possible confusions!!   

How Often Should You Change a Baby’s Diaper?

According to the American Pregnancy Association (APA), babies normally urinate after every 1-3 hours in a day. As your babies get older their urination frequency decreases and once they start consuming solid foods their bowel movements increase to 2-5 times per day. Hence, ideally you should change your newborn’s diaper after every 2-3 hours per day.

In certain circumstances if your baby has urinated but is sleeping then it is okay to leave him/her as it is unless there is some sort of leakage. You can delay the diaper change by an hour or so to avoid waking them up. However, in case of a bowel movement or leakage, it is always highly recommended to change the diaper right away as the poop can irritate your baby’s skin thus, leading to rashes. The left-over bacteria can cause bladder infection (especially in newborn girls). Moreover, overly wet diapers that are left on for too long can also cause itchy rashes.

Hence, in order to safeguard your baby’s health, it is always recommended to frequently change your newborn’s diapers after every 2-3 hours. This will also save you from possible leakages that can create a stinky mess around your house, baby’s clothes and even the backseat of your car. But be mindful since every baby is different thus, it also depends on how frequently they urinate or poop.

When to Change a Newborn’s Diaper?

Now that we’ve talked about how often to change a baby diaper, it is time to talk about when exactly do babies call for diaper change? Realistically speaking, you can never be on a lookout for your baby 24/7 to check if they’ve done something. Hence, there are some signs that can help you indicate that your little one needs a diaper change. These are:

-Your baby is feeling uncomfortable and keeps crying

If your baby seems upset, uncomfortable and keeps crying for no obvious reason then it is probably because he/she is wet and feels irritated. This shows that it may be time for a diaper change.

-Change diaper before or after feed

It is always a good idea to change your little one’s diaper before, in between or after feed. In case of bottle feeding, change your baby’s diaper before giving him/her the bottle, while in case of breastfeeding change the diaper before moving from one breast to the other if needed.  

-Diaper Indicator Strip

In some specific diapers, there’s an indicator strip that goes from yellow to blue when the baby urinates or poops hence, it is the best way to tell if your baby needs a diaper change. Do check if the diapers you’re buying have got those to make your life a lot easier.

How Often to Change a Newborn’s Diaper at Night?

During nighttime when your baby is fast asleep, it is better to change his/her diaper only if it’s overly wet or if the baby has had a bowel movement. In case of a normal amount of urination at night, you can delay it for a bit unless there’s any sort of leakage.

How to Diaper a Baby?

Are you unsure of whether you’re changing your newborn’s diaper correctly or not? Or maybe have you never changed a baby’s diaper before and so here you are, reading this as a precaution while you impatiently wait for your little one to arrive?

In any case, we’re here with a stepwise guide to help you overcome these challenging times!

List of baby products you would need:

• Baby diapers of the right size
• Changing pads
• Baby wash clothes or baby wipes

Steps For Changing Baby’s Diaper:

1. Dispose off the used diaper
2. Clean the baby’s diaper area with a baby wash cloth or baby wipes

Make sure the material you’re using is soft, and specifically made for sensitive skin to avoid irritation or rashes. If your baby is prone to allergic reactions, then use hypoallergenic wash clothes to avoid infections. If you’re confused on where to get these then don’t worry ‘cause we’ve got your covered! You can check out our collection here! We offer soft, thick, and extra absorbent baby wash clothes that are carefully crafted from bamboo. Bamboo offers hypoallergenic and antibacterial properties that leave no risks for your baby’s fragile skin.

3. Apply any baby ointment in case of rashes
4. Gently raise your baby’s legs and place the opened diaper underneath. Slowly put the baby’s legs down back to their original position.
5. Pull the front of the diaper up between his legs and place it on his belly
6. Close the sides of the diaper and seal them tightly (but not too much)
7. In order to check if it’s extra tight, put two of your fingers between the baby’s belly and the diaper and then pull it. This will give you a good idea of whether it needs fixing or not.

Some people also use nappy liners to ease out the process. These are placed inside the diapers and avoid soiling them. This is because the nappy liners catch the solid bodily fluids and let the urine through. This makes the process of changing diapers easier and less messy. In case you’re still confused, you can check out our collection of nappy liners to get a detailed description of what they exactly look like and do.

Conclusion

So, to finally answer your long-awaited question of “How many diapers a day?”, we would suggest that ideally you should be using 8-12 diapers per day for your newborn. As the baby grows the number of diapers needed will obviously decease however, every baby is different so he/she may need more if required. Just make sure that you do not delay the diaper change by more than 2-3 hours. In case of bowel movements, you should change it right away to avoid any possible health risks.