Decoded: How Often You Should Change Your Baby’s Cloth Diaper
Congratulations on being a cloth diapering parent. By buying cloth diapers online, you have already taken a step towards an easier, more convenient diapering journey for your baby and you. This step is going to be beneficial to you in many ways. And not just that, it will also make the earth smile as fewer disposable diapers will end up in landfills.
To make the cloth diapering journey work best for you, you must keep a few helpful tips in mind. Following these tips can save your little one the pain of nasty diaper rashes and decide whether buying cloth diapers online is the best for them. This article will talk about one of those crucial things that you need to remember – how often to change the diapers. But first, let us understand why cloth diapers are the best choice for you!
Benefits Of Using Cloth Diapers
- You save thousands of rupees that you would otherwise spend on disposable diapers with cloth diapers. This is the most significant benefit of choosing cloth over disposables.
- The number of disposable diapers that end up being dumped in landfills is unimaginable. Buying cloth diapers online and avoiding disposable ones sends fewer of them to landfills.
- You can buy cloth diapers online, thus saving you the trip to the market and pharmacy every week.
- Cloth diapers can last up to 300 washes. This means you can use the same stash throughout your child’s diapering journey.
- Cloth diapers make for a fantastic newborn or baby shower gift. And because you can get cloth diapers online, you can conveniently send those to friends and family in different cities.
- Let’s not forget the cute and adorable prints you can choose from and get cloth diapers online. Pair them with t-shirts and tops, making your baby’s bum look adorable.
Harms Of Not Changing Diaper On Time
Before we get to the topic of how often we should be changing the baby’s cloth diapers, let us try to understand the importance of doing so. Why is it essential to change a baby’s cloth diaper frequently? Here is the answer.
If your baby’s delicate skin is exposed constantly to moisture from the diaper, they can experience irritation, redness and even diaper rashes. Moreover, more prolonged exposure to stale pee or poop can also cause skin infection, urinary tract infection or other severe issues for your baby. Thus, it is advised to keep changing the cloth diaper of your baby from time to time.
How Often Do Babies Poop
To determine the number of diapers, you would need to change in a day; you need to know the number of times your baby will poop at a given age. If they have not pooped in the diaper, the thumb rule is to change it in 3 – 4 hours. For the first couple of months, your baby will poop as often as even 8 times a day. Breastfed babies poop after every feed. But that is not a standard. Some babies can even poop once in 7 days, and as long as your baby is not constipated, this is absolutely normal.
While breastfed babies can soil up to 8 diapers a day, formula-fed babies, on the other hand, poop less frequently and soil around 4 – 5 diapers a day.
How Often Should You Change Cloth Diapers
Now, we come to the main topic of discussion. So, we have already established that it is essential to change cloth diapers frequently. But, how often do these diapers need to be changed? Let us understand this for each type of cloth diaper individually.
All In One UNO – As a thumb rule, any cloth diaper should be changed when your baby poops in it. Even if you put the clean diaper in just 2 minutes back and the baby has pooped in it, the soiled diaper needs to be changed immediately. In addition, you must change the diaper immediately if it looks wobbly or full from the outside, and you can feel the dampness on the outside. This might happen if your baby is a heavy wetter. Apart from this, even if the diaper is not full and your baby has peed in it only a few times, it is advised to change the diaper every 2 – 4 hours. Giving the bum some air and diaper-free breathing time is essential for every diaper change. This diaper-free time will allow your baby’s skin to dry before the following cloth diaper is put on.
Nappy / Langot – A nappy or langot can hold up to only one pee. Thus, they need to be changed with every pee or poop incident.
Padded Underwear – Just like a nappy or langot, padded underwear can also hold only up to one pee. Thus, whenever your baby pees or poops, you need to change the padded underwear.
So, while we are on the topic of diaper changing, here are some useful tips that will help you keep the nasty rashes away!
- If your baby has learnt to roll over, give them some distraction to keep them busy while you change the diaper.
- Maintain proper hand hygiene to avoid any infections. Wash and sanitise your hands properly before every diaper change.
- Also, ensure that the area where you put your baby for a diaper change is clean and safe. Keep a pack of wet wipes in your diaper bag if you are outside the home. Then, you can clean the surface to ensure it is hygienic before you use it as a diaper changing table in a public place.
- Clean the skin thoroughly to ensure no pee or poop traces are left on the skin or under the folds of your baby’s fat folds that can cause irritation, rashes or allergies.
- Give the skin some air and breathing time between diaper changes. You can let them be utterly diaper-free by putting them in padded underwear before you put a fresh diaper on.
Following these tips and a good diaper change routine ensures that your baby is not bothered by rashes or any diaper-related issues. Happy diapering!
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