Ask this question to a dozen cloth diapering parents, and likely you will get 12 different answers. There really is no hard and fast rule to go by. You'll have to base how many diapers to have in your stash on a few factors.
Amount Needed for Cloth Diapering Varies
Before purchasing your cloth diapers, ponder the following points.
- The age of your baby. Newborns need to be changed much more often than older babies.
- How often you wish to do laundry.
- Your baby's unique body style and wetting pattern. Some babies do better with certain types of diapers depending on their chunky or thin build and whether or not they are a heavy wetter.
Build Diaper Stash Slowly
It may be better to start with a small sampling of diapers that includes a few prefolds, pocket diapers, and all in one diapers. Once you get a sense of what works well for your baby and your family, you can build your stash from there. Ideally, a stash of 18 diapers would be adequate. Depending on your child's pattern, that should get you through approximately a day and a half between laundering.
Refer to recommendations for pocket diapers for further help in selecting which diapers are needed for your stash.
Benefits of a Larger Cloth Diaper Inventory
While a dozen and half diapers should work out, once you are certain you are going to stick with cloth diapering you may want to expand your inventory. A larger stash will allow you to go a little bit longer between washing. Also, as diapers will be used less often, it will increase their longevity of use. This works particularly well if you are planning on re-using your diapers on subsequent children. The limit wear-and-tear also improves your resale value. So while a larger stash will cost more money, it might be a worthwhile investment.
The Wisdom of Prefold Diapers
You may want to investigate whether you want to include prefold diapers in your stash. Though they certainly are old-fashioned and lack the modern elegance of modern day pocket diapers and all-in-ones, but these diapers when coupled with diaper covers make for a wonderfully absorbent and versatile diaper. Whether you settle on Chinese prefolds or Indian prefolds is certainly a matter of preference, but it might be wise to consider having just a few prefolds and one cover in your cloth diapering closet. Provided the diaper cover is not soiled, you can re-use the same cover as you change out the prefold or fitted diaper.
