How Often Should Diapers Be Changed? | Hello Bello

Anyone who’s been through it will tell you: parenthood comes with a lot of weird 💩. In the beginning, dealing with it in the literal sense (i.e., changing diapers) might feel like your sole purpose in life, an activity you perform constantly. And at some point, you may wonder, “do I really need to change diapers so often?” Hello Bello is here to help answer that question with some simple advice.

The answer depends on baby’s age

How often you need to change your little one’s diaper varies primarily with age. Newborns will go through about 10 diapers a day and need to be changed frequently every 1.5 hours (their teensy bladders only hold about 2 tablespoons of pee!). As your baby grows and gets older, you’ll be able to wait longer between changes.

You can expect to change 8-10 diapers a day for babies 1-5 months of age and 8 or fewer diapers a day for babies over the age of 5 months. When they are ready for potty training, that number will drop to as few as 4 or 5 diapers daily.

Changing diapers frequently helps avoid health risks

It shouldn’t come as a big surprise that changing diapers frequently helps your baby stay healthy and happy (which helps you keep your sanity).

Although modern diapers like Hello Bello’s are super absorbent and can handle a few pees, leaving a soiled diaper on your baby too long can lead to diaper rash and even cause infections, including UTIs (urinary tract infections) or yeast infections.

In addition to frequent diaper changes, another way to prevent irritation is by using gentle baby wipes like ours! Hello Bello’s 100% plant-based wipes are made with 99%+ water and a touch of aloe and chamomile to help keep baby’s hiney clean and shiny with every change.

How can you tell when your baby needs a diaper change?

If your baby went number 2 it will be obvious because… pee-ew! Here are other ways to know when it’s time for a change.

Watch the Wetness Indicator

Hello Bello’s premium diapers have a built-in “wetness indicator” on sizes N-3. The indicator is a strip that changes color when your baby pees, so it’s easy for parents to know when it’s time for diaper duty. Why only sizes N-3? Because when your baby is bigger, they pee a lot more at one time, making it easier to see when the diaper is saturated (more on that below).

ID Irritability

For people who can’t say much, babies sure know how to get a message across. Crying, kicking, or even pulling at their diaper are all signs of an unhappy or uncomfortable little human. Tip: Check that baby’s booty. It’s probably time for a fresh wrapper.

Keep an Eye on Expansion

When a diaper needs to be changed, it will look larger and squishier than when you first put it on. An “inflated” or dense diaper is your cue to get the diaper bag.

AM/PM diaper changing

In addition to the baby’s age and size, how often diapers need changing depends on the time of day, their feeding schedule, and what they eat. Each new stage of your baby’s life brings new foods, new mealtimes, and even hours of sleep; transitions that may impact how often you need to change their diaper.

During the day, monitoring your baby for signs that a change is needed is easier. Changes typically revolve around waking up, eating, and napping. Parents and caretakers are awake and ready to oblige as needed.

Nighttime can be a bit more challenging.

To change? Or not to change?

If your baby is not yet sleeping through the night, changes and feedings will happen upon “request” (read: crying). In the beginning, this will happen on average every 3 hours throughout the night. Once baby starts sleeping through the night – the answer is less clear.

Generally speaking, if your kiddo is sleeping and they have only lightly wet their diaper, let them sleep. On the other hand, if they have a full diaper that feels firm to the touch or seems to be causing discomfort, change them immediately. Either way, even if your baby doesn’t have a rash, always pre-apply a soothing diaper rash cream to protect your baby’s skin from irritation. They’ll sleep more comfortably, which means more sleep for you.

When your baby reaches about 14 pounds, they’ll be ready for Hello Bello Nighttime Diapers, a game-changer designed for faster fluid intake and increased absorbency. Sleeping like a baby will start to mean something again!

Pro Parent Tip: Stay prepared

You never know when diaper duty will call, so always be prepared. If you have a large house, you may want to keep a few spare diapers in places that are far from your changing station. Keep a few stashed in the car just in case you grabbed the diaper bag, but forgot to actually put diapers in it.

Speaking of forgetting, avoid the dreaded “no diapers left!” disaster by getting a diaper subscription – then you don’t even have to remember to go to the store.

Having a Hello Bello diaper subscription means you automatically get diapers delivered to your doorstep and it can be a real lifesaver. Not only is it super convenient, but our diapers offer super-duper leak protection and absorbency, are super-soft for babies' sensitive skin, and are super-adorable. Try us out and say hello to better booty-wrapping!