This depends both on your baby, their age, and what nappies you use. The usual advice is that you need approx. 20 nappies if you wash every other day (and need a third drying day) and I find this rings true. This takes into account that an average 4 month old+ baby gets through 5 nappies in a day plus a night nappy, and a couple of spares for unexpected occurrences.

The most basic nappy types are:

1. Pocket nappy - inserts are fully removable from the waterproof outer shell and can be mixed and matched

2. All in one - absorbent inserts are attached to the outer shell

3. 2-part/All in two - are usually shaped from absorbent material that fits snugly around the bum and needs covering with a waterproof wrap

4. Flat/terry - are a traditional towel that needs folding & securing with a nippa before covering with a waterproof wrap

5. Prefold - flat squares like a condensed terry that need folding and placing into a wrap to be secured

All nappies vary in absorbency and so some will keep a baby drier longer than others. As a general rule a good pocket nappy can actually last for up to 4 hours before changing (wee only), but it’s best to plan for 2 hours before changing. An All in one or cotton 2-part/cotton terry + wrap can last up to 6 hours (in my experience).

Night nappies

I find I actually need 4 highly absorbent (i.e. bamboo or hemp boosted) night nappies to make it work without a tumble drier in the colder months.

When I took a stash photo it looked like I had about 16 nappies in total, but this didn’t include some additional 2-parts/terry flats, and one of them is a swim nappy. I’ve also discovered Hippynut since this was taken and so I have bought/sold since falling in love with this brand.

But 20 including 4 nappies suitable for night is still a good benchmark.

This gives me enough to always have something spare, something dry and one in the changing bag. But I probably have too many. And a stash of terries for emergencies. It’s so easy to get addicted!

A typical cloth nappy day for me with a 13 month old looks like this:

7.00-10.00 1 nappy, sometimes 2, (he poos more frequently in the morning).

10:00-13:00 1 nappy

13:00-14:30 naptime 1 nappy

14:30-17:00 1 nappy

17:00-19:00 1 nappy

19:00 – next day. 1 nappy for nights. Remember to rinse these out the next morning before dry paling.

Reality check…

So from the above you can see that you really don’t need that many to make a working “stash”. You can make it work full time with only 10-12 nappies if all the following are true:

1. You wash nappies every night (instead of every second night)

2. you have a tumble drier

3. you have a weaned baby who doesn’t poo frequently or isn’t a heavy wetter

You can also only do weekends and nights with only 10-12 nappies if your child is already in full time childcare where disposables are provided.

To save a bit of cash you might also want to look at some of our pre-loved nappies or terry bundles as spares.

I also highly recommend reading blog post on the importance of a varied stash.

Help guides

For more straight forward practical tips on how to switch to reusable nappies, have a read of my further blogs:

• Wash routine

• What about poo?

• The importance of having a varied “stash”