Wake. Change. Feed. Play. Sleep. Repeat.
As a parent of newborn twins, this will be your cycle eight times a day for the foreseeable future—or more often, if they're not both on the same schedule.
You'll be dealing with a staggering number of diapers, and you'll go through them so quickly, you'll want to have a steady supply at the ready to ensure you never run out.
So, just how many diapers are you going to need?
A good rule of thumb is eight diapers per baby per day.
But you should also account a few extras for the inevitable Oopsie Moments, when you just get a fresh diaper in place and then—BAM—it gets peed on.
Or—BOOM—that blowout has a surprise aftershock seconds after you tighten the tabs on the clean diaper.
Major math moment
So, let's do the math.
At eight diapers a day, that means that in the first 100 days, you'll be changing approximately 800 diapers…per baby.
After six months, you'll have changed about 1,450 diapers...each.
And by the time your twins turn one year old, they'll have used about 2,500 diapers…per kid. The actual number, if we're getting technical, would be 2,520 each.
That's right. Just over 5,000 diapers in one year. Plus, a few extra for those unexpected moments.
Told you it was a staggering number.
Now that you know how many you'll need, let's break down the size and look at how to know when your babies are ready to size up.
Which sizes of diapers do I need?
Most new babies need a Newborn size diaper, but if your twins are born prematurely and have a low birth weight (under five pounds), they'll probably be wearing a Preemie size. Your babies may grow out of their Preemie diapers by the time they come home; if not, you won't want to stock up on many because they'll need the Newborn size before long, and you don't want a ton of diapers that no longer fit.
One of our twins was in Newborn size diapers when he came home after two weeks in the NICU, but our other twin was still in Preemie size after four weeks in the NICU (they had about 1.25 pounds difference between their weights when they were born).
We were lucky that our hospital sent a small stack of Preemie size diapers home from our babies' bedside when they graduated from the NICU since they were stored among their personal supplies. It ended up being just enough to get us through to switching our smaller twin to the Newborn size.
Diapers by the month
In short, you'll go through a LOT of diapers every month. In general, you're looking at 480 diapers, in total, per month.
Here's a look at the cumulative use of diapers by month, in total, for two babies:
- By one month old, you'll have used 240 diapers per baby = 480 diapers for twins
- By two months old, you'll have used 480 diapers per baby = 960 diapers for twins
- By three months old, you'll have used 720 diapers per baby = 1,440 diapers for twins
- By four months old, you'll have used 960 diapers per baby = 1,920 diapers for twins
- By five months old, you'll have used 1,200 diapers per baby = 2,400 diapers for twins
- By six months old, you'll have used 1,440 diapers per baby = 2,880 diapers for twins
- By seven months old, you'll have used 1,620 diapers per baby = 3,240 diapers for twins
- By eight months old, you'll have used 1,800 diapers per baby = 3,600 diapers for twins
- By nine months old, you'll have used 1,980 diapers per baby = 3,960 diapers for twins
- By 10 months old, you'll have used 2,160 diapers per baby = 4,320 diapers for twins
- By 11 months old, you'll have used 2,340 diapers per baby = 4,680 diapers for twins
- By 12 months old, you'll have used 2,520 diapers per baby = 5,040 diapers for twins
While you're going to need about 480 diapers per month, you don't want to go buy 480 diapers all in the same size because within that month, your twins may need to size up to different-sized diapers, depending on how much they weigh.
The best course of action is to stock up on diapers every two weeks, so that you aren't swimming in extra sizes your twins no longer need.
If you DO end up with extras on-hand, there are likely parents in your local Buy Nothing groups that would love a donation for their duos' doodies.
Diapers by the scale
Every baby will be different, and their height may play a factor in how snugly each diaper size fits, but you can generally gauge the size you'll need based on your babies' weights.
The below table provides a breakdown of diaper size and the weight they generally fit for.
| Diaper Size | Baby Weight |
|---|---|
| Preemie | Less than 5 lbs |
| Newborn | 5-10 lbs |
| Size 1 | 8-14 lbs |
| Size 2 | 12-18 lbs |
| Size 3 | 16-28 lbs |
| Size 4 | 22-37 lbs |
| Size 5 | 27-35 lbs |
| Size 6 | More than 35 lbs |
| Size 7 | More than 41 lbs |
| Size 8 | More than 46 lbs |
Your twins' weight really plays a big role in which size of diaper they're wearing and which sizes you'll want to stock up on. Our twins had a weight difference of more than one pound at birth, which was enough to make them be in different sized diapers half of the time. Oftentimes, they were only "synced up in size" for a couple of weeks before they'd be in different-sized diapers again.
To make sure you have the right fit for your babies, diapers should fit snugly below the belly button and totally cover their butts. They should also fit snugly around their legs without being too tight.
To ensure they're not TOO snug, you'll want to make sure you leave about a two-finger gap between your baby's skin and their diaper. When you have the right-sized diaper, it won't leave red marks on their skin.
Signs of when to size up
Aside from your babies' weights, there will be other signs that your little ones are ready to level up to the next diaper size.
If you find you're changing their bedding every morning because they've leaked through their diapers overnight, or if you're dealing with blowouts more often, those are indications the diapers could be too small and that they're ready for the next size up.
Stocking up on the essentials
As mothers and fathers of multiples, you'll be dealing with a mother lode of diapers. There's no way around it.
If it helps, remind yourself that every wet or dirty diaper means that everything's working exactly as it should be with your babies.
And if you keep an eye out for sales, you can stock up on the sizes you KNOW you're going to need and save cash while you're at it—that extra cash can go torward the caffeine you'll fly through almost as quickly as the diapers.
Did you realize you'd go through so many diapers with your multiples? It's shocking, isn't it? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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