How often do you change prefolds?

[Katielady]

My DD is 4 months, 16.5 lbs. (So she's more like the size of an average six or seven month old.) I just started experimenting with cloth diapers and am almost sure I'm switching, I just need to narrow down which types I want to get.

I've been changing them about every two hours, and I'm not sure if that's too often or not. They're wet to the touch from the outside, but not every inch of them is soaked. I used to change the 'sposies every three hours or so, unless there was a poop before that.

And speaking of poops- I keep not being able to detect them! A few times, I've sniffed her rear and smelled nothing, then she had continued fussiness, and finally I'd check the dipe and find a (somewhat old) poop. She pooped while in my lap earlier (felt the rumbles) and as a test I sniffed her extensively- I couldn't smell a thing. When I then changed her it was a huge poop. It speaks to how well the CDs hold the poops in...but how am I supposed to tell when one's in there? I hate to have her sitting in it for longer than a few minutes. Ideas?

[chely7425]

I would change every 2-ish hours... more if you notice she is wet or poopy. We end up changing every 1-3 hours. And I have no suggestions on the poop detection... I am horrible at it!!! I just end up looking down the back of his diaper a lot...

[michelle123]

2 hours sounds about right. I know exactly what you mean about not being able to smell the poop-it was something we had to get used to when we switched to cloth!

I just try to know the times of day they are most likely to poop. DD2 still has very noisy ones, but sometimes it's harder to tell with DD1.

[tinyblackdot]

wow, i changed about every 30 minutes or so. But my dd had a bladder issue.

I would say every hour or every time its damp or wet.

[Leisha]

Hmmm I change my dd every 2-3 hours.
If I hear a poopsplosion I change her ASAP

And yeah, 'sposies stink a lot more so with cloth it's not as easy to detect poo by smell.
But I've learnt to hear the difference between regular farts and poo-ing.
Also, the farts smell worse than actual poo (lol, there's a few sentences I never thought I would type ).

And the way she acts (bit of grunting and stuff) usually will tell me when she's pooped (although sometimes I get it wrong of course).

[joshs_girl]

She's generally in PFs when she's awake and playing and I try to go as coverless as often as possible, so we change about every hour then.

[sunnymw]

I change as soon as he's wet, even if it's just a little pee.

As far as poo, it's usually obvious he's going. Once he's done grunting I check him

[Galatea]

Every hour or two if you are unsure about the poops. You will get to know when the baby poops as she gets more regular. For now, just peek down the back.

[Katielady]

Thanks y'all. I'm not always around to see or hear the sign of pooping- she might be in the swing in the living room, for example, while I'm changing my son's diaper in his room. I guess if she's in the swing or the carseat for a while, I'll make sure to check for a poop. It's annoying because she mostly wears footie pajamas and I have to undo them for every check.

Anyway, I'm sure I'll get used to the new routine.