how much do they pee?

[Rose-Roget]

I have seen absorbancy amounts on some of the diapers I've been looking at. But I don't know how they relate to how much a baby wets. Take an ME, for example - says they have 12 oz. absorbancy for the small Sandy's, and 10 oz. for the nb size. I understand that different babies wet different amounts, but on average, would this be the amount they might wet each time, or does it allow a little leeway in case you don't get it changed right away? Would it be the average of how much they might wet in a couple of hours - whether it's all at once or in little bits over time? Sorry - you guys have a complete novice on your hands! Thanks for your help.

[Juliacat]

I think the absorbency amounts are provided so you can compare one diaper to another. Babies vary greatly in how much they pee and in how often, and I'm not even sure how you'd measure the output except maybe by weighing the diaper before and after changing.

[Googy]

The average infant secretes 15 - 50 ml (.5 - 1.5 fluid oz) of urine per 24 hours during the first 2 days of life, 50 - 300 ml (1.5 - 10 oz) per day during the next week, and 400 - 500 ml (13.5 - 17 oz) per day by the latter half of the first year.

Please keep in mind, though, that you cannot actually leave a diaper on a baby until it is fully saturated. For one thing, the dipe will leak out of the cover long before it is fully saturated. Second, your poor baby will have the worst diaper rash of all time.

Count on changing baby every 2 hours or so, plus anytime after baby poops. Average 12 changes a day with a newborn.

With cloth diapers, there is a trimness vs. absorbancy balance you have to find. The more absorbant the diaper, the bulkier it will be, so you have to kind the right balance that will work for you. You can try to counteract this with more absorbant fibers like microfiber, hemp, or bamboo, but in my personal experience those fibers hold onto stink like crazy, so I tend to stick with cotton, which is super easy to thoroughly clean.

[Rose-Roget]

Thank you! That information is helpful. Rest assured, I wasn't planning on leaving it on my babe until it was saturated! I just kind of wanted a guideline to know that one pee, if I didn't catch it right away, wasn't going to saturate it and start leaking. Plus, the trimness factor is something I hadn't considered.

[Juliacat]

Wow, great stats, Googy! And I completely agree with everything you said about diapers, too.