On Average, How Long Is a Baby in Newborn Size Diapers?

Newborn diapers have a relatively short lifespan for most babies. If you have a really big baby, he might not ever fit into them. Most newborn diapers fit babies up to 10 pounds; when your baby outgrows them will depend on his weight at birth and his weight gain thereafter. Because size 1 diapers -- the next size up -- fit infants starting at 8 pounds, there may be some overlap between the two diaper sizes.

  1. What Newborns Weigh

    • An American infant born between the 37th and 40th week of pregnancy can weigh anywhere from between 5 pounds 8 ounces and 8 pounds, 13 ounces and still fall into the normal weight range. The more your baby weighs, the faster he'll outgrow newborn diapers. If you have a premature baby, or one who weighs less than average -- one in 12 babies fall into this category, according to Kids Health -- it might take weeks before he even grows into newborn diapers, much less out of them.

    Newborn Weight Gain

    • Most newborns lose around 5 percent of their birth weight in the first few days after birth if they're bottle fed and 7 to 10 percent if you're breastfeeding, the American Pregnancy Association explains. By 2 weeks of age, most have regained their birth weight. Once your baby starts eating normally, he will gain between 5 to 7 ounces per week, according to MayoClinic.com. This means that an 8-pound baby can reach 10 pounds and graduate from the newborn size diapers around age 5 to 7 weeks, if he gains an average amount of weight.

    Advantages of Newborn Diapers

    • If babies outgrow newborn diapers so quickly, you might wonder if you should buy any at all if your baby is already close to the top of the weight chart. Newborn diapers do have some advantages for your fresh-from-the-womb baby over size-1 diapers. Most have cutouts that avoid the umbilical area. This avoids irritation of the healing cord stump. which normally drops off within the first week after birth.

    Why Size Matters

    • It makes sense to buy the right size diapers for your newborn. If you buy too small a size, your baby may feel uncomfortable and the diaper might not be large enough to hold his messes. Diapers that are too large present the same risk: loose diapers leak. Manufacturers also charge more for larger diapers, so there is no reason to spend more than you have to until your baby needs the larger size. Newborns go through around 10 diapers per day, according to the Pampers website. If you have a big baby, plan on keeping him in a newborn size for no more than a few weeks and buy only as many newborn diapers as you'll need.

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