If you’ve started getting excited about wool diaper covers, you’re probably wondering how many you actually need.
And what about those different sizes?
Should you buy a couple of covers for each size?
Generally, you will need 4-5 daytime wool covers and 2 nighttime wool covers in a certain size for full-time wool diapering.
Read on to learn my suggestions about what types and sizes to get. I’ll also let you know which sizes you can generally skip entirely, so you can save some money and still have a great experience with wool diapering.
How Many Wool Covers Do You Need Per Baby’s Age?
| Baby Age | Number of daytime covers | Number of nighttime covers |
| 0-3 Months | 4-5 (small size) | 0 |
| 3-8 Months | 4 (one-size) | 2 (medium size / EU 74-80 cm / 29-31 inches / 6-12 months) |
| 9-24 Months | 4 (one-size) | 2 (large size / EU 86-92 cm / 34-36 inches / 12-24 months) |
| 2-3 Years | 4 (extra large) | 2 (extra large / EU 98-104 cm / 38-41 inches / 2-3 years) |
| 3-4 Years | 4 (extra large) | 2 (extra extra large / EU 110-116 cm / 43-45 inches / 3-4 years) |
The baby ages in the above table seem inconsistent with the actual sizing on the covers because I’m using my experience with these sizes.
My son was on the chubby side until about 6 months of age, so that is why we probably went for a bigger size sooner.
You might have a different-sized baby, so make sure you take this into account.
If you haven’t used wool covers from the beginning and are on the fence about what size to get your baby, always get the bigger one. It will generally work fine, even if it will be a little loose.
I’ve been using the Disana brand since I started wool diapering, and I really love how incredibly soft, comfortable, and reliable their covers are. This is the cheapest retailer for Disana on Amazon, so if you decide you want to buy this brand, you can save a little bit of money.
If you want to buy more locally, you can also shop for wool covers on Etsy – they have incredible products!
How Many Wool Covers For The Newborn Phase (0-3 Months)?
I suggest buying only four to five small daytime covers for the first 2-3 months. You’ll alternate two covers during the day and use the other two when they need to be washed and lanolized.
You’ll have to be careful with the newborn liquidy poop because it can very easily get on the wool cover. I suggest using flat diapers or prefold folds like “Jelly Roll” to keep the poop off the cover. Learn more about different flat diaper folds in this post.
For the first 2-3 months, you’ll likely have to do frequent nighttime diaper changes because most babies poop at night. This is very individual, but my son pooped at night for about two months.
That is why I don’t recommend buying the smallest nighttime size – because if you do one nighttime diaper change, you’ll use two nighttime covers in one night. Then they’ll both be wearing off lanolin simultaneously instead of saving the other pair for when you need to wash and lanolize the first pair.
Another bonus if you’re doing nighttime diaper changes; you don’t need to stuff the overnight diaper too much, so you’ll be able to keep the diaper nice and trim.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the baby will probably outgrow the newborn size quickly, and it likely won’t be a problem to use the next size up, even if it feels a little loose.
How Many Wool Covers For A 3 – 8-Month-Old Baby?
I recommend buying two medium (EU 74-80 cm / 29-31 inches / 6-12 months) nighttime covers and four one-size daytime covers for this age.
You’ll be using one nighttime cover until the lanolin wears off (about 2-3 weeks), then you wash and lanolize this pair and use the second nighttime cover in the meantime. The nighttime cover will air out during the day.
If your baby is smaller, you can also consider buying a smaller size (EU 62-68 cm / 24-27 inches / 3-6 months), but I found that even if the cover is a little loose, it works just fine as long as it’s adequately lanolized.
I started using the medium size (EU 74-80 cm / 29-31 inches / 6-12 months) with my son when he was still wearing clothes in the small size (EU 62-68 cm / 24-27 inches / 3-6 months) and it worked great.
I even liked that my son initially wore a slightly bigger nighttime cover because it kept his belly nice and warm.
You can now probably resell the small daytime covers for about 70% of the original value, depending on the state of the covers. If you plan on having more children, keep the covers.
I used the medium size for about 4-5 months with my son until he was about 7-8 months old.
How Many Wool Covers For A 9-Month – 2-Year-Old Child?
I recommend buying two large (EU 86-92 cm / 34-36 inches / 12-24 months) nighttime covers for this age. You’ll also need the four one-size daytime covers you likely already own.
Since babies don’t grow as quickly at this age as they do when they are smaller, you’ll likely be using the large nighttime size for quite a while.
As they grow from little chubby babies to walking toddlers, their physique changes; in my experience, they can wear the same size (regular clothes and wool covers) for a long time.
I have been using the large size with my son for about 15 months now (he is almost two years old), and they still fit him nicely, and I’m guessing they still will for a few months.
How Many Wool Covers For A 2 – 3-Year-Old Child?
I again recommend buying two extra large (EU 98-104 cm / 38-41 inches / 2-3 years) nighttime covers for this age. You’ll probably need to use 4 new, slightly bigger daytime covers (extra large), but that depends on your child’s physique. You might still be able to use the one-size covers.
It’s also possible your child will only still use diapers at night at this age, so there might not even be any need to buy daytime wool covers.
How Many Wool Covers For A 3 – 4-Year-Old Child?
I again recommend buying two extra extra large (EU 110-116 cm / 43-45 inches / 3-4 years) nighttime covers for this age. You’ll probably still be okay with the 4 extra large daytime covers you purchased for the age 2-3 years, but that again depends on your child’s physique.
If your child doesn’t use diapers during the day anymore, there’s no need to purchase daytime wool covers.
How Many Absorbent Parts Do You Need With Wool Covers?
For nighttime wool covers, I recommend owning about 4 fitted diapers that come with a pocket for you to increase the absorbency if needed.
I’m using stay-dry hemp fitted diapers similar to these at night with additional bamboo and hemp inserts under the Disana wool cover. This combination has worked reliably for more than a year now, even though my son pees a lot during the night.
For daytime covers, you’ll need about 36 absorbent parts for newborns and about 24 absorbent parts for bigger babies. This will generally suffice until the absorbent parts need to be washed. If you still don’t know how often you must wash cloth diapers, do not miss this post!
