Diapers

Cubslove12

I was looking and didn't see a thread designated just for Diapers, non cloth. I've seen it mentioned a few times, but I thought a, go to, thread would be beneficial. As a FTM I'm trying to start budgeting for diapers and would like to know from other moms, where can I find the best diaper/deal? We are debating getting Amazon Prime, we are also Costco members, I live pretty close to Walmart and Target. I know there is quite a bit out there in terms of options, and it will be partially up to the baby... However I would still love some input. 

#1- What is your favorite brand
#2- Any brand to stay away from?
#3- Where can they be found the cheapest? Price per Diaper?
#4- Any other suggestions?

starphish18

Great idea, @Cubslove12. I'd also be curious to see a price estimate (if anyone has one) for those of you who deal shop for diapers. For instance, price per diaper or price per pack (and pack size)? I'm especially curious about this because I can get Huggies at warehouse cost and I think it's cheaper than any deals I'd find through a store, but I'm not positive.

Cubslove12

starphish18 said:

Great idea, @Cubslove12. I'd also be curious to see a price estimate (if anyone has one) for those of you who deal shop for diapers. For instance, price per diaper or price per pack (and pack size)? I'm especially curious about this because I can get Huggies at warehouse cost and I think it's cheaper than any deals I'd find through a store, but I'm not positive.

Great suggestion! 

emilyalso

What is your favorite brand? UP & UP from Target (I also exclusively use UP & UP wipes FWIW.) I used Huggies overnights for 7-8 months, but recently switched to UP & UP for those too - I'm a true believer, y'all! 

Any brand to stay away from? I didn't like Honest, because they seemed to run REALLY small (and they're QUITE expensive!). I tried Pampers Swaddlers in the early days, but they have NO elastic in the back and were very prone to blowouts. Now that DS is older, I have used Pampers Cruisers if I have a good coupon for them.
 
Where can they be found the cheapest? They can only be found at Target, and there are frequently very good sales! I try not to pay over $0.15/diaper and can usually get them for $0.12-$0.13.  

Any other suggestions? I think I have mentioned this before, but you MUST calculate price/diaper when price shopping or making comparisons. 'Deals' can be very deceiving, and buying a ginormous pack is not always the best way to go. 

0408Bear

Diapers can be tricky. Luckily for me, none of our kids have had any reactions to any brands. With that said, I have known children that can only wear a certain brand so keep that in mind. I prefer pampers swaddlers until age 1ish(when they are walking) and then I'm comfortable switching to huggies, which I Can buy at Costco! At about two, I usually switch to whatever store brand (or Luvs) I'm in at the moment (if at target and need diapers I buy target, etc). 

I jump on the BRU deals when they give you a gift card to buy boxes. That $20 comes in handy quite often! DS goes thru about a box every three weeks or so...I take a box to daycare and a box for home. Also, use the coupons...in the newspaper, in welcome bags, in-store coupons, etc! Even if it's just $1.50 off, it adds up in the long run. 

Be willing and open to try all the samples you get, too! 

So, to the actual questions
1. Pampers Snugglers, then Huggies, then store brand
2. I stay away from the really cheap ones
3. Cheapest isn't always Costco. With coupons and in store offers it can add up to be cheaper in the long run that way.
4. Be open to try them all and get what works for you and baby! (Wipes can be the same way if baby reacts. I only use Huggies unscented wipes that I get at Costco)

sorry so long! Interested in others thoughts, too!

psherman42wwsa

I usually wait for Amazon deals and stock up. I've already went crazy on the deals and I have an entire years worth of diapers for this baby. In the deals thread some ladies got great deals from target. Amazon prime day should be coming soon too. Just keep an eye on the deals thread. 

Every baby is different and sometimes diapers work great and then a few months later that same diaper is no longer one of your favorites. I personally haven't found a brand that I am in love with so I just buy whatever I can get on sale. As a newborn my son had blow outs all the time, no matter what brand. After he turned a couple months old, I've never had a diaper leak and I've tried most brands. 

chickyclg

Disposable Diapers were a complete trial and error for me.

  DS has a sensitive tush and we could use Pampers Swaddler (not baby dry) as long as we put rash cream as a barrier before hand.

 Huggies were terrible for him but I found they fit DD better, we only ever bought the one small pack since he was sensitive to them.

 Luvs were terrible for him, like he is really hardcore allergic to something in them, after 4 hours he had blisters and a chemical burn where the diaper touched him.  We actually were those people that returned a pack of diapers with those.

Honest Co. fit DD amazing, if she was a singleton this is the brand we would have used for her.  DS would pee through them so it wasn't worth it.

Up&Up (Target brand) actually worked really well for us, no rashes for DS, my only complaint is they aren't the most amazing for DD (skinny legs) but since she isn't a heavy wetter I can keep her I the lower size for her weight.

I have also heard amazing things about the Kirkland brand (I think that's Costco) but the closest one is too far from us.

WombThereItIs

I am not a big price shopper, I buy a couple months at a time and try not to overthink it. 

One thing i would suggest though is get some smaller packs of wipes or diapers to start. Some kids blow out of different brands or have reactions or if you're like me some just smell weird and you can't get over it. Huggies diapers and pampers sensitive wipes for example make me want to gag. It's crazy but some people definitely pick up on smells. 

0408Bear

+1 for despising pampers sensitive wipes 

saric83

For our tall and skinny little human, Pampers (Swaddlers for the first year and now Cruisers) are our go-to, and we never bothered with any other kind.  We either get them from Target (with REDcard 5% off and free shipping) or Amazon Prime, and they're usually both around $0.17-$0.19 per diaper, but whenever Target has their deals, we stock up where you get a gift card for $25 if you buy three boxes.  

bacorrea

#1- What is your favorite brand
ok so when DD was a baby we did Target's Up&Up brand. They have since change their formula (a few times actually) and I really hate them now. It's like the beads or whatever they're called inside the diaper come out. I switched to Huggies and that's what I've been using/buying for this LO.

#2- Any brand to stay away from? I think Luvs stink! We were gifted just about every brand at my shower and I didn't even finishes the bag. Something about the smell of them, I couldn't stand them. 

#3- Where can they be found the cheapest? Price per Diaper?
This question depends on the person. It will differ if you by store brand vs pampers/Huggies or even go to the "high end" for Honest Company. Price per diaper changes with each size. 

I buy all my diapers from Target. I wait for gift card deals and then combine with coupons. For instance, around January they had spend. $125 of baby items get a gift card.

For example I did two separate transactions. Total spent before tax: $272.26 with coupons, cartwheel, and red card. I received $90 in Target gift cards!  I ended up with 10 boxes of diapers and 4 boxes of wipes. I can't tell you the price per diaper though as I got a mix and match of sizes for DD and DS. 

This is also beneficial for me because I shop at Target. I was able to use the $90 in GC to go toward my new stroller. I also like to stock up on gift cards for Christmas shopping.

Again, this is just what I do.

#4- Any other suggestions?
Yes! Never pay more than 2cents a wipe (I usually can get it down to 1 cent though). I buy Amazon's wipes or Huggies wipes. I have to buy natural care unscented etc. because all the perfumes break DD out.

starphish18

Found this breakdown online...bargain shoppers, look accurate?

What is a good per diaper price then?

Broken down by size this is what we generally see:
Newborn: 13¢ – 16¢
Size 1: 11¢ – 14¢
Size 2: 14¢ – 16¢
Size 3: 16¢ – 19¢
Size 4: 19¢ – 22¢
Size 5: 22¢ – 26¢
Size 6: 26¢ – 30¢

bacorrea

starphish18 said:

Found this breakdown online...bargain shoppers, look accurate?

What is a good per diaper price then?

Broken down by size this is what we generally see:
Newborn: 13¢ – 16¢
Size 1: 11¢ – 14¢
Size 2: 14¢ – 16¢
Size 3: 16¢ – 19¢
Size 4: 19¢ – 22¢
Size 5: 22¢ – 26¢
Size 6: 26¢ – 30¢

It can be. I see people get it down much cheaper though. It's really how much work you want to put into it. When there is going to be good diaper coupons in the paper (normally the first Sunday for the month) I will go buy 10 papers {pro tip - buy your Sunday paper from the Dollar Tree, same paper, but only $1!}. I try really hard to get my diaper budget low. Some days though if I am out, I am out, and you have to buy what you need. It takes a lot of planning. 

This is like the only time in my life I use math. 
Jk.

NotAPlaya-JustCrushAlot

We use Pampers Swaddlers during the day and Pampers Baby Dry at night until 18mos-2yo.  Then we switched to Huggies from Costco.  I like Swaddlers for the early "are they or aren't they wet" days.  I also tried Luvs and Up&Up. I didn't have a problem with them but they did seem to have a smell.

I love Huggies One and Done cucumber green tea wipes.  Although I had a box "go bad" after DD stopped wearing them.  They started to stink when normally they smell amazing.

Until I switch to Costco Huggies, I follow Baby Cheapskate for diaper deals.  Usually it's at Target or Amazon.

hp_momma

WombThereItIs said:

I am not a big price shopper, I buy a couple months at a time and try not to overthink it. 

This. I try to stock up when Target has their gift card deals but I also don't tend to "look for the best deal". I might look into Amazon pricing this go around since it's so convenient. 

Favorite Brand - Huggies Swaddlers and Little Snugglers. I don't like the Snug and Dry version (which sucks because that's what they sell at Costco) because they felt cheap and plasticy to me. I do use the Pampers swaddlers in the hospital and have no issues with them, I just choose to buy Huggies. I also use the Huggies Natural Care Wipes. Both of my girls have sensitive skin and these wipes have never caused them a reaction, I've used other Huggies wipes and they break out in a rash almost immediately. I like that I can buy a bulk box of the Natural Care from Costco! 

Squirtgun

Just FYI- If anyone ends up with a kiddo with a soy sensitivity or allergy, they may get really bad rashes from Pampers and from Honest co diapers. Also, some of the desitin ointments have soy in them as well. 

pshaortao

DD had no reactions to diapers so we just got whatever was cheapest, either pampers dry or huggies dry. We prefer Huggies now at 2.5yo because the part where you secure the diaper leaves a mark on her sides and they bother her. Its too late for me to do any math so I will come back another time. I do take advantage of the target diaper deals plus coupons. 

We also did up and up for awhile but at around 6 months she started blowing out of them regularly even when we went up a size, so we just never looked back. I've heard they kept changing it and it was really annoying.

I actually like pampers sensitive wipes more than anything else at least for poops. They seem to do a better job at cleaning her up. I use whatever else wipes for other things (cleanup after a meal or getting dirty while out etc)

inomniaparatus2

I found that Amazon offers 30% off diapers and wipes pretty frequently so I stocked up on a couple of each kinds and will see which work best. If you sign up for their auto renewal program you get an additional 20% off so 50% off the price. Then once I receive the diapers I cancel the subscription. 

skeetied

We have used Pampers Swaddlers for both kids as newborns because that's what the hospital gave us, ha.  I like the pee indicator because it's so hard to tell otherwise.  DS1 had a huge sensitivity to diapers so we did Huggies Pure and Natural and the Honest Co when they came out.  We stuck with Honest Co with DS2 once he was out of our freebies and gaining weight well.  I can't stand any other wipes now because the Honest Co ones aren't very wet or smelly (Kirkland brand ones are tolerable too).  The smell of most wipes and diapers bugs me now. I use their subscription program, which I found isn't too awful, and occasionally stock up when Target has a deal.

llenadevida900

We started with target diapers which I really liked (that was four years ago though), but we eventually switched to Honest (a good compromise for us, when a cloth or compostable service was unaffordable, and I won't was cloth at home on coin op apartment washers). I love Honest wipes! They're really soft, and like @skeetied said they aren't smelly at all. Even some "unscented" wipes have an odor (pampers).  Sorry for all the parenthesis!

MrsFreeman2010

We did pampers swaddlers until 6ish months and then cruisers. She expressed potty training intereat around 18 months so we used a mix of pampers pull-ups and up & up pull ups.  We never had any issues with sensitivities or blow outs (if she did blow out is was typically about time to size up). I have no preference on wipes; I don't like the scented ones though. When you have a nasty diaper to clean up I don't need florally wipes competing with it. 

chailife34

WombThereItIs said:

I am not a big price shopper, I buy a couple months at a time and try not to overthink it. 

One thing i would suggest though is get some smaller packs of wipes or diapers to start. Some kids blow out of different brands or have reactions or if you're like me some just smell weird and you can't get over it. Huggies diapers and pampers sensitive wipes for example make me want to gag. It's crazy but some people definitely pick up on smells. 

This. I HATE the smell of Pampers and Huggies, and Pampers wipes always feel too wet and soapy. We use Honest exclusively now, and sometimes using Amazon wipes when they have a good deal. I buy a few months supply when either Target has a deal or through Honest's bundle when they offer a promo or coupon. They fit perfectly, never any blow outs, soft and not smelly, and the patterns are actually cute and not annoying character licensing. 

achays11

Like @WombThereItIs, I don't really do a lot of pricing diapers out. We were lucky to not only be gifted over a year of diapers from our showers, and DD was never sensitive to any brands. 

Once we through all of the gifted diapers, all different brands, we switched to Target Up & Up for a few months. They are seriously the best! Never had a blowout. Around 18 months we switched to the Up & Up pull-ups and they are also great. 

I never used the one pack of Luvs that we were gifted and Pampers were horrible. 

We only ever used Huggies Natural Care wipes. We usually bought the large box from Costco. 

vrj0522

My favorite have been Pampers Swaddlers until about 6 months old. They seemed to contain all the constant poop blowouts the best. 

Huggies leaked so didn't work for DS so we went with Luvs and Pampers Baby Dry after 6 months and those were cheap and worked excellently for us. Up&Up would also leak. Costco brand gave him a rash.

With DD, we moved to Huggies Snug & Dry after the 6 month mark because I always find the best deals on those vs Pampers and for some reason Luvs would leak for her. Up&Up again didn't work. 

I usually use couponing websites to find the best deals: totallytarget.com and krogerkrazy.com are my go-tos. If I don't have time to do that, then I usually just do a Target sale where you get a gc for buying a couple of boxes and will quickly scan coupons.com to see if there are any additional coupons on there that I can use.

psherman42wwsa

SWE2 said:

I found that Amazon offers 30% off diapers and wipes pretty frequently so I stocked up on a couple of each kinds and will see which work best. If you sign up for their auto renewal program you get an additional 20% off so 50% off the price. Then once I receive the diapers I cancel the subscription. 

This is exactly what I have done to buy all of my diapers. I'm waiting for amazon to catch me!

march2008

I agree to use caution buying too many diapers ahead of time. If you're going to stock up ahead, be aware of the store return policy and save all your receipts in case you have to return a bunch of unopened boxes. Our first LO had really terrible diaper rashes for awhile and it took some trial and error to find a suitable combination of diapers and wipes. I'm not stocking up ahead this time just in case that happens again. I have Amazon Prime, so I can have diapers here within 2 days with that and there are plenty of stores close for an emergency.

We had to use Seventh Generation brand diapers and wipes for while. When she was an older baby and her skin wasn't quite so sensitive, I was able to switch her into Target Up & Up brand diapers and unscented wipes which we were pretty happy with....but DD1 is 5 and a half so a lot could have changed over the past few years!

Louise_Belcher

#1- What is your favorite brand - Any brand that is free. With DS DH was thrown a diaper bbq and received enough diapers to get DS past 1 year with extras that will be used for this baby. We were fortunate because DS did not have any allergies to diapers or wipes. When buying my own I have gotten the best deals on BRU brand without putting in effort to clip coupons and they work great. Our favorite wipes are Huggies One and Done Cucumber and Green Tea. They are thick enough that you can often actually use only one or two.  I purchased every small pack that Walmart offered and DH and I had a sniff and feel test one evening. We are fun! 

#2- Any brand to stay away from? I do not like Luv's, but if they are given to me I will totally use them. When they are very young I prefer a diaper that has the little poop catcher envelope piece up the back. 

#3- Where can they be found the cheapest? Price per Diaper? Per above BRU brand I have gotten some of the best sales. I bought a few superpacks of BRU diapers on sale a few months ago and got the following prices per diaper: 
NB: $0.11
1: $0.09
2: $0.09
3: $0.10
4: $0.12

#4- Any other suggestions? I believe at this point I have used every brand of diaper and wipe. Some are better then others and it changes depending on what stage the baby is at, but my personal preference is to get the least expensive diaper that still holds everything in. BRU has fit that bill for me, but I am not brand loyal at all. In the end they are used to catch and wipe up poop and I do not want to spend a fortune on that. 

BeachMommy2B

#1- What is your favorite brand - pampers swaddlers/cruisers for some reason my daughter constantly smelled like urine when we tried huggies, no idea why... it was gross though I really like Huggies Natural Wipes though way better then pampers sensitive.

#2- Any brand to stay away from? It depends on the baby, this is a really hard question to answer.

#3- Where can they be found the cheapest? Price per Diaper? I order a lot from amazon, we have prime so its really nice for them to just be delivered

#4- Any other suggestions? I have been stocking up during my pregnancy. I have bought a box just about every time I've been paid. So I currently have 4 big boxes of size 1, 4 big boxes of size 2 and 4 big boxes of size 3. I may pick up one of the smaller boxes of newborn, however, my DD was almost 9lbs when born so she could automatically fit in size 1. Remember if a box is unopened you can exchange for a different brand/size.

I recently switched to buying a few boxes of wipes now. My goal is to have to buy 0 diapers or wipes during my 3 months leave.

nda_roxybabe

Have we talked about a realistic amount of diapers to go through daily? H said he saw on reddit where some guy tracked all their diaper changes for a year and it was like, 15 a day. I said I think that seems like they're changing baby every single time they're wet and I think it's more like 8 ish a day?

SparkySunDevil

Rather than buying a bunch of diapers and wipes, I put money on a gift card every paycheck and that way I have a good amount saved for diapers and wipes. You never know what baby will be able to use. Same with formula, for those planning on using it. I bought a bunch of enfamil when I was pregnant with my oldest. Then her tummy didn't like it, so I had to use the sensitive Similac. So with my second, I just stocked up a gift card with money to use towards my formula purchases after baby was here and I knew what her stomach would tolerate

Louise_Belcher

@nda_roxybabe I would say at the newborn stage it was 8-12 times a day and slowly tapers off and we are down to about 6 times a day at 1.5yr. 

Edit: To note that we have been at about 6 a day since about 1 year. 

Kipperoo

lrwardrop said:

SWE2 said:

I found that Amazon offers 30% off diapers and wipes pretty frequently so I stocked up on a couple of each kinds and will see which work best. If you sign up for their auto renewal program you get an additional 20% off so 50% off the price. Then once I receive the diapers I cancel the subscription. 

This is exactly what I have done to buy all of my diapers. I'm waiting for amazon to catch me!

This is what I do, too! With DS, I was wooed by the cute patterns and bought Honest Company for like the first year. I then realized that I could get diapers on Amazon for literally half the price, and have since just bought on Subscribe and Save whenever there are really great deals. That said, I really hate most of the cheesy character prints on the Huggies, Pampers, Luvs, etc. But I just deal with it because it seems like a silly thing to concern myself with. He's never had any allergies or sensitivities. I am partial to the Seventh Generation wipes and I hate the Huggies ones, but again, I will buy whatever is cheapest with the Subscribe and Save program on Amazon. 

MrsFox2008

#1. My absolute favorite is pampers swaddlers! They are so soft. My other for as DD got older were luvs. 

#2. Brand to stay away from: I would say this is different for everyone. Just because Huggies didn't work for my DD doesn't mean they wouldn't work for someone else's child. DD got a horrible rash from them. 

#3. Cheapest, well like others have said I'll catch the deals at target with the gift cards or check out my local grocery store for deals and coupons but other then that I don't really do price by diaper! 

WombThereItIs

nda_roxybabe said:

Have we talked about a realistic amount of diapers to go through daily? H said he saw on reddit where some guy tracked all their diaper changes for a year and it was like, 15 a day. I said I think that seems like they're changing baby every single time they're wet and I think it's more like 8 ish a day?

Newborns burn through diapers like nobody's business. It does slow down considerably after the first couple months but if you are planning on using a daycare know that most require diaper checks/changes hourly in the first year so you still go through quite a bit. 

bacorrea

nda_roxybabe said:

Have we talked about a realistic amount of diapers to go through daily? H said he saw on reddit where some guy tracked all their diaper changes for a year and it was like, 15 a day. I said I think that seems like they're changing baby every single time they're wet and I think it's more like 8 ish a day?

Yeah I would definitely say 15 is right. Also remember some kids absolutely HATE being wet. My mom always jokes that if I had peed even the slightest I would lose it. 
Also there were several times I would change DD and two second later her diaper would be dirty again. 
Also feedings kinda go like this: wake up baby, change baby, feed baby, burp baby, change baby. If you're feeding baby every 3 hours that's just 8 diapers right there in 24 hours.

vrj0522

nda_roxybabe said:

Have we talked about a realistic amount of diapers to go through daily? H said he saw on reddit where some guy tracked all their diaper changes for a year and it was like, 15 a day. I said I think that seems like they're changing baby every single time they're wet and I think it's more like 8 ish a day?

That seems right for the first month. Probably 10-12 a day for the 2nd and 3rd months and after that 7-8 per day. At least that was us for both kids but our kids don't go to daycare. Once they got close to a year it became more like 5-7 per day. 

nda_roxybabe

Good points! Thanks guys. I knew in the early stages it's a lot and then starts to lessen. Baby will be with my Mom so no hourly changes.

hp_momma

nda_roxybabe said:

Good points! Thanks guys. I knew in the early stages it's a lot and then starts to lessen. Baby will be with my Mom so no hourly changes.

Sometimes grandmas become a little obsessive My mom is overly cautious now with my kids and I always think "relax mom!" So I wouldn't be surprised if grandma was changing the diaper every time it was a little wet! Lol

visualcircus

#1- What is your favorite brand? I liked pampers/Huggies for the first few months with the stripe to tell me if the diaper is wet. We now use Luvs exclusively. There was a diaper blowout phase where no brand was able to contain the blowouts.
#2- Any brand to stay away from? DS was able to wear any brand.
#3- Where can they be found the cheapest? Price per Diaper? Personally I'm overwhelmed by driving around with coupons looking for sales, I just buy from Amazon prime when I need it. My thought is I won't get rich trying to save on diapers. Having boxes delivered to my front door is one less thing to worry about.
#4- Any other suggestions? I'd wait until a diaper/baby shower before buying diapers. Also we didn't stay long at all in size 1s or NB s before moving up so I wouldn't get a huge stockpile of those sizes.

Hansolosparka

Fwiw I didn't like the up&cup brand because they did not cover the pee smell at all! Maybe my sons pee was strong but it was yucky whenever they would get wet. We used pampers for a long time then switched to Luvs but I'm not planning on stocking up until I know this LO doesn't have any skin sensitivity issues. 

mamatowildones

You've already gotten a great response from the mamas. I exclusively used honest with DS1. Yes they run small but sizing up fixes the issue. Their customer service cannot be beat. And having the wipes and diapers delivered to the front door is amazing. 
I've used target brand with good success. They used to smell really chemical to me but I think things have changed. The target wipes are OK but IMO nothing beats Kirkland. One wipe goes a long way. I had to use a lot more target brand wipes to deal with messy diapers than I did Kirkland. Kirkland diapers and wipes saved me a lot of money when I decided to stop Honest Co. I'll start out with honest this baby and see what happens. If I stop I'll use Kirkland for everything.