September 2019 Moms

Product Spotlight: Diapering

Hey there, mamas! It’s Friday at last, and that means it’s time for another product spotlight. This week we’re talking all things diapering. 

STMs/+, what are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use? Is there a rash cream you swear by? What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)? And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?! If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend? Do you use a cleaning service or DIY?

FTMs, what questions do you have about diapering? 

Click here to view the spreadsheet of past spotlights and to see what’s coming up next. 

Re: Product Spotlight: Diapering

  • We are a pampers family.  My son would leak out of any other brand.  I also love Calmoseptine for diaper rash.  We used a diaper genie and a regular or garbage can but really the only way to prevent the smell in the room is to take the diapers out right away. I think some blowouts are unavoidable.  But to save your kid from getting poop all over their head or you cutting them out of the clothes, put a onesie on underneath.  The shoulders are flaps so that you can pull them down off the kid. 
  • Lots of questions in this one!

    What are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use?  We started w/ Huggies but found that the Target Up & Up brand is actually better and much cheaper.  

    Is there a rash cream you swear by?  Triple Paste.  We started with Burts Bees but it doesn't seem to work when diaper rash crops up.

    What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)?  Diaper genie all the way.  We have the one with the foot pedal and it's awesome.  It only smells when the charcoal pad needs to be replaced.

    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?!  I'm fairly sure it's impossible.  If it's not, I need to know the answer!  DS blew out several times a day for MONTHS.  

    If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend?  N/A

    Do you use a cleaning service or DIY?  Started using a cleaning service a month before I delivered DS and haven't gone back.  It's worth every penny.  

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  • What are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use?  We started w/ Pampers swaddlers then switched to Target Up & Up after about a year. Version 2.0 will be in Target from day 1. SO MUCH CHEAPER!!

    Is there a rash cream you swear by?  Regular baby Aquaphor. We have the diaper cream version, too but the regular aquaphor works so much better for us (go figure).

    What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)?  Diaper genie!! It smells when the lid is open for us, even if I replace the carbon filter thing but once that lid is closed...no nasty poopy smells!

    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?!? It’s impossible. Change the diaper as soon as you hear the gurgle basically, but not too soon because some kids will have two gurgles pretty close together. That is something I cannot unsee! 😳

    If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend?  Do you use a cleaning service or DIY?  N/A
  • I loved Pampers Swaddlers for the first few months for sensitive skin and the wetness indicator is great. After 4-5 months we moved to the Target brand diapers because they were cheaper and worked just as well. 

    Aquaphor is awesome. I used it as a preventative mainly overnight when he stopped pooping overnight to create a barrier for wetness. TriplePaste is my favorite for getting rid of an active diaper rash. I didn’t really like Butt Paste. 

    I liked the diaper genie for the most part, but changing the bag really sucked after DS was on solids. Blech, so nasty. 

    I dont think there’s a great way to prevent blowouts. Making sure they are in the right size diaper helps. Also make sure to fluff the leg gussets out. That can help contain side messes. 
  • We've always used Pampers! Swaddlers until he started crawling and then cruisers. Baby dry for bed time. We started with newborn and I think went through 2 boxes of though, even though he was a 9lb baby! So tell all those "dont buy newborn size" naysayers to shut it :P 

    Aquaphor is hands down the best. Clears up redness in 24h. If its more serious, we use a cream from the pediatrician. People will tell you to use breast milk. Tread lightly with that advice as if the infection is yeast (boys get these too!) it'll make it worse.

    One of our must have baby items is the diaper genie! It's another one of those things people said we'll never use, well. We have 1 up and 1 down and they get used for every single change. When I researched the advice was buy the cheap "essential" DG as it was best. They longer sell that one, but its great. No smell! We empty once a week unless full before then. Also, changing mat. Another thing people said we'd not use. It's on top our dresser and has been used for 95% of diaper changes at home for the past almost 2 years!


    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?! I'm not sure! We got lucky that Henry has had very few, but I think the right diaper size certainly helps.

    Married 6/5/14 in Ireland
    1st Baby 5/12/17, Henry
  • Ooooh, just wanted to add that we use these (spoiler - we call it a puppy pad) for on top of the changing pad. You don’t need to wash the changing pad cover as often so it saves a lot of time and hassle if Baby pees while changing or if the poop goes everywhere (because it will).

  • We started with Huggies because it's what the hospital used, but switched to Target Up&Up because (as a lot of people have said!) they are cheaper and just as good. We do put DS in overnights at night, otherwise he feels wet in the night and wakes up.
    We use regular baby Aquaphor, or Desitin. In our experience they both work well, but Desitin is a bit faster clearing up an active rash.
    We use a regular close lid trash can and change the bag every couple days. We had no issue with smell until DS started solids, and now I bag his poop diapers in those little plastic bags meant for picking up dog poop - it's worth it to me not to have to immediately walk diapers outside or buy a diaper genie, and imo works really well.
    I agree you can't prevent blowouts - the right size diaper helps (for us this often meant sizing up before the weight guidelines indicated we should) and making sure the diaper isn't askew from putting it on while half asleep also helps (haha), but they're going to happen sometimes.
    @lillywonderland we used those liners constantly for the first six or so months!
  • @lillywonderland We have a reusable version of those!  Still have to wash them, but at least you don't have to change the whole pad at 2am.  And 4am.  Hahaha.  :)  
  • I'll be the odd man out with cloth diapers!

    What are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use?  We use Thirsties covers, Flips, and Imagine & Nicki's for All-in-One's (AIO's) for daycare.

    Is there a rash cream you swear by?  Lanolin!

    What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)?  We orginally used a Dekor diaper pail and loved it, but we had to rearrange and couldn't make it work. They make disposable and reusable bags for those who don't cloth diaper.

    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?!  Cloth diapers! But for real, even just using a double gusset diaper cover over a disposable helps saves outfits.

    If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend?  We started with prefolds and covers because we read they were one of the trimmest, but we really liked them so we stuck with them when moving to a larger size. Also, Flip diapers are great because they are one of the "hybrids" (the best in my opinion, but I'm biased). That means you can use them as cloth, or they also make disposable inserts you can use. We've used both, and both have worked amazing. Also, cloth was AMAZING in the newborn stage because when I needed diapers and didn't want to leave the house, I didn't have to. We have saved SO MUCH MONEY because I pushed for cloth diapers.

    Do you use a cleaning service or DIY?  I'm going to take this question as an offshoot of the cloth. No we don't. I don't even think one is available in my town.

    If you have any questions about cloth, just let me know! I'm a little obsessed...
  • @bubsalicious YES! I really want to go the cloth diapering route. So I want to know it ALL.

    My husband is hesitant because he thinks it's more expensive to cloth diaper. How can I convince him it's not? He's worried about the 'start up' costs.

    What do you do for swimming if you cloth diaper? Do you still buy the disposable swimmers?

    I haven't done much research yet, but you rinse the diaper inserts out and then put them in a diaper pail until you are ready to wash a load, correct?
    Me: 31 │ DH: 30
    Married 05/26/17
    STM; DS 9/14/2019
    EDD 6/13/2022
  • janat1717janat1717 member
    edited March 2019
    We do cloth. I loved the Green Mountain workhorse fitted ones. A good price and they just snapped on. I like Diasana wool covers at home and Blueberry ones out under normal circumstances. 

    @kaceyallan you can buy swim diapers. They don't have absorbancy, we didn't swim when really young so not sure how that works. Check out Charlie Bandana.

    I admit once DS started running they started to rub and we started using Bambo disposables. Really like the quality.

    For diaper balm it was Grovia. I think the magic stick? The one with zinc fixed anything that popped up that was too much for coconut oil.
  • bubsaliciousbubsalicious member
    edited March 2019
    @kaceyallan Start up cost is always going to be a lot, and it will depend on what method you choose. Another benefit of the prefolds was they are on the cheaper end. This is the package I bought: https://clothdiaper.com/collections/economy-prefold-packages/products/unbleached-economy-prefold-diaper-package  I recommend 2 more covers, but they are only $10-13 depending on where you buy them. And FWIW we did not stick with those prefolds when we sized up. We thought they were too long so we went with Cloth-eeze. We also bought a lot of 7 used Flips for $30, which needed the elastics repaired (I did that, so $2), and a misc lot for on the local site for $15. We were given a bunch of Charlie Banana's for free from a work friend that we used for daycare until Black Friday rolled around, and I bought the AIO's we use for another $100 (we apparently are a flooder so microfiber doesn't do well). In total, I've probably spent less than $500 in diapers. And we have way more than we need. They also have resale value, so in decent condition, you can get money back. I was every 2-3 days and it didn't really add much to the water bill.

    No swim diaper is absorbent. If it was, it would hold all the pool water before it got peed in. We definitely do cloth swim diapers because it's much cheaper for how often we can go.

    For poop diapers it depends on what the baby is eating. EBF poop doesn't need to be sprayed out, some also say formula, but ehhhh. When they start solids it needs to be rinsed out. Some people wait until they do all the diapers and spray them at once, but I hate spraying old poop so I spray immediately. Toss in with the rest and you are good to go!

    When I first started to research, I started with all the different types individually, their pros and the cons. Then I picked the top 2 I was interested and went further into them, different brands, which was better. And just continued with that. I have half a note pad filled with notes.  :#
  • I’ve switched to Luvs because overall they are cheaper. I will start with huggies  for newborn stage because they have diapers until the cord falls off. Then probably change to pampers for a little and then around 8-9 months go to Luvs. No loyalty apparently anymore lol

    i use Dr. Smith’s diaper cream and have used it for the other two. If they get a rash I use A&D then Dr. Smith’s on top of it. 
    Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Pregnancy Ticker
  • We used Honest Company for all diapering products and have had a good experience. I’ve never tried anything else, so I can’t compare to any other brands. 
  • @blitzybee we use honest! They work pretty well for us. Except for newborn phase, where I like pampers swaddlers. Much better at containing blow outs (see below for more info). 

    Ive tried everything for diaper rash, then I discovered Balmex . It’s magic! Highly recommend. 

    We take out our our garbage 2x a day, so I’ve never used my diaper genie...i don’t think I’ll be repurchasing (got rid of it not too long ago, oops). 

    Blow outs have been child dependent. My first son was all good mostly. My second constantly had blow outs, so I used a pad in the crib. Getting a correctly fitting diaper is key. I found that you may have to experiment a little as it depended on the baby. 

    @bubsalicious I’m super curious: what do you spray the diapers with to get stains out? Both my EBF babies produced yellow poop that had amazing staining power! 😆
    Me: 34 DH:38
    DS: 18 months   <3
    Dx DOR AMH .2
    <a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Pregnancy"><img 
  • Pampers family here too. At first I liked Swaddlers for day and night. When they start sleeping longer at night, I switched to Pampers Baby Dry overnight. Eventually when they start eating more solid and less liquid, I switched to Luvs during the day and Baby Dry at night.

    No favorite diaper cream. We have used the Target brand or A&D and been fine.

    I have lucked out with blowouts. We have had very few. I think making sure you are using the correct size of diaper, not too big, not too small.

    We used a Diaper genie with both kids, but I'm not planning to use it this time. It gets pretty smelly over time and it's easier to just put diapers in the trash. For dirty diapers, I am going to reuse a grocery bag and take it out to our outdoor trash can.
  • what are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use? We used pampers newborn for the first week or two then switched to Kirkland brand from Costco. 
    Is there a rash cream you swear by?
    No particular rash cream but will keep some of these brands in mind! 
    What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)? Definitely used the diaper genie but wrapped stinky ones in a grocery bag first. 
    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?! I don’t think it’s possible. Like @calliah said make sure diapers are the right size and fluff out the sides. 
    If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend? I am not opposed to learning about cloth diapering I always feel bad putting the giant bag of plastic in the garbage. Just to sit in a landfill forever. But it seems like there’s a bit of a learning curve. What type, liners, covers, wet bags, pails, soap/spray and so on. I’m not sure I’m ready to take that reasearch on. 

  • @rms924 some people sun their diapers to get the stains out, I never did and they eventually washed out. Poop catchers don't need to look pretty  :D
  • @bubsalicious I was thinking that you had some incredible cleaning agent! I’ve thrown out some awesome baby clothes because of blowouts + yellow poop. The staining power is unreal 
    Me: 34 DH:38
    DS: 18 months   <3
    Dx DOR AMH .2
    <a href="http://www.thebump.com/?utm_source=ticker&utm_medium=HTML&utm_campaign=tickers" title="Pregnancy"><img 
  • We did bum genius cloth with our first, and I loved it! I was too lazy w our second but hoping to use them with number 3. With or second, we used pampers in the beginning and then just whatever’s on sale after that. As far as decreasing blow haven’t had many with Leo but Cloth prevented a bunch with our first (he had blow ours a lot in disposables.) with disposables, I use Boudreaux’s Butt paste. It works well.

    with cloth, I sprayed them off and kept them in a cloth bag in a decor plus diaper pail, and then washed every two days. I love cloth diapers so much, and am so bumm much e I didn’t make myself use them! I guess it isn’t too late, my second is 15 mo.
  • @rms924 heck yeah it is. Our diapers looked so gross. But the sun is pretty powerful on stains and smells so you could try that first.
  • @bubsalicious @janat1717 Thanks for the info. I want to try cloth diapering but as a FTM i'm pretty clueless and a little intimidated. Did you guys wait to start cloth diapering or start right from birth?
  • @dahliasanddogs Right away. See if you might have a cloth diapering store (often just out of someone's house) nearby. We did and they gave a newbie class which was super helpful. We used a diaper sprayer but didn't do any special soaking or anything. For newborn sizing I got a little mix but mostly prefolds and then just bought what I really liked for next sizing. 
  • STMs/+, what are your favorite brands/types/sizes to use? We have historically been an Honest family and I’ve always been happy with them. I get the heebie jeebies from the feeling and smell of Pampers when they’re full. They’re so smushy 🤮 However, I think we may try Parasol this time around. They’re much softer than Honest and no squishy feel!

    Is there a rash cream you swear by? I’m not a cream user for the majority of the time but will only use Triple Paste for rashes. That stuff will kick a raging rash over the course of one diaper change. 

    What other diapering accessories can you not live without (e.g. diaper pail)? Nada. I toss ‘em straight in the kitchen trash can and empty the trash every day or so. I change babe wherever we happen to be (couch, bedroom, etc) so cant be bothered to then trek upstairs to throw the diaper in a pail. And it seriously is FOUL changing the bag in that thing when it gets full. So, nope.

    And how, for the love of god, do you prevent blowouts?! Prayer? Honestly, I don’t think you can prevent one that’s meant to be. Cloth does help but it was too much work and laundry for us. Like others said, the right size diaper helps. I think a lot of it has to do with the angle of the baby 🤣 The hi-chair and those sit-up- seats are like a blowout ticking time bomb. 

    If you use cloth diapers, what brands and tips and tricks do you recommend? Do you use a cleaning service or DIY? We did them for about a year with my oldest. I liked them, but found them overly bulky for me, personally, and once I went back to work it was impossible to keep up with the laundry - and you don’t really want them sitting yucky all day if you can avoid it. 

  • @kiddiesandkitties You forgot to mention the jumper-roo or exersaucer for blow outs.  Guaranteed blow out if kid is in one of those!
  • @mamaber2204 I told DH we're getting a house keeper when little one is born and he told me absolutely not and I said "well you're going to be doing a lot more cleaning then". He reconsidered. :) 
  • @nomangos23 Ha!  Good leverage!  IMO, housekeeping with a baby around is nearly impossible.  And by impossible I mean I really don't want to do it.  :)
  • @kiddiesandkitties oh my goodness, yes the Pamper mush is horrible! Haha!

    I used BabyGanics with my daughter(5 now) for her whole diapering career and my son (who’s 3 and still wears diapers...not for long though!) I’ve used BabyGanics, Honest, & Seventh Generation’s new and improved line. Seventh Gen is definitely my favorite in the more “natural” family because they’re on sale on Vitacost so often & the fit & softness is great! My kids both had rashes from Pampers, Huggies, & Up & Up, so I stayed with the scent-free, dye-free, blah blah blah ones lol. Same with the wipes. They’re really not any more expensive when you get them on sale. Seventh Gen & Honest also make nighttime diapers 👍

    Cream: Desitin or Balmex.

    Keep the stink at bay: Okay, before you get mad, I do recycle a lot of my trash, but diapers...I just don’t bother..I tired cloth, my two cousins cloth, I failed at cloth haha.
    I double bag the poop ones. I keep a huge wad of (hole-free) plastic grocery bags in a drawer by my kid’s diaper station. The wet ones gets thrown away like normal (into a lidded garbage can) & poo gets bagged and put in the same can. I only have to take out the diaper garbage about once a week and no smell.

    Blowout prevention: As a lot are saying, the size & fit of the diaper really do help. I remember moving to size 2s quickly after the first couple size 1 blowouts and felt like we stayed at 2s for a while. I never went by the weight on the diaper, lol not sure why, but I just put them in the size that seemed to fit best. I think I moved my kids out of NB size once they’re cord nub fell off to help prevent blowouts.
  • (I'm replying to a few threads to bump them and hopefully beaten up our board a little)

    FTM here! With twins. O.o 

    My mom swears by Huggies, used them on all her kids and is now using them on my nephew that lives with her. My stepmom apparently really likes them too, less expensive but still quality? 

    I'm loving the info on cloth diapers! I thought about them, but with 2 it just seems overwhelming. Do you have to clean your washing machine often when washing diapers? I was a bit concerned about that along with logistics to use them when traveling? Or having others change baby. Anyone have experience there?

    Oh! And what is something related to diapering that no one thinks to tell FTMs? My SIL said to pack a spare shirt for the adult in the diaper bag along with a spare baby outfit. 
  • cheshyre319 Love that tip about packing a shirt for us too! Smart.

    I am a FTM so this is not advice from experience, but I plan to try cloth diapering. And I found a brand that has the option of cloth inserts or biodegradable inserts that you can flush. I plan to have some on hand for travelling or when others are looking after baby and are not on board with cloth diapering. And I have a sneaking suspicion my husband may use them a bit too. And from what I understand, you typically will do an extra rinse cycle after you wash the cloth diapers just to make sure it's all clean. 
    Me: 31 │ DH: 30
    Married 05/26/17
    STM; DS 9/14/2019
    EDD 6/13/2022
  • @cheshyre319 We would do a rinse cycle and then wash with an extra rinse cycle at the end. Yes, your washing machine will run non stop. 
  • @cheshyre319 I never clean my washer extra. I figure that's what the detergent is for, and the bleaching of new to me diapers.
    @kaceyallan which brand??? Just be careful with anything you flush. If you have a weak flow or septic, you will end up with blockage. You also have to rip them open before putting them in the toilet. I actually haven't heard a successful flushing story yet  :/ for people who are too nervous for cloth, we have velcro AIO's that are just like disposables, but MIL still puts them on too lose so we also change clothes everytime...
  • @bubsalicious G Diapers. Ya I wondered how well they will actually flush. But I don't feel so bad tossing them in the trash too as they are biodegradable. 
    Me: 31 │ DH: 30
    Married 05/26/17
    STM; DS 9/14/2019
    EDD 6/13/2022
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