Product Spotlight: Diapering

inthewoods23

Time to talk about all things diapering! And tip to make this as pleasant as possible

zwink1

Oh man. Like most baby products, this is also truly a trial and error thing.  Get a bunch of different diaper sample packs in a variety of sizes and just trial and error it.  Some kids work in pretty much anything, some kids have very specific fit needs.  

We disposable diapered DS and I went through alllllllll of the diaper brands with him because he was one of those babies that had very specific fit needs or he blew out all over the place. He was a thick-thighed baby and also absolutely needed a stretchy back band with the little pocket or everything shot right up and out.  

After much trial and error, we settled on Amazon's Mama Bear brand for the majority of his diapering journey, and I really liked them a lot.  Very similar to honest diapers (which were my all time faves) but at a nicer price point... then Amazon took their own diaper brand off of subscribe and save, so we switched brands to the Costco diapers and those also worked well (after DS outgrew the blow out stage - we didnt try them while he was still in the midst of it, so im not sure how they would've done at that point).  

Also, often over looked but in my opinion equally as important are the wipes you choose.  Bad wipes make for a bad changing experience.  My all time favorites (bloom baby wipes) are no longer being produced so I'll have to find a new fave this time around.  We're currently using 7th generation and they're okay, best that I've found recently, but definitely don't come close to my faves. 

inthewoods23

How does one go about getting a bunch of diaper samples? Is that something you can get by going to the Huggies/Pampers/(brand whatever) website and requesting?

@zwink1 when you say bad wipes, do you mean how thick it is or how well it holds up during use and clean up? I can imagine any wipe is good for simple clean up, but a blow out probably requires something thicker and stronger.

courtneyqdk

Definitely agree you need to try a bunch! I don't know why, but whenever my son wore anything other than pampers he would leak! I tried all kinds of brands and sizes, and none fit right except for pampers, so that's what worked for us. I'm going to assume the next baby will be the same and start there, but I'm aware they're all shaped differently so might need to be flexible! Rather than stocking up on a ton before baby is born, I'll get some samples where I can, and one box of size 1 pampers (my son was born so large I actually still have a bunch of NB left, he barely wore them at all. That way if they work, I can stock up, and if they don't I'll try something else. 

Oh! One other thing - if you have a large, fast growing baby, they will change sizes frequently! So no need to buy tons of boxes in any one size. My son changed sizes so quickly because he was a big baby (wearing 9m clothes at 2 months old) so I would recommend not stocking up too much, until you meet your baby.  Hope that helps.

runnergirl2018

@inthewoods23 - generally yes you can request samples. You will also get various samples if you do baby registries and get their goodie bag.


We liked Honest brand diapers, although we mostly cloth diapered, so take that for what it's worth. We used them a ton at the beginning and then intermittantly throughout the first 12-18 months

BAbies grow at such different rates so don't stock up too much on one size - and pay attention to return policies at stores, so you only have what you might be able to return/exchange for a different size

zwink1

@inthewoods23, what @runnergirl2018 said about samples.  Registry boxes usually have at least a few, and some of the bigger brands provide samples.  Otherwise, you can also get small packs of different brands you want to try but can't find samples of rather than the bulk boxes at first to try things out (or if you're having a shower, do a diaper raffle to get a wide variety of options).

As for wipes, for me it's a moisture level/texture thing.  Most are perfectly adequate, so there isn't much that's "bad." Just some that are definitely better than others.  The wrong moisture level can make it difficult to clean things up and no texture results in stuff just sliding around rather than actually wiping off.  I prefer a moderate moisture amount and some sort of texture...and a decent size.  Wipes that are too small don't provide enough coverage.  The other thing is skin sensitivity.  Depending on the baby, certain wipes can trigger reactions in certain kids.  

Wipes samples are usually provided in registry gift bags with diaper samples, so that's also a good way to try a bunch of different kinds out until you find a brand you like.  

jellie603

We disposable diapered DS and we were lucky that he was one of the ones that could wear any brand. We actually just stuck to Pampers the entire time because that is was we got the most of at the shower + what they gave at the hospital. We were in sizes 1 and 6 the longest - DS is tall and thin and we potty trained late. We knew it was time to size up when he started to leak.
For wipes - we stuck to Pampers sensitive and we still use them to this day for butt wiping and hand wiping after meals. I will say, I 100% want wipe packages that have the pop-tops. Nothing worse than going to grab the next wipe and it is dried out because the pack isn't resealable. 

runnergirl2018

wipes - yes yes yes to pop tops. antyhing else is terrible.  

We started with Water Wipes but none had pop tpos and they were annoying to get out so we stopped.  Mostly used Huggies Naturals which were totally adequate.  Currently use Seventh Generation wipes, which we switched to later in dipaering or during potty training - i don't really recall.  We use them now just for messy poops, and because my kid still really hates pooping in the potty.  I much prefer them for poop because they are thicker and so i have to use less wipes to clean things up - although they are pricier.  We'll probalby use some of each.

My husband has super sensitive skin and my son had the same, so we just take that into account for the next little one.  If budget allows, i'd just err on the side of using stuff for sensitive skin

rosegoldg

We want to try doing cloth diapers, I know that they're not for everyone tho so we're not super strict with the idea and will still have disposables on hand but I would love it to work for us! I've joined a Facebook page and watch some videos on YouTube but if anyone has any pointers I'm all ears

tuxielove93

My first son also had super sensitive skin, but the Amazon basics worked. Then we switched to Target brand and actually those have been the best ones. We also use target brand sensitive wipes. No rashes at all since we started using those. I was floored because they aren’t exactly expensive diapers, but don’t be afraid to at least attempt the cheaper brands. They might surprise you. We’re target loyal now.

runnergirl2018

@rosegoldg There's a thread on here about cloth diapering - that is what we do primarily and then keep a small amount of disposables on hand for certain types of outings/travel. and we did disposable newborn diapers because there is so much else going on that first month that it was nice to not have to wash diapers so often - plus size wise we just needed one size of cloth diapers and often times newborns will need separate newborn cloth diapers

feather_heather

We've used a variety of diaper brands (not picky), but generally tend to buy pampers or target brand.

Huggies overnights are a must once baby gets a little older and is sleeping thru the night (FYI - I know these are needed earlier for boys)!

I've used water wipes, pampers pure, and 7th generation wipes and much prefer pampers pure. 

Like others have said, don't stock up on too many diapers before baby is here. It's hard to know how long they will be in a certain size and if they'll have any sort of reaction to a certain brand. Plus who has room to store boxes and boxes of diapers in their house? 

oli9

We use Aldi store brand diapers for all of our kids and we love them. After trying EVERY BRAND,  from the expensive higher-end Huggies (black box), to Honest diapers that are ridiculously priced, we found and LOVE Aldi diapers. They are about $4 a pack or $12 a box and we’ve already started a stock pile for our newest baby. 

LJMoon6

I agree with what everyone has said already about being flexible with diaper brands in the beginning. We were lucky in that DS worked just fine in our top pick (Target Up&Up brand). They’re cheap and hold up just as well as the more expensive brands (for us anyways). We also used the target brand wipes (fragrance free, blue bag). I agree, any wipe without a pop-top is useless. The target wipes had the right amount of moisture and texture too. We usually waited till there was a sale and would get $100 worth of diapers and wipes and get a $20 gift card. That helps bring the price down even more. And Target is really good with returning unopened boxes. Sometimes they would throw a fit if you didn’t have a receipt but then I learned to just tell them it was a gift and they wouldn’t blink an eye lol.

twentythree19

Echoing everything here. Since my kiddos have sensitive skin, we do the pampers swaddles and I get them exclusively from target because they are constantly doing the “Buy x $ of diapers and get a gift card” promo. By the time they do the next car seat trade in, I should have enough gift cards + trade in discount to get another car seat. 

Also, my girls always needed the next size up in overnight diapers compared to their regular diapers.

zwink1

Just a heads up for those looking to test.  Babylist has a Diaper Box you can order to test 3 different brands of diapers and wipes for $35. Diapers are all size 1.  Brands are Honest (35 diapers 72 wipes), Coterie (33 diapers 56 wipes), and Dyper (33 diapers 80 wipes). 

sjb2215

The up and up target brand became our favorite too, they hold up well and can't beat the price. For awhile we would also use their overnight diapers (when baby started sleeping through the night). Also a fan of their unscented diaper wipes

practicallypierson

Resurrecting the thread with a question: Has anyone done hybrid diapers? I started looking at them this morning, and I was trying to decide if they're worth trying. (There's no way we're keeping up with traditional cloth, but if there's an advantage to hybrid that would make them worthwhile, I'm game to try that.)

inthewoods23

@practicallypiersonineveryway there's been some talk about cloth diapers in the Deals and Steals thread. @flikyerbik actually gave a really nice description of the different types so you can kind of see the different advantages or disadvantages to each type.

I was planning on buying a few with the earth day sales and also putting the Pampers hybrid diaper starter pack on my registry so I can try them out for a day or 2 at a time. I learned a lot just googling the types of cloth diapers and watching various YouTube videos that go into detail on how you would go about changing baby and washing the cloth diapers. It seems like some people do a combination of both cloth and disposable. Like on vacation for example it's probably less hassle (and smelly?) to just use disposable than traveling around with soiled cloth

stardustskies

@practicallypiersonineveryway Yes, I use hybrids! Not sure which brand you're referring to as they are all different but I have several different brands including Twinkie Tush, Little Bunbun, Mod Momma, and Kanga Care (Rumparooz). I have also in the past tried Grovia and Blueberry but not a big fan of them. Feel free to PM me with any questions. 

stardustskies

@practicallypiersonineveryway