Product Spotlight: Diapering

cato99 · January 2019

Hi all! It may seem early to start making particular plans about how to deal with baby diapering, but we have a lot of baby topics to cover in the next 7ish months and we want to give each topic its space so... DIAPERING!

Those of you who went the disposable path, do you have any favorite brands? Those of you who went the cloth diapering path, do you have any favorite brands, methods, techniques? Tips on diaper washing if using cloth?

What are people's favorite wipes? How do you store wipes, and do you use a wipe-warmer? What do you stock in case of diaper rash?

How do you dispose of dirty diapers: do you have a favorite diaper pail? A service that comes to pick up cloth diapers?

And how about your diapering set-up at home: do you have cute diaper caddies you want to recommend or are you comfortable throwing a towel on any surface? Diapering set-up on the road: what do you stash in your diaper bag specifically for diapering purposes?

Or does all of this give you a headache and you prefer to go back to our roots and let your children run naked in the woods and practice free elimination?

Please share!

Prior and Upcoming Product Spotlights

hillaryo14 · January 2019

I've found that the Sam's Club diapers and wipes work well, and are cheaper than name brand. Target brand is pretty good, too. As far as name brand goes, Pampers and Huggies were fine, but Luvs weren't as absorbent.
Wipes- I felt the Huggies wipes weren't very soft, but they worked in a pinch.
The first couple months, we just threw the diapers in the trash, but we started using the diaper genie once they started getting stinkier.
At first, I had the diapers stored in a cute little box, but now they stay in the package they came in. When DD was tiny, I'd use the changing pad constantly, but now we use a towel on the bed or on the rug in the living room. Her diaper bag came with a changing pad.
I love Boudreaux's Butt Paste for diaper rashes.

kristinamarie10 · January 2019

Yeah, after dd we're less concerned about buying high quality diapers that cost an arm and a leg. My favorite brand is actually the comforts brand by Kroger. They have stretchy sides and legs and are super affordable. I also plan on getting some cloth for at home.

Allycat11 · January 2019

Oh man I have a lot to say on this topic as I have had at least 1 in diapers for over 6 years and they each had different needs. To start, DD is 6 and DS is 2.5.

With DD we started with disposables, tried every brand out there. She had blow outs non stop in everything we tried. DD was 8lbs3oz at birth but quickly fell off the charts and did not double birthweight until she was one (usually should double by 6 months). We switched to cloth after a couple months and never looked back. Bum Genius freetimes were our favorites for her.

DS was 8lbs0oz at birth and never slowed down, he was completely average for height and weight and has a huge bladder...no idea how so much pee comes out of someone so small. Our favorite cloth for him was Blueberry Simplex AIO but he still pees through cloth constantly. Somewhere around 1.5-2 years we gave up and switched to disposables. I prefer Huggies Little Movers. Targets up and up brand is okay for the day but he pees through them at night. Last night DH put him in one before bed and everything was soaked this morning. We also love Honest company and go through phases depending on our budget, I think the run a touch small...but those prints though ❤

General tips:
1. Whether cloth or disposable do not put all of your eggs in one basket before you figure out what works best for our baby. With 2 full blood siblings we had completely different experiences. If you want to stock up in advance buy a mix of disposable brands some Huggies, Pampers, Honest Company, Luvs, etc... Same goes for cloth, try a variety before investing a ton in one kind.
2. For cloth I love all in ones because I am lazy. Toss them in the wet bag, wash, dry and put away. No stuffing, folding, removing inserts, etc...
3. For cloth I prefer snaps. We have animal hair that sticks to any kind of velcro and grosses me out, also in my experience the hook and loop closures wear out sooner. Others love hok and loop because you can get a more precise fit.
4. My favorite wipes are Huggies Natural Care with Honest Company coming in second. Once we have all of our kids out of diapers I will still keep wipes in my house. Huggies Natural Care are my favorite because they are the thickest I have found.
5. Even for disposables I hate diaper genies. They leave a stench in the room. I prefer to just use the regular trash in our house/garage.
6. Also, not a fan of wipes warmers. Yeah, I am sure a warm wipe feels fantastic but when you are out and about and change your baby with a cold wipe from your diaper bag they will probably not be happy.

cato99 · January 2019

-We use Pampers Swaddlers (just because that's what they used at the hospital) and Water Wipes. I once got these 7th Generation Wipes and found them way too big for diaper use, but they are nice and big and sturdy so I use them in the kitchen for her hands, face, and high chair.

-For wipes storage at home, this OXO Wipes Dispenser is the best thing that happened to me and I give it to every pregnant person I ever encounter. On the go, this OXO Travel Dispenser is similarly, ahem, indispensable.

(The childcare class we took at our hospital told us not to get disposable wipes, but instead have stacks of cloths and an electric kettle to moisten the cloths with freshly boiled-then-cooled water everywhere and every time we would change diapers. This sounded terrifyingly complicated for like sleep-deprived 4 am so luckily my BMB assured me that disposable wipes are ok and normal. I'm normally environmentally conscientious but diapering is one place where for scheduling and sanity I've accepted that I need to go the disposable route.)

-We have a Diaper Genie and a Dekor in different parts of the house and I vaaaaaastly prefer the Diaper Genie.

-For diaper rash (which luckily hasn't been much of an issue for us) we use A+D Original Ointment when she's looking a little sensitive or right after a diaper rash to keep things stable, and A+D Zinc Oxide Ointment when there are signs of an actual rash--but most important to working through a diaper rash is frequent baths.

-Your diaper set-up will depend on the layout of your house. Now at 20 months we have one in her bedroom and one in the living room, but started with an extra one in our bedroom. In the early days each station had a changing table, a OXO Wipes Dispenser linked above, a full diaper caddie with diapers, the two types of diaper cream linked above, nipple cream for me, pacifiers, a little rattle toy or two for distraction, and a stack of Disposable Baby Changing Pads: these are absolute life savers in the early days (you don't use a new one every time, just when one gets dirty).

-In my diaper bag when she was a little baby I always had 3-5 diapers, the travel wipes dispenser linked above, diaper cream only when she had a rash, one disposable changing pad, and (always!) an extra onesie.

Lotus_2008 · January 2019

Has anyone used the Kirkland diapers from Costco? How do they stack up against the brand names? I am all about shopping generic and in bulk, especially for disposable items.

olivemomma · January 2019

We are a pampers family. I used pampers swaddlers when they were little and then swapped to the cruisers once they got pretty mobile. They are very absorbent and rarely needed to be changed at nighttime. We also like the pampers sensitive wipes. I do Amazon prime and have both delivered on a monthly basis right to our door.

We have the Ubi diaper pail. It’s expensive but has held up well through 2 kids and doesn’t require any special bags which I think balances out the cost over time.

I second the OXO wipe dispenser mentioned above. Easy to use and doesn’t dry the wipes out.

I had a cute little diaper station set up when DD was born. Over time I have gotten much less concerned about a cute station and am more concerned about the praticqlity. I have a stash of diapers and wipes both upstairs and down so they are never too far away and change DS wherever is most convenient, normally the floor.

Tip, don’t got crazy and over buy a ton of the small size diapers, especially newborns. Most babies grow pretty quickly and you will likely size out of them in less than a month.

mrosek91 · January 2019

@Lotus_2008 We use the Kirkland, and I would swear by them. Occasionally, if another brand is having a super sale DH will buy them, and I always can't wait until we make it through the box and I can go back to my Kirkland.
For diapers we use Huggies or Pampers whatever is having the better sale when we need to stock up. We've tried some of the cheaper ones and found they always leak/don't last as long. Often by the time we change they are disintegrating.
We use the Dekor plus diaper pail, and are very happy with it. Although the bags are a little weird, so I need to re-read the instructions every time they need a refill.
We started with a fancy diaper changing setup, but by now we just change them on the living room floor, where ever we happen to catch them, as they are running away. Although we do still have a changing table in their room for first change in the morning, we keep it simple, diapers, wipes and cream for when needed.
For home we have Desitin, and it works great, for the diaper bag we have Dr. Smith's On-the-Go Diaper Rash Spray which is great because, Desitin can get everywhere and is a pain to clean off your fingers.

wabash15 · January 2019

we are cloth folks... while velcro is very enticing in the middle of the night when your sleep deprived and cant see streight it does not hold up so go with snaps. We have just about every kind of cloth out there and each have their pros and cons. AIO are helpful for folks not comfortable with cloth so its more like a disposable. Also for inserts bamboo/hemp is WAY more absorbent than microfiber. its worth spending the little bit extra. You can also buy gently used cloth diapers to save money and dip your toe in the CD pool. Also though the prints are ADORABLE you save a ton by buying solid colors. andplusalso unless you have newborn cloth diapers you may need to use disposables for the first few weeks while your little one gets chubby legs, if you have one with skinny legs they may have some leaking till they get a bit chubbier.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

@lotus_2008 LOVE the Kirkland brand Diapers and wipes.

We cloth during the day and disposable at night and when traveling.

We bought our cloth in Canada (best bottom covers with medium snap-in inserts..we skipped the small snap in oats and put prefolds or fitted Diapers inside the best bottom covers at first. No regrets on that path. DS is 16 months and near the end of the best bottom diaper size (they are smaller and trimmer than a lot of Diapers.... I don't like the bulk and dry time of all in ones, personally).

As for laundry, we do cloth diapers 3x a week to keep down the stink. They are in a pail liner in a plastic garbage bin with no lid inside a wicker basket with a lid so it gets some air circulation which helps the stink stay manageable, and it looks pretty haha. Occasionally I put in some vinegar which has solved any stink issues we've had, but we haven't had many issues. Definitely encourages you to go the whole 6 months of exclusive breast milk recommendation bc once solids start, the poop can't go in the laundry and you have to dump and or spray it (we just got a bidet attachment, not an official diaper sprayer).

I will probably get some "bigger best bottoms" and large inserts to extend the stash instead of getting more of the regular size so they can both wear at the same time.

Brands are all different here but I get the name brand ones on sale with coupons that I started getting when I signed up for free baby box samples at grocery stores and pharmacies around the area.

When we visit Canada we get a pack of Kirkland. It's usually a good size to get us through a 5 week visit easily with extra left to bring back with us if we have luggage space.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

We have done a little of everything with DS1. Cloth, disposable, all different brands of both.

I enjoyed cloth his first 6 months. But he had major food sensitivities, and I had to go on a strict elimination diet - something had to give & we gave up cloth diapers.

For super tiny, we loved Pampers swaddlers. But if you are dealing with blowouts, huggies snugglers are better & have q better fit for chubby babies. They have a pocket at the back similar to a cloth diaper which catches poop & we never once had a poo blowout in huggies.

There is one type of huggies which is the worst - can't remember what they are called, but it's the cheaper ones with Mickey on them. They suck. Don't bother.

Aldi diapers are ok but nothing to write home about. Target diapers sucked for us.

My DS recently started getting a rash from the huggies, so we tried 7th Generation, & his rash went away but they are very stiff & uncomfortable. So now we are in Pampers Pure, & those are much better.

I'm also a strictly changing pad kind of girl. I change at a designated station 100% of the time.

We love our wipes warmer, & just use a regular small trash can for diapers.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

Oh, one tip for anyone who wants to stock up on diapers - tape the receipt to the box before you store it. If LO grows out of that size or you hate that brand, no struggle to exchange with the receipt handy every time.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

@WinchesterGirl

Diet related not diaper related

Did your DS outgrow his sensitivities? My son hasn't outgrown any yet (9 ige mediated allergies right now) and I went on a strict elimination diet to figure them out. Thankfully I'm back to only avoiding his allergens and not virtually everything, but it was HARD. Not gonna lie, it still is hard. solidarity!

Allycat11 · January 2019

The cheaper Huggies diapers @WinchesterGirl is thinking of is the Huggies Snug and Dry. It is enticing because you get more for your money but go with the Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers....they are a WAY different product.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

@BigBadWolf12 We believe he has outgrown his sensitivities! There are still 2 final things we are introducing to him directly that aren't confirmed. He thankfully passed everything through my milk last year. It was so, so hard doing the elimination diet! But it was worth it for his health. The things we do for our kids!

I'm so sorry you're dealing with 9 different allergens! That is really tough! I'm a whiz at adapting recipes so feel free to PM me if you'd ever like to chat. I'm mostly mobile so I don't see notifications but I do check periodically!

Amdogger82 · January 2019

We cloth diaper about 80% of the time with DS. I wouldn't say it's saved us money, but that wasn't our primary motivator. I do think it ended up being a worthwhile investment considering our daycare changes diapers every hour the first year. I didn't buy newborn diapers though. I had a suspicion I would have a bigger baby and they wouldn't be in them long enough to make the investment worthwhile. I went with Grovia--I was overwhelmed by the options so I did research and then just went with one brand. I'm not sure that's the best strategy, but I am happy with how it worked out. I have a combination of their hybrids, which can use snap in liners or prefolds (they also make a disposable liner for traveling) and their ONE, which is a very absorbent all in one. They've held up great and I plan to use them with this baby too. They also seem to have a good resale value.

We use disposables at night. We used pampers overnight diapers until DS was like 18 months and then he started peeing through them. Huggies overnights seem to be working a lot better for us.

We have a Dekor pail and it's fine. We flush all solids (assuming you can shake them off a diaper) whether they are in cloth or a disposable so we don't deal that much with stinks.

We use disposable wipes. I think huggies free and clear?

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

@WinchesterGirl thanks!

At home its actually nbd now, though it was insanely challenging at first, cooking is fine and I've adapted baking recipes too so we can have baked goods

the only thing I'm stuck on/haven't tried is bread (I didn't make bread pre allergies either, so I think that's why I'm intimidated). If you have any good bead recipes you think might work or I could adapt, let me know! He's allergic to dairy, soy, eggs, nuts, sesame, wheat/rye/barley, and oats. I have not found a single commercial bread safe from all those.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

@BigBadWolf12 Have you tried something simple to start with like these? This recipe looks like it would adapt well to a flax egg.

https://mygluten-freekitchen.com/pull-apart-dinner-rolls-gluten-free/

ETA: let's move out chat to randoms so the diaper discussion can continue uninterrupted!

lilmamabebe3 · January 2019

We have only done disposables but I am considering cloth for this baby for a variety of reasons.

I am a pampers swaddlers snob. Someone convinced me to try Babies R Us diapers with my first and he wore one diaper--back to BRU to return that shitty cardboard box they called a diaper. Target is ok but tons of blowouts. I hated Huggies and they gave my kids a rash.

There are cheaper than swaddlers alternatives but none are as soft or fit my kids as well.

For wipes, Huggies smell horrible and are not soft. Targets are really thin. We always go with pampers sensitive. No wipes warmer.

lilmamabebe3 · January 2019

Oh! And to this day I only change my 2 year old on a changing table. It's so much easier to get them up to your level and have everything you need in one place. I never understood people who change their baby literally anywhere.

And I make my own diaper cream. My youngest was allergic to dairy and so I also did an elimination diet, and for a bit his poops were awful--bloody, mucusy, and gave him a terrible burning rash. I melted aquaphor on the stove and whipped in cherry maalox. Best diaper cream ever. It is the only thing that healed him after a month of dealing with that horrible rash. Super easy to make and once batch lasts quite a while.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

Also on the diaper station conversation, I'm so a creature of habit that I made a diaper station in the back of my SUV for convenience while out. It's just one of the thin changing pads, and a fabric cube with extra wipes and diapers & a few sundries.

thirdtimesacharm2019 · January 2019

Target brand is the best quality for the money and they go on sale about once a month so you can stock up. Target brand wipes are also great! The one time I used Walmart brand wipes my son got a nasty infection, could be a coincidence, but I’ll steer clear.

Tip for FTM: do not buy newborn diapers, you will likely get some as gifts, but my older two were born too big for them. If you want to stock up get a few boxes of size 1 and a bunch of size 2 (it seemed like we were in those forever).

Twinkiedoll · January 2019

Pampers Swaddlers are great up to size 2. DD has only ever blown out her diaper twice and they were epic poops so I don't blame the Swaddlers.

As she has gotten older, she has been in a mixture of Honest Co., Pampers Baby Dry, Huggies Snug & Fit, Huggies Little Movers, and Amazon-brand Mama Bear. By a long shot, my least favorite are the Amazon ones. They just felt so cheap. My favorites are the Pampers Baby Dry, but the Huggies work just as well. I wait for a good coupon on Amazon for the other brand names ones to stack with the 20% S&S discount.

We use the Pampers and Honest Co. at home. I send the cheaper Huggies/Amazon ones to daycare. I personally think Honest Co. diapers are overrated. They have cute designs, and that's about it. I only have them because Amazon had a 40% coupon last year. Assuming the price is the same, I'd just as soon go with Pampers or Huggies.

I use Pampers overnights for long plane rides so I don't have to change her on the plane.

Pro tip for diapers: make sure the ruffles are out. The few times we did have leaks, it was because the ruffles along the edges were tucked in so there wasn't a good seal between her butt and the diaper.

As for wipes, I love the Seventh Generation and Water Wipes. I have Babyganics wipes too, but they are puny so I use them if I just need to wipe something off her face. I don't really like the Pampers wipes. Kirkland brand wipes are really good too. That's what they use at DD's daycare.

suzycupcake · January 2019

@cato99 You are the perfect person for this weekly thread and I always look forward to reading how you put it together!

aukeev · January 2019

Sorry to jump in... has anyone here tried the Honest Company subscription program?

zamoraspin · January 2019

@lilmamabebe3 I’m a FTM but my niece couldn’t be safely changed on a changing table by maybe 14 months. She is smart and wiggly and could get out of the “seatbelt” type thing. It was really hard to change her while also trying to keep her on the table so they started changing her on floors/beds with a towel. How do you get your LO to stay still for a change at 2?

Allycat11 · January 2019

@oklahomak I have done the Honest Co subscription a few times. The diapers are super cute but honestly Huggies and Pampers are more absorbant in my experience for a fraction of the price.

@zamora_spin with my 2 kids I literally never strapped them to the changing table...and I dont know anyone else who does either. I just lay them on top of the changing pad and either stand right there and/or keep a hand on them to make sure they don't roll off. I like changing tables for convenience of everything being there diapers/wipes/spare clothes/rash cream etc... And having them at the perfect height. My kids have also been changed on couches, floors, bed, storage ottoman, park benches, grass, the back of my traverse and wherever else they need to be changed.

WinchesterGirl · January 2019

FFTC, my son did once dive off the changing table end head-first & landed butt naked & legs kicking in the air in his laundry hamper. Thankfully the clothes broke his fall & he was totally fine. He literally shoved in one swift motion & took the pad and everything with him off the table. He only did that once.

lilmamabebe3 · January 2019

@zamora_spin I will not try to be an expert because every kid is different. Diaper changing in general becomes a struggle when they’re mobile because they got shit to do and you’re messing up their flow. I found it easier to contain them on the changing pad. Hand on the trunk and other hand grabbing the stuff. If I tried to change them anywhere else they were a million times worse.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

It only sometimes works, but I give DS (16 months) a book or ask him to play peek a boo with me so he uses his hands to cover his head. Or I all him "where's your nose/eyes/ears/whatever" to distract him and keep him busy. At home I've basically only ever changed him on the change pad on top of his dresser. The raised edges of the pad actually keep him in place better than if he was on a totally flat surface like a bed or floor. Having said that, I have stopped him from climbing down several times (at least he tries to go feet-first like off the couch so it's a bit safer 😂)

Beauxbaton · January 2019

We use Target brand and Walmart brand diapers. Wherever I am when I remember we need diapers is what I buy. And I buy the Walmart fragrance free baby wipes. We've used Huggies and Pampers before when they were newborns. Anytime any of the kids had a blow out we just moved them up to the next size of diaper and it solved the problem.

I keep A&D in the blue packaging on hand as well as something with zinc oxide in it for diaper rash.

We have a 6 drawer dresser that we use as a changing table. And the top drawer has all the diaper supplies in it. And we pretty much use it exclusively for diaper changes. We used to keep diapers in the a drawer in the living room, but every single kid has gone through a phase where they pull them out of the drawer. So now, they stay in the dresser.

I don't actually carry a diaper bag at this point unless I am going to be gonna all day. In which case I keep a handful of diapers, a pack of wipes, and a change of clothes for each kid. When there is a newborn involved it's pretty much the same thing. Except I take it with me more often.

No wipes warmer. We just keep them in the packages they come it because they have the little flip top thing.

We are the literal worst and we just keep a trash bag on the dresser and throw diapers in it. Every diaper trash can thing we have bought has broken. And then we tried a traditional trash can and the kids climbed it. So now we just keep some small Dollar tree trash bags in the dresser and then throw it in the garbage every couple of days. We kind of twist the top closed and that contains any smells.

agpandme · January 2019

Where is the best place to purchase online? We live rural so I don't have access to big big box stores. Only Riteaid, Cvs and Safeway. Closest Walmart is 1.5 hours. Target is like 3 hours.

I think I'd like to have cloth for home and disposable for outside the home. I don't want to create a ton of garbage at our house and have a diaper back up lol.

Twinkiedoll · January 2019

Puppy training pads are awesome as a makeshift changing surface. We use them for changes on the go when there is no restroom or changing station. When DD was a newborn and I was paranoid of germs on public restroom changing tables, we used the training pads there too. DD did not have many diaper blow outs but when she did, having those disposable pads to change her on was clutch.

I also used them on my car seat and mattress when I got close to my due date in case my water broke.

BigBadWolf12 · January 2019

Even if you don't cloth diaper, a pack of prefolds is gold. So absorbent for spit rags and putting under baby when changing so you don't have to change the change pad cover all the time, lie or sit baby on it for naked time to keep diaper rashes away. They're awesome

Edit: autocorrect fail

aukeev · January 2019

@agpandme If you have Amazon Prime, that would be my recommendation! They offer discounted diaper subscriptions on a lot of different brands.

thirdtimesacharm2019 · January 2019

@agpandme I believe Target does free shipping over $50 (so that’s basically two big boxes).

agpandme · January 2019

Yes Amazon Prime is always my go to. I didn't know that about Target! I love that store but I never get to go

Amdogger82 · January 2019

@Twinkiedoll I was a big fan of puppy pads for public restrooms too!

For a diaper balm we use Grovia Magic Stick. I really like using a stick as opposed to getting diaper cream on my fingers.

Twinkiedoll · January 2019

@thirdtimesacharm2019 If you have a Target Redcard, most things ship free without a minimum. Plus you get an immediate 5% off.

Twinkiedoll · January 2019

Oh and I love the Ubbi Pail. Does a great job of keeping smells in (except when you have to open it to put diapers in), and you can use a regular kitchen trash bag. The pail is steel so it doesn't absorb smells like plastic diaper pails do.

Product Spotlight: Diapering

Re: Product Spotlight: Diapering

Choose Another Board

Search Boards