Diaper questions...

[tinkb]

Okay so the time is coming...I'm about 10 weeks to my due date and I'm not expected to last that long. I need some advice.

#1) Honest to goodness opinions about the best diapers. Which ones are best at night? Which would you never use? What size is the right size?

#2) The cheapest places to find diapers and the places that have the best sales usually...

Let me hear it mommas! (And dads!)

[poppleton]

We love the Teddy's Choice ones from Superstore....my kids are 4, 2.5 and 9 months, so we've gone through A LOT of diapers in the past few years and have tried many different brands When they go on sale you can get some ridiculous deals! We often use a Pampers overnight because we find they hold a teensy bit more, but overall I give an A++ to the Teddy's choice. Oh, and the TCs also don't have any scent to them, which is big in my books!

In terms of sizing, it totally depends on your child. My daughter was born at 7lbs10oz, and she was in newborn diapers for about 6 weeks. My sons were closer to 9 pounds, and only used newborn for about a week or so. Once they hit size 3-5, they usually stay there for a long time! For reference, my 23 pound 9 month old is in size 3, and my 32 pound 2.5 year old wears size 5.

That being said, different diaper brands are different sizes. Teddy's Choice run a bit on the small size (kind of like a 3-), Pampers usually fit well for us, and Huggies ran a bit big (like a 3+).

For price, I always judge by the size 3 (so I could have a consistent baseline), and I always aim to hit less than $.13 per diaper in that size.

Hope that helps!! Good luck with the little one, and enjoy your last few weeks before you get to meet him/her!!

[Midnightly]

using a "premium" diaper at night (for example pampers has their regular baby dry and they have a cruiser same price per bag but the cruiser has a few less) is a good way to go (though while they are young young under 6 weeks they tend to sleep for shorter stretches that it doesn't matter as much) we are mostly pampers here.. we found what worked and stuck with it.. between sales and coupons we could find them cheaper then any store brand diapers

[Lilyana'sMommy]

We have two in diapers (2.5yr old & 1yr old) so we've also gone through a lot of diapers and tried quite a few brands. We used to be a Pampers family (LOVED SWADDLERS) however when they changed them over to make them thinner and last longer whatever they are using caused my oldest daughter to develop a severe rash on her bum. So now we are a Huggies family and I love them As for nighttime I find if they are in a size 1 or 2 and even a 3 (depending on their size and how long they sleep at night) that just wearing a regular diaper on them at night works fine however once our oldest daughter was into size 4 we started using Huggies overnites and they are terrific!! We've maybe had half a dozen leakage problems in the past year but that was mainly due to her having a lot of drink and sleeping long hours.

As for size, both my girls weighed in at under 7lbs so they were in the newborn size diaper for a few weeks. Size 1 and 2 lasted a few months but once they are in size 3 I found they are in that size for a while. Right now my youngest wears a size 3 (she is just over 20lbs) however I could possibly still put her in a 2 and my oldest has just started wearing a size 6 (she weighs around 32lbs) however she could still wear a 5 (we ran our of 5's, lol...). When it comes to stocking up we REALLY stock up on size 3, 4 & 5 as they will be in those sizes for a long time.

Just a tip, if you ever have any problems with diapers just make sure you contact the company to let them know b/c they appreciate the feedback and will most likely send you a high value coupon or replacement coupon. We had to do that with Pampers when our daughter developed the rash. Oh and if your little one is as squirmy as my youngest is then you will start to hate having to put a new diaper on, lol.....if it wasn't so expensive to buy pullups/easyups then I would switch her to them!! It takes a good 2-3 minutes to put a new diaper on her so make sure to have distractions for him/her when it's diaper changing time

[LovelyLaeticia]

We used cloth diapers for the first 6 months (at that point I started giving her solids and the poop was too icky, especially since we have no bathroom upstairs.) When we went out, I used whatever I could get on sale with a coupon

Once she started wearing disposable all the time, I noticed that I prefer Huggies. They seem to fit her better.

Sizes will depend on the size and shape of your baby She wore a newborn for almost 2 months, but then only wore size 1 for a few weeks... She's in a size 4 now, but not by weight, it's her shape!

[vibrantflame]

I think everyone has a different opinion based on their own experiences and their babies experience. Here is my own experience:

I have 2 boys, 2 and 4. We've tried almost every brand out there I think.

Brands I love: Huggies, Teddy's Choice, Kirkland (Costco brand). All have a great fit, they hold everything in well, they work well overnight, and none are scented.

Brands I like: Parent's Choice. I like them, but I find they feel and look a bit cheaper then the Teddy's Choice.

Brands I won't use: The Shopper's Drug Mart brand diapers - The fit was way off even though I bought the same size that I usually buy.

Pampers - Even the unscented diapers have a scent to them, and I hate it. The sizes seem to run smaller then other brands in the same size, and I found they tended to give my children rashes.

As for pricing, I find Teddy's Choice and Kirkland are generally the cheapest, unless a good sale comes on. Costco also has good deals on the Huggies diapers.

[ame555]

I have almost 3 year old and 6 month old -- my favourite is Huggies all the way. Pampers have this weird smell, and if I'm gonna smell something yucky I'd rather smell regular yucky then yucky with a bad perfume mixed in!!!

I second a lot of what people say -- the first weeks or so you can go with a cheaper diapers as you are going to change it have 2 hours or so - to make sure they are peeing enough etc. At night as they get older the Huggies have been wonderful.

Never buy diapers regular price!!! They are always on sale somewhere, not always the best sales but there is always some. Huggies used to have great coupons but lately I have found they are smaller ie. 1.50 which is not the greatest.

Also we make our own wipes, it's a lot cheaper and neither have ever gotten a rash with them. I buy huggies wipes to have a backup for travelling etc.

Hope that helps!

[tinkb]

You guys have been an amazing help so far! :D I'm so glad I asked this question.

We're doing a diaper raffle at my baby shower and I said I didn't prefer a brand (which I really didn't) but I'll be keeping all this in mind. I think I'll get a bag of Teddy's Choice to try out when she comes as well.

There's a worry that she may be premmature (I'm trying not to think about it and I'll know more after my doctor's appointment tomorrow morning) and if that is the case, will she fit in Newborn diapers if she's say, 1 month early?

I have heard that the Pampers with the Dry Max cause the bad rashes so I'm going to stay away from those, but I've heard great things about the Huggies overnights. I guess I'll just need to see how much she fills her diaper. LOL

My other question was about wipes; does brand really matter with wipes? What should I be looking for in a wipe? Are the sensitive ones really the best for baby's skin?

[LovelyLaeticia]

Wipes -

My baby has always broken out with any wipes that have scents. The sensitive ones are great!

When she was really young, we used whatever brand of wipes was on sale. I detest the parents choice wipes, I find them quite useless, they seem to be thin, not very wet, and I find them all around cheaply made.

Now that she's older, we prefer Huggies wipes. They have more grip, for getting off those solid food nasty poops!

Everybody has their own opinion though!

[tinkb]

Wipes -

My baby has always broken out with any wipes that have scents. The sensitive ones are great!

When she was really young, we used whatever brand of wipes was on sale. I detest the parents choice wipes, I find them quite useless, they seem to be thin, not very wet, and I find them all around cheaply made.

Now that she's older, we prefer Huggies wipes. They have more grip, for getting off those solid food nasty poops!

Everybody has their own opinion though!

Thanks Lovely! That's a big help!

I know my husband will appreciate a brand that helps with big, nasty poops! LOL

I have the Huggies sensitive wipes on my registry (only because family members had asked me to put a brand of diapers on my registry) so I think we made a good choice.

Oh, babies and their poop.

[Zonny]

My DS was a big newborn (10.5 pounds), and newborn diapers never did work well for him. We tried the Superstore brand of diapers and a couple of generics, huggies, and pampers. Pampers worked best, not because they're necessarily better, they're what fit his bum shape. Huggies, the pee ran right out the legs. The Superstore and a couple other generic ones worked fine, but I found i could get the Pampers as cheap or cheaper because they went on sale more often and there were more coupons out there for them.

My DS is lucky and has skin like mine, nothing ever irritates it. So we never ran into a problem with diaper rash using any products. I bought wipes refills in a big box at Superstore that were a great deal and worked just fine for us.

Good luck!

[tinkb]

My DS was a big newborn (10.5 pounds), and newborn diapers never did work well for him. We tried the Superstore brand of diapers and a couple of generics, huggies, and pampers. Pampers worked best, not because they're necessarily better, they're what fit his bum shape. Huggies, the pee ran right out the legs. The Superstore and a couple other generic ones worked fine, but I found i could get the Pampers as cheap or cheaper because they went on sale more often and there were more coupons out there for them.

My DS is lucky and has skin like mine, nothing ever irritates it. So we never ran into a problem with diaper rash using any products. I bought wipes refills in a big box at Superstore that were a great deal and worked just fine for us.

Good luck!

Thanks Zonny!

I really have heard that sizing and fit will depend more on bum shape than on their weight so we'll determine more about sizing when I see her cute little bum. (Of course, I'm sure I won't think her bum is so cute when I'm changing her diaper...) LOL

[GoddessDigi]

Agreed on the Huggies wipes.
They're the thickest, best for poops.

[poppleton]

I love hearing other parents' experiences! It's so interesting, because all three of my kids are shaped very differently, and we have never noticed any fit differences from one brand to another (aside from general size)! And yes, sensitive wipes are definitely the way to go, as the others smell terrible!

I think regular newborn diapers are for 7-10 pounds. My daughter was 6lbs10oz when we left the hospital, and they were big on her. If your little one is tiny, I think there are preemie diapers (you might be able to find them at Toys R Us). Oh, and I don't know about your local hospital, but ours doesn't use disposable wipes (just these horrid scratchy washcloths)...so we brought our own from home

[tinkb]

I love hearing other parents' experiences! It's so interesting, because all three of my kids are shaped very differently, and we have never noticed any fit differences from one brand to another (aside from general size)! And yes, sensitive wipes are definitely the way to go, as the others smell terrible!

I think regular newborn diapers are for 7-10 pounds. My daughter was 6lbs10oz when we left the hospital, and they were big on her. If your little one is tiny, I think there are preemie diapers (you might be able to find them at Toys R Us). Oh, and I don't know about your local hospital, but ours doesn't use disposable wipes (just these horrid scratchy washcloths)...so we brought our own from home

Thank you for the info! I love getting everyone's different input too, it really helps! I was just thinking about packing my hospital bag so I will make sure to pack some disposable wipes.