The BIG Diaper Question

TheMysticalOne

So, the question on every new mom's mind--how many packs of diapers do I need??

I only have two newborn packs because I'm worried I might have a big baby. I've only bought two packs of size 1 so far, as well. How many diapers do you think I'm going to need? Thanks!

cocobay

With Bronx I had a closet FULL of diapers. I'm talking around 30 boxes! Blew threw those in 6 or so months I believe. Bronx was in newborn for a month or two and went through around 8-10 diapers a day I think. He's been in size 4 the longest. Since he was 10 months old I think. So 8 months in size 4s.

friendamy

for the first... month maybe? maybe 2 months? I was going through 10 diapers a day. do the math LOL

and my boy came home in size 1 diapers (9.5 pounds) - I didn't open any diapers till I got home (and returned a bunch!)

TheMysticalOne

I mostly mean to ask how long your baby wore each size and how many packs of those sizes (on average) you would recommend buying. Right now I'm planning on buying Target's Up & Up Diapers. I've read good things about them. Which ones did you use with your newborn? BUT I also saw that Save A Lot has Luvs size 1 (like a 50 pack) for only $6.99 so I might try those too!!

Cocobay--I can't believe Bronx wore size four for so long. I'll have to remember that. I know every baby's differnet, but that'll be a good size to buy!

FriendAmy- 10 diapers a day means I'm going to need to invest in some diaper stock. lol

njmomma

Mine wore size newborn for only for first 3 weeks, and then I started size 1. So I would say the size newborn were the diapers that I used less than other sizes (my average is also 8 or 9 diapers a day). She was a size 1 for a while, so I needed a lot of those, then she started to grow fast, I've been using size 4 for a while now, my daughter is 9 month old, but she started to use size 4 almost 2 months ago (but my baby is on the chubby side and her thighs are big). So the size depends on the baby and where they are according to their weight / height too.

cocobay

Bronx wore and (sometimes) still does, the Pampers Swaddlers Sensitive diapers. We just switched to Earths Best about 2 months ago and I love them. He was in

Newborns- 1-1.5 months (he was 8lbs 3oz at birth)

Size 1- maybe from 2-4 months.

Size 2- maybe 4-6months (he was in these the least)

Size 3- maybe 5-10m.

Size 4- 10m to present (18m)

MNmommas

We CD at home, but use disposies when traveling and when Rowan was in the hospital. She was under 8 lbs at birth but didn't fit into the NB Pampers Swaddlers anymore by the time she was about 2 weeks old. We still have a ton left since we didn't go many places when she was a NB and the hospital sent us home with a lot. Since you don't know how big your baby will be, you're probably fine staying with what you have and then getting more if you need to. Or buy a bunch, hold onto your receipts, and return whatever you don't need!

How many of each size ultimately depends on how your baby grows, which can vary so much depending on the baby. But we changed diapers a LOT during the first month and then quite a bit still during the 2nd month. By the 3rd month we at least had enough time to catch our breath between diaper changes.

annerbones

I did not like the target brand, i would recommend not getting to stuck on one brand until after you have really tried them out. We used Luvs for a long time and loved them. Huggies have been used the longest because Costco has an excellent deal on them.

Found this on pinterest: http://www.southernsavers.com/2012/08/stocking-up-on-diapers-how-much-to-buy-at-what-price/

TheMFamily

Costco has a sale right now (I was there today) where the Huggies are actually cheaper than the Kirkland diapers! If you can get to a Costco or know somebody who is by a Costco that could do a run for you, the Kirkland "1-2" box will be useful in the beginning. The Kirkland wipes will be a life saver for the next hmmm 6 years or so.

Don't stress too much about size as they can always be swapped out. Take advantage of coupons and deals and do the best job at guessing as you can. Most babies are in size 3's and 4's for the longest, but it depends on your baby's body shape. One of the little ones I am a nanny to wasn't in size 4's until he was 18mos!

As far as brand goes, Pampers (minus the newborn swaddlers) and Luvs (made by Pampers) are SO overwhelmingly filled with cheap, harsh chemicals that thousands of babies have had chemical burn rashes for months before realizing it's the d@mn Pampers! I've dealt with it and it's awful! It doesn't happen to every family (I know somebody will comment) but it's happened to a LOT of families, so I thought I'd share that two cents.

TheMFamily

I thought this might be helpful

mommylove

First off I will say I would never recommend buying that many diapers in advance and certainly not different brands. You may end up with an infant who is allergic to something in a certain brand of diapers ad/or gets diaper rash with say Huggies but does better in Pampers. Like wise my first son had always worn Pampers when he wasn't wearing cloth because they are cut for skinny yet long kids...however, Harrison is chubby and does much better in Huggies as they allow for his chubby thigs and don't come up as high as his brothers Pampers. Also while Sebastian came home in newborn diapers and wore them for a good 2 months, Harry came home this week in size 1 diapers as the newborn size simply doesn't fit him (9lbs 9oz baby).

What I am saying is you just don't know ahead of time what will work for a specific baby for many reasons. If you buy anything in advance I would buy size 1 diapers and maybe one pack of newborn...and do not open them as you may be returning them if they don't fit or baby has a bad reaction to them.

Also as a rule of thumb in the newborn stage 0-3 months you'll go through around 10 diapers per day and that number begins to slowly decrease after that. However, this is also subjective as you may at some time deal with an ill baby and go through twice as many diapers or you'll be lucky and have an infant that only poops twice a day as opposed to one who has 6-8 per day.

Good luck!

Zen

Shiloh wore newborn for a long time but in general, unless the baby is huge you can count on at least 3 weeks in this size. If you have 2 packs you're off to a good start ... but should definitely expect to buy more. Like others said though, there are differences in fit and comfort. As a tiny baby Shiloh could and did use any brand or store name. As she grew though, my favorites became Huggies and Pampers, and later just Pampers.

PS - I got so many as gifts, many tied in sets with pretty ribbons, that I didn't realize there was a difference between Newborn and Size 1. For weeks I just thought Huggies were huge!

tc0104

Jack can't wear Huggies bc he sPrings major leaks but Gray can. We only buy Pampers Swaddlers now but we will probably switch to Target brand as we have had them in our daughter for a very long time and think they're great! I'm a little nervous to buy Sams brand bc you have to buy so many. I too would buy different brands as you could have the same issue like we have with Jack. My parents did insist on buying us a bunch of diapers so we let them buy us a few boxes of Newborn,1 & 2. In 3 wks we have.own through the new pen and then some but we also have 2 babies. Laney was 7.11 at birth and out of newborn within a few wks if that's helpful at all. She has also been in size 4 the longest, maybe shortly after her 1st bday and she will be 3 in April.

palegreen

G pretty much followed a similar path as Cocobay listed above. We had a TON of NB diapers from our baby shower. I returned a few packs before he was born and ended up returning one or two more when he grew out of them. So, my advice is to buy what you think you may need for the first few weeks but don't open them until you need them. My favorites for this age were Huggies and Up &Up.

ETA: we used the Costo (Kirklands) brand from size 1-4 and I found them to be very comparable to Huggies. We most recently switched to Up & Up because they're a bit cheaper. Up & Up work just fine (and for the price we will stick with them), but I like the Costco diapers a bit better because the quality is better.

Jen727BF

We've been given a big box of newborn pampers and a big box of size 1 earths best (my first choice). I'm afraid to buy anymore newborn because you just don't know! We are expecting a big baby too -- at least in length. Not sure if this would interest you, but if you join Amazon Mom (membership fee but you can try it free for 3 months) you can get 20% off diapers if you have them on subscription. So they send you whatever qty you request every month or whichever way you set it up.

coryandamanda

I agree with mommylove on not buying too many. We mostly cloth diaper but we do use some disposable when we go away or at places where it is very inconvenient to be dealing with a bag of dirty diapers. We also use one sposie diaper for overnight. My kids are all tall and skinny so, with the exception of Huggies Overnights, Huggies are way too short and wide for them. They are too loose in the leg holes but are so short they look like lowrise bikinis LOL Pampers are ok but Luvs actually fit them the best. All of the cheaper brands are ok but a lot less absorbant so I found that even though they were cheaper, they definitely needed to be changed more often so I don't know if you are saving money in the long run. Also, it isn't for sure that you will you will use the most size 4. Our kids were in size 3 until around 18 months and the girls started potty training shortly after so we hardly used them at all.
I would recommend taking the money you are going to use during your pregnancy and put it in a diaper fund or buy yourself gift cards and set them aside. Just buy a couple smaller packs of NB and Size 1 to have on hand when you first get home in different brands.

SPJ&E

You're going to need lots and lots and lots of diapers, lol. But you never know how big (or small) your baby is going to be and how fast or slow he/she is going to grow. I would say you're pretty safe to start with 1 box (we do boxes instead of packs) of newborns and a box of 1's. For what it's worth though, you can return unopened boxes/packages. If you want to stock up, I'd stock up on the bigger sizes. I'd get a box or 2 of 2's, and several boxes of 3's if you have room to store them.

Edit to add: Our older boys were both in newborns for right around at a month. I can't remember how long they were in 1's and 2's, but I do know that they were in 3's by age 1 and stayed in those until they potty trained. We definitely used a ton of 3's. Our youngest was in newborns for 5 months, 1's until right around 1 year, 2's for a couple months, and is in 3's now (and I don't see him needing to size up before potty training).

Klt86

I would honestly wait! Like others said you won't know what brand you like until you try them. I loved pampers when she was a nb (only the sensitive kind, the ones with drymax are awful and like someone mentioned I've heard of lots of chemical burns!). I hate luvs- I feel like they smell weird and almost poopy when she pees which doesn't happen with other brands. I haven't tried huggies with her but the girl I nannied used them and they always left gel beads on her skin. I did cloth from about 3-5 months then tried Walmart brand. They leaked so bad. I tried target brand and love them, that's what we use now. They sometimes weren't the best for poops but my daughter is a nasty one lol. I switched to pampers to try to fix that problem and they leaked every single night. She would wake up soaked which didn't happen with others. Even at naps sometimes when she would only sleep for an hour she would wake up soaked. Another brand I tried and loved was surprisingly Walgreens. They were buy one get one free so I gave them a shot. They were almost the same as target.

As far as size- she's been in 4s the longest. I don't really remember how long she was in other sizes but I've been buying 4s for months. She's 1 and I just got a small pack of 5s to use at night because she's leaking again and they're really big! She's about 22 pounds and 30 inches if that helps.

Shanny

I wouldn't stock up either personally. I totally understand the impulse to do so though. I hate storing excess stuff almost as much as I hate returning things so those are key factors for me. But like many others have pointed out you just don't know what you'll run in to as far as fit/leaks, personal preference etc. You may even decide to cloth diaper (I can't tell you how many on this board alone had no intentions of it but ended up there after doing the math and chemical analysis!). Lastly, Kate was tiny, partially cloth diapered and potty trained by 18 months. If I had a stash of 3's and 4's they would have never seen the light of day for us!

Kari

When diapers go on a great sale, I buy future sizes. So when Juliet was in size 1 I was stocking up on 3s and 4s in my favorite brand. She didn't spend long in NB, 1s or 2s so I had to return a lot. Tape the receipt to the box and know the return policy if you're going to shop early.

TheMysticalOne

You guys are full of great info!! It's kind of like a sea of diapers out there!! It seems like everyone has their favorites. I think I'll probably just try a few different brands with her and see what fits the best. I'm not going to buy too many in advance because it's true that you never know what size she's going to end up needing the most of. I'm not planning on buying any more Newborn sizes until she's born and I know how many I THINK I'm going to need. At least I can buy size one in advance and know they'll definately get lots of use! Thanks for the tips!!

Flowergirl

I wouldn't buy too many in advance honestly... It sounds like a good plan, but like others have said, your baby may fit into one better than the other or be sensitive to one brand or another. As far as size, my baby was big also - 9 pounds 14 ounces and I knew ahead of time that he was going to be big, so I wondered if he'd even wear his newborn diapers. I had gotten some as gifts and I wondered if I'd be giving them all away. As it turned out, he wore NB's for the first 3 weeks and I even had to buy an extra package from what I had. The size 1's were too big for him and he would pee out the legs! He's 3 months now and still in his size 1's. as far as brands, my favorite are the Pampers Sensitive, but we use others just as easily - Pampers swaddlers, regular pampers and huggies little snugglers.