The Great Diaper Debate ! - Gainesville,FL

10 years ago, I spent the money on disposables for my daughter. This time around, I smartened up and saved a ton of money - I went with cloth.

I would go with cloth diapers and save a fortune and tons of toxic waste from sitting in a landfill for 200 years. Even with disposables, if you read the package it says to shake out the poop into the toilet (nobody ever does though). They also contain cancer-causing chemicals.

My Mamma's Milk is having a package deal on the awesome Air Biscuit diapers: 25 diapers, a large hanging wet bag, a bag of rockin green detergent and a diaper sprayer for $475.00

The Air Biscuits go from 8 to 38lbs EACH, so this is all the diapers you will ever need. And then you can use them on future kids! They come in 14 different fabrics too!!!

The package is listed here: http://www.mymammasmilk.com/AirBiscuitAIO.html

Here are some more facts:
Disposables have cancer-causing chemicals, including Dioxin, Tributyl-tin, and Sodium Polyacrylate. They last 200 to 300 years in a landfill, which means your great, great grandkids will still be dealing with the toxic mess. Additionally, disposables cost roughly $800 PER YEAR per child. For $500, you could cloth diaper your child for their diapering career AND use them for the next child as well!

Your baby won't be exposed to sodium polyacralate (the shiny crystals in the diaper that can stick to babies skin causing skin reactions).

Your family doesn't have to put 1-2 bags of disposable diaper trash out on the curb for trash day.

Using cloth diapers vs using disposable diapers will reduce your babies chances of getting asthma. The Archives of Environmental Health tested 6 leading cloth diapers and 6 leading disposable diapers and discovered that the emissions from one disposable diaper were high enough to produce asthma-like symptoms in mice.

Your family is reducing their carbon footprint by using cloth diapers. The manufacturing of disposables takes over 1 million metric tons of wood pulp and 75,000+ of metric tons of plastic each year.

Using cloth diapers will help facilitate quicker potty training. During potty training time children who have been in cloth will recognize sooner when they are wet vs a baby in disposable diapers.

Cloth Diapers are just as easy to use as disposables, especially "all in ones."

No more trips to the store late at night when you are out of disposables. Just pop a load into the machine and you have instant diapers. Just think of the gas savings!

3 moms found this helpful

I'd advise to wait.
not all diapers are made the same way
Pampers are longer and Huggies are wider , you don't know how your baby will be shaped and you don't know how long they will be in each size. So stocking up is likely a waste of money.
We had a diaper champ, I think thats the one that you just flip the handle over and you can use any type of bag. For diry diapers put um in a plastic shopping bag and twist then flip over and wrap it back of the diaper and then tie a knot in the open end.

2 moms found this helpful

We use cloth when we're home, but when we're out of the house (and a night), we prefer Huggies because Pampers always smell like perfume to me (even the unscented ones), and I didn't want that stuff against my baby. I actually really prefer the Huggies Naturals because they also don't have any dyes in them, and are missing the chemically smell that most diapers seem to have. I agree that the special diaper pails are a waste of money. Just buy a trash can with a flip-lid and you're all set. Good luck.

2 moms found this helpful

Have you considered cloth? Modern cloth is nothing like what our grandma's used. The colors and covers are super cute and you can even get them that go on and off just like a disposable but are washable! And you can use them for baby #2. Talk about savings! They have one size diapers that will carry you all the way to potty training. How great would it be to spend $500-600 (maybe even less) instead of $1,500-2,000 on disposables? Also, you never run out of diapers, you never have to make a special trip to the store for them-just toss them in the washer!

Better for baby's skin, better for your wallet, better for the environment!

If you decide you might be interested just shoot me a message!

When I did disposables with my oldest (before I knew better lol) I used Luvs and had a diaper pail that the lid flipped back and forth (can't remember the brand name). Really helped contain the smell.

2 moms found this helpful

I would buy a small pack of pampers and huggies to see what you like nad what fits your baby.. I love pampers... pampers swaddlers are wonderful for small babies. but they only make them size Newborn, 1 and 2.

Huggies leak for us.. but my kids are skinny.

My daughter 6 15 at birth wore newborn diapers for 2 months my sone 8 8 at birth wore newborn diapers for 1 week.

do not buy a diaper pail, dipaer genie or any of that.. just throw them in the trash and take the trash out once or twice day.

1 mom found this helpful

Ok kids have diffrent reactions to diapers so get really small packages of each on size one. Use them both and see which works best. My oldest daughter could only use huggies until she was a year (broke out so bad with everything else) Just throw them in the trash so much easier... I wouldn't stock up kids change sizes way to much I made that mistake with my oldest! I got pregnant 4 months later so my youngest got the extras. Kids grow up to fast to stock to much... Good luck though! Ash

1 mom found this helpful

Don't discount that diaper pail!! We used the Diaper Dekor and absolutely loooved it. Totally sealed tight, never stunk. The "bags" you buy are great because it's actually a tube of plastic and you don't have to wait until it's full to take it out. It's streamlined and cool looking. Oh, and the cheapie diapers are just that. Cheap. I've found they tend to leak quite a bit. We used either Pampers or Huggies, both were good.

1 mom found this helpful

Target brand diapers and wipes! Love them.
Just throw them in a regular garbage- you'll end up doing that anyway. I got one of those little bathroom cans so that I am forced to take it out every couple of days.
I agree with the people who said not to stock up. You never know what will work for your baby, or how fast he/she will grow. If you want to stock up, stock up on wipes! You'll need those for 3 years or more. Target or Pampers wipes are the best in my opinion. Huggies wipes are terrible! As far as how many packs of wipes you'll need...on average my son [who is 26 months and only poops once, maybe twice a day] and I go through 2 packs of the Target brand [88 wipes/pack] each week because besides wiping his butt, they are so handy to wipe up spills and messy hands and faces as well as a snotty nose! I'd say for a baby under 1 you'd probably go through at least 3 packs each week. So plan on 150-200 packs for the first year [20+ boxes of the Target brand. If you get the Pampers wipes you'll get about 30-40% less wipes for the money so you'll need 30+ boxes of pampers]. If you use less, no problem! You'll need more the next year anyway.
Another thing you might want to stock up on is a few bottles of Dreft...you'll be doing a LOT of laundry for a while and you want to start with a very mild detergent I'd say until the baby is 6-8 months old and then you could try switching to a regular one. If you have a good washer with two rinse cycles, you may not even need it that long.
Get lots of bibs, a few extra crib sheets, and lots of diaper cream too. Bordeaux's Butt Paste is a good one. I'd also recommend a good thermometer, some take-and-toss bowls with lids, and a lot of board books. I could keep going but those are the main things. Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

If you're just expecting your baby, my recommendation is to buy a small container of a few different kinds. We used Pampers Swaddlers with both of our kids but moved to Huggies pretty quickly. I just don't personally like Pampers because we tended to have more leaks. Actually, I liked the Baby Dry better than the Cruisers, but started getting them at Costco instead, to save money, and they don't carry Baby Dry there.

We were diaper snobs with our son and only used the premium brands (Huggies Supreme, Pampers Swaddlers). When our daughter came along 21 months later, we got over that really quickly.

We'd gotten LUVS lately, but she's been leaking through them. Kirkland brand (costco) is Huggies in a different package. They cost almost the same/unit, so it's a toss up.

Good luck!

1 mom found this helpful

Obviously, you've gotten lots of various opinions. One more-I, too, used Pampers, Huggies, Walmart & Target brands. My personal favorite were walmart. You can get them at Sam's also. Members Mark brand. Same thing. And, I agree not to waste your money on a diaper pail. The garbage goes out often enough that it's just a waste.

But, the biggest thing you need to do, is get some diapers to get started, but you will find that you have your own opinion. Don't stock up too much before baby & get at least a medium package of each brand. Take the time to see which one YOU like best.

1 mom found this helpful

Diapers are diapers - they are for pee and poop so why spend more then you have to? I use Walmart brand Parents Choice. They work great and cost half as much Pampers and Huggies cost..... I have tried Huggies, Pampers and Luvs and really didn't see any difference other then the name brands look nice - they have cute designs on them, but again, it's a diaper - to be pooped in and goes into the garbage - so what that it looks cute?
I also don't believe in the diaper pail - just toss in the garbage. If it's a really stinky one then wrap it in a plastic grocery bag before tossing. You take the garbage out often enough that it wont stink...
Again, I wouldn't buy any special bags for disposing diapers - just save your plastic grocery bags...

Congratulations on your new baby
Y.

1 mom found this helpful

I wouldn't stock up on diapers just yet. Different children respond differently to the different brands of diapers. Just get a small package of each, so you will know which ones work for your child.

What you can do is set aside some money for them, so when you know what type works for your kids you can try to stock up then.

We throw our diapers in the trash and empty it out each night.

1 mom found this helpful

I have used so many different brands , I now use Kirkland (Costco own brand) with no issues , they are very similar to Huggies. You are right to not buy too many in newborn size , they grow so quickly. I never bothered with a dipaer genie , seems like such a waste of money. I go to Babies R Us and buy a box of scented diaper bags , put the used diaper in that and then into the trash.

1 mom found this helpful

I use Pampers Baby Dry and love them. I've tried other brands but they either leaked or didn't fit right. I tried Huggies but they gave my daughter a rash and so did their wipes too. You should try different kinds and see what works for you. I got several different samples in the mail when I was pregnant but I'm not sure how I got on the mailing list for those. I had a preemie so she was in preemie diapers for a long time before she moved onto the newborn size and depending on the size of your baby he/she might not even fit into the newborn size.
I have a diaper pail and wouldn't go without it. It helps to keep the smell contained and I can use regular trash bags. My kitchen is downstairs and very far away from my daughter's bedroom and I don't go there everytime I change a diaper. Plus sometimes those diapers are pretty nasty and all you want to do it get rid of it and go wash your hands. Hope this helps.

1 mom found this helpful

Huggies has the netting in the diaper that sticks to baby. I WOULD NEVER USE ANYTHING BUT PAMPERS!! Pampers stay dry they are called.

1 mom found this helpful

we loved huggies but my suggestion to you is not to "stock" up till you know for sure which brand works the best. or if you do then keep reciepts. we had one kid who ended up only in the jewel generic brand as that worked the best. target has a pretty good generic also. but we did love the huggies for the other two boys. pampers makes a newborn one called swaddlers that has a little cut out place for the umbilicle cord you will want some of those.
good luck and congrats on the new baby

1 mom found this helpful

I used only huggies and target brand diapers for my daughter and now I swear by pampers for my son .. you never know until you use them :)

1 mom found this helpful

I'll only use Pampers. I love them because I feel like they absorb great, especially at night. I tried Luvs when my daughter was first born and I had a lot of leakage problems. As for disposal, it's true: Don't waste money on diaper bins. Throwing diapers out in the trash is perfectly acceptable. What I do spend money on is a box of these little green, scented plastic bags (sorry, can't remember the name of them right now). I use them for the diapers she poops in, and people are eternally grateful if I use them when we're visiting as they keep the garbage from stinking up the house. They sell them at Babies R' Us.

1 mom found this helpful

I used Pampers in the newborn size because they tend to be "skinnier" in the butt than huggies. And they are smaller than any other brand. My 7 lb baby needed the smallest size available. After he grew out of newborn size I switched to generic. I think I even went to newborn in generic before size one.

I use Kroger brand diapers in the green box. I love them. I have also used Luvs. I believe I used Luvs through the first few months because they have elastic across the back (so do Huggies) and until about 4 months my son didnt poop every day but then had a total blowout. So I needed that elastic. I use Huggies overnights for nighttime diapers now that my son is older, they hold more than store brands so he can go all night without a change. But during the day I change frequently and don't need the absorbancy or the priciness of Huggies.

You can buy several boxes of diapers, just don't open them and save the reciept. As long as they aren't opened you can always take them back. My son was in newborn for a couple of months. He has always grown out of sizes steadily and gradually so I can tell when a new size is going to be needed. I did not buy newborn in a big box because I was worried I wouldn't use them all. Size one-he was in forever. If you want to try Costco if you have it near you, I have heard thier Costco Kirkland diapers are great. Also their wipes are great too. Huggies wipes tear easily and Pampers wipes are very thin. Costco's are thick and unscented and clothlike.

I was given a diaper champ for a shower gift but returned it after a couple of months. I wanted the Champ because you dont have to buy special bags, you can just use grocery bags. But I ended up throwing poopie diapers into a trashcan in our garage once they got to the stinkier stage after he started solids. Newborn diapers went right into the regular trash.

1 mom found this helpful

If you're using disposables, I would not buy a ton of them ahead of time. Different people find different types work best for their baby, in terms of fit and absorbancy. Don't invest a lot in disposables til you know what kind works best for your baby.

Back when I had my kids, I had a nofrills diaper pail in the nursery, not a fancy diaper genie or anything like that. It was convient to have a covered pail in the nursery, but a regular garbage pail would do the same. I was a working mom, so 5 days a week, most of the diapering took place somewhere else and we didn't even have poopie diapers being changed in the house during the week. If you're going to do most of your diapering in other areas of your house, you might not need a pail in the nursery, but most of our changing during the week was wakeup, bathtime, bedtime - so we changed on the changing pad on the dresser in the nursery
Good luck

1 mom found this helpful

Due to money, I use Target brand diapers. I also use Walmart brand, but prefer Target. I loved the Pampers I got from the hospital a couple years ago. Newborn diapers...depends on how quickly the baby will grow. (It's a hit or miss) Loved my diaper pail for my first and my friend loved hers. I stopped using mine to save money on the cost of the refills. I just use the regular garbage, but now that the youngest is 2.5, some diapers need their own garbage bag and go straight outside!

1 mom found this helpful

Hi,
My son was a big baby. ( 9lb5oz) at birth but he was in newborns for 1 1/2 months. At the hospital they used pampers. They are very soft and smell great. When we got home we used huggies because they were cheaper, but they didn't hold the pee after my son was circumcised. So, back to pampers. Now (5 mos later) I don't see a real difference except that pampers still are softer. Huggies though have a "poopy pocket" in the back that catches blowouts before they go up the back. Nice. The 1-2 size at sams is just a tad larger than size 1. I would buy one box of that size of either brand because you will use them. Don't forget you will get diapers at your shower, too. I went through 100 diapers a week for the for the first few weeks. Now I go though about 50. I like the Diaper Dekor pail. You can use regular trash bags with it and it really holds in the stench. Hope this helps. The huggies wipes at sams are a really good deal.
One more thing, California Baby calendula cream is wonderful. Great for exzema(?) and all manner of rashes, sunburns, burns, cuts- you name it. Very soothing and well worth the price. Everything from Caifornia Baby is.
My son is 5 months old now. If you have any questions please feel free to message me. Like I said, I hope this helps.
- Jackie.

1 mom found this helpful

I have to agree that stocking up is a bad idea. With my first, Luvs and CVS brand worked great! Then my second came and Luvs were horrid, and so was Huggies, but Pampers fit him perfectly! He was a skinny little one. Then i had my third and Pampers would leak, so we went to Huggies and never switched...he was a chunky monkey...The brand that works for your baby will not be known till they are here, and depending on size and weight what will work. I would say buy a couple different brands..size 1 mostly, because, yes, newborn size is gone in a flash!

I did waste money on a diaper pail, but soon learned that the trash can was much better and saved money. There are a lot of waste money things, and i feel this is one of them...just my 2 cents! :)

For the first year, use pampers for sure. once they start walking I find huggies have been better. Pampers seem to droop as they walk. And as far as the diaper pail, you can just use a very small garbage can with small bags like grocery bags and take it out often. Don't waste money on one of those "special" garbage cans. Good luck

Dear S.,

I lived in Gville from 1989-1998 and still miss it - what a great town! I didn't see my answer below so here it is: don't buy too much of anything before baby gets here. My son's skin is super sensitive and we found that he had trouble with some of the disposable diapers, certain baby powers, butt creams, and skin washes as well as clothing detergents. I gave away two jumbo boxes of the newborn Huggies because he got a terrible rash from them. Unless you plan to use cloth diapers, I simply wouldn't get too many in advance. Same thing goes for all other things that go on baby's skin.

It is an early lesson, along with "birthday" that babies have their own issues/agendas and all we can do is accept that they are their own person and work with it.

Congratulations! C.

My advice, don't stock up just yet. If you want to prep ahead of time, set the money and coupons aside.

My experiance after four children and five grandchildren:

Both Pampers and Huggies work well, but each child is different. Luvs never worked on any of the children. Some kids have a negative reaction (rashes) to some brands, some leak out of one brand but not the other. The diaper pail is great to soak clothes in (formula stains) but otherwise pretty useless. We always tossed diapers in the trash. If you have a very smelly diaper, put it in a plastic shopping bag, tie it off, then to the trash to keep from smelling up the room.

Some children pee just a little at a time, very often, and on those children Pampers works best to keep it away from the skin and avoid diaper rashes. Some children seem to store it up and let it go in one huge deluge and Huggies works very well for catching it all and not leaking. The absolute Cadillac of diapers for overnight: Pampers Swaddlers then Cruisers. No leaks, no rashes, no problems.

I tried store brands, luvs, and huggies because I got several bags as shower gifts. They all leaked. I was beginning to think that was normal before I tried Pampers. Have never looked back, they are wonderful. As for the diaper pail... That's up to you, I guess. I did have one by the changing table. That thing was SSOOO stinky when it was opened. I can't imagine that smell taking over my kitchen (where our main trash can is).

I hate the whole idea of the diaper genie. It is so wasteful I know a lot of people who bought them and used them until the cartridge ran out and them packed them away who wants that extra cost not to mention what it does to the environment. If you just have to have a special place for diapers go with the Diaper Champ at least that way you can use any bag and aren’t encasing each diaper in its own little plastic tomb. With my son I used Pampers. I was determined that I was going to use Luvs because they were cheaper. The hospital sent us home with Huggies I bought Luvs. My son was constantly leaking. I couldn’t even seem to keep the Huggies on him. A friend gave me a bag of size 1 diapers that her daughter didn’t use before she outgrew them and there were a couple Pampers in there and amazing they didn’t leak. The truth is you never know until the baby is born and you can try them on. There are some wonderful greener options out there. The Huggies naturals are kind of a joke they are so minimally better for the environment and baby that it is well a joke. I suppose they would be better for sensitive skin. There are the Seventh Generation which are better but still far from great and can be bought at target and toys r us. The best of the disposables are the Nature Babycare but you probably wont find them in a store which could be a pain if you ran out. You can buy them online at target.com. Then there are hybrids like the g diapers they are really cute but if you have bad plumbing they can be a hassle. My personal favorite is cloth. You can get as complicated or make it as simple as you want they have the Flip and Gro Baby that are one size and because they basically function as a cover you don’t need as many of the shells just some extra inserts. Also both companies sell disposable inserts that you can use while you are out if the idea of carrying around a dirty diaper is to much for you to handle. I used cloth for the end of my sons diapering so I don’t have experience on a baby. I used the BumGenius one size pocket diaper and they were so easy and cute. They are also probably the most daycare friendly option, those and all in ones but it takes forever for them to dry. Now that I have added to your confusion lol.

http://www.target.com/Baby-Trend-Diaper-Champ-Deluxe/dp/B...=

http://www.target.com/Seventh-Generation-Diapers/dp/B001P...=

http://www.target.com/Nature-Babycare-Eco-Friendly-Diaper...=

http://www.target.com/G-Diapers-Baby/b/ref=sc_fe_l_4/182-...

http://www.cottonbabies.com/index.php?cPath=139

http://www.thenaturalbabyco.com/grobaby™-ic-11_16.html

http://www.target.com/BumGenius-Baby/b/ref=sc_fe_l_4/182-...

http://www.jilliansdrawers.com/newtocloth

Check out BumGenius 3.0 diapers. They are washable and they will save you TONS of money!! They're not like to old fashioned washable diapers and are SUPER easy!!

i used huggies exclusively with my daughter, and with my son i used everything. the pampers tht i got at a baby shower for my daughter left little gels like crystal things all over her and they did the same to the kids in the daycare that i worked at. i use the walmart brand now for my son at nite and while they hold good, the tabs are really loose, and i don't like that. i had to use several packs of newborn diapers with my daughter and about 2 with my son. as to the diaper genie, i've never used one and the family that i have that had them never used them. i used grocery bags and just tied up the poopy diapers and thru them in the trash outside.

Okay, clearly you have gotten a ton of responses. I did not read them all, but here is what worked for us. Love Pamper's swaddlers. Hate pamper's cruisers. I tried the "better" Huggies (supreme) for a while and they were fine, but ultimately ended up switching to the Pamper's Baby Dry (cheaper Pampers) once shw was out of the swaddlers. I did use the Huggies supreme in the small sizes (newborn - 2) and they were fine, but liked Pampers swaddlers better. I tried Luvs in there somewhere, but didn't care for them. I don't remember if that was in the "swaddler" stage or "cruiser" stage. I did try a few of the other less expensive brands, but was never happy after starting down the name-brand path. I especially HATED the store brand at Costco (Kirkland's Supreme, I think). The sticky tabs were way under the baby when laying down, so you couldn't get to them. It drove me crazy!!! Plus the diaper quality seemed far inferior to me. It was all I could do to force myself to use up the box.

A strange thing I noticed about Pampers "swaddlers" vs. Huggies "little snugglers": the Pampers newborns are smaller than the huggies. But after that (sizes 1 and 2) the pampers seem to be a little bigger. Definitely do not buy an entire box of newborns. We were in huggies newborns for about 2 weeks, but the Pamper's newborns were really a little small from the beginning. (She was right around 8 pounds at birth.) I think we were in size 1 for a couple months, but I can't remember for sure. Size 2 for maybe another 6 months??? But then we were in size 3 for over a year. My daughter is in the 25 - 50 percentile range in hieght and weight, but we didn't start size 4 until after she was 2. So definitely no need to buy those.

As for saving the receipts, it never hurts. But be careful if you are going to rely on that. I love Target, but they are seriously a pain with their return policy. (Something you will figure out after your baby showers.) Yes you HAVE to have a receipt there (they make like 3 sub-twenty dollar exceptions per year). But they also won't take anything back, even for exchange, after 90 days, even if it's still in stock at full price. So a receipt doesn't help there. You might have luck with Walmart for belated exchanges, but I think it's hit or miss, they do have a 90-day policy too I think. Babies R US might be more understanding (don't know), but their diapers are more expensive. I only buy diapers there when I have a $5 off store coupon that you get in the mail periodically for being on their mailing list. And I always combine the store coupons and manufacturer's coupons on a single purchase.

I did stock up and was happy I did. Just be careful not to over-buy. My daughter has some topical cream allergies, and fairly sensitive skin and was prone to diaper rash. But we never had problems with Pampers swaddlers, Huggies supreme or Pampers baby dry. But every baby is different.

Diaper pails: We have a diaper champ and are pretty happy with it. I refused to buy anything that required specific refills. We didn't have a problem with the smell on the diaper champ until she was bigger, and fully into "real" food (18 months on maybe). You definitely want to open it up to empty it outside, but other than that it was great for the first year or so. Like I said though. Once she was fully switch over to real food, but until she was potty trained, the diaper pail definitely left a smell in the room after a bad one, especially every time you added new diaper and turned the lever. But I am too lazy to empty the trash can every day. so I definitely needed a pail in the early months.

Congratulations, good luck and enjoy!!

The main difference I have noticed between Huggies and Pampers is that Huggies seem to be a bit wider, Pampers a bit longer, so it does depend a bit on how your child is built as far as which will be a better fit. We use Huggies from Costco for my son and have been really happy with them. I have also had good luck with the Kirkland brand sold by Costco. Don't be afraid to try the less expensive brands, they work well for lots of babies.
I would agree with the moms who have suggested not stocking up too much. Try a small package of each of the brands you are considering and see what works for you.
And as far as a diaper pail, I have a diaper genie 2, and really like it, but I only use it for "dirty" diapers, wet ones go into the regular trash can. This keeps the smell from being a problem, but also cuts down on the number of diaper genie refill cartridges I have to buy, since most diapers just go into the garage can.
Good luck with your new baby!

Here's my input. I have a boy(almost5) and a girl (2 1/2). Here's what worked for us....Huggies for boys (pampers leaked every single time - especially at night) and Pampers for girls (huggies leaked like crazy for her). I think I had 1 small pack of newborns for each - but the hospital gave me enough that I really didn't need them. They do grow soooooooo fast! I had a diaper genie for my son and the diaper genie stunk! I just use the regular garbage pail now (really nasty ones go out to the garage asap!) And my personal favourite diaper creme is Budreaux's Buttpaste - any redness or rash is gone by the morning - works like a miracle! Good luck with your little one! You'll figure out what works best for you :)

I recommend both pampers and huggies, but I wouldn't buy them at Sam's Club. We got a membership there thinking we would definitely buy diapers, but after pricing them, I found that was not the best place to buy them. You can get better deals at other stores with sales and coupons combined. We do not use a diaper pail either. We have a plastic grocery bag that we fill with diapers and tie up in between changings. Once it is full or too stinky, we just take it to the trashcan outside.The only brand of diaper that I have not liked at all was Luvs. I used them with my older kids, and they worked great. But I recently had a set of twins, and when they wore Luvs, the diapers leaked out the front every time. I have never used another type of diaper that leaks through the actual cloth of the diaper onto the babies' clothes. It was so weird.

Hello, First of all don't buy diapers at sams until your baby is a little older. I think in the first 6 months I wasted several boxes of diapers (smaller ones bought at target) because my son grew out of them. When my son was born I swore by Pampers but they changed their product and now all the do is leak, so i now use huggies and they seem to be ok. Also I have the diaper gene and when the bag refil runs out you can definately tell. I have tried to use the diaper gene with regular garbage bags and the smell is horrible. There are many things that I cut corners on when my son was born (mainly because he was a month early and I didn't have everything yet). I never got the wipe warmer, don't waste money on the wind up mobiles if you are going to get one get the more expensive voice activated one. We had one of these and my son has slept thru the night since he was 3 months old. Good luck. If you want any more advise on what I would or would not buy (if I had to do it again) send me a private message.

Definitely check out Luvs--I used Pampers exclusively with my first baby until around 2 when she started getting a rash that the doctor thought might be related to the diapers. So, I switched to Luvs. And you know what? They work great, and for the warehouse club size box I get at BJS, they are $10 cheaper than Pampers and I think more than $10 cheaper than Huggies! Plus, BJs usually has $5 off so I get 180 (size 4) diapers for $25. You can't beat that. The smaller the diaper size, the more diapers that come in the box, too.

As far as the newborn size, I wouldn't buy a box of those. Buy a box of size 1-2 but just get a small pack of the newborn size. First of all, your child might not even wear those--my second baby came home from the hospital in a size 1 (she was 8lbs 11oz). Plus, your hospital will give you a pack of diapers and you may find that is all the newborn diapers you'll use.

Concerning disposal, we used to have a Diaper Champ, and it worked fairly well. What I liked about it was that it took regular trash bags. Now we have a Diaper Genie 2 and I have to say, it truly does cut down on the odor. The downside is you have to buy their refills and can't use a regular trash bag with it. Plus it has to be emptied a lot because it is narrow so it doesn't hold that many diapers. I guess it would hold more newborn diapers, though, since they are smaller. If diaper odors bother you, you'll have to decide if you want to change your regular trash every day or go with a disposal system. I do like the Diaper Genie 2 and I glad we got it.

Congratulations and good luck!
J.

I encourage you not to stock up until you meet your little one. I bought a bunch of different sizes prior to my son's birth so I would be prepared. I mostly bought items on sale with coupons so it seemed like a fabulous deal at the time. However, when my son was born I soon realized that not every diaper works for every child. My son would habitually pee out of the waistband of a Huggies diaper no matter how often we changed him. The store brand for Babies-r-us didn't hold anything and I had an entire case of those that I threw away. Pampers swaddlers worked perfectly for the first year and then at his first birthday he developed a diaper rash that wouldn't go away until we changed diaper brands. We've been using Luvs ever since (made by the same company as Pampers, just cheaper and with fewer fragrance chemicals).

I encourage you to get a few packs of each size, but otherwise wait to stock pile until you've had a chance to try a specific brand on your baby to make sure they work well.

Also, I received a beautiful diaper pail (quite pricey too) as a gift. My son is 2.5 years old and I've never put a single diaper in it. I feel so guilty for not using it. However, we take our kitchen trash out daily so I just put diapers in that instead of creating more work by having to empty a diaper pail too.

cloth prefolds! they will always fit and you won't be wasting tons of money AND not adding to our already huge landfills! plus they are better for your baby's bottom =)

You cant really go by others recommendations, because different diapers work better on different babies. I used Pampers for my son to start and every time he pooped it came up the back and out all over EVERYTHING. I finally switched to Huggies, no more problem. The Pampers hold a bit more fluid I think and the Huggies tabs tend to rip alot easier when they get older and you're struggling with a wiggler. I agree not to buy too many newborns, especially since you dont know how big the baby will be (*tip*- don't listen to the sonogram people, they are ALWAYS wrong) Buy one small bag of newborns and try different ones with your little one to see what works best for you. Good luck and many congrats on the baby. Enjoy every wonderful second a newborn has to offer... it goes sooooo fast.

This is what I did.

I preferred Huggies over Pampers. But then I switched to Target brand, which I was very happy with & was VERY close to huggies is nature. Sizes- depends on how fast your little one grows 1-4. If you can you may want to get night time diapers too. Eventually, he/she will pee through everything- overnight.

For garbage I use a simple human metal, foot press can. expensive but I will be able to use it FOREVER. I buy the cheap diaper bags- scented baby powder from dollar tree to put the poopy diapers in. I also use dollar trees pink garbage bags- rose scent- $1 for 25 bags & I double up.
Garbage still stinks when can is opened, but good seal as long as it is closed.

Hi, I have 2 girls and pregnant w/ my 3rd (due May). I absolutely love the Pampers Swaddlers. They are the softest diapers you can buy. If you want to compare, buy a small pack of Huggies & Swaddlers so you can see the difference. Huggies are kinda paperlike but Pampers Swaddlers are more like super soft cloth. So, I recommend that for newborns. I would buy Size 1, and perhaps one pack of the newborn size.

I never used a diaper genie for my first two. I found it easier, just toss it in the trash, and put the trash out. It was more of a hassle to buy liners, and mess w/ the diaper genie. I think I used mine diaper genie only a few times, until I just decided to skip that step.

Congrats, and enjoy baby shopping!!

My advice to you would be not to but too much before the baby or if you do keep all the receipts and make sure you can return them if need be. You never know how sensitive your baby will be until he is born and home with you for a while. My son had terrible diaper rash bleeding and all it was awful! due to his sensitive skin. He was only able to use pamper baby dry and only pampers unsented wipes. Every baby is different. This never happened with my other children. And he actually was getting the diaper rashes because of the diaper cream so since he was like a month old I don't use any diaper cream at all. ALso you never know how big the baby will be but pretty sure he won't be in a newborm size for too long. Don't over stock I know it seems to be the smartest thing to do to be prepared but it's not believe me. Good luck!

I loved the Pampers Swaddlers. They are much, much softer than Huggies and have a better shape that fits baby's bum better. Don't buy too many size NB but you'll need plenty of size 1 and 2.

I agree about not wasting time and money on the diaper disposal systems. I got a fabric holder at the grocery store that holds plastic grocery sacks and use those for diaper disposal. You always have a ton of sacks and the holder hangs right on the changing table. They even come in cute fabric colors...I've only ever seen them for sale at grocery stores.

Good luck!

To be honest, my choice was driven by fit. I found certain sizes give a different fit, so I would settle with one, and change when the size changes. Both brands worked for my son.
Agree with your friend on disposal - I had some little shopping bags, like the produce ones from the supermarket, and used those for the really stinky ones.

"Ditto" Kate C. Have you thought about using cloth? I've had 4 children & didn't know about all of the cancer causing agents (& other toxic chemicals) present in diapers until the last one. Cloth diapering isn't difficult or cumbersome. It is the way to go. Customizable size and absorbancy, and you never run out.

cloth diapers, you won't help destroy the planet and you'll save yourself a bundle of money. It's less toxic and gets baby's out of diapers more quickly. You can get pre folds that look like disposable and put in liners and covers on top. Check out www.kidbean.com for ideas

Pampers an huggies are the best you will never have to deal withe diaper rash my babygirl always have pamper babyshowers she is pregnant wit twins due tomorrow this make eight my babyboy have nine we used them for all his babys too got a couple of greatgrand also you will never have to deal with diaper ras

We always used White Cloud. They also come in big boxes and work wonderfully. They are also a good price.We never liked anything else we tried, especially Huggies.They always leaked around our kids thighs. You will only want to get one or two packages of newborns. My second child skipped straight to ones, and my others were only in newborns for about a few weeks. We used a diaper genie, because someone gave us one. Instead of twisting it each time we put a diaper in, we twisted it after it was full, that saved the amount of liner we used, and it still held in the smell. But You could just put them in Wal-mart bags or doggie poo bags. I once found small diaper bags for my purse at a dollar store. But you won't want to just throw them away, your house will stink. And baggies for diaper changes while you are out is a must. It's rude to stink up a public bathroom.

You've probably gotten this one already with so many answers, but I used Pampers with my two. However, if I had it to do over, I'd use the cloth diapers that come with disposable inserts. I don't even know what they're called, but I saw them and wished SO much that I'd known about them in time. TMI, but my kids' stools were always oatmeal consistency and I didn't want to wash that out of cloth all the time. The insert helps with that, but you get reduced trash, and more breathable material.

Definitely no extra stuff required--more trouble than it's worth.

Good luck!

Hi S.,
My favorite that I used with both of my children were the Pampers Swaddlers from Newborn up (I think the swaddlers type ends at size 3). They are just so soft for the new babies. After that I switched to Huggies - I like the purple box best but it's a little more expensive. Otherwise the Snug and dry works well. As far as what to do with afterwards...I used to put them in plastic bags from the store, but I felt like I was doubling the pollution so I did get a diaper pail. It's the Diaper Champ (http://www.toysrus.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3491391).
You can use any size trash bag, it does help to block the smell. Do prepare to hold your nose when you do go to empty it b/c it will smell bad when you open it. But it def helps to hide the smell in the mean time.

Hope this helps and congratulations!

P.S. The hospital a lot of times with give you a lot of the newborn/size 1 diapers, or at least you can request them and stock up on them while your there. This includes diaper rash cream etc. Just request it before you leave.

Good luck!

I used the generic brand from BJ's wholesale club and liked those better than Pampers and huggies... and they were half the price. My MIL used the generic from Costco and those were great too.

Diaper pails are a huge hassle with more and more money to be spent on the special bags. Use Publix bags and throw them outside in you big garbage pail if it is #2. I heard Publix will start to charge for their bags come summer though, so stock up now. Most of us like Pampers especially for boys. They don't leak. I used Luvs and Publix brand with my girls but they may have changed them since I used them. Don't buy too much until you see what happens. Give your baby LOTS of tummy time from day 1!!

I have always used Pampers Swaddlers on my newborns and once their belly button falls off I use cloth diapers. They aren't your grandma's cloth diapers anymore. There are so many convenient options out there today, and it's not nearly as "yucky" as you might think. And they are much more economical and environmentally friendly than disposables.

As far as disposal of the Pampers, I agree with others on not wasting money on a diaper pail. I wrapped the poopy ones up in a plastic grocery sack and put them in the kitchen trash (unless it's a really stinky one - it goes straight to the garage trash cans) and pee dipes go straight into the kitchen trash.

HTH!