Buying diapers....

[Piecey]

Someone suggested that we start purchasing diapers now, every other pay check. On the alternate check, purchase some wipes. That way we have a stockpile and it doesn't seem like so much at once.

We realize it's early (which is the main reason we haven't started yet) but at this point we're pretty comfy the baby is here to stay and we're ready to start buying.

However! We've discussed purchasing the boxes at Sams Club- why not, if it's cheaper? And we have no idea what is a good amount in each size. We'd rather buy less than what we anticipate using in a given size ... but we have no idea how many to anticipate using.

Anyone out there willing to help- something more specific than "A lot!" please.

Also, is it okay to switch back and forth on diaper on brands until we find our favorite? I figure with wipes, you should stick with the same kind but do diapers really matter?

TIA for any replies...

 

[disykat]

If I were you, I'd wait and just save the money for diapers rather than buying them ahead. You mentioned brand preference and that really IS kind of a big deal IMO. Sometimes some babies are even sensitive to some brands and not others. I didn't like the smell of some brands and/or the way they made my baby smell.

You won't know those things until you try them and I'd hate for you to have a huge stockpile of something you didn't end up liking!

 

[chrisw127]

I would not. Rather, I would put the money in savings for when you need it later. One of the biggest reasons is that you could have a very large baby or you could have a baby who grows more slowly than you expect. You might also prefer one brand over the other and you can't know until your baby's bottom is in that diaper! Also, those boxes will really start to get on your nerves if you have to keep looking at them for months.

I do love the idea of a diaper shower, though. Our 2nd and 3rd are twins and we go through a lot of diapers. I received some lovely but very expensive gifts when I was pregnant with the babies, some of which I never used (they were too fancy). Diapers, now those, I would have used!

Good luck. Have tons of fun planning!!!!

 

[Piecey]

If I were you, I'd wait and just save the money for diapers rather than buying them ahead. You mentioned brand preference and that really IS kind of a big deal IMO. Sometimes some babies are even sensitive to some brands and not others. I didn't like the smell of some brands and/or the way they made my baby smell.

You won't know those things until you try them and I'd hate for you to have a huge stockpile of something you didn't end up liking!

We never really thought of that.
We're getting so much advice we've taken the pieces we liked (like this one) and tried to figure out how to do it our own way.

We're not too good at saving money for specific items. DH would freak out and be like "But the interest we're losing!" because the only way we could *save* would be for me to take it out and put it in an envelope at the house. (Our true savings is automatically taken out of our checks into an account I set to "Hide" so when he logs in he doesn't see it and forgets it's there! )

Hmmm. We might be scratching this idea. I veto-ed the formula idea (stockpiling) because who knows how the baby will react to whatever forumla we pick?

God, people need to stop giving me "advice" my head is going to explode!

 

[bubie2.5]

Buy all the wipes you'll need, but the diapers are tricky, you'll need to change sizes constantly, so be careful buying too many of the same size.

A newborn uses at least 12 diapers a day (one every 2 hours). At 2 months they use about the same. At four they use one about every 3 hours. That's a lot, I know, but constantly changing dirty diapers and using a good "butt cream" (Desitin...) keeps your baby rash free.

 

[EvieGirlsMommy]

Really depends on the size of the baby. My daughter stayed in newborns till she was about a half a month. I could've made do with maybe a big box from Sam's then a smaller pack from Wal Mart. For the rest of the sizes, buy two or three of the boes from Sam's. Even if you over buy, you'll have a friend or relative thats likely to get pregnant and you can give it to them as a gift. They need LOTS and LOTS of 4s and 5s!!! If your kid is a big drinker like mine (lush in training) then they'll naturally pee alot. Breast fed babies don't have as many dirty diapers as formula babies.
And changing diaper brands doesn't matter!!!! When your kid is sick and crapping over the moon, get the cheap stuff since it'll only be on them for maybe 30 minutes. I use Huggies for the most part, but if pampers is on sale at Sam's, then I buy those. She tends to pee thru the papmers waaaaay too fast. We use Huggies wipes, too. And A&D diaper rash stuff. Not the white cream, cuz that sucks. Use the jelly stuff!!!! Better than Boudreaux's even!
Alllll about equate baby products! Just as good as johnson and johnson but not as much to buy =)

 

[Pembo]

I'd wait as well and save the money. You'll find you like one brand over another and baby may do better with one kind. btw - We used the ones from Sams and they worked great for us.

 

[jackskellingtonsgirl]

When DS was newborn we used the "Smiles" brand or whatever from Sam's because we changed him so frequently. Those worked fine. But diapers are a funny thing as babies grow. Some children are shaped like Pampers and some are shaped like Huggies and whatever brand works for your baby will be the brand you HAVE to use because the other brand will leak.

 

[Hoodie]

I'd wait. I'm 21 weeks along and we've thought about it, but we're waiting.

You don't know how big the little one will be at birth. I was almost 10 pounds so I was in newborn diapers for about 2 weeks. On the other hand, if I deliver early, who knows how long I'd need little diapers. You don't want to be stuck with a bunch of diapers that you can't use and can't return.

 

[HelenePA]

I can tell you exactly what I've used so far for my baby boy... 1 pack of newborn diapers, and we are on the last of a package of 252 pampers (baby dry). I bought them on amazon when they were having a promo buy 99$ worth of diapers and get a 20$ promo GC. Newbie weighed 8 pounds 5.5 ounces at birth this will also make a difference in what size you'll need more of in the beginning. I dont use alot of wipes. I just grabbed the huge box of walmart brand wipes when he was born. I think I've gone thru 2 tubs of them so far with 4 more in the box for 7.50$ You do NOT need the expensive wipes!!!!!!!!!! They wipe off poop and pee all the same. Then you throw them in the garbage.. trust me generic all the way for wipes!! If ya have any questions PM me...

 

[mytwotinks]

I'd buy some pampers newborn. My kids were big, so I just needed a couple of packs of those. And I would buy a big pack of huggies and Pampers size 1. I've never known anyone dislike a brand enough to waste diapers that were already paid for! You'll be able to decide what you like best that way and have a few weeks back up. Then I would look everytime you go to wal-mart and target at the diapers. If for some reason the packaging changes or they "improve" them in some minor way, you'll be able to snag some on clearance! Never never never pass up clearance diapers! Seriously I think that is the best universal parenting advice I ever got!

It's been a while since I used diapers, but if I remember correctly, I definitely liked pampers for the tiny baby sizes, but as they got older some of the generics worked as well. I think Wal-mart had a store brand that I liked. Try everything and be willing to use "no names" if they work as well!

I used whatever wipes I got on-sale. Neither of my kids had any problem. If you are concerned about that, I would just stock up on the sensitive ones.

 

[Colleen27]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. And I'll tell you why.

My son could wear any brand diaper, but he was too big for newborn size by the time he was a couple weeks old. And we had problems with the way certain brands fit (don't remember which now), though that didn't really come into play until he was scooting/crawling.

My first daughter could wear Luvs or Pampers, but Huggies gave her a rash around the leg elastics. The Pampers in a newborn size weren't quite up to the challenge of a baby who slept through the night before she even made it into size 1 diapers, so we mainly used Luvs. And she had problems with some scented baby wipes and lotions as well.

My second daughter can wear Pampers or Huggies, but the less cloth-like Luvs and store brands give her a rash. And the Huggies fit her better than Pampers; the Pampers tend to leak at the legs when she's in the Bjorn, which is pretty gross when I'm the one wearing her!

If you want to save for diapers, wipes, formula, etc. and aren't worried about interest, start stashing away gift cards for the store where you're most likely to be buying baby essentials. That way you have the pre-paid aspect without being locked in to any one brand, size, or style that may or may not work out for your little one.

 

[Tiggerlover91]

My hubby and I have been through both brands of Huggies, Parent's Choice Diapers by WalMart and finally now Luvs BearHug Stretch. The Luvs have been the BEST ones for DS and I only buy the jumbo brand once a month. There are 120 diapers in them and I pay just over $20. My DS went through the size ones pretty quickly. He was constantly peeing through them and wetting the crib and I was just couldn't figure out why. Well duh....new mommy! There were too small. These were the Parent's Choice ones I believe. He went through size twos pretty slowly and has been in size three since he was about six months old I believe. He's just about 22 or 23 pounds and has 5 more pounds to go before we move to size 4. I actually can move to size 4 now, but they have about 30 less diapers in them, so I'm hanging on to the size 3s till I absolutely have to.

Stock up on wipes and wait to buy those diapers til your little one comes home. Best to you and congrats!

 

[tonilea]

I used cloth, but the same theory applies. He was too big for quite a bit of what I had purchased.

Along the same lines, a couple of weeks before DS was born, I washed all those adorable baby clothes from my shower in Dreft. Sadly, he was way to big for much of it and I was unable to return it.

 

[Piecey]

Personally, I wouldn't do it. And I'll tell you why.

My son could wear any brand diaper, but he was too big for newborn size by the time he was a couple weeks old. And we had problems with the way certain brands fit (don't remember which now), though that didn't really come into play until he was scooting/crawling.

My first daughter could wear Luvs or Pampers, but Huggies gave her a rash around the leg elastics. The Pampers in a newborn size weren't quite up to the challenge of a baby who slept through the night before she even made it into size 1 diapers, so we mainly used Luvs. And she had problems with some scented baby wipes and lotions as well.

My second daughter can wear Pampers or Huggies, but the less cloth-like Luvs and store brands give her a rash. And the Huggies fit her better than Pampers; the Pampers tend to leak at the legs when she's in the Bjorn, which is pretty gross when I'm the one wearing her!

If you want to save for diapers, wipes, formula, etc. and aren't worried about interest, start stashing away gift cards for the store where you're most likely to be buying baby essentials. That way you have the pre-paid aspect without being locked in to any one brand, size, or style that may or may not work out for your little one.

BINGO! I didn't even think of that. That'll work perfectly.
We had our wedding reception (several, several, several months delayed) in October and decided to save all baby-related store gift cards for when baby is here for clothes, formula, etc.
I didn't even think of using the money to buy gift cards of our own.

You can use Wal Mart gift cards at Sams, I think. Awesome. Thanks.
Now I feel like a stupidhead for not thinking of that myself.

 

[funnygarcia]

Breast fed babies don't have as many dirty diapers as formula babies.

Not all babies.. my breast fed child had many more diaper changes than the formula fed one.

In the early weeks there will be lots of diaper changes needed, breast milk is a natural laxative. Feed, poop, feed , poop -- unending cycle in those first weeks.

I agree with the poster who said to purchase gift cards, excellent idea for enforced savings and you can always use it on other things later.

Find a source to buy gift cards at a discount. Kmart has had deals in the past of buy $50 get a $5 free. With the holidays apporaching you should be able to score some deals.

 

[HelenePA]

My breastfed boy only poops once ever 4 days. Which is normal so I dont go thru as many diapers as I did with with other bottlefed 3 this time around. I also wanted to mention I'll be moving up to size 2 as soon as we are finnished these #1's he's already having blowouts.. DO NOT LISTEN TO THE POUNDS LISTED ON THE PACKAGE THEY ARE WRONG!!

 

[FHS_chick_2005]

I wouldnt buy a bunch now.. but if you are having a baby shower there is a common game most people do where everyone that brings a pack of diapers gets a raffle ticket and draw a ticket for a prize.. my fiances grandma did that for me for my shower and now we have enough diapers to at least start out with in different sizes and brands..

i like the buy gift cards idea too.. my fiance and I are really bad at spending money that we have set aside so I have been giving it to his mom to hold for us and she wont give it back until were getting what we need..

good luck on the baby!

 

[FHS_chick_2005]

oh and everyone giving unasked for advice is way super common and it will make you want to rip out your hair..


you and DH are the ones that make the decisions when it comes to your baby!

 

[Lizbee]

We use the Kirkland wipes from Costco and then we buy our diapers at Babies R Us I like Pampers Cruisers and what I like right now is that Pampers has a rewards point thing going on.. In the bag of the diapers you have a bar code and you accumilate points to buy things.. so I feel I am getting back something.. because you are consitantly buying diapers.