Year's Supply of Diapers?

[KandiB47]

I'm trying to buy diapers now before the baby is here so I can get them when the sales are good and not have to buy diapers while making less money on maternity leave.

I know it depends on the baby's size, amount of wet diapers a day, etc. but what do you thing is a good stock amount to have in different sizes? I don't want to but too many diapers because it defeats the purpose of saving money.

So far I have 70 newborn size and 250 size 1 diapers. I would like to have most of the diapers for atleast the first three months pre-bought. Any ideas or suggestions?

Who else bought their diapers before the baby was born?

 

[rparmfamily]

Well, the hardest part is knowing which brand of diaper works best for your baby. They outgrow the newborn size very fast (usually, my son was preemie and had to grow into them!). Certain types leak horribly and it seems to differ child to child. My son leaked really bad in Huggies, but my friend swore by them. I was a Pampers/Luvs momma myself, until they got a little older, then I went to Target brand.

I'd just start buying Target giftcards!

 

[Lizzydoll73]

I'd just start buying Target giftcards!

That's a great suggestion! Buy gift cards from the store you will be buying diapers from. That way you don't have tons of diapers all over the house and you can buy what size you need when you need them.

 

[pigget74]

My son was 8 lbs. 10 oz. when he was born and we only used 2 or 3 packs of newborn diapers. That was the 2 the hospital gave us and 1 we had at the house. We probaly used size 1 for about 5 packs of diapers. Size 2 was also about 5 packs of diapers. We did exchange our diapers for bigger sizes at Wal-Mart without a problem. We have about 4 packs left that we prebought or got through showers. My son will be 6 mths next week and we have yet tp purchase wipes or diapers for him. I had about 10 packs of diapers before KAtrina hit--my son was born 2 weeks later and in our area there was a shortage of baby supplies at our shelters that I donated half my diapers and wipes to them. I can probably go another month or two before we have to buy more. The first month you go through about 250-300 diapers.

 

[disneyfanz04]

I'd just start buying Target giftcards!

Awesome idea !!!!!

 

[tiff211]

Most places will exchange diapers for different sizes. It so hard to buy them beforehand, DD is 6 months and still fits size 2 with room to grow. DD5 was out of size 2 by 4 months and DD3 was out of them by 5 months. Also, I don't know if huggies revamped their diapers but before I couldn't stand them, now I love them!!!

I know pampers has a value pack of size 1-2 diapers, and that last us quite awhile.

 

[giasmom]

Don't buy too many newborn size diapers, my daughter was a surpise 10 pounds large so she never fit into that size.

 

[imageid]

I agree with gift cards! My DS6 broke out in a nasty rash after using Huggie's, I used them quite often w/DD8. Some children are allergic to the additives in some diapers. I aslo suggest you clip as many coupons as you can. If you go to Pampers and Huggies websites and register, they will send you sample diapers and lots of great coupons!

 

[Nicolepa]

I think you have plenty of newborn and ones. My kids were average size (upper 7 pound range) and they they were both in 1's within a couple of weeks. Then I'd get enough 2's to last a month or so (250-300). At 2 months my son was in a size 2-3. I only remember this because he was in the hospital and they didn't have any 2's so they had to put him in 3's and they fit just fine.


They are in 3's for awhile and 4's for what seems like forever!

 

[stm61]

it also depends on your baby's build. Ds was long and thin, one dd was shorter and heavier, they used different brands because they fit them better. Another dd used boy's diaper's for naps/bedtime because the way she positioned herself (tummy and side) she needed the extra absorbancy in the front. Ds sometimes wore girl's because he slept on his back and needed the liquid caught in the middle/back of the diaper.

 

[V4dice]

When I had my son I also joined Hotwire Savings Club for a couple of months and bought a bunch of gift cards (with the club you bought a $25 gift card for $20) for Babies R Us, Toys R Us, and Target. Saving that $5 plus using coupons helped a bit with the cost of diapers (and formula). I know that Hotwire Savings Club is no longer available but there are some similar clubs out there that I'm sure everyone on the Budget board can suggest one.

Also, sign up with the diaper company's website. I'm expecting a daughter in July and I already signed up with Pampers to start getting coupons.

Good luck and enjoy your new addition!

 

[mrsbornkuntry]

I agree with what everyone has said about not knowing how long they will be in one size, brands that work, etc. I just wanted to say that the general rule of thumb for a newborn is to expect them to go through about 10 diapers a day. HTH.

 

[Schachteles]

BE CAREFUL because you just never know...I did the stock up because I figured that my newest would be in three's for a long time like her sister was...well here we are putting her in threes only because we need to use up those before we move onto the fours which she really would be in...certainly would have fewer blowouts if we had the right sized ones!

 

[MrsPete]

I think it makes sense to buy enough of EVERYTHING (diapers, food, etc) so that you don't HAVE TO leave the house for the first two weeks. If you have a difficult recovery, you'll be glad of it. If you have an easy delivery, it never hurts to be prepared.

However, other people have made some good points: the diapers you think are perfect before birth aren't necessarily the best ones for your baby. Luvs were best by far for my first daughter (also liked ToysRUs brand, but we don't have one nearby), but everything seemed to be equally good on my second daughter. We stayed in 1s and 2s forever, then we breezed through the larger sizes quickly. I'd think twice about buying Target cards; what if the best sales are at Eckerds or Walmart? (Eckerds does have some great buy-one-store-brand-item, get-one-free sales about twice a year.)

Once you know what type of diapers are best for your baby, THEN start buying them up. My rule was to buy a cartful whenever they were on sale, and NEVER pay full price for them.

With my second, I discovered a fantastic source for second-quality diapers delivered right to the house that beat the lowest store prices by about 50%. Sorry, I can't share it -- my source dried up just about the time we finished with diapers. I met a mom in my small town who had two sets of twins, and she'd started her own business: she bought second-quality diapers from somewhere. You could call her and leave a message on her answering machine during the week, and she'd deliver the diapers on Friday. Once you were a "regular", you could leave a check in an envelope, and she'd leave the box on your porch. It was a great service, but she moved away.

 

[bellarella]

Before the baby is born I would only have on hand one pack of newborn diapers in each of the brands you are intersted in using. Buying any more than that and you could really get burned. Each of my children have been Pamper's babies -- my first was Baby Dry, my second was Swaddlers. This isn't because I like buying pricey diapers No other brand would work with them. They leaked out of every other brand I tried. (And DS leaked out of the Baby Dry that worked great for DD and vice versa.) I have a huge number of packs of diapers I have donated that were just missing a couple of diapers as I struggled to find which ones fit my babies.

The newborn diapers will work for about a week at least (my babies were all 9 lbers and they still were in newborns for a week or two). That will give you a good idea of which brand seems to fit best. Then you can start stocking up, but I really wouldn't get too far ahead of yourself. Babies don't grown in steady way. They could be in a size for what seems like forever and then all the sudden jump two sizes over the next two months. Also, as they change shape, you might find that you need to change brands.

Instead of buying ahead, I would just start an envelope that you put diaper money in each week. That way you will be able to shop sales when the time comes.

 

[mom2alix]

Another nice thing is the Amazon specials they run where if you buy $X of Pampers (or Huggies) brand products, you get $20-30 in Amazon credit about 2 months later. I've had to remind them about sending me the credit code, but I do stock up on diapers when they run the special and by the time I get the credit, I can use it to buy more diapers (vicious cycle)! I also love getting huge boxes of diapers delivered to my door with no shipping charges. Good luck and congratulations on your new addition!

 

[kfeuer]

I agree with the other posters. 250 size ones would have been WAY too many for either of my kids. They were in size 2 by about 6 weeks. You might want to consider exchanging/returning some of those.

I wanted to add, don't be hesitant about trying generic diapers. Walgreens and CVS both put their brand of diapers on sale buy one get one free on a regular basis, which brings the price down to $3-$4 a package (that's when I stock up). Every kid is different, but my almost 3-year old has no problems with generics and suffice it to say he gives his diapers a workout! I tried one store brand I didn't like early on and assumed they were all pretty much the same, but they're not. I only wish I'd tried more generic brands sooner. I stuck with Pampers way too long. Anyway, they're worth a try because the potential savings are huge!

 

[Wickedmom75]

As a mom of 4 and Aunt to many more, I think you should start putting away (envelope , jar) the amount of money it takes to buy at least a jumbo pack of diapers and 2 tubs of refills of the higher brands every 2 weeks. Not all babies are the same and most of mine did not even wear the same brand the whole time they were in diapers. Newborns grow surprisingly fast and don't stay in NB diapers very long. Only 1 of mine came home in NB diapers the other three came home in 1's and were only in them for a very short while. 1 coldn't wear pampers or any name brand and spent her diaper years in storebrands. The others bounced between Luvs, Pampers and Huggies. HTH

 

[MrsPete]

2 tubs of refills of the higher brands

Now that's a lesson new moms learn fast: store brand diapers may be good quality, but off-brand wipes are too thin to be good for anything! Stick to Pampers or Huggies wipes. No substitutions! If you already have some store-brand wipes, they're okay for the first few weeks when the poops are literally a teaspoon-ful, or put them in the kitchen for wiping fingers and faces after meals. But forget those skimpy little thin wipes for cleaning a real diaper mess!

 

[MrsPete]

I agree with the other posters. 250 size ones would have been WAY too many for either of my kids. They were in size 2 by about 6 weeks. You might want to consider exchanging/returning some of thos

My kids, on the other hand, were still wearing size 1s when they were six months old. If the diapers are already in the house, I wouldn't exchange them; neither would I buy more of that size. If you exchange them now, you're just exchanging one guess for another. Wait until you see "what kind of baby" you have, then exchange for what you know will work.