Diapers

I think that every mom ponders the diaper question. Cloth or disposable? If disposable, which kind? Most of it comes down to preference, I think.

I read an article one time that said, the waste for cloth is equivalent to the waste for disposable--I know that's debatable depending on how you look at it, but in general it takes a lot of water and chemicals to clean cloth diapers. And disposable diapers do definitely go into the landfill. It's a puzzle as to which is better. I'm not sure, but I've gone with disposable. Mostly because I couldn't handle juggling cleaning the cloth diapers while taking care of my little ones and worrying that they would get into the bleach water where I've put the diapers or in the toilet as I've heard a few mothers say they've thrown their cloth diapers.

As far as disposable, I've tried Pampers, BJ's generic Berkely and Jensen's, Luvs, Huggies, and Walmart's generic diapers. I've found that there really is a difference with the generic diapers. They don't fit as well and they don't hold as much as well.

Huggies always seems to have a smell for me. A friend gave me a package and I was so thankful when I had used them all up. Little ones can't wear them very long before I start to smell the pee =( But, the biggest thing about Huggies for me is that I found they are for skinny babies. If not, you have to go to much bigger sizes for rounder kids much earlier than with other brands. And the bigger the size, the fewer the diapers in a package = more expensive.

I love the Pampers for newborns. I do like them the best and I think it is a great thing now that there is a stripe on the bottom of them that will appear when the baby has peed. =) Since we have to make sure they are doing that those first few days.

With my girls, I couldn't afford to do Pampers, so I went with Luvs. BJs always had great coupons for them and carries them by the case (the only store that I've found that does). They were better than the generics, but not as nice as the pampers. My kids did leak some--but I think that when they're little no diaper is perfect =) Luvs, as opposed to Pampers and Huggies, are great for round babies--which both of my girls were.

I wish, though, that I had tried Pampers with Sami. She had really bad diaper rash for a very long time and I didn't think switching diapers would help. I wish I had tried. With Eli, his diaper rash started early too and someone mentioned to me that they had switched to Pampers for that reason. Eli is my first and only skinny baby and so I thought I would try it. I did and it helped a ton! His diaper rash went away and now he only has bouts with it once in a while. I do keep an eye on it. I did have to work the Pampers into our budget, but I go with the really absorbent ones so I don't have to use as many and so he doesn't soak through at night. I like them =)

Wipes are another story. I think wipes can be divided into two categories--thick and thin.
Thick: Huggies
Thin: Luvs, Pampers, BJs, Kirkland
I like to go with the Huggies wipes because I don't think I have to use as many wipes. I also feel like I have a good grip of the wipe. I've tried Pampers and will buy them on occasion with coupons, but they're just okay. I don't feel like I can grip them very well.

Coupons: Each of the diaper/wipe manufacturers have websites. If you go to their websites and sign up for their mailing lists, they will periodically mail you coupons and samples.

One last thing: Diaper Rash Creams
Everyone has had a different solution on this one. I tried everything with Sami. I even used the Hair Dryer. In the end, I used baby powder, and generic Eucerin cream from Walmart ($4 for a 16 oz. tub). It's far cheaper than Aquafor ($15 for 16 oz). When the diaper rash would appear, I would use the generic antifungal cream from Walmart and the Eucerin and it would go away after a few days. For Eli, I just use the Antifungal and generic Eucerin when his rash appears. One day I took care of a friend's little girl and had to change her diaper. I noticed her diaper rash and her mom hadn't mentioned anything. So, I put the Eucerin on her and mentioned it to her the next day. She told me it had gone away and had wondered what happened =) Yay! I did try Desitin, Butt Cream, A & D, and another one, but the generic Eucerin was what I really found has worked for my kids =)

I also had a friend who signed up for Amazon's diaper delivery and felt it was a good deal, but I have never tried it. I get my diapers and most of my wipes at BJs because they regularly run coupons for them, which makes their prices for them better than Costco.

So, that's what I've found about diapers and wipes. One of my good friends is always telling me about when her twins were born 40 years ago, there were only Pampers =) There's a lot more selection now, but I think it gets a lot more confusing sometimes because of it.