Stockpiling Diapers: Please advice on sizes??

[aliceinwonderland]

Hi ladies, I'm not due for months, but will soon start to stockpile disposable diapers. Any advice on sizes? I was told to only get a small package of newborn diapers, but what quantities would you reccomend in the other sizes? We'll probably get the Pampers Brand from Costco.
Thank You!!

[egoldber]

Honestly, I wouldn't stockpile. I would get a couple small packages of Newborn Pampers and Huggies and a couple packages of size 1 Pampers and Huggies (or store brands if you want to try those too).

All babies are shaped differently, and sometimes one diaper works better for your baby than another. They also grow out of the small sizes at variable speeds. My DD was in the Newborn size for 8 weeks (!!!), but only in the size 1 for about 2 weeks before jumping to size 2. So it really depends on your baby.

HTH,

[Calmegja]

I would never stockpile smaller sizes, either.

It sounds crazy, but you don't know what dipe will work best for your baby. You may plan on using Huggies, but find out your child breaks out in a rash in them or they don't fit right. And there are different dipes within each brand, which makes it more complicated.

My last child, for example, started out in Huggies, went to Pampers Rash care, then Baby Dry, then ended up in Swaddlers/Cruisers, because those were what worked (until we started cloth, but that's a different story). If we had stocked up, we would have been in trouble, because what worked with the previous baby didn't work for him.

So I agree with Beth, get a small amount of dipes to sample, try 'em out when babe gets here, then lay in a small supply until baby gets into a size that he or she will be in for quite awhile....

[natividad]

I still have size 1 diapers [unopened packages, mind you] around the house and DS is six months old. We were given tons of diapers as presents too, so if I were you I would just get two packages of newborn diapers and 1 size 1 or small package and see how that goes.

Naty,
Mommy to Alexander

[aliceinwonderland]

Thanks for your replies. I actually need to stockpile for economic reasons: Right now we have three jobs between my husband and I, and when the baby is here, we will have none for a couple of months (we're moving, I'm going to law school, etc). I would like to minimize our expenses for those first 3-4 months after baby is here. Since I plan to breastfeed, diapers seem the only other obvious expense!
thanks so much.

[erzzie]

Wow that sounds like the perfect time to invest in cloth (grin)

Melinda

[s_gosney]

An idea I had that might work for you was to put the cost of a pack or two of diapers (or however many you wanted) onto a gift card each time you go to the store. This would have the effect of stockpiling without the committment (or the hassle of moving them). You could always of course just set aside the cash, but I know that I personally don't have the discipline for that, so this idea seemed a much better fit for us and our already cramped apartment. Just an idea!

[Karenn]

Oh, I know it's not what you want to hear, but I have to say it: I agree, you might end up wasting money if you stockpile now because you'll end up with a lot of diapers you can't use. I've tried to buy only what I need and have still ended up giving away a significant number of diapers at each size change, and I've given away whole packages of Pampers and Luvs because they didn't work for us (Colin and I are both allergic to them- they give him a diaper rash and make me sneeze!).

But, if I had to do it, I'd probably go to Costco and buy one big box of the size 1-2 and a big box of the size 3's. I highly doubt that would last for those 3 or 4 months, but it'd be a little less money to spend later on down the line, and not so many diapers that you'd have to work terribly hard to use them all up. Good luck!

Edited to add: I just saw s gosney's post and like her(?) idea MUCH better than mine!

[LisaMom2Allie]

Wow the gift card idea is great! I just took some size 2 diapers back to BRU today and exchanged them for size 3. I know that some stores will always let you exchange diapers for a different size.

Lisa
Mom to Allie Nicole
3-10-03

[mom2kandj]

I love the giftcard idea! If you still want to stockpile, here's a helpful hint that my ped gave me!

Most babies double their birth weight at around 4 months and will triple their birth weight around their first birthday. This little hint was pretty close with both of my kids. They both doubled at 4 months and were one lb short of triple at one year.

Remember! Not all babies are alike and they will grow at different rates! Also, some babies poop and pee a lot more than others and will need more diaper changes. :) HTH!

Edited to add:
BTW - Costco carries Pampers Baby in sizes 3, 4, and 5 only! They carry Huggies in size 1-2, 3, 4, and 5!

Rose
mom 2 katie (33 months)
& Jack (16 months)

[LD92599]

Here's what i do....

if BRU/TRU has a sale, plus i have manufacturer coupons, plus a 15% BRU coupon for diapers only, i'll stockpile the next size and tape the receipt to the packs..this way i take advantage of the sale & my coupons (i've used up to 3 diff coupons on one pack of diapers in BRU!) but if need be, cam exchange or return the down the road & not lose out on coupons that most likely would have expired.

Laura
mom to William 3.5.2003

[lizajane]

i wish i could loan you some cloth and covers just to lure you in!
hee hee

we used disposables for the first few weeks. so fyi-ds wore newborns for less than one week. he wore size 1 for about a week. and then he went up to size 2 for a wee bit before we started using our cloth.

i expected a big baby because i was a 10 pounder. but 9lbs 9 1/2 oz and 22 inches can happen to anyone! so i ditto the get one pkg of newborn pampers and one of huggies and then do the giftcard. you can still buy diapers on sale and with coupons when you redeem the giftcard! (and in my experience, huggies work for tall and thin, pampers work for precious-ly plump. :) )

[stillplayswithbarbies]

I would suggest having one pack of newborn and one pack of size 1 at home when baby gets there, but be ready to go out and buy something else if that brand doesn't work for you.

I think the idea of buying a gift card at Toys R Us or WalMart is a great idea. Then you'll have it to use on diapers later. Toys R Us is the cheapest place, if you use the 15% off coupons that come in magazines plus a manufacturers coupon for $1.50 off. If you have no coupons, WalMart is the cheapest I have found, especially if you like their store brand.

If you are going to do the gift card thing, WalMart is the most versatile because if you don't need diapers at the moment, you can use it for groceries too.

I have to say though that you might want to consider cloth. The expense would all be now and then you wouldn't have to spend any money on diapers after the baby is here.

Edited to add this:
you mentioned the Pampers from Costco . . . they are more expensive there, and the problem is that the package is so big you may waste a lot of them because your baby outgrows the size before you use them all up. My son never wore size newborn, and only one small pack of size 1 before he went right to size 2. My daughter went through two packs of newborn, 2 small packs of size 1, 2 big packs of size 2 and then to size 3. The Costco box would have been too big for us in any size.

...Karen
Jacob Nathaniel Feb 91
Logan Elizabeth Mar 03

[erzzie]

And whatever you do, DON'T OPEN THE PACKAGES! Because my 8lb 12oz baby girl didn't fit in Newborn size EVER. (My 7lb 8oz son didn't really fit in them either and we switched to size 1 almost immediately.) We had some freebees from the hospital, and those diapers leaked poop out the sides and back (Huggies and Pampers) immediately because they were just too small for her.

I gave away sposies in size newborn, size 1, and size 2. And now I have a pack of size 3's that are too small, but part of those Sam's 4-packs and so I have almost 50 diapers to give away again. She'd be wearing size 4 if I didn't just switch to Liz's cloth :)

Melinda

[Momof3Labs]

My tall 8lb, 4oz baby wore exactly *one* newborn diaper, so I have a whole pack sitting downstairs for baby #2. We used size 1 dipes for about 5 weeks, and size 2 dipes for a couple of months. Colin did NOT double his birthweight by 4 months (he doubled by 7 months - 6 months is the goal), and you can't go by the package weights anyways. Babies tend to outgrow diapers long before they hit the upper weight limits of a size. Also, he's always been long and skinny and has done better in Pampers, so there's no "rule of thumb" about brands, either!

[muskiesusan]

I agree with the others that stockpiling really isn't a good idea at this point. I actually had a girlfriend who did stockpile wipes, diapers, and formula. Her baby had alergies to all three of the brands she selected, and to top it off, Pampers discontinued the version of wipes and diapers she bought, so she couldn't return them.

We also have and still are constantly changing the brand and version
of diapers we buy because of fit and sensitivity to the diapers.

I would just put the money in a cookie jar or buy the gift cards as suggested above.

Susan
WAHM to Nicholas 10/01/01

[MartiesMom2B]

If you have to stockpile don't get bulk from warehouses on smaller and tape the receipts to the packages. I like Loving Touch disposies from Target. Wal-mart diapers have received good reviews too.

Sonia
Proud Mommy to Martie 4/6/03

[aliceinwonderland]

Wow, thanks so much everyone for the input. I like the giftcard idea and will probably be doing that!
Thanks again