I was in Target this weekend and picked up a ginormous box of diapers and baby wipes and struggled to put it in my cart. Phew…that should be enough…for a week, I guess. You never truly understand just how many diapers you are going to change as a new mom until you actually have a baby. Whatever number you have in your head, multiply it by at least 2. So it baffles me when I see someone with a small pack of diapers and just one pack of wipes in their cart walking breezily down the store. How do they do it? I read that the average baby goes through 2,800 diapers a year. That means more than 90 trips to the store if you buy the dainty 30 pack every time. Wow! I think I’d rather stick to the unsightly box of 200. And today, I’d like to share my review on the baby diapers we’ve used for Lil Z-Bear.
Pampers Swaddlers – We were given Swaddlers at the hospital, and we continued to use them. I like the soft, cloth-like feel, and it has a snug yet not too tight fit that contours very well around the Lil Z’s precious legs and bottom. Also, as far as leaks ago, besides a handful here and there, (which was mostly related to either waiting too long to change his diaper, or my novice experience in putting the diaper on) we have not had any leak problems. I confess I had never changed a baby’s diaper until Lil Z entered this world, and the Swaddlers are easy to put on, and the tabs are Velcro-like.
Pampers Cruisers – When Lil Z outgrew his Swaddlers, I was bummed out (no pun intended) since I liked the Swaddlers so much and because it meant Z-Bear was becoming a big boy (Waaah!). The Cruisers are great, they are simply a larger and slightly thinner version of Swaddlers.
Pampers Sensitive Baby wipes – These are unscented and claim to be as gentle as water. I love them, they don’t irritate Z-Bear’s bum, they are soft yet sturdy, and they aren’t sticky or messy. I can’t emphasize enough how important it is to stay away from heavily fragranced products for baby. There simply is no need for it, especially if you have a baby with sensitive skin. On the subject, I use Tide Pure and Gentle for baby’s laundry, and discovered it take out stains just as well as regular Tide, so I started doing all our laundry in it…it makes laundry a whole lot easier.
Diaper Cream: Check out this earlier post.
Diaper Genie – I read mixed reviews on this, and I was skeptical about the Genie. But now that we have it, I can’t imagine doing without it. We use the Diaper Genie Elite II, and we have no problems with diaper smells. The bags that need to be purchased separately can get expensive, but I think it’s a small price to pay for the convenience.
Changing table – This is another essential that we can’t imagine doing without. It makes changing diapers so much easier, and is great for getting baby dressed. If I could do it over again, I would get a changing table with a side table attached at the same level as the changing pad. Because now that Lil Z is getting bigger, there isn’t enough room for the baby wipes box on the changing pad, and using the shelves on the bottom is an extra step that could have been easily avoided.
Diaper Stacker: This contraption made from cloth and a hanger seems unassuming, but I’d say it’s a must for every nursery. Ours hangs on the wall at the same level as the changing table, and being able to just reach over and pull one out is a huge benefit. It’s a lot easier than reaching down for diapers stacked in a box or bin. It sounds small, but with so much strain on your back with baby activities, every little thing counts.
Be sure to have hand sanitizer (with a pump) on the changing table. Oh, and the baby wipes warmer…that you can skip.
wow it is interesting and nice that you buy all these gadgets to change lil-z diapers…………… i only buy sarah a big box of pampers from bj………….. and when i don’t have time i get a small pack from the super market…….. i have never used a wipe………. just warm water to clean the poopie…………. and thank God she never has had any baby rash…. and for the smellie diapers i put them in a double plastic bag… and throw it away……. the floor is the best changing place for me ………. enjoy this time with him because he will be all grown before u know it……..:)
We figured we’ll be changing Lil Z’s diapers so often, might as well have stuff that makes it easier on us! 🙂
I completely agree w/your assessment of the Swaddlers. We loved them, too! Jasmine has recently converted to non-disposable diapers and we’ll be doing a few posts soon on cloth diaper reviews. I haven’t made the switch yet, but would LOVE to if we are blessed with another child. Apparently the new non-disposables are SO much easier to use & clean than the ones we grew up in. I still have images of my mom in the bathroom, cleaning poo out of a cloth diaper in the toilet?! 🙂
Since I was a first time mommy, I was still unsure of so many things, and disposable diapers just seemed the best way. But now that I know more about non-disposables, like you, I would definitely want to try it out in the future. They certainly aren’t the cloth ‘nappies’ I grew up with…I am amazed that there are such cute ones out there, some with biodegradable lining that can be tossed.
We prefered the Pampers Sensitive wipes too when Kalila was little… everything else broke her out something awful. They weren’t perfect either, but did the least damage (Target had some that were close too). Once we went to cloth and using plain warm water things turned around a lot. Not fixed (food allergies prevented it stopping altogether) but she did best that way.
Target diapers ended up being bar far our fav disposable diaper… We used them once on Zavier and he reacted horribly 😦 Not sure how he’d do in any of them… Not worth trying out though, I’m a huge cloth fan now lol.