“What brand of diapers do you prefer?”

This was one of the most common questions I was asked towards the end of my pregnancy and during his first few months on the outside. The most common answers:

• I have no idea
• Whichever ones are on sale
• Whatever you want to buy me is fine

Then the day finally came when I ran out of diapers from our baby shower. I had no idea what I was doing. I almost called my mom in tears as I stood sleep deprived in the middle of Target trying to figure out what everyone had bought us at the shower. All I could think of was “insert brand is the best diaper”. I knew there were lots of options including reusable, partial reusable and disposable as well as a million brands each carrying different types. What I didn’t realize is no matter what works for others you still have to find the one or a few you are personally comfortable with.

I am by no means an expert with only one child that is one years old and only having tried 5-6 different types of diapers. While I was gifted reusable diapers I never got around to using them as I had already gotten used to disposables by the time I received them. This is just a quick rundown of the few diapers I’ve tried. And I’m mostly posting this in case we have a second child I can remind myself that I DO want to give the reusable diapers a try as well as which ones seem totally unnecessary.

First I’ll give honorable mentions to the diapers I only used 3-4x

• Honest Brand: Expensive and over-rated IMO but very cute and allegedly better for the environment than regular disposables
• Seventh Generation: Too stiff/ hard but allegedly better for environment than regular disposables
• Luvs: Chemical smell, very affordable, caused rash and had to return but could work perfectly for someone else (please note I’ve never had this problem with any other diaper and my son doesn’t have extremely sensitive skin)

Now for the diapers I purchased numerous times

Note these are all size 4 diapers 22-37 lbs.

1 – Pampers Swaddlers

Pros: Fit well, soft & readily available

Cons: Not a good fit once baby started crawling due to the straight edged back (see pic #1 back)

Price: Coupons and discounts occasionally but good at places like Target that offer gift card deals if a certain quantity is purchased

2 – Huggies Little Movers

Pros: Cheaper than Pampers but just as soft, stretchy with elastic style back (see pic #2). It also has a purple patch on the front that seems to help the diaper stay in place better

Cons: Thigh area was a little snug until he started to thin out so if your baby has larger thighs then be mindful this could cause chaffing

Price: Always has coupons in our local paper (free coupons that come automatically) and has the gift card deal at Target

3 – Huggies Snug & Dry

Pros: Extremely thin!!! I didn’t think this would absorb as much as the regular diapers which all seem to be larger/ plusher but it does without all the added material. Wetness indicator & stretchy back (see pic #3)

Cons: Not as soft as other diapers, slight smell to them

Price: Same as Huggies Little Movers

4 – Kirkland Signature

Pros: Very similar to Huggies Little Movers (see pic #4)

Cons: Need Costco membership, only available at Costco

Price: Very affordable and seems to have a sale/ discount every few months