Diapers, a Review

Everyone has their own opinion of diapers. I now have my own, but when I was registering for my baby shower and preparing for Adelaide's arrival, I just went on everyone else's opinions. I heard Huggies were the best, no Pampers, no the Target brand's just fine. . .so I set out to try almost every brand out there and formulate my own opinions. Since I've been doing research, I thought I'd pass along my findings. Take it or leave it.

Here are the brands I've tried thus far (and remember):
Pampers Swaddlers
Luvs
Target
Huggies
HEB
Fred's (like the Dollar Store, I got them as a gift)
White Cloud (Walmart)
Parent's Choice (Walmart)

Above I sorted them sorta by favorite to least favorite. It gets kinda hard toward the end there since I hate them all. Rocky's list varies from my own so that just goes to show no one agrees.

The things I really look for in a diaper are leak protection, bulkiness (or lack thereof), softness, and overall fit (this includes the stretchiness of tabs and what not).

So here's the run down:


I'm being specific about the brand being Swaddlers because I believe I tried the Pampers Baby-Dry but I can't remember if I liked them or not. OK, in my humble opinion Pampers are absolutely the best. They don't leak even after a 12 hour night. They aren't bulky. They are very soft, and they fit wonderfully. The tabs are stretchy and soft too. They fasten and release over and over without a problem (a must with a squirmy baby like mine). They also happen to be the most expensive diapers out there. That's what inspired my quest to find the best diaper for the best price.



I'm a huge fan of Luvs. Rocky isn't. I'll tell why I've formed my opinion and placed Luvs as runner up. Luvs are cheap. They are about $0.11 each versus about $.20 each for Pampers. They actually have a guarantee that if you don't think they hold up against leaks as well, they'll refund your money. I was all about putting that to the test and was very pleased. They can hold a full night of urine no problem. The lack of bulkiness was also a huge plus. They are actually thinner than the Pampers. As far as softness, they aren't as soft as Pampers but they are acceptable. The fit is pretty good. The tabs aren't that stretchy but they release well. They are definitely a great value. I've heard of multiple Pampers addicts that have recently converted to Luvs. Adelaide was a bit red when we used Luvs. Rocky thinks it was because of these diapers but I switched her back to Pampers for awhile and the redness didn't go away for awhile. I'm not sure it was related though Luvs scents their diapers which can lead to irritation in some kiddos.

Target

There are a few pros to the Target brand. One is the design. They are pretty cute and don't pay for rights to put any cartoon characters on them which I respect. They are also cheap (about the same as Luvs) and they are not bulky. There are lots of down sides to Target diapers though. They are not very good at preventing leaks. I put Adelaide in these 3 nights and all three nights she leaked through. Frustrating. I hate having to change a kiddo out of her sleeper and change sheets in the middle of the night. I still have some and they are fine during the day. The fit is OK but they aren't soft and the tabs really stink. They aren't stretchy and they are absolutely the worst about releasing and resticking well. They pull alot of the diaper off with them. All in all, I wouldn't buy them again because I think it's ridiculous to have to have a different diaper for nighttime.


I had a hard time ranking Huggies over HEB diapers. I don't know how Huggies cost so much and people still pay for them. They are softer than all the cheap brands but Adelaide leaked through them on a daily basis when we used them. The poo dams have to be manually pulled up and put into place. I don't know if you understand what those are but if you have a baby you probably know what I'm referring to. Anyway, no other brand have I had to do that with. Also Huggies are bulky. They are bulkier than Luvs, Pampers, Target, and HEB probably all combined. I could put those 4 diapers on Adelaide all at once and the bulkiness would be about equal to Huggies. OK, I'm exaggerating a bit but not alot. Therefore the bulkiness made the fit not so good. The tabs and everything were fine though. I never tried the Huggie Supremes but I figured I hated the others so much I wasn't gonna pay extra for those.


For those of you that live outside of Texas, this review won't be helpful since HEB is a Texas chain of grocery stores. Upon first inspection, the HEB brand looks just like the Target brand. The design is a little different but the shape, size, and everything are the same. Then you pick up the HEB diaper and realize that it's stiff. It feels like it's got a steel rod running through it or something. Maybe it's there to protect baby's tailbone from falls? Really, it's a bit much. I haven't tried the HEB diaper overnight yet because if it performs at all like it's twin brother, I don't want to have to go through that hassle. They work fine for daytime use. They aren't soft. The fit is OK if you can get past the stiffness of the thing. The tabs are better than the Target ones, not great but better. One cool thing about them is that along with the Clifford design, they've got bones covering the diaper. You are wondering now what's cool about that. Well, these bones disappear when the diaper is wet. They won't tell you if there's a gooey surprise, but the indicator could be helpful for new moms. They are cheap. I got 2 in store coupons making the diapers slightly less than $.10 each! I still probably won't be buying them again.


Fred's, White Cloud, Parent's Choice

I'm gonna just go ahead and lump the last 3 together. I probably need to re-review these because I just used them when Adelaide was a newborn, they were some I received as shower gifts, and I can't really remember what they were like except that I was unimpressed with all of them. Fred's were tolerable. I can't remember which, the White Cloud or Parent's Choice, I just wound up using to catch any accidents while I was changing her diaper. They stunk so badly. I've read alot online about people loving white cloud though so I feel like I should try them one more time.

Well, that's what I've got so far. I've heard great things about Albertson's diapers and White Cloud so I'll probably try those after I run through all the diapers I've got upstairs sitting in Adelaide's closet. I'd love to hear your thoughts on diapers too and if there are any you think I should try.