[Infographic] How Many Diapers To Buy Before Baby Arrives? 04

One of the best pieces of parenting advice we ever received was to create a stockpile of diapers before the baby was born. The suggestion to pay attention to sales and get active using coupons to save money was invaluable plus I really enjoyed being able to ask my husband to go grab a box of diapers from the garage whenever we ran low rather than having to get dressed (gasp!) and head to the store.

What I had difficulty with was figuring out how MANY diapers of each SIZE to buy. I did a bunch of Goggle searches, read several blogs but what I found were personal stories and diaper counts based on particular brand pack sizes. I wanted a simple list that was easy to follow and was based on the average sized child so I could gauge accordingly.

So after some effort and number crunching – drumroll – we present our handy infographic to create your diaper stockpile.

Keep in mind that these #’s are based on the average sized baby/toddler. Boys tend to be larger than girls – (My son was average size at 4 months and then shot into the 90th percentile by 12 months). The biggest takeaway – don’t move up to the next sized diaper too quickly. A larger diaper does not necessarily mean less leaks because it can also equal more gaps.

Click Here to download a copy

Some Frequently Asked Questions…

DOES THE BRAND OF DIAPER MATTER?

Some people think diaper brands don’t matter. We politely disagree. We found we liked a particular diaper because it fit tighter around the legs and had fewer leaks. (Hint: Starts with “P” and boxes are usually yellow) We also tried a few of the “bargain” options and found that while they might work early on when you change the diapers often, they are not as strong at keeping leaks at bay.

SHOULD I BUY IN BULK?

This will depend on where and the sale/coupon being offered. As a good rule of thumb, always calculate the cost per diaper before you buy. This will help you decide if the price for a Super Pack is a better deal than a smaller box that qualifies for a coupon versus a regular delivery service like Amazon Family. For example, we got most of our NB and Size 1 diapers for $0.10 to $0.12 per diaper by buying the smaller boxes when Target was offering $10 gift cards with a purchase of 2 boxes.

WHY ARE THERE DIFFERENT “TYPES” OF DIAPERS WITHIN A BRAND? WHICH SHOULD I BUY?

You’ll notice that brands like Pampers or Huggies offer diaper styles like “Swaddlers” – “Baby Dry” – “Sensitive” and “Crusiers.” In the early months, just go for one style that promises to keep baby feeling dry (my son HATED being in a wet diaper). If it has a line that appears when the diaper gets wet – go for it! When it’s the middle of the night and your exhausted, it’s nice to know quickly whether you need to change the baby.

As baby grows and begins to crawl – we opted for both the cruiser style diapers (more contoured for easier movement) for daytime wear and the super absorbent style for night time happiness. For obvious reasons, you’ll need more daytime styles than nighttime.

WHERE TO PUT THEM?

Wherever you can! As much as we’d love to tell you that your fairy godmother will appear to shrink the stacks of diapers so they take up less space…we found no such relief. Good luck and if you have any suggestions for successful diaper stockpiling – we’d love to hear them!