Choosing Diapers
Before I had a baby, I heard people say they preferred one diaper over the other and I always thought that was crazy. In my mind, a diaper was a diaper, but no, it’s really not.
A lot of disposable diapers claim to be super absorbent or say they offer 12 hours of protection, but they don’t hold up to their claims.
Keep in mind, I have a little boy, so I’m basing my opinion off of that. With boys, diapers will get really top or front heavy because well, you know why, lol. With little girls, it can be different because pee runs in both directions. Little girls’ diapers may fill up more evenly, but I don’t know because I have a boy.
When it comes to his poopy diapers, since he is breastfed, his poop is loose. I don’t know the poop consistency of formula-fed babies.
I’m just gonna start with the best diaper because some people only want to know that. The rest of the diapers will be in no particular order.
All diapers are size 1. I am aware that some companies change the features with size.
*This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a commission if you make a purchase using the links I have provided*
Pampers Swaddlers
PROS
-Has a pee/wetness indicator.
-Even though these are size 1s, they still have the little dip for the umbilical cord. I’m guessing this is because not every baby can fit newborn-sized diapers right out the womb. Good move, Pampers.
-Has GREAT pee absorption, but you can see the yellow pee color through the diaper.
-When they pee, the front of the diaper will expand into 3 sections. You wouldn’t know this by just looking at a new, clean diaper. Not that this is really important, but…
-When it’s loaded up with pee, it doesn’t really get squishy like a lot of other brands. (If it’s super full, it will feel a little wet to the touch.)
-It has mesh on the inside, which is probably supposed to wick the poop away from your baby’s butt. Ehhh, it does help a little.
CONS
– You can see the poop through the back, but because the absorbency of these are so bomb, it isn’t a deal breaker for us.
-The sticky tabs on these suck. The tab is long, but the part that is supposed to stick is thin and not that strong. This is really the only con.
MY THOUGHTS
The one suggestion I would make for these diapers is to add a “poop guard” to stop poop from going up their back or even to the top of the diaper.
These are 1 of 2 that I would leave on for an extended period of time, and these ones don’t even make any claims for a certain amount of hours of protection.
So thank you, Auntie, for sending us that huge box of size 2s.
Chrishinda: 9 out of 10
Derrick: 10 out of 10
Buy them here
Pampers Baby Dry
Let me just start by saying these are a hot mess. These and the Swaddlers are like night and day.
PROS
-Has a pee/wetness indicator.
-These don’t get really yellow from the pee because they have a blue tint to it.
CONS
-These are FAR from 12-hour protection like they claim. (I had one of these diapers on him for a max of 3 hours and it leaked.)
-These exemplify the pee smell. Yuck!
-Get SUPER squishy when wet.
-These feel cold and wet to the touch. They also make his clothes feel wet.
-You can see the poop through the back, and there only needs to be a tiny amount of poop in the diaper to see it.
-Leaks pee and poop
MY THOUGHTS
Although he did not develop a rash, he was really fussy with these. Derrick even felt like they irritated and bothered him.
These are just a no-go for us.
Chrishinda: 3 out of 10
Derrick: 5 out of 10
Buy them here (At your own risk)
The Honest Co.
PROS
-AWESOME pee absorption.
-These have the best fit because the front flaps in the front are so long, which I like. I feel with other diapers, you have to pull the diaper too tight over the baby’s belly.
-The outermost material is thick and it keeps these from feeling squishy.
CONS
-NO pee/wetness indicator.
– Since these don’t have an indicator, you really just have to squish the diaper, or look at it to see if it’s bloated.
-These are awesome for pee, but poop is a whole ‘nother situation. He has pretty explosive poops, and these just can’t handle them.
-Almost every single poop diaper leaked. Even the small poops.
-Let’s just say, of the 40 diapers in the pack, he pooped in 23 of them. Twenty-one of them leaked poop.
MY THOUGHTS
I was honestly trying to get through these diapers so quickly because you never know when they’re gonna poop, so having so many leaks was ridiculous.
Chrishinda: 6 out of 10
Derrick: 6 out of 10
Buy them here (They weren’t terrible, but think of the poop leaks before purchasing)
Huggies Snug & Dry Ultra
PROS
-They hold quite a bit of pee.
-You can tell that these get really squishy, but the outer layer helps with that a LITTLE bit.
CONS
-No pee/wetness indicator.
-You can tell that these get really squishy, but the outer layer helps with that a LITTLE bit. (pro & con)
-You can see the poop on the sides in the front and back.
-Leaks sometimes.
-The poop pretty much just sits there or spreads, causing leaks. Does NOT absorb well.
-These are just a straight rectangle… not the best fit.
-I’m not a fan of the sticky tabs because they’re pretty skinny and I feel like they could be a little stronger.
Chrishinda: 4 out of 10
Derrick: 5 out of 10
Buy them here (At your own risk)
Huggies Little Snugglers
When I used my first pack, these were awesome. They were my favorite. When I got through all the other size 1s, I bought another pack of these and they were too small, but the size 2s were too big. Since he was in between sizes, he ended up having a bunch of leaks because they were no longer a perfect fit. I don’t remember any leaks with poo or pee when they fit perfectly.
Just like the Pampers, these and the Huggies Snug and Dry are like night and day when it comes to quality. These feel amazing compared to the Snug and Dry. Even the plastic packaging the diapers come in is of better quality.
PROS
-Has a pee/wetness indicator.
-Has REALLY GOOD pee absorption.
-These hold A LOT of pee, so they do get top heavy. (If it’s super full, it will feel a little wet to the touch.)
-They can keep these on for a longer period because they’re so absorbent.
-You can see the yellow color of the pee through the diaper.
-Thick.
-Has a quilted-like inside/lining, which is so soft.
-Nice, stretchy waistband.
-You can’t see the poop through the back.
-Doesn’t feel wet to the touch.
CONS
-I’m not a fan of the sticky tabs because they’re pretty skinny and I feel like they could be a little stronger.
MY THOUGHTS
These make his pee smell “sweet,” kinda like syrup or something of that nature. They also make his poo smell like a little, burnt? It’s really hard to describe the smell.
I would leave these on for an extended amount of time if I had to.
Chrishinda: 8 out of 10
Derrick: 8 out of 10
Buy them here
Luvs
So, Luvs …. I’m just gonna let you know, before you continue reading, these are the worst diapers, ever. If you just wanted to know if you should get them or not, the answer is no.
PROS
What pros? Sorry Luvs.
CONS
-No pee/wetness indicator, but oh, you will be able to tell just by looking at it.
-These are paper thin. Not regular printer paper thin – I mean that “tissue-paper-you-use-to-cover-gifts-when-you-use-a-gift-bag” thin.
-These get RIDICULOUSLY squishy, really fast. It feels gross. If he peed once, it looked/felt like he peed 5 times.
-Odor control? What odor control!? As he’s getting older, his pee is starting to smell, well … like pee, but these exemplify it so much. When he pees in these, he smells like a public restroom that has never been cleaned. It’s that bad.
-These smell the worst out of all of them.
-You can see the poop through the back instantly, and it’s translucent (I think that’s the word I’m looking for). Even the tiniest amount of poop looks gross. Like, greasy.
MY THOUGHTS
I was constantly like, “Okay, it’s been an hour, you need your diaper changed.”
Since I’m a stay-at-home mom, I’m by him pretty much all day, so most of the time I hear him poo, and with any diaper, I’m ready to change him right away, but with these, you don’t want to wait at all.
Derrick even thinks these suck. He thought they were the Dollar General diapers because they were so bad. He was like, “Well, what can you expect for $1?” (They aren’t $1.) They are just that awful. He also said they felt like they were going to rip every time he changed his diaper.
We ran out of the good diapers, and he was mad we had to use the Luvs again, because they are that bad. We had so many, and we hadn’t gone to the store, so Luvs it was…
*If you’re going to a baby shower and are thinking about buying Luvs for someone, just get some other gift, lol. They will thank you.
Chrishinda: 0 out of 10
Derrick: 1 out of 10
Buy them here (At your own risk)
Dollar General Baby Premium Diapers
I’d pick these over Luvs any day.
PROS
-Has a pee/wetness indicator.
-Holds a pretty good amount of pee.
-The sticky tabs on these are BOMB. They are super sticky. The cheapest diapers have the best tabs. Go figure.
CONS
-You can see the poop through the back, but it doesn’t get that greasy/oily.
MY THOUGHTS
I don’t remember any pee leaks.
We got these at our baby shower, and at first I was hesitant to try these because they were from a dollar store, but they were surprisingly good, so don’t just kick these to the curb.
Chrishinda: 7 out of 10
Derrick: 7 out of 10
Buy them here
Poo Diapers
Sorry if you’re a bit squeamish about this type of stuff, but I just had to add these pics. This is what I mean when I say you can see the poop through the back with each diaper.
Overall…
Of course, my opinion may differ from yours. I have asked a few people what they thought of a certain diaper that I didn’t really care for, and it just so happened to be one of their favorites, so it really is just trial and error. See what works for you and your baby.
Leave a comment letting me know what diapers are your favorite.
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3 comments
I feel like my opinions changed after my son got older. The pampers would sag SO much (he was walking), but I can’t remember which pampers version we used lol. It may have been the baby dry.
I thought it would change with size or as they start with different stages in their growth. That’s good to know, thanks Mani! I can’t stand to see a saggy diaper…yuck!
As a preschool teacher and Nanny, I have changed my fair share of dipers. I agree that Pampers are really good for night and nap time, and my boss buys the honesty company and they are really good too. At Early Head Start alot of parents use Luvs, but I did not have the poop issue in the picture. They were an affordable option and did the job. Tugaboos were provided by the school and they are also affordable option, but not a good night time one. They are the store brand at Rite Aid. Thanks for sharing.