There are so many baby products and differing opinions on what is necessary and what is useless for a newborn baby. Starting a baby registry when the baby hasn’t even arrived can be confusing. I have compiled my list of baby diapering must-haves to save you the frustration.
Here is the next post of “Baby Must-Haves” broken down by topic.
Now let’s tackle diapering!
What products do you need to be armed with in order to successfully complete all those diaper changes! I know as an expectant mom I thought all I needed was diapers and wipes. Then I started looking into things and realized it was SO MUCH MORE. Like why is there a diaper paste applicator and wipe warmer (both unnecessary in my opinion)? The following are my recommendations for baby diapering must-haves based on my own experience. For the safety of your baby, please do your own research and follow the American Academy of Pediatrics guidelines.
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If you prefer a simple list instead go directly to:
For Home
Diapers
I chose to use disposable diapers over cloth diapers. This was due to convenience and not wanting to add to the already large amount of laundry and associated energy costs that came with cleaning the reusable diapers. That said, the cost of disposable diapers adds up quickly especially when a newborn goes through an average of 9 diapers per day!! There are also numerous brands available. To narrow down the choices, I read suggestions from various baby bloggers and polled all my mom-friends. What I was consistently told was that all of the cheaper knock-off brands (with the exception of Kirkland brand) are not absorbant enough and lead to more frequent blowouts. These are my recommendations:
Newborn: Pampers Pure Protection– The hospital uses Pampers but these are next level because they are made without lotion and dyes. I wanted these for the newborn size just because the skin of a baby can be so sensitive especially in the beginning.
Size 1: Pampers Swaddlers– This is what the hospital uses and they work well for us. These are the cheaper version of the Pampers Pure Protection and his skin did fine with it.
Size 2-3: Huggies Little Snugglers– They have a waistband on the back which helps prevent the poops from going up the back. (Yes, s!*t happens!) I have read that the Costco Brand is the same product as the Huggies brand. What we do is purchase whichever is on sale at Costco at the time.
Size 4+: Huggies Little Movers– These are the next stage in diapers once your little one starts crawling. These are basically the same as Little Snugglers but they move better as your baby is moving and grooving.
Diaper Cream
For Diaper Rash- What we Use: Tubby Todd Sweet Cheeks Diaper Paste. Pricey but worth it! Be sure to use my coupon below.
A cheaper alternative with great ratings: Boudreaux’s Butt Paste
Healing Ointment– We put Aquaphor Healing Ointment on Caleb for his evening diaper(s). This is to ensure that the contents of his diaper do not irritate his skin and cause him to wake up. Also, for all-day use I recommend putting some on the waistband of the diaper where it meets the baby’s back, this helps keep the diaper secure and prevent diaper blowouts.
Wipes
There are so many choices and your baby’s skin could have a reaction to them. I honestly got the cheap wipes first and Caleb had no reaction and has been fine.
If your baby’s skin is more sensitive, I recommend Pampers Aqua Pure Wipes. We also used these (given as a shower gift) and they worked wonderfully. These are supposed to work well on baby’s who have more sensitive skin.
Accessories
Changing Pad– We love the Hatch Baby Grow Smart Changing Pad and Scale because it is super easy to clean and also takes the baby’s weight. This was nice in the early weeks because babies tend to lose weight before they gain it and you don’t really know how much food they are getting breastfeeding unless you weigh them. This provided me an additional level of comfort to know that my little guy was doing alright in the weight department and eating. That said you have lots of doctor’s appointments and they weigh the baby each time.
Changing Table– Instead of a changing table, we opted to buy a dresser whose height was perfect for us to put our changing station on top of. We got this dresser and it has been perfect! I will admit we changed out the knobs from the standard knobs from IKEA and found some cute knobs at Anthropologie on clearance.
Diaper Caddy– Something to carry the diapers/wipes in so you can move them around the house or just to have on the changing table. They sell expensive ones but I found this box at IKEA and it works great.
Wipe Dispenser– I love this OXO Tot Perfect Pull Wipes Dispenser! It is the easiest way to grab a wipe and trust me this is important for those big messes and when your child gets older and wants to roll around while you are changing them. Other wipe dispensers require 2 hands to open, this one just needs a tap of a single hand and one hand to pull out the wipe. Also, it keeps the wipes moist (never have to worry about them drying out). (While I Iove this dispenser, do not bother with a wipe warmer.)
Diaper Pail– Since you go through 9 diapers per day and they can be smelly, it’s nice to have a designated trash can. I chose the Ubbi Steel Diaper Pail because of the reviews and you do not need a special trash bag like some of the other options, you just use your standard kitchen trash bags. It seals in all the smells. The top opens easily and has an optional lock on top which comes in handy when your little one is moving and curious.
For On-the-Go
Diaper Bag
What we have: We have this backpack from Annello. I like the simple design and that it can hold a lot since it is a wide-open rucksack style backpack. There are also side pockets for a water bottle for both you and baby. I also like how simple the design is so that my husband can easily use it when he is out with the baby and not be afraid it looks too feminine.
Other recommendation: Freshly Picked Diaper Bag– this will be my next diaper bag purchase. I have heard so many AMAZING things about this bag from so many mothers and they are just too cute!
Accessories
Changing Mat: The Gathre Micro+ Mat is what I use for every diaper change outside of the nursery. It can also be used just as a mat to lay baby down on if you go to the park, etc. We love the size. It is perfect for laying out and folds up flat. It is also super easy to wipe clean when it gets messy.
Trash bags: When I first saw these bags I laughed because they look like dog poop bags but boy have they come in handy. We have had so many diaper blowouts while traveling and these are amazing and are lightly scented so it keeps your car smelling fresh while you wait to find a trashcan.
Tote Insert: I purchased the ToteSavvy to put in my Louis Vuitton Neverfull Tote. They have different sizes depending on your tote size but it is a great way to convert your favorite tote bag into a diaper bag.
Wash it later bags: These Emergency Soak & Save Bags are very helpful when a diaper blow out occurs when you are not going to be home for a while and you do not want the stains to set into the baby’s clothes.
Wipe Pouch: We use the Huggies Travel Pouch. This came free for us in a box of diapers and has come in super handy. The other idea is just to use the wipes from your nursery when a pouch is ⅓ full. No one wants to carry around a full pouch of wipes or pay the prices for the single-use travel wipes.
Diaper holder- This is only needed if your diaper bag does not have a slot where diapers easily fit. Since my diaper bag is just an open backpack I used a Pampers Diaper pouch to keep 3-4 diapers with me at all times. This was a registry gift and is not available for individual purchase. I did find this ADORABLE option that is the same concept for what I have.
While there are so many products on the market, I hope this helps you narrow down your choices to truly the baby diapering must-haves. Please share this with other expecting families who you feel could benefit from this. Subscribe to our email list to get informed when I release the next “Baby Must-Haves” article. Also, comment below if you think I missed anything or you have a favorite product I did not include.
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