skimping- on your baby's tushies?

Seraph

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:34 pm

Are you frugal when it comes to your kids' tushies?
Do you buy the most expensive best brand diapers, or do you try to save as much as you can when it comes to diapers, etc... and buy cheapo brands/use disposables? Do you change their diaper often, or try to save money by only changing when neccesary?
If you spend lots on the best brand diapers and wipes, are you generally frugal in everything else? Or are frugal people generally also skimpy on diapers?

I'm not ashamed to say that I try to save money on diapers and spend the least I can by using cheapest brand diapers, cloth sometimes, cloth wipes, cheapest brand wipes when disposable, and don't rush to change the diaper too frequently. B'h my son's tushie doesnt complain- if it did, perhaps I wouldn't be so quick to save money at the expense of his heiny.

mummiedearest

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:40 pm

I don't get the cheapest brand necessarily, but I do look for bargains. I order in bulk, get free shipping, use coupons when possible. and I only change diapers when they need changing. I wouldn't throw out a clean one.

Twizzlers

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:44 pm

dh and I were just discussing this because I told him to go buy a cream for ds's diaper rash and it costed $30!!
so, it really depends on the kid. I use the cheapest diapers that dont leak, but if there is a rash, I will buy the good cream; its not fair that they should be in pain so I can save some money.

SunLover

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:44 pm

thats funny becuase yesterday my DH saying not to use so many diapers per day but I dont want my DD to get diaper rash so I change them often even if just wet (though not if they r clean of course). I think thats more important than saving $$ even in tough times. I wouldnt want to sit in a wet diaper to save my parents money!

louche

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:47 pm

I skimped as much as possible, but found that certain tactics were a false economy. If I didn't change often enough, the kid would get a vicious rash, and the cheapie no-name diapers leaked all the time. I did switch from disposable to diaper service to save money, and even with frequent changes that was a savings. with cloth I could tell if the diaper was wet and didn't throw out a dry one just because I couldn't tell if it had been peed on or not.

If there had been a generic brand of Desitin I'd have used it, but there wasn't. I bought the huge economy size at whichever store had the best price. I felt Desitin did the best job.

ora_43

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:47 pm

Why spend extra on something that will only last a couple of hours? Of course I buy cheap, or as cheap as I can (older dd has eczema so she gets the expensive diapers, the others all have stuff in them that gives her a rash), I'd rather spend any extra money on something that won't get thrown away so quickly.

I wouldn't make them go longer without a change to save money though, that's way beyond "frugal" to "ridiculously stingy," IMHO.

Seraph

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:49 pm

my son doesnt get rashes from sitting in pish, so I dont rush to change him when its just pish. I once babysat a kid whose mother wanted me to change him every hour or 2. That got to me, even though I wasnt even the one paying for the diapers--- the waste seemed astronomical!

louche

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:50 pm

ora_43 wrote:

I wouldn't make them go longer without a change to save money though, that's way beyond "frugal" to "ridiculously stingy," IMHO.

if not borderline child abuse.

Hashem_Yaazor

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:55 pm

I got 2 tubs of Pampers wipes free as part of a survey to rate. When I used them, I realized I was spending so much more buying cheap wipes -- because I had to use more of them. If I spent more $ on the thicker Pamper wipes, I could use much less, and save long term.

Other than that -- I don't use cloth as I do not own a washing machine and can't have that headache at this point in my life. I use disposables which is more expensive in the long run, and I use whatever works. I buy Pampers right now for my daughter since it minimizes her blowouts by half (still has plenty!), Luvs on my 2 year old, and generic for night for my oldest. Some generics we can't do for sensitive skin reasons, but I just started this one (bought a small package so there wouldn't be waste) and it seems for this purpose it's ok. I plan on using it for my 2 year old as well when we finish his Luvs.
So I buy what works for us but not exorbitantly. And I never buy Pampers without a coupon!

Seraph

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:56 pm

louche wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

I wouldn't make them go longer without a change to save money though, that's way beyond "frugal" to "ridiculously stingy," IMHO.

if not borderline child abuse.

if it doesnt bother them.... Confused

Its one thing if you force your kid to get a rash so you can save money, quite another to not rush to change their wet diaper a million times a day....

octopus

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 2:56 pm

my kids have very sensitive tushies. When I realize a diaper is wet I change it right away. Otherwise I will be dealing with the never going away diaper rash business. The cheaper diapers leak, and for all the extra loads of laundry I have to do because of it (I'm not washing all the poopy stuff together with just regular laundry) it's just not worth it.

greenfire

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 3:04 pm

neglectful ... I can't begin to tell you how many diapers I've seen falling to kids knees - because of parental neglect ...

p.s. some kids get allergic rashes due to cheapo diapers ...

chillax

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 3:15 pm

When DD was born we tried different brands. The Luvs seemed to give her some kind of diaper rash or something so we switched.
I tried Target brand but they were horrible. (and this is from some one who loves Target and most things Target brand)
I liked the Pampers Cruisers the best but they are $10 more than the Pampers Baby Dry and those seem to be doing the job just fine.

RightOnTarget

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 3:19 pm

I buy the better brands just so it doesn't leak. I don't throw away clean ones, though.

If I bathe him and see his pamper is still clean, I'd reuse it.

ora_43

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 4:21 pm

Seraph wrote:

louche wrote:

ora_43 wrote:

I wouldn't make them go longer without a change to save money though, that's way beyond "frugal" to "ridiculously stingy," IMHO.

if not borderline child abuse.

if it doesnt bother them.... Confused

Its one thing if you force your kid to get a rash so you can save money, quite another to not rush to change their wet diaper a million times a day....

No, of course. I wouldn't be changing diapers every hour anyway, only when they need, no matter what the price. But from your first post, I thought you might be talking about sacrificing tushy (tushie?) health a little -- that I wouldn't do.

mandksima

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 4:43 pm

I switched to Pampers after the first month or so and I was so surprised that the diaper leaked today after it happening only a few times since the switch in the past 7 months! It is just not worth it to me as I do so much laundry as it is.

B"H, I haven't seen diaper rash yet and I change wet diaper whenever it looks pretty heavy and a poop, immediately to prevent the rash. It gets expensive and there are no coupons here (other than the first from the hospital) but that is one area that is not worth it to me to skimp on.

Others have told me Pampers wasn't the best for them, it depends on the fit for the individual kid.

challi

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 8:37 pm

I find that in htis department at least, the better quality pays off in the long run. I tried the cheaper wipes and diaper, but what I saved on them I had to spend extra on washing clothing, spott treating stains, and more frequent changes to prevent leaks and rashes (since the cheap ones didn't keep their bottoms as dry even after just 1 time of urinating in them.) Then with the wipes, I found I needed more to properly clean a kids bottom as well.

I actually sat down and roughly figured out how much I was saving and decided I was was spending quite a bit more for the cheaper diapers and it was giving me a headache as well. So I decided not to pay for a headache any longer

shayna82

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 8:43 pm

I dont see the biggest difference in the diaper brands as I see in the wipes. the pampers wipes are made with a thicker cotton and you need less to change a dirty diaper, while the kirkland brand (that I sadly just spent money on, on advise from a friend , that they were so good) are much thinner and you need more each time. so thats where you start weighing, this many wipes is this much.... while this brand is better, but has less....

we have been using walmart brand diapers and they are really fine!!!

fish123

Thu, Feb 26 2009, 8:58 pm

Even if a wet diaper doesn't give your child a diaper rash or seem to bother them it probably isn't the best thing for them to become comfortable with wetness and will likely make potty training a little harder.