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Why are diapers so expensive?

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Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#341

Post by mcv »

When we had our first kid, we scoured the shops looking for good deals on diapers. Turns out there's a mailinglist you can subscribe to which alerts young parents when a shop in the vicinity has a sale on diapers. Buying them in bulk at the right time can save a lot of money.

By the time we had our second child, we didn't care. We buy diapers without thinking about it now. The stress of worrying about this is a bigger cost for us now than the money we pay.

Friends used cloth diapers for environmental reasons. Hell of a lot of work, and I have no idea what they cost. Old-fashioned cloth diapers are cheap, but messy.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#342

Post by Fnoord »

tartuffe78 wrote: post #322
perakojotgenije wrote: post #293

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> or he pees all over the table including the diaper that's waiting to be put on) Now, that's just you being n00b :-). Source: father of 3.5 years old and 4 month old kids. And yes, I also think 12 is too many. 8-9 diapers a day was max for a newborn, now 4 months later it's around 6-7.

I had the the same issue with my now 5 month old, I'd guess most first time parents do.

This is one of the reasons why I am happy with Kraamzorg [1]. I learned from them that if you got a boy the first thing you do when you change a boy's diaper is put something on their penis (such as a burp cloth) so that they can't pee you in the face (or on the carpet/wall/door or w/e). I remembered that even though we don't have a boy; we had a girl about 2 months ago. :-)

FWIW, we're changing diapers roughly every 3-4 hours. I can pretty much put my clock on it (a blue strip shows if she's pee'd). Every 2 hours is overkill. The strip wouldn't be full blue yet.

There's also (washable) cloth diapers which are better for the environment and wallet though they're also an investment. We're planning on switching to them, but it is too early for now.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kraamzorg

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#343

Post by Someone1234 »

snovv_crash wrote: post #257
billyhoffman wrote: post #251

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What? Potty training is dependent on physiological changes around muscle control. It is usually not possible before 18-24 months. I have 3 kids under 5, and 24 months is the earliest that interest to go on the potty started. https://www.healthychildren.org/English/ages-stages/toddler/...

Then how do Asian kids do it by age 1?

I assume you're referring to China, since "Asia" is a big and diverse place.

The Chinese use elimination training, or "potty on demand." You place the kid over the potty, make a specific sound they associate with going potty (you created the association previously) and they go. You then repeat this enough times in a day to eliminate the need for diapers.

I don't think elimination training is potty training. In potty training you're teaching the kid to tell YOU when they need to go, in elimination you are telling THEM when to go. Plus in potty training they're doing "active holding" whereas in elimination you're aiming for things to never get to that stage by going "potty on demand" enough throughout a day.

I think elimination training is very interesting and some parents have had great success mixing elimination with diapers to reduce the amount of accidents/cost. But even if they're trained on the elimination technique, they'd still need to be potty trained later, it just might be easier (since, again, you're asking them to tell you, rather than you tell them).

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#344

Post by eli »

nostrademons wrote: post #149
djrogers wrote: post #28

There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo). First off, 12 changes a day is a huge outlier - even for a newborn. 8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming. Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000/yr for diapers. Again, that h…

I just had a kid 2 months ago, and 12 changes a day doesn't seem all that unreasonable for a newborn. At our one-month checkup he was averaging 9 pees & 5 poops per day - several of the poops were doubled-up where he also peed, so a dozen per day is about right. It's dropped a bit since, but instances where a single changing results in multiple diapers used (eg. he shits the table right as I'm getting the new diaper…

Not everyone has the ability to buy in bulk. They are considerably more expensive buying them 12 at a time at a corner store.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#345

Post by mcv »

lebski88 wrote: post #186
columb wrote: post #159

In UK nappies are ultra cheap. My Wife uses Lidl's nappies but Aldi's are equally good (if not the same!). They cost around 5-7 pence each. Can't really exactly remember because they are so cheap. Pampers are more expensive but by much.

Yes I noticed this too: > In the United States, the average diaper sells for about 25 cents That's so much more expensive than here. Looking at the pictures you can get the same brands and nappies for half the price here. In the decent sized packs from amazon pampers are only a touch more expensive but yeah the Lidl ones are just as good as far as I can see. We mostly used pampers because they are cheap with a subscr…

I just checked Dutch prices: googled and took the first link for diapers for newborns: 52 diapers for €7, or €5 if you buy in bulk. So that's 10-13 cents for random big chain diapers of a good brand.

Seems to be a typical price. At another chain, I get the same prices for another brand. Looking for the biggest A brand, I find 72 diapers for €15, which is a bit more expensive, but still less than 25 cents (though eurocents are worth a bit more than dollar cents, of course).

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#346

Post by yellowstuff »

mcv wrote: post #341

When we had our first kid, we scoured the shops looking for good deals on diapers. Turns out there's a mailinglist you can subscribe to which alerts young parents when a shop in the vicinity has a sale on diapers. Buying them in bulk at the right time can save a lot of money. By the time we had our second child, we didn't care. We buy diapers without thinking about it now. The stress of worrying about this is a bigge…

It's not obviously true that cloth diapers are better for the environment. EG:

https://alumni.stanford.edu/get/page/magazine/article/?artic...

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#347

Post by mapt »

daeken wrote: post #299
watmough wrote: post #291

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It was a huge relief to get the children weaned, and off the giant vats of Similac ... I feel that was probably even more expensive than the diapers.

Oh man, diapers pale in comparison to formula costs. My daughter gets changed ~8 times per day, but she eats up to 36oz of formula. That's about $1.76 in diapers and up to $6.79 worth of formula. Add in DI water (since we make it from powder) and the obscene cost of bottles, and it gets even worse.

DI water? De-Ionized? The stuff marked "Not safe for human consumption: Lab Use Only" because of how dirty the ion exchange membranes get [among other things]?

Or were you trying to say 'distilled water'?

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#348

Post by evilduck »

JustSomeNobody wrote: post #324
KozmoNau7 wrote: post #285

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I bought a $30 corded hair trimmer and switched to a buzz cut (I was starting to bake anyway) and a full beard. I use maybe one double edged razor blade or disposable razor per month for the edges of my beard, that's all. I haven't calculated the savings over the last 6-7 years, but it has to be a lot , compared to shaving daily and going to the hairdresser.

I can't grow a beard. Five days in and I give up. I do buzz my own hair though. It's super easy if you just use the same guard all over.

As a fellow bearded and balding guy, it's not real hard to use different guards, but the motions are new and using two mirrors to cut your own hair are awkward at first. You have to be ready to accept a short single guard buzz cut for your first 3-4 attempts. Having good clippers helps too.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#349

Post by dpark »

toasterlovin wrote: post #336
dpark wrote: post #309

Earlier quoted context omitted.

12 doesn't seem that strange to me. That's every 2 hours on average. 8 a day is every 3 hours like clockwork to keep a fresh/dry diaper on. Add in the unexpected poops that don't land on 3-hour boundaries and it's not hard to do 12. It seems like the upper end of normal but not an outlier.

It's pretty common for newborns to be on a highly regular 3 hours schedule for diaper changes. Happened with all three of our kids. Like clockwork, basically.

I’m going to disagree that this is common. Newborn schedules in general are not super predictable. I don’t know anyone who has described their newborn’s schedule as “clockwork”.

Re: Why are diapers so expensive?

#350

Post by criley2 »

Someone1234 wrote: post #330
dpark wrote: post #313

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's wrong with tap water? Formula still costs a lot, obviously, but you generally don't need special water for mixing formula unless your kid has an immune disorder or you live somewhere with unsafe tap water.

Depending on where you live, maybe nothing, maybe a lot. For example many areas still have high PPB of lead in their tap water (even if below the EPA guidelines of 15 PPB, or the EU's 10 PPB since 2013, it can still be considered unsafe, just not economical to fix). Plus even ignoring heavy metal content, in some areas there might be micro-organisms in tap water (since it is sourced from a natural well or similar), s…

https://www.cdc.gov/fluoridation/faqs/infant-formula.html

>Can I use flouridated tap water to mix formula? "Yes, you can use fluoridated water for preparing infant formula. However, if your child is only consuming infant formula mixed with fluoridated water, there may be an increased chance for mild dental fluorosis. To lessen this chance, parents can use low-fluoride bottled water some of the time to mix infant formula; these bottled waters are labeled as de-ionized, purified, demineralized, or distilled, and without any fluoride added after purification treatment. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) requires the label to indicate when fluoride is added."

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