Best Newborn Diapers - the Definitive Guide.

Congratulations! You have a little one on the way and you’re now researching the best newborn diapers, right? Great news, you’ve come to the right place!

In this definitive guide we've compiled results on this very topic by surveying hundreds of super moms across the globe. Which diaper do most think is best?

What you’ll learn in this guide about diapers for newborns:

1. Cloth or disposable diapers?
2. What brand of disposable diapers do moms use?
3. What are the best disposable diapers for newborns?
4. Why Rascals?
5. Why Huggies?
6. How many diapers per day?
7. How many newborn diapers do I need?
8. Cost of disposable diapers per week.
9. Best cloth diapers for newborns?
10. What are the benefits of cloth diapers?
11. How many cloth diapers do you need for a newborn?
12. What are the best baby wipes for a newborn?

1. Cloth or disposable diapers?

It’s a question that most moms ask - should I use cloth diapers or disposable? Although it’s well known that reusable diapers are cheaper and better for the environment than disposable ones, they’re nowhere near as time efficient. However, disposable diapers are now becoming more biodegradable. 

In this case study, we found 85% of moms opted to use disposable diapers for their newborn, while 15% went for cloth.

2. What brand of disposable diapers do moms use?

• Huggies.
• Rascals.
• Pampers.
• Treasures.
• Kirkland.
• Honest.
• Baby Wise.
• Earth’s Best Tendercare.
• Dryups.
• Thank You.
• Tooshies by Tom.
• Mamia (Aldi Nappies).
• Baby Love.
• Little & Brave.

3. What are the best disposable diapers for newborns?

We found the most popular disposable diaper brands for newborns are: Rascal & Friends, Huggies, Pampers and Treasures. In fact 45% of moms said Rascals were the best, 44% said Huggies, eight per cent said Pampers and three per cent said Treasures.

4. Why Rascals?

• Good fit.
• Super soft.
• Great ethics.
• No diaper rash.
• Great value for money.
• All natural (no nasty chemicals).
• Newborns stay dry all night long.
• They are the most absorbent. “We found that other brands of diapers have got thinner and thinner and don't hold as much.”
• High rise diapers that don’t leak. “The diaper is higher at the back providing great coverage and absorbs more without being bulky. We had too many fails with so many other brands during poo explosions! Finally we found Rascals are explosion proof! To this day I have not had one leakage while using them.”

5. Why Huggies?

• Often on sale.
• No diaper rash.
• Trusted most well known brand.
• Easiest diaper to buy (reliable and always available).
• The small size is a great fit for newborns in the first few weeks.
• Previous success - mothers have used them in the past with other newborns.
• It’s what the hospital most commonly provides, so most continue to use them afterwards.
• Less leaks. “The pocket band feature on the diaper at the back stops explosions.”
• Wetness indicator feature that changes colour when it’s time for a diaper change. 

6. How many diapers per day?

We found that most newborns go through eight diapers per day. 

7. How many newborn diapers do I need?

We asked moms how many diapers they buy at a time for their newborn and found most buy 41-60, 81-100 or 100+.

Why do moms buy 20 or less diapers at a time?

• Cloth diapers are used.
• Unsure of what size to buy, so they buy diapers in smaller numbers.

Why do moms buy 21-40 diapers at a time?

• Easier to store.
• Don’t want to be stuck with too many extras. “At the newborn stage we didn't know how long he would fit the newborn size, so we never bought too many in one go. He is older now (11 months) so we buy 100 + at a time since he fits into the bigger size for much longer.”
• That's all they have room for when doing their shop.
• So they don’t have to go back to the store every other day.
• Cautious of buying too many because babies outgrow sizes quickly.
• Stocked up on diapers initially so they didn’t need to buy much after the baby was born. 

Why do moms buy 41-60 nappies at a time?

• Size of the packs available.
• Enough diapers to last one week at a time.
• Most affordable option at the time, and most often the size of pack that’s on special.
• Fewer go to waste if baby quickly grows out of that size.

Why do moms buy 61-80 nappies at a time?

• Ten day supply.
• Cheaper to buy in bulk. “Would rather have more than be caught short one day, especially if the baby gets an upset tummy and as a result goes through more diapers than on an average day!”
• Convenience. It‘s easier to buy in bulk as shopping with children and a newborn is difficult. 

Why do moms buy 81-100 nappies at a time?

• Better value.
• Carton size available.
• So they’re not always having to buy more and leave the house.
• They live out of town and can never have enough diapers.

Why do moms buy 100 or more nappies at a time?

• Bulk buy discounts (most economical option possible).
• Fewer supermarket trips.
• Have multiple newborns (i.e. twins or triplets).
• Have a premature or small baby that is in newborn size diapers for longer (3-4 months).
• Costco box sizes come in packs of 150-190.
• Peace of mind knowing they have plenty of diapers on hand.
• Approximately a two week supply of diapers.

8. Cost of disposable diapers per week?

Ninety per cent of parents spend $40 or less on disposable diapers per week. The amount spent varies depending on the brand of diaper purchased, and how many the baby goes through. 

9. Best cloth diapers for newborns?

The most popular brands of cloth diapers our moms use are:

• Alva Baby.
• Baby Bare.
• Baby Beehinds.
• Bambino Mio.
• Bambooty.
• Bare and Boho.
• Bear and Moo.
• Best Bottom.
• Blueberry.
• Bubblebubs.
• BumGenius.
• Bummis.
• Close Pop-In.
• Designer Bums.
• Fudgey Pants.
• GroVia.
• Itti.
• Lil Helper.
• Pea Pods.
• Real Nappies.
• SHP Nappies.
• Tots Bots.

10. What are the benefits of cloth diapers?

• They contain no nasty chemicals.
• Less waste. Cloth diapers are reusable and therefore more environmentally friendly.
• Cloth diapers are the most cost effective option in the long term.
• Variety hire packs of cloth diapers are available for you to trial before buying.
• Absorbency of cloth diapers has gotten better. Some last 12-14 hours overnight, even with heavy wetters.
• Ability to change the liner and reuse the shell, provided there is no poop explosion in cloth diapers like GroVia.
• Cloth diapers are getting easier to use. The likes of built in velcro straps, adjustable snaps, domes or fasteners such as snappis make changing diapers much easier than having to use old fashioned diaper pins.
• Brands like Close Pop-In cloth diapers are designed to work like disposables with great leak protection around the legs, and are super easy to pull apart to wash and dry.

11. How many cloth diapers do you need for a newborn?

Seventy eight percent of parents buy 10 or more cloth diapers for their newborn.

12. What are the best baby wipes for a newborn?

Our survey found Huggies to be the most commonly used wipes for newborns. Water Wipes came in second place. 

• 30%   Huggies.
• 21%   Water Wipes.
• 8%     Silk Water Wipes.
• 7%     I Make My Own Cloth Wipes.
• 3%     Pampers.
• 3%     Kirkland Signature.
• 3%     Pams.
• 3%     Curash.
• 3%     Little Ones.
• 3%     Tooshies by Tom.
• 2%     Little Genie.
• 2%     Aldi.
• 1%     Cub.
• 1%     Babywise.
• 1%     Gaia.
• 1%     Johnson and Johnson's.
• 1%     Joonya.
• 1%     Thank You.
• 0.5%  Baby U Goat Milk Wipes.
• 0.5%  Babyganics.
• 0.5%  Aleva Bamboo Wipes.
• 0.5%  Dymples.
• 0.5%  Honest.
• 0.5%  Little & Brave.
• 0.5%  Precious.
• 0.5%  Rascals.
• 0.5%  Seventh Generation.
• 0.5%  Swisspers.
• 0.5%  ThinkWise.

Written by Nikki Clarke.