Advice on stocking up on nappies

[fretfree]

Hello everyone. I am based in Switzerland, where everything seems to cost an absolute fortune. Nappies are less than half price in the UK in comparison. We are going back to the UK for a couple of trips before the birth and I would like to stock up. Could anyone please give me some advice on what I should aim for regarding number of packets in given sizes? I currently have 4 packs of 62 pampers new born size 2 (3-6 kg) and 2 packs of 54 pampers new born size 3 (4-7 kg) as these were on offer at a local supermarket over the border.

Thanks very much in advance!!

Its hard to say as depends on how baby grows. Dd went through the first size quite quickly but was stuck in size 3s for months so it's a bit hard to tell.
The other thing is you may find a brand you prefer so better to try different ones . I was a keen pampers user til they changed the design and started to leak.

You also need to look at the weight ranges if you buy several brands - a size 3 pampers might not cover the same weight range as a size 3 huggies for example.

Personally, I used about 8 to 10 nappies per day at newborn stage, for less than a month (?), used size 1 for a few months but a few less per day, then barely used size 2 before moving to size 3. We used size three for about 3 or 4 months but only about 4 per day pre-weaning (was breast feeding so not much poo) moving to maybe 6 per day post weaning. Have been using size 4s for months and months and have loads of weight range left in them. We probably use 5 or 6 per day now at 15 months old.

All numbers are per baby!

My dd was 7lb 6oz at birth. I have used a variety of brands. Found that boots own were good initially as they were a bit smaller than others. Have tried huggies, pampers and tescos own brand. I'm now buying more tescos ones as they are best for her. Which is nice as they are a £1 cheaper than branded. These are all size 1s. She is now about 9lb 5 and still in this size.

Oh sorry dd is now 7 weeks

I found pampers and tesco to be the best in newborn, you might find the opposite though and they change as you go up in sizes, ds can only wear pampers active dry now as others seem to irritate his skin, also baby dry only last about an hour and need changing.

Amazon do a subscribe and save programme not sure how much their overseas shipping is though, you save 10% if you order then to come regularly could it be worth doing that if not too expensive?

Whatever you do don't stock up on huggies. They are the worst nappy IMO. They just don't seem able to cope with the smallest amount of liquid, which sort of defeats the point of a nappy!

I can't remember how many we went through at that stage sorry and it's only a year ago. My brother buys pampers for my nephew from amazon as he found it's the cheapest way. Would that be possible for you?

Are reusable nappies an option for you if disposables are v expensive in switzerland?

My 4 week old is still in size 1, we initially didn't get any as we thought size 2 would do but at 7.9 she needed the smaller size. If nappies are v expensive do look at reusable you can always use a mix. I love tots bots bamboozles.

We went through ten a day for about 4 weeks, they're 5 months now and it has gradually decreased to 5 a day, sometime 6. I change before each feed unless there is a poo which is about once a day.

We use pampers but they prem so started in Micro, now in newborn 3 at 13lb.

Thank you everyone - reusable may be an option and we will consider it after the first month, but I think we want to take the easier option first given that it is a first child and I expect we don't really know what is about to hit us!!!!!!

I'll check out Amazon and see what the options are there

my DS was 8lb 3 and he went straight into size 2 pampers newborn, they were great. Only used them for a few weeks, he was soon into size 3, we bought the mega boxes of pampers baby dry, always order them online from ASDA, as have found them to be far cheaper than anywhere else. We ordered more last autumn whilst they were on offer ready for when we have DC2. We bought 12 boxes of size 3, 5 boxes of size 4, 20 boxes of size 4+ and i think we will probably need 20 boxes of size 5 but we haven't bought that far in advance!! These are all the MEGA size boxes, and all babydry. We have never had any issue with leaks, no matter how runny the poos or how much he wees. He is now sleeping 12 hours at night without waking, and still no leaks (although i'm not sure how much longer they would last before leaking as always very full of wee!!) and so definitely never an issue in the daytime. Someone once told me they thought they were terrible and leaked, turned out they weren't making sure the "ruffs" were sticking out if you know what i mean - if they are folded inwards under the elastic then the nappies will leak, but we are thorough to always check the ruffs!

ASDA have a baby and toddler event on at the moment, they have 3-4 per year, they aren't as cheap this time as they have been in the past, but they are £14 a box, and have (i think) 132 nappies in the size 3 MEGA box. The next cheapest price i have found is Tescos direct site, £16.49 usually. I've never seen anything as comparable on Amazon. Boots usually sell the MEGA boxes at £18.99 and sometimes 2 for £26. But we got ours when they were even cheaper, the most we have paid is £9 a box, and they used to have more nappies in each box, sneaky people at pampers reduced the number per box without reducing the prices....

Hope that helps!

(ps for clarity those figures are all for just our DC2 when he/she arrives, and i estimate that those numbers should mean we don't need any nappies until he/she is 2, give or take.

(DS is currently 14 1/2 months and still in 4+ and will be for quite some time)

fret, are you close enough to the border to do a bit of hamstering in France or Germany? I lived in Basel and used to do my shopping in France, much cheaper and bigger supermarkets too.

Hi - thanks for all the posts. I'll have to sit and crunch through the numbers before handing my DH a shopping list for when he is next back in the UK!! Buonasera - I do go across into France, which is much cheaper, but still a third more expensive that the UK.

Thanks again all :)

Have your babies all got big bottoms? DD2 was 10lb born and is in size 1 Pampers with loads of room.

i used cloth nappies from birth. i got all in one, one size nappies so baby never grew out of them and there were always nappies in the house. they are very, very easy to use.

DD was in size 2 new born for a couple of months then size 3 pampers for ages. Look out for the big boxes of wipes too. £5 for a six pack of Johnstone or £7 for 9 pack of pampers in Asda baby event.

Hate to say this but DD got awful nappy rash from pampers....

What did you use instead?

I loved tesco's own nappies and used them right the way up to the toilet training stage. DH and I tested pampers and huggies. Hated huggies and pampers leaked too. Tesco were cheap and actually worked

I went through every size so I'd stock up with a few of each with the mist of your numbers going on size 2 and 3.

Happy shopping!

Cloth and tesco/aldi. Sainsbury's own had the same effect!

Don't worry about store/brands at the start, it's when they start rolling/moving that leaks happen. Newborns just lie there for hours!

DS grew out of size 1's and 2's really quickly and we ended up with loads we didn't use. Don't buy too many. You'll end up wasting as much money as if you bbought them for full price!