Financial Preparation for a Baby: The Cost of Diapers

If you're a first-time parent, the amount of stuff you're suddenly required to know and have an opinion about — including diapers — can be overwhelming.

Deciding what brand of diapers to use, finding out how much they cost, and setting up a diaper budget can seem like a mammoth task. Thankfully, it doesn't have to be overwhelming. With some reliable information and a few calculations, you can easily estimate how much you should expect to spend on diapers.

The First Question: How Many Diapers Will I Use?
The answer to this question depends on the quality of the diapers you choose and the habits of your child. There might be stages where your baby only poops once a week (yes, really), while in other stages you feel like you're changing diapers all day long. Despite all these factors, most babies use around 3700 diapers in their first year.

You'll probably use the most diapers in the early months, with diaper use becoming less and less as you move towards potty training. Larger sizes of diapers are more expensive, but you generally use fewer — which keeps your diaper budget reasonably stable.

What's the Cost of Diapers per Month?
It's hard to calculate an exact number. Thankfully, though, finding an approximate one is easy. The consensus is that you should budget somewhere around $85 per month for mid-price disposable diapers. That puts the average cost of disposable diapers per year at around $900. If you want something more expensive, you'll generally need to budget more. If you're willing to use a lower-quality product (or work hard at couponing), you'll be able to budget slightly less.

Consider Delivery
Having your diapers delivered is very convenient and can help save you time. Some places deliver for free, but if you're using a service that charges, remember to include those costs in your calculations.

What About Cloth?
Many parents are concerned about using disposable, and in order to avoid harmful chemicals and be kind to the environment, they turn to cloth diapers.

Is Cloth a Cheaper Option?
This very much depends. Cloth can be a great money saver, but you'll need to be self-controlled about how many diapers you buy. It's easy to get caught up in all the cute patterns and designs and end up with a cloth stash that is far larger than you need.

If you're going the cloth route to save money, make sure you choose high-quality cloth diapers and only buy as many as you need. If you plan to use the diapers for multiple children, the cost is reduced even further.

Consider the Extra Labor
Cloth diapers are safer for babies, better for the environment, and can be cheaper. They do have their own cost, though: time and labor. Cloth diapers must be washed, folded, and packed away. Many families find cloth diapers an excellent option and are happy to sacrifice convenience for the sake of health, the environment, and cost.

Before you take the leap, however, make sure you've carefully thought through what cloth diapering will look like for your family. The last thing you want to do is buy a whole stash of cloth diapers and then end up using disposables anyway.

What if I Want Higher Quality Products?
If you feel guilty about using disposable diapers, you're not alone. More and more parents are becoming concerned about disposable diapers.

The average disposable diaper is terrible for the environment and can contain harmful products that are unsafe for babies. There are better, responsible sourced products available that don't contain the nasties like chlorine, perfume, PVC, and phthalates. In the past, these products were either really expensive or just not as good as normal diapers but many newer products that are both affordable and effective.

DYPER Plant-Based Diapers
DYPER offers an alternative that's both convenient and responsible. These diapers are made with plant-based materials. They might sound expensive, but a four-week supply typically only costs around $89 dollars for subscription - that's just a few dollar more than what you'd pay for a month of regular disposable diapers.

DYPER Delivers for Free
They have a super convenient free delivery system and they'll even help you calculate how many diapers you need. That means you don't need to cram your closets full of diapers in case you run out.

The Simply Kind Diaper
DYPER is absorbent and made to protect your little one’s sensitive skin and ensure their diapers are made without harmful chemicals or potential irritants such as natural rubber latex, alcohol, perfumes, PVC, lotions, TBT, or Phthalates. DYPER diapers are also independently tested and certified Standard 100 by OEKO TEX®, a leading Swiss certification body, and achieved the coveted 5-star rating by DermaTest®.

They can also be composted through the REDYPER™ program.

How to Balance Convenience, Conscience, and Cost
Choosing which diapers to use — and fitting them into your budget — is a big decision. Life with a new baby can be hard, and it's important to carefully weigh up how much energy you can commit to reducing your diaper budget.

I'm Willing to Sacrifice on Conscience
Cheap disposables are affordable and quite convenient, especially if you can get them delivered. With these, you're sacrificing on quality and responsibility.

I'm Willing to Sacrifice on Convenience
Cloth diapers can be responsible and kind, if the materials are responsibly sourced, but they do require some extra work.

I'm Willing to Sacrifice on Cost
High-end diapers can be a responsible and convenient choice, but you'll pay a lot more than you would per month for average diapers.

I'm Not Willing to Sacrifice on Anything
Parents don't actually want to make any of those sacrifices when it comes to their babies. Now, thanks to consumer pressure and some passionate people, new, responsible brands like DYPER offer an excellent alternative.

Choose What's Right for Your Family

It can be hard for new parents to imagine life with a baby. Switching between cloth and disposable diapers can be expensive, so it's worth doing your research well before you choose. Remember, though, that these decisions are not set in stone. If you choose a diaper brand and then find that you don't like it, you can always change your mind.

It's obvious that some diapering options are better than others, but which diapers you use is a personal choice. The process doesn't need to be complicated. Simply decide what's important, work out your diaper budget, and choose the best fit.