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Welcome to my Baby Registry blog series!

Baby Registry Essentials: Diaper Changing, is the first topic we will be covering in detail. This series was very important to me as I found navigating the registry creation very overwhelming when I was pregnant, and had no idea where to start.

I had friends and family telling me all different stuff, giving me product recommendations and reading everything I could online. I wanted to create a place for first time moms to get product recommendations and tips from a recent first time mom as well.

Hope the Registry Blog series helps you make informed decisions for your own Baby Registry! Please keep in mind, that these are my personal experiences over the last 18 months and not every product works for every baby.

To get our free Baby Registry Checklist that has everything you will need to buy/register for, sign up for our newsletter below and download the checklist!

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15 Baby Registry Essentials: Diaper Changing!

15 Diaper Changing Baby Registry Essentials

DIAPERS

Depending on the brand the hospital carries is what you will start off with. I don’t recommend bringing your own diapers as they will provide them for you and you have enough to bring already. Here is the thing with diapers, every kid is different and some work better than others, so there is no go-to diaper, it’s just what works for you.

My journey was this: used Huggies in the hospital, came home and kept going with them. I liked them a lot and they worked for my son. I tried Pampers and a few others that came in my welcome boxes from the registries and didn’t like any of them. A few months in I found the target brand!

But like I said previously, find what brand you like and go with that. I also was not a fan of the Kirkland brand through Costco and since you can’t take advantage of the discounts either through Amazon or Target, (see below) I never revisited them.

TIP #1: If you create an Amazon Baby Registry, you will receive a discount for diapers up until you spend a certain amount, I want to say it’s like $300 or something close to that. I used Huggies until the amazon discount ran out then switched to Target Up & Up Brand.

TIP #2: Once a month, Target does a “Buy $100, get a $20 gift card” or a similar promotion on baby products. Monitor the Target app so that you can take advantage of this and stock up on items like diapers and baby food specifically when the time comes. But only after you have exhausted your Amazon diaper discount!

Overnight Diapers: Once your baby hits 16 pounds you can start using the Overnight Diapers which are a lifesaver, I can’t recommend them enough. I used Huggies in the beginning then switched to the Target Up & Up. Then my son started leaking a lot during the night, I would say at least 4 times a week, when he was around 16 months old. We switched back to the Huggies and he has only leaked once in about 6 weeks. The Huggies are definitely more expensive, but I think overall I would recommend sticking with them if you can.

I would also recommend sizing up for Overnight Diapers if your baby is still leaking. Start with a box of the size 3 when the time comes, see how that goes, but if you still have leaks, then try sizing up. We did that for a long time and it worked great.

Wipes

I feel VERY strongly about the wipes situation. 🙂 First, my son has super sensitive skin and dealt with extreme diaper rash and eczema for the first year. I tried MULTIPLE different types of wipes, Huggies, Pampers, Kirkland, Water Wipes, Target Up & Up, among others and what I hated most about them all is that they either stick together or they tear easily. When it comes to wipes you need efficient, fast and easy to use wipes packs, you do not have time to mess around with tearing or having to break them apart in the middle of a diaper change.

Each hospital is different so you won’t know what they use, but whatever it is will be fine for the first few days, you do not need to bring your own. I use a combination of a few types depending on what is going on.

TIP#1: You can use baby wipes for EVERYTHING! Spit up on the couch? Baby Wipe. Trust me, once you have baby wipes in the house, you will wonder how you ever got along without them! I have a pack everywhere. Pretty much every room and the car. So great for the car! Cleans everything. The highchair, cleaning up your baby after eating, etc.

TIP#2: When you come home from the hospital have on hand the following: The original Water Wipes and my favorite, Amazon Elements Sensitive. Use the Amazon Elements Sensitive for every day use and the Water Wipes when their butt is red or you have a rash going on.

Once your baby gets a little older you can switch to the Mama Bear Water Wipes as they are cheaper, and Amazon Elements Fragrance Free if you like them better. But I would always have some Water Wipes (either the Original ones or the Mama Bear ones) on hand for diaper rashes which will most likely come and go throughout the first year and sometimes longer.

My favorite wipes are the Amazon Elements Sensitive. I use those now exclusively, but have a box of Mama Bear Wipes on hand in the event of a serious rash. Also, sometimes the Amazon Elements go out of stock, so I always bulk order and then use the Mama Bear as backup if I ever can’t get them. I haven’t used the Original Water Wipes since he was about 3 months old, as they are just way too expensive for long term use and I don’t think entirely necessary for most babies.

A lot of people will tell you to get the specific Hand, Face, Pacifier Wipes. You can definitely do that, however you will spend an absolute fortune buying all those different types of wipes and they conveniently come in very small packs. I did it in the beginning and ditched it very quickly.

Diaper Creams

There are so many different diaper creams and when I registered I put several on the list to try. Everyone has an opinion on this stuff. Here is the combination of products I have settled on after a year of dealing with a baby who had sensitive skin and eczema:

For every day use, the Boudreaux’s Butt Paste maximum strength and we also use the sensitive skin version at night as well. We use Aquaphor for spot treatments when it gets really chapped, and I also use baby powder on top of the Butt Paste at night before he goes to bed if its particularly red. I am not sure if its actually doing anything but it seems to get better quicker for us.

TIP #1: If you have a baby with sensitive skin or eczema, and especially in the beginning, use the diaper cream after every poopy diaper. It’s the only way we can prevent diaper rashes for our son ,and even then if he has a lot in one day we still can’t avoid it.

TIP #2: Get the Aquaphor early if possible, especially if you are reading this while still pregnant, as you will most likely need Aquaphor for yourself as well if you have dry skin, chapped lips, etc. Also, it will come in handy if your baby has eczema on their face, body, or has cradle cap. (More on that in another post).

TIP #3: Once you decide on a diaper cream, get the tub versions like below if possible. Much more cost effective and you are not constantly buying it. I have a tub at each changing station and then I have a regular tube of the regular version that I keep in the diaper bag.

Changing Stations

Deciding on your changing station setup in your home can be a lot. You have to decide if you are going to get a changing table, convert a dresser, have a portable version or just a pad on the floor. My sons bedroom is not the biggest to begin with and I knew right away from advice given to me, don’t get another piece of furniture to clutter the nursery, its just not necessary. If you have a large nursery and have the space to fill then it might make sense, but I always planned on just using the top of the dresser.

With that in mind I have a two story house and didn’t realize how inconvenient it would be to go upstairs for every diaper change, especially in the beginning. Then add to it, I ended up having a C-section and ended up living downstairs for the first 6 weeks anyway….

Thankfully someone had given us a Pack n Play that had the removable changing pad on top of it, and that became our primary changing station for the first 6 months. We also had the changing pad on top of the dresser in his room, but only used that at night after bath.

TIP #1: If you have a two story house, I strongly suggest you set up two changing stations, one downstairs and one upstairs. They do not have to be elaborate, just a place with the necessities. If you want to go minimal, then a changing pad and a container to hold some wipes, diapers and diaper cream is all you need at each station.

I like the Diaper Caddy below for holding all the supplies. I of course registered for some really cute ones that matched the decor of his Nursery, but soon realized they get messy from the diaper cream and most of them are not big enough. I found this thing and I love it. Durable, big, holds a ton of diapers, creams, wipes, etc. I have one downstairs and upstairs.

I fell victim to that a lot when creating my original registry. I wanted everything to match and go together and then quickly realized that efficiency was much more important.

TIP #2: For the downstairs station, a few recommendations:

Use the Pack n Play for the changing station, if yours came with the changing pad topper and has the storage basket on the side. One thing to note is if you plan to use the Pack n Play for naps or playtime, then you will have to constantly take the changing topper on and off. My son did not use it for either of those things so we didn’t have to take it off almost ever and it was super convenient. He is however really tall and outgrew it within 6 months.
Use a portable changing station like the one below. If you do this, get the waterproof liners to put down so when you have a messy diaper change you can just pick that up and clean it and switch it out very easily.
Get the portable changing pad, and just put it on the floor or on a table somewhere. This is the same pad you should get if you plan to do a dresser changing station in the Nursery as well. It fits nicely on most dressers and will last along time. Plus is super easy to clean, you just wipe it off with a baby wipe for the most part.

TIP #3: For the upstairs/nursery changing station: If you plan to do the dresser version, get the portable changing pad below and the Pad Topper that secures it to the dresser for safety. You don’t necessarily need the pad covers since its so easy to clean, but it can be cold in the winter months, so if you want a little more comfort for your baby, get the covers that you can easily pull off and wash.

TIP #4: If you have a one story house I would get the Portable Changing Station below and call it a day. The beauty of it is that it is PORTABLE and you can move it into whatever room you need, living areas during the day, the nursery at night, your bedroom in the beginning when they still sleep in there, etc. It will house all the diaper changing supplies and you wont have to all lying around. If I had a one story house I would definitely do this the second time around. Then you keep the dresser clear for other items as well.

Lastly, diaper bins, you need somewhere to get rid of the dirty diapers! I like the original Diaper Genie. I have two, one upstairs and one downstairs. This works just fine. I like this because I found some really cheap Genie refills and this is just not something I want to spend a lot of money on.

Travel & Accessories

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ITEMS YOU WILL BUY IS THE BABY BUM BRUSH! Trust me when I tell you, just go buy this thing right now. You will absolutely NOT regret it! The Baby Bum Brush is a diaper cream applicator and one of my all time favorite baby products. No longer do we have to use our fingers to smear that disgusting stuff all over our babies bottoms! It smells terrible and sucks when you are not at home and can’t wash your hands. I have one of these at each changing station and in the diaper bag.

When you are done applying the diaper cream, you just use a baby wipe to clean it off, its got a suction cup on the bottom of it so it stays upright and I just stick it to the top of the diaper cream tub. Then give it a good wash every couple of days. My mom is so jealous that they didn’t have these when I was a baby. I am telling you its the best thing ever 🙂

If you are having a boy, then get a set of cheap wash cloths for diaper changes. We refer to these as the “pee-pee tee-pee”. These are specifically to act as a shield so you don’t get peed on in the middle of the diaper change, or have it stream over you and onto the floor. This happened more than one time to us and so we quickly learned you need a shield. 🙂 I get a different color than his regular wash cloths for bathing so we didn’t mix them up and just kept them at the changing station.

You should get a travel changing pad to have in the car or in your diaper bag. I like the one below because it has a lot of pockets to keep stuff like a few diapers, cream, the bum brush, etc. So if you are at the park or need to do a quick change in the car, you can lay them down on this pad, and not mess up the seat in the car, someones carpet, etc.

Last but not least, the disposable diaper bags. I keep a couple of these in the diaper bag, a couple in the travel changing pad and several in the trunk of the car. They are great for disposing of dirty diapers on the go, wet clothes when your baby leaks or has an accident on the go, wet swim stuff if needed, etc. You can get a huge pack of them, I still haven’t used all of my original box and its been 18 months. In fact, I am not even close. They are great for a lot of things.

Circumcision Care

If you are having a boy and decide to circumcise your baby there is additional care for the first few weeks. They will teach you how to care for it specifically in the hospital but I strongly recommend getting this specific petroleum jelly to use until its healed for a couple reasons. Its cost effective and its very easy to just apply using the tube instead of your fingers or q-tips, etc. Occasionally you might miss, but you will get the hang of it.

This is also the stuff they used in the hospital so it came recommended. Get the 12 pack, you will go through most of it as you have to do it every time you change their diaper essentially. And if you don’t use it all, you will be able to use it for other things like diaper rashes, etc. Plus, I like these small tubes for on the go, having one in the diaper bag. You don’t want to carry around a big tub of Aquaphor or Vaseline, etc.

CURAD Petroleum Jelly Skin Protectant

Things You Don’t Need

Wipe Dispensers and Wipe Warmers
Special wipes for things like pacifiers, highchairs, etc.
Special or expensive Diaper Caddies