This article talks about the important things when buying baby diapers. You should try them first, pick the right size based on the baby’s weight, look for good water absorption and breathability, be careful of harmful stuff and bad smells, and work out the price of each diaper. When choosing the size, think about the baby’s weight, how much urine they make, the waist size, and so on, and what they need at different ages. Water absorption is shown by how much leaks and seeps. Bad breathability can cause diaper rash, so get some cream ready. Also, watch out for harmful things like acrylic monomers and formaldehyde. For diapers with strange smells, see if they’re OK. Finally, when you buy, find out the price of each diaper to see if it’s good value for money.
- Try First, Then Buy
There is no best product for everyone; only the one that suits oneself, because everyone’s needs are different, and so are diaper products. The diapers that the vast majority of people are buying are not necessarily suitable for you because your baby’s physical condition and family growth environment are unique, so you need to choose diapers based on your specific situation.
Unlike the troublesome process of changing baby milk powder, when purchasing diapers for the first time, you can choose 2 – 3 brands of products and buy some of each. Based on the feedback during actual use, you can ultimately decide which brand to reserve for later. It is particularly necessary to mention some diaper brand products from non-formal channels. Many of them are shoddy products from small factories. It is really heart-wrenching for the children who grew up using these diaper products.
- Choose the Size Based on Weight
In the actual use process of diapers, one of the core issues may be when to use what size of diapers for the baby. The vast majority of newborns can start directly with NB (a few fat babies with astonishing birth weights may need to use size S directly), and then choose the appropriate diaper size based on the baby’s weight. As the baby’s weight keeps increasing, the size of the diapers also needs to be matched.
Of course, sometimes it is also necessary to comprehensively judge whether the diaper size needs to be upgraded based on factors such as the actual urine volume of your baby, waist circumference, and tightness at the thigh root. It cannot be generalized based on weight alone. Par exemple, if you find that the baby’s diaper has almost bulged into a bag when you get up every morning and it feels damp when touched, you should consider upgrading the size. Also, if the adhesive tape of the diaper waist is getting tighter or the elastic at the thigh root leaves a red mark on the baby’s skin, it is time to consider changing to a larger size diaper immediately. These judgment criteria or basis are not too complicated. New parents just need to be observant.
En outre, it should be noted that the baby’s needs for diaper products may be somewhat different at different age stages. Par exemple, babies under six months old have basically no independent activity ability and lie on the crib most of the time. Therefore, the requirements for diapers at this stage are sufficient breathability and softness, with the key being to prevent diaper rash.
We will focus on breathability later. During this most painful period for new parents (it is indeed very painful. Parents taking care of the baby basically do not sleep well at night and have no energy during the day and are easily irritated and lose their temper), the baby’s excretion function may not be regular. New parents cannot precisely control the timing and can only observe, smell, and change diapers frequently. Do not let the baby’s bottom be wrapped in excessive accumulated urine in the diaper for a long time, which can lead to diaper rash. Diaper rash is quite annoying, causing the baby to be agitated and cry. At this time, the baby’s suffering may affect development, and at the same time, the sleep and rest of new parents will also be greatly affected. No matter how good the quality and how expensive the diapers are, there is no guarantee that they can definitely prevent diaper rash. The key lies in the responsibility of new parents.
The diligence and responsibility of parents are the best weapons against diaper rash
After the baby is over six months old, they can basically start to learn to crawl and explore the world. New parents can also basically handle various emergencies skillfully and are no longer as flustered as before. So at this time, diapers may need to consider their leak-proof property more. Generally, diapers have leak-proof slots on the sides. Good diapers’ leak-proof strips can completely block urine and feces. Another point is that after putting on the diaper, be sure to pull out the leak-proof strip (just hook it along the thigh root with one finger) and do not let it stick to the bottom of the diaper.
When the baby is one year old, they can basically start running and jumping on the ground. Some super babies may be able to help their parents buy soy sauce. At this time, the design and cutting of diapers may need to be more suitable for the baby’s body shape. Bulky diapers will seriously affect the baby’s activities, while diapers that are too small and too tight are likely to abrade the baby’s inner thigh skin. Good diapers will be designed based on the baby’s physiological characteristics at this period, allowing the baby to be both close-fitting and able to move freely after wearing them. Par exemple, the use of U-shaped close-fitting cutting reduces the area of the diaper crotch. Of course, it may be better to choose to use pull-up pants for the baby at this time to cultivate the habit of paying attention to personal hygiene and health from an early age.
It is necessary to briefly talk about pull-up pants here. Experts suggest that babies over one year old should use pull-up pants to replace diapers as much as possible (some brand products have begun to guide users that babies as young as 3 months can use size S pull-up pants). First, pull-up pants can be put on and taken off freely like underwear, while the process of putting on and taking off diapers is quite troublesome, especially when the baby gets older and may not be so obedient (the first rebellious period of life begins…). At this time, the process of putting on diapers for him/her may be very, very “arduous”. En outre, babies wearing pull-up pants can start training their conscious urination and defecation, and cultivate their independent habits and consciousness from an early age.
- Water Absorption is the Most Important
The performance of water absorption of diapers determines the quality of diaper products because it is a comprehensive test of core indicators such as the structural design and material composition of diaper products. After all, diapers with poor water absorption will cause great suffering to the baby.
Then, as an ordinary consumer, how can we use our limited ability to obtain information to judge the performance of water absorption of different brand diaper products?
The water absorption test of diapers mainly has three indicators: sliding seepage volume, re-seepage volume, and leakage volume. As the name suggests, the sliding seepage volume is the amount of urine that flows over the surface of the diaper and is not absorbed. The re-seepage volume is the amount of urine that returns to the baby’s skin surface under a certain pressure after the diaper absorbs a certain amount of the baby’s urine, and the leakage volume is the amount of urine that leaks out from the outer surface of the diaper under a certain pressure after the diaper absorbs a certain amount of the baby’s urine.
Simply put: Good-quality diapers will not leak from the outer surface after absorbing urine, nor will they re-seep to the baby’s skin contact surface, and of course, they will not fail to absorb urine.
- Good Breathability, Less Diaper Rash
Another important indicator of diapers is breathability because the inside of diapers will be wrapped with the baby’s urine for a long time, so it will be relatively humid. If the breathability is poor, it is easy to cause diaper rash for the baby.
Some diapers will use their ultra-thin characteristics in publicity to illustrate the good breathability of their products. The thickness of diapers is actually two sides of the same coin. Because thin diapers may have better breathability, but at the same time, their water absorption may not be equally excellent. Do not only pursue absolute thinness. If you are worried about diaper rash, you can prepare diaper rash cream in advance, which can greatly alleviate the probability of diaper rash. Cependant, applying diaper rash cream in winter is quite resistant for the baby because that feeling is indeed quite cold.
- Residual Harmful Substances are Hazardous
Diapers mainly absorb water through the internal super absorbent polymer (SAP), and the main chemical component is acrylic polymer. This substance itself is very safe, but there may be residual unpolymerized acrylic monomers attached to the diaper surface during the production process. Because acrylic monomers have a certain irritating effect on the baby’s skin, it may cause diaper rash problems for the baby.
En outre, it is also necessary to beware of whether there is formaldehyde in the harmful residual substances of diapers. Usually, diaper products from brands with a history basically do not contain such harmful substances because substances such as formaldehyde can be easily detected under current technical conditions. Some hardcore parents even bought instruments to measure formaldehyde themselves, so products from big brands are better in this regard. Other residual substances include fluorescent brighteners, bleaching agents, and even alcohol, which are very unfavorable to the baby’s health.
- Pay Attention to Pungent Odors
Products with special odors may be related to the materials used in diapers. Of course, it cannot be expected that diapers have no smell at all. After all, they are industrial products processed by combining different materials. Par exemple, the PE film used at the bottom of diapers is a polyethylene film, which can prevent urine from leaking out. This material is odorless and non-toxic but has a certain smell. En outre, the production process of diapers requires multiple gluing and scraping processes. The adhesive used for diapers is hot-melt pressure-sensitive adhesive, which is also safe and non-toxic but still has a little glue smell. Finally, diapers need to go through sterilization processes such as high-temperature sterilization, disinfectants, and ultraviolet sterilization before leaving the factory (medical masks also require similar disinfection processes before leaving the factory). If the residual smell of the disinfectant does not completely dissipate during ventilation before packaging, it may also be smelled by users after opening the box.
If a particularly pungent smell can be smelled immediately after opening the diaper package (not the acceptable slight smell produced during the normal factory production process), and other family members can also smell it, there may be a problem and the source of the pungent smell needs to be further understood. Of course, this pungent smell includes not only bad smells but also unnatural fragrances. Some unscrupulous diaper manufacturers may add essence and other substances to cover up the bad smell emitted by their inferior products. Relatively speaking, diapers that emit fragrance may arouse more vigilance.
As long as it is ensured that they are regular products purchased from regular channels, you can put the diapers in a ventilated place, and the normal smell produced during the production process will disappear soon. En outre, it is recommended to take the diapers out of the packaging and place them in a clean storage box. After complete ventilation and dissipation, it is convenient for storage and subsequent use.
- Calculate the Price per Diaper
The most important indicator for evaluating the cost performance of diapers is the price per diaper, which can be obtained by dividing the actual payment amount for the entire package by the total number of diapers in the entire package. After all, thousands of diapers are used in a year. If a little can be saved for each diaper, a considerable amount of money can be saved throughout the year.
Generally, the larger the size, the more expensive the price per diaper. This is also easy to understand. After all, the product size is much larger and the material cost will also increase a lot. If it is urgent, just buy a small amount at the nearby mother and baby store. Diapers are fast-moving consumer goods. The profit margin of sales channels is not too large when selling, so when there is a good promotion price for the product, it may be advisable to act quickly.
