Among all of the new experiences you’ll face as a new parent, perhaps one of the most important to prepare for is diapers. Changing a baby any hour of the day, sometimes in the dark, is a journey. Not to mention, the cost of diapers is quite significant. You can guarantee this will become a regular monthly expense for your family budget for at least two years.
Whether you plan to go the disposable or reusable route for diapers, we want to help eliminate the unknown by sharing some real numbers after tracking every single disposable diaper we changed over year one.
How Many Diapers Should You Buy?
Although this might seem like a logical question, it can be challenging to say exactly how many diapers you will need, given that every baby is unique and each baby will grow at a different rate. However, we can share the exact number of diapers we changed in one year, and how many boxes that totalled up to.
In year one, my partner and I changed 2,057 diapers. The largest box of diapers that you can buy contains 198 diapers. This means you can estimate you’ll buy around ten boxes of diapers in year one – or just under one box per month.
The tough part about buying diapers is knowing how many of each size you may need to buy. But luckily, because we did our due diligence, we can share how many diapers we changed each month and in what size to help you prepare for an upcoming baby shower, or request gifts from friends and family.
- Month one, size newborn or one
- Month two, size one or two
- Month three, size two
- Month four, size three
- Month five, size three
- Month six, size four
- Month seven, size four
- Month eight, size four
- Month nine, size four
- Month ten, size four
- Month 11, size five
- Month 12, size five
How Many Diapers Will You Change Each Month?
Now that you know what size of diapers you might need each month, the next question to ask is how many diapers you need for each month. One thing you will note is that as your baby grows, the fewer diapers you will change.
For instance, in month one, we changed over 300 diapers. In month 12, we changed 92 diapers. You change so many diapers in the earlier months because your baby is only consuming milk or formula, which is easily digested. Once you introduce solids, you may find that you begin to change fewer diapers around the six-month mark. You will also notice another decrease in the number of diapers you change once your baby starts to sleep through the night.
If anything, it gives you something to look forward to – until you consider that your monthly grocery bill might be increasing instead of the cost of diapers.
- Month one, 331
- Month two, 260
- Month three, 219
- Month four, 159
- Month five, 166
- Month six, 148
- Month seven, 142
- Month eight, 150
- Month nine, 113
- Month ten, 142
- Month 11, 135
- Month 12, 92
How Much Do Diapers Cost?
Depending on whether you use disposable or reusable diapers, the cost will vary. If you use disposable diapers, a box’s average price can run you anywhere from $25 to $44. The average price you’ll pay is around $0.23 per diaper.
Our total cost for just diapers in one year was $505.65, which could have been a lot lower if we were more prepared. If you’re looking to save money on disposable diapers, you can sign up for the monthly Huggies subscription from Amazon. You can score 198 diapers per box for $29.82. This is the cheapest place to buy disposable diapers in Canada.
However, after including all of the diaper accessories we purchased, like a diaper bin and its corresponding scented diaper bags, all of the diaper creams and wipes we bought, our total was $825 for the year.
As for reusable diapers, according to Kerry Taylor from Squawkfox, a reusable diaper kit, or the collection of cloth diapers you need, can cost up to $450. She also ran the numbers on how much she spent washing these diapers, which she estimates cost around $324.75. Her annual total for cloth diapers came to $774.75.
You can also hire a service to collect your cloth diapers and clean them for you, which, on average, can cost anywhere from $18 to $24 per week.
Should You Use Cloth or Disposable Diapers?
Like most things you’ll have to buy as a parent, it’s always a good idea to run a cost analysis or pros and cons list to determine which item is the best buy.
Given the cost of diapers, no matter which route you choose, you will be spending at least $750 per year on diapers. Regardless of this, there are other considerations when determining whether cloth or disposable diapers are the right decision.
The Pros and Cons of Disposable Diapers
There are a few obvious advantages and disadvantages of disposable diapers, but to be sure, let’s look at the pros and cons.
| Pros of disposable diapers | Cons of disposable diapers |
| – Convenience – Breathable materials – Hypoallergenic materials – More sizes available | – They are costly – Can cause skin rashes – Potential delay in potty training – Hard on the environment |
As for cloth diapers, the most obvious benefit is the environmental impact. But, let’s look at a more thorough list of pros and cons.
| Pros of cloth diapers | Cons of cloth diapers |
| – Good for the environment – Gentle for sensitive skin – Waterproof bands – Potential for quicker potty training | – Less convenient to clean – More laundry days – Less absorbent material – Fewer sizes available |
Regardless of what option you choose, the most important thing is that your child is happy, healthy, and clean.
How Much Should You Budget for Diapers?
Now that we know how many diapers you may change in months one through 12, it’s a bit easier to set a budget for your baby. According to my numbers, here is an estimate of how much you can expect to spend on diapers:
- Month one, $50.69
- Month two, $38.77
- Month three, $32.80
- Month four, $23.86
- Month five, $25.05
- Month six, $22.37
- Month seven, $21.47
- Month eight, $22.66
- Month nine, $17.00
- Month ten, $21.47
- Month 11, $20.28
- Month 12, $13.72
No matter how prepared you are, there may be a time when you cannot predict how much you’ll spend on diapers. It could just take one quick road trip where you forget your diaper bag (guilty), to end up buying a smaller package of diapers at a higher cost to throw off the entire budget.
So, as someone who calls herself a personal finance nerd, it only makes sense to round up your monthly budget line for diapers to $50, which will hopefully cover any additional expenses, like rash cream or extra wipes.
In the end, the best thing you can do to prepare for the cost of diapers is to build a budget before your baby arrives and do your best to stick to the numbers you think make the most sense.
