How building a diaper stockpile will save you money baby’s first year
As a mom-to-be or new mom, you’re likely overwhelmed with all the changes in your life. Compounding all this change is a shift in your lifestyle and spending. You’re likely dealing with childcare costs or have reduced your income to stay at home with your baby. And man, baby stuff can be EXPENSIVE. One of my favorite hobbies during pregnancy and postpartum was finding out how to get the best deal on diapers and creating a diaper stockpile for the first year.
The great news is you can begin stockpiling diapers anytime during your pregnancy (or even early postpartum days) and you’ll never have to worry about paying full price for diapers. C’mon, 28-30 cents PER DIAPER is madness when you’re going through 15 diapers a day with a newborn. Find out how we created massive savings with a diaper stockpile – and paid less than 20 cents per diaper for our baby’s first year.
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What’s changed in diaper stockpiling since 2016
I did the first version of this post in 2017 when my first daughter was one. Here’s a link to the original version with pricing from 2016-2017. The strategies used in that post are still relevant, but I’ve updated and refreshed for 2020 since I have another new little one on the way!
Related: Diaper Deals: how to stock up with massive savings
The main thing that seems to have changed since 2016-2017 is that the awesome stacking coupons I was finding at drug stores are much fewer and farther between. That said, there are still great savings to be had – they just aren’t available weekly like they were a few years ago.
There are a few things you need to think about when starting a diaper stockpile and I’m going to lay them all out for you right now. Without further ado, let’s dive right into how you’re going to get massive savings on all your diapers for the first year (or two, or three).
Diaper Stockpile: Where will I store all these diapers?
Before we get too deep into how to save, you probably want to know how many diapers you need at each size. You’ll also want to assess your living space and figure out how many diapers you can actually store.
Your diaper stockpile will look different if you live in a three-bedroom house with a basement versus a one-bedroom NYC apartment. So, find out how much room you actually have. There are a ton of places you can store diapers (especially the drug store jumbo packs) that I wouldn’t have thought about. Other than the obvious one of in the closet, try:
- Under the crib
- Under other beds
- In the garage (on a shelf or where no water can seep in if you’re in a damp or snowy area)
- In the attic or basement
Assignment 1: Figure out how many diapers (jumbo packs or giant boxes) you can actually store in a place that won’t make you crazy. If you’re closer to the 1 BR apartment camp and your only storage is the middle of the living room you might not be happy to have 10 boxes of diapers sitting around for a year. This is totally up to you. Go figure out what works for you and we’ll keep going.
How many diapers do I need to create a diaper stockpile?
This is a tough one to answer because every baby is a different size when they’re born and they all grow at different rates. However, we can easily do an ESTIMATE and work from there.
I will say that my first baby dropped down to 5 lbs. 4 oz. when we left the hospital and was in Newborn diapers for much longer than any of the diaper stockpile charts said she would be. This is just something you’ll have to deal with based on the needs of your individual baby.
I’d err on not buying too many newborn diapers since many babies do grow out of these quickly and you don’t want to be stuck with tons of diapers you can’t use. That said, focus your efforts on sizes 1-3 and you should get pretty far through the first year.
Once you get closer to your due date or after baby is born, you can try diaper planner to see how many diapers you’ll need based on your baby’s size.
Total diapers needed at each size
I looked across the web and literally EVERY. SINGLE. SITE. had a different recommendation on how many diapers you’d need at each size. This is probably because everyone has a different sized baby. Even bloggers who surveyed their larger audiences just ended up aggregating babies of different sizes, so the number of diapers you need changes dramatically.
Since this will vary for each baby, use the chart below as a guide and you can finish your stockpile after baby is born. These are just averages from about 7 sources across the web.
Typically your baby will spend the most time in sizes 2-3, but since every baby is different, I’d grab up the lower end of diapers necessary for each size, and then use the diaper deals as they come up once your baby is born. Many times growth spurts
*Top Tip: keep receipts for each diaper box or jumbo pack taped on the outside of the pack. You can usually return or exchange the diapers for a larger or smaller size if you have a receipt.*
Total number of diapers needed at each size
| Size | Weight | Avg. # diapers/day | How long diaper usually fits (months) | How many diapers you’ll need |
| Newborn | < 10 lbs. | 6-9 | 1 | ~300 |
| Size 1 | 8-14 lbs. | 6-9 | 2.5 | ~590 |
| Size 2 | 12-18 lbs. | 6-9 | 2.5 | ~590 |
| Size 3 | 16-28 lbs. | 5-7 | 10 | ~900 |
| Size 4 | 22-37 lbs. | 5-7 | 10 | |
| Size 5 | > 27 lbs. | 5-7 | 14 | |
| Size 6 | > 35 lb.s | 5-7 | 14 |
*Sources: Pampers.com, Krazy Coupon Lady (based on 7 lb. baby)
Assignment 2: Begin your stock up with a lower end amount of each size (Newborn – size 3) and as you get closer to your due date try to get a more accurate read on how many diapers you’ll need. This may not be possible until after you have your baby
What prices are good enough to add to my diaper stockpile?
According to Krazy Coupon Lady, the stock up prices on Huggies and Pampers are between $3-5 per jumbo pack. Huggies stock up prices are $3-$4 per pack and Pampers prices are $4-$5 per jumbo pack. I found this list in January 2020 – so keep that in mind if you’re reading this in the future!
I’m going to base these guides and prices on brand name Huggies and Pampers diapers, but you can score AWESOME deals on store brands or discount diapers if you’re willing to try those as well.
If you see prices that go down to $3-4 per pack, you should try and get that deal multiple times in the week it’s available. Have your friends and family print extra coupons for you so you can take maximum advantage!
| Diaper Size | Price Per Diaper |
| Newborn | $0.13 – $0.16 |
| Size 1 | $0.12 – $0.14 |
| Size 2 | $0.14 – $0.16 |
| Size 3 | $0.16 – $0.18 |
| Size 4 | $0.18 – $0.20 |
Source: Passion for savings
The best places to build your diaper stockpile
Drug Stores
The best place I found to build my diaper stockpile with our first daughter was at drug stores. Using the weekly coupon deals and combining them with online coupons, coupons from newspapers or magazines, or large rebates was the best way to get the biggest discounts.
We have a CVS and Rite Aid in my area, and typically they run specials on Huggies and Pampers on alternate weeks, at least once a month.
You can go to Krazy Coupon Lady’s baby deals page and find the best diaper deals of the week beginning Sunday.
Sometimes CVS will even print an additional $5 off $25 diapers and wipes that you can stack with the other coupons to get the very best diaper deals available.
Biggest Wins of diaper stockpiling at drug stores
- Usually, get the largest discounts
- Smaller diaper packs are easier to go through when you get close to sizing up
- Great deals on brand name diapers
Biggest challenges of using the drug store method
- Usually need multiple printed coupons to stack and get the best deal. Printed coupons have print limits per account and computer
- You have to physically go to the store
- You’ll need to go multiple times in one week if you get a great deal to stock up
- You have to be careful not to let your extra care bucks or store discount points expire or the deals aren’t really even deals. Drug store prices without discounts are HIGH!
Target
Target has been another great place to snag awesome deals. They will run a $10 off $50 or $20 off $100 baby item discount, and usually have additional coupons in the app for diaper deals. These deals pop up every couple of months and are usually good enough to do a stock up run.
Biggest pros of diaper stockpiling at Target
- You get a gift card that doesn’t expire so you’re not constantly checking dates to ensure your points don’t expire
- You’re stockpiling larger packs of diapers so you don’t need the deals as frequently
- The additional coupons needed to get the best deal are usually in the Target app already so you don’t have to worry about print limits or finding a printer to get the best deal
Biggest challenges of Target
- You typically have to be willing to spend $50-$100 to get the deal. Target is a money pit for me so this isn’t abnormal, but it’s an investment
- The deals aren’t quite as good as the deep discounts at drug stores
- You need to be able to store super packs and boxes of diapers, and risk that your baby grows out of a huge box without being able to use it up if you’re close in sizes
Are you expecting a baby? If so, you’ll probably need to think about childcare. Download our FREE childcare checklist and questionnaire so you know exactly what to look out for during your daycare visit or nanny interview!
Places that are *sometimes* good to build your diaper stockpile
I’m lumping Amazon and Club Warehouses into this category because so many people automatically think the deals are best in these locations, when in fact, sometimes they aren’t even good.
For instance, if I don’t have a good deal available and am willing to buy Huggies Snug N Dry, Sam’s Club typically has them for $0.15 – $0.19 cents per diaper. This isn’t a bad price, but I’d rather get one of the nicer versions of Huggies for this price. Just because you’re buying in bulk doesn’t mean you’re getting the best deal.
The same applies to Amazon. Just because you’re buying in bulk doesn’t mean the price per diaper is that low. A discount of $2 off a jumbo pack at the drug store is a much higher discount per diaper than a $2 coupon of a 200 ct. Box online.
Occasionally there will be good sales at both club and on Amazon, you just need to watch the deals and ensure you’re getting a low price per diaper — not just a coupon for $4-5/off the box.
Assignment 3: Find out all the stores in the area (drug stores, Target, etc.) that run good diaper deals and get on their email lists. Begin comparing the diaper deals in each location weekly and stock up on sizes Newborn – three throughout your pregnancy whenever prices dip.
What to do next after you stockpile diapers
As you’re planning out all your expenses and things you’ll need for baby, be sure to check out my comprehensive baby registry guide to ensure you aren’t wasting money on things you don’t really need.
Related: Baby Registry 101 – What you REALLY need the first year
Building a diaper stockpile will help alleviate the stress of running out of diapers in the early days, and will help you take control of the crazy baby expenses of the first year. Although no one method is foolproof, with a little planning you can achieve massive savings on diapers!
Let me know your best ways to save!
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