Best Disposable Diaper for Travel

[bleuelephante]

I usually use cloth diapers, so I don't know anything about disposables, but want to use them for our vacation coming up. The thing is, my baby girl (6 months old) only poops every 3 or 4 days and when she does, it is enormous!! With cloth, it's okay, because the cloth diaper does it's job, but I just tried some chlorine-free Whole Foods brand diaper and a Target diaper and both were totally destroyed by her poop! She might as well have been naked, the poop went absolutely everywhere. There has to be a disposable diaper that holds in that poop, isn't there? I decided I don't care about chemicals for just 2 weeks, so any brand that works is what I'd like to get. I really don't want to worry about having a massive explosion every 3 days with poop going everywhere. I had to give her a full bath both times when she pooped in a disposable this past week. Also, I've heard it is normal for babies to only poop every few days, but it just seems weird, like she is saving it up and then it is shockingly huge when it comes, anyone else have this poop habit with their baby?

[skycheattraffic]

I've done sposies for the first year and then switched to cloth. Pampers weren't great at containing the explosive poop. I had to have the waist really tight but even so poop often leaked up her back. Huggies were a little better but not by much. My DD would often go a week or more between poops before we started solids and they were massive! Huggies have elastic around the waist and that acts a little like a gusset. Pampers have stretchy tabs and the diaper is flat on baby's back so if it's a big messy poop, you're at the mercy of whether it shoots up the front (messy cleanup, multiple wipes) or the back (bath and new outfit). Since you CD, would you consider taking a couple of diaper covers with you? Once day three dawns, you could put one on top of the sposie to contain the poop. If it gets dirty, you could wipe/wash the poo off in the bathroom while changing your baby and hang them to dry at night.

[LollyMolly]

I stick a disposable insert into my cloth diapers for travel.  The cloth can be used several times before anything leaks off the insert and the entire diaper needs to be changed.  I also keep some stashed in my diaper bag as a just in case measure.  I have been using the gDiapers brand since I still have them leftover from the newborn diapers I used with BumGenius 4.0 and they work great!

[rinap]

We preferred the Nature Baby to the whole foods brand (and liked both better than seventh generation) for traveling. We had good luck one trip with the Grovia inserts in Grovia covers, but no luck with them in other covers (not snug enough), and we decided that the small amount of plastic savings from the Grovia inserts not having fasteners wasn't worth the inconvenience of not being able to get more diapers where we were going. The Nature Baby seem to be carried at only some Whole Foods, though. And we have 3-times-a-day poopers, so our poop issues are different from yours.

[Nicole730]

I would recommend bring alonging diaper covers and just putting those over the cloth.  At least on the days you think she is going to poop.  Then you can just rinse the cover off and hang it to dry.  The only time I've ever had diapers leak poop is in disposables.  We've used Pampers (I don't recommend these just based on the smell), Huggies, Luvs, and Target brand - oh and Walgreens brand.  They all leak explosive poo, mostly up the back, but sometimes out the legs.  Fortunately, I haven't had a child with super explosive poo's on a regular basis and don't use disposables that often.

[Adaline'sMama]

I like Huggies Naturals for sposies. I found that they are great at containing poop, and cloth diapers are bulky for travel. Everytime I've traveled, Ive used sposies for the airplane/car ride part of the trip and then switched to my cloth once I arrived at the destination.

[MrsGregory]

We use disposables.  I intend to switch to cloth - have intended for some time now - and life just keeps getting in the way of me sitting down and getting a plan together and purchased.  I know, I know. 

Also, I admit;  I cloth diapered my brother back in the day and it was miiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiseeeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrrryyyyyyyyyyyy, so I know it has all changed, but I am dragging my feet in anticipation of just feeling like, "Ugh!" about it.

Anyway.

I use Pampers, and if you get the biggest size your little one fits in (for example, size 3 weight range and size 4 weight range overlap, and she could fit at the tail end of 3, but she's in 4s) and fold the top of the back and front in on themselves.

I won't lie, you may still wind up washing baby's hair (heehee), but it's your best shot.

Now encourage me to get off my duff and get a cloth kit ordered!

[skycheattraffic]

MrsGregory, that's a great tip for pampers. I used size 4's for a bit with my then one year old (she was at the bottom of the range but I ran out of 3's) and as soon as she peed, she would be dragging this great, saggy clump of gel practically between her knees. It looked terrible, like she had a giant turd in her pants lol. It was one of the many reasons I switched her to cloth at 12 months. Now I wish I had done it at 12 weeks! Btw if you're looking for an easy, bulletproof system, lOok into BestBottoms AI2 system. It is amazingly easy, the cover literally holds a lake of pee without leaking and it comes out pretty affordable because you need way fewer covers than inserts. I have everything from flats, to prefolds, fitteds and pockets but these are my hands down faves. Also much less bulky than most diaps I've seen. Check into them :-)

[Peony]

I always size up for disposable diapers. My just turned 1 year old has been wearing a size for 4 for months and months. It contains the mess a little better! 

[Adaline'sMama]

Originally Posted by Peony 

I always size up for disposable diapers. My just turned 1 year old has been wearing a size for 4 for months and months. It contains the mess a little better! 

My kid is so tiny. She's almost two and a half and she wears a size 3! LOL. Fours are just too big for her, but I typically have found that when using sposies that if I size up it doesnt contain the mess, it makes it come out the sides. But different diapers fit differently.

[MrsGregory]

skycheattraffic, thanks for the tip!  I shopped some cloth diapers today.  The Mr. has always been on board and encouraging, so we think that after we return from a long road trip we have planned in about 2 months, we'll be out of diapers and ready to take the plunge.  The lack of pins and horrid plastic pants is encouraging.

Sizing up in the disposables is a real "science" - you have to get them big enough to not lose the mess out the tops, but not so big you lose it out the sides.  I am very lucky, and although Little Miss is, at best, of average size, she is shaped like what you would expect to find in the dictionary next to "plush baby", so everything fits her like it's meant to fit, with rare exception.  I'll go knock on wood now.

[smiles2012]

I do a combo of mostly cloth and some disposable (mostly when I know she will have a disaster poo! I did not like pampers at all and found that she often leaked with them too.

I use Huggies snug and dry or little movers because to me, they do much better than the greener disposable version, and I am able to go true to size. So a size 3 holds everything in. LO is 16lb

[montessorimama1]

I use Earth's Best disposables when we travel, and definitely use a cover when you know the poop is coming!  I just use a cover now every time we use disposables.  The last time I didn't, we got poop on baby, his clothes, my clothes, and the Moby.  Fun stuff...  Oh, and don't use Seventh Generation, they are just AWFUL!  They hold nothing in, not even pee...

[smiles2012]

Chiming in one more time. It's unfortunate, but I have not found one environmentally friendly disposable that wouldn't leak at some point. If you don't want to wash covers, I'd go with a mainstream brand just for the trip. I have never had a leak from pee or poo when using huggies (not the naturals)...I have had leaks with the others.