Top 3 More Natural Disposable Diaper Brands

 When I became a parent, I was suddenly super conscious of all the bad things in our environment - and I wanted to do everything I could as a parent to spare my child from some of those bad things. I'm talking harsh chemicals that can harm skin, organs, and more. Have you ever wondered why cancer is so prevalent today? Why it seems like everyone has SOME type of illness? Why there are so many allergies? 

I'm sure that there is a LOT more to those questions than just the chemicals we expose our bodies to, but in regards to my babies, and diapers, I knew that was an easy thing I could research. When O was born, the hospital gave us Pampers, which sounds great because they've been around FOREVER - right? Surely they're safe because people have used them for generations upon generations. Except that he had consistent diaper rashes. All. The. Time. Despite being changed frequently and despite powders and creams. (Expect a blog post about diaper creams soon, too!) I tried a few different diaper brands and a few of them caused him to break out, which led me down a rabbit-hole searching for WHAT EXACTLY is in diapers and what components of diapers were causing my son to have rashes and allergic reactions. 

I started on my search to find a natural diaper brand that was 1) fully disclosing the ingredients used to create their diapers 2) Actually able to withstand a baby blowout and hold a decent amount of pee. 

When you think about going natural with diapers, your first thought may be expense. While some natural diaper brands do cost a small fortune, other brands have actually been able to compete with major marketers like Pampers and Huggies on price point AND quality. 

At first, I thought I just needed to search for an organic, all natural diaper. So I just googled natural diaper brands - and I got inundated with a ton of different products. Some of those products were legitimate and some of them had a single "natural" ingredient in them and were able to slap the "natural" label on themselves while still containing harsh chemicals like bleach, chlorine, fragrances, or even chemicals that produce formaldehyde gases. Yes, you read that right. Here's a red flag: diaper companies do NOT have to disclose the ingredients in their products publicly. It's literally not required. So when researching diapers for O, I wanted a company that chose to be transparent - and even then, I double checked their validity through EWG.org. If you've never heard of EWG.org (Environmental Working Group) it's a great website for verifying the safety of chemicals and they have even branched out to do full product reviews after thoroughly testing each one.

I tried a few different natural diaper brands and I can speak to each of these brands with confidence.  Each of these brands are safe from harmful dyes, phthalates, unregulated fragrances, chlorines, and bleaches. 

So save yourself the overwhelm, and save yourself the hours of research! Below you will find the TOP natural diaper brands. These brands are proven to work, verified to use natural, safe ingredients in their diapers (no bleach here!), and hold up in similar performance to major diaper brands. 

Disclaimer: Every baby is different. Every baby's bottom is different. The natural diaper brand that works for one baby, may not perform as successfully for another. Keep this in mind - and expect to have to experiment a bit to find what works best for your baby!

1) Hello Bello Diapers -  I am a huge fan of these diapers for many reasons! One reason is their availability. They are sold exclusively through the major retailer Walmart, so they're readily accessible when I am doing my grocery shopping. Another reason I love these diapers is their price point. They are comparable in price to Huggies - without the chemical load that Huggies have. They're very transparent on their website about what goes into the creation of their diapers. The cute patterns are a plus, too! I also have to say, personally speaking, they appear way softer and more comfortable than Huggies or Pampers. In comparison, when holding a Hello Bello Diaper and a Huggies Diaper, it makes the Huggies diaper feel more like trash bag material - NO JOKE.

 Hello Bello also offers a diaper subscription box straight from their website that has made worrying about diapers nearly non-existent. You can choose how frequently you want them to send diapers - and they always include wipes as well. You can add other products to your subscription box too, if you choose. I like the subscription because I have it timed to where they show up just as I'm on my last package of diapers - WIN! 

2) Honest Brand Diapers -  Honest diapers are similar to Hello Bello diapers in that they also offer a diaper subscription. Honest Brand diapers are a little on the pricier side, but you're paying for quality: no latex, parabens, fragrances, bleach, and chlorine-free filler. They also have super cute designs - which just make changing diapers a little more fun...if that's possible. For my son, I had a little more success with Honest Brand diapers holding more of the "stuff" than Hello Bello, but I don't enjoy leaving my little ones in a dirty diaper long, so this was never a huge concern for me unless we were out and weren't able to change him for a while.

3) Dyper - This brand also offers subscription services. Personally, I did not use this brand for long. I loved the way it fit, felt, and how it held the smell in, but I definitely fell more for the diapers with cute patterns on them. Dyper prides themselves in being both chemical safe and eco safe. They do not use any dyes in their diapers, so they are plain white. These diapers are made of bamboo and are Standard 100 certified by OEKO TEX. 

I hope these suggestions (reviews really) help narrow your decision-making when it comes to diapers. Just go to any store and you will see that there are SO.MANY.DIAPER brands. It's easy to feel overwhelmed. So, from one mama to another, happy diapering! 

Apps you're going to want for Pregnancy & Beyond!

 Admittedly, when I became a mom, I had ZERO ideas of what I was doing. But boy did I put on a good front. I faked it until I made it. No joke. Thankfully my son turned out okay so far. I suppose I'll update in the future if that changes. Ha. 

One of the things the hospital told me is that at least for a while I would want to track baby's milk intake (via timing breastfeeds or ounces of formula) and track baby's wet diapers. In the hospital they give you this ridiculous chart you have to fill out. Literally a piece of paper and a pencil. If you've had a baby, you know that NO ONE HAS TIME FOR THAT NONSENSE. I tried. I really did. But I needed something quicker, something I wasn't likely to misplace....like my phone! So I set out to find a baby tracker app. 

I also used apps during my pregnancy to track symptoms, baby kicks, and once the time came, contractions. These apps also offer fun week-by-week updates on baby's growth and development which I found fun! 

1) BabyCenter App - This is probably one of the most popular apps for pregnancy and child-rearing. It's free (my favorite part) and offers a ton of encouragement, information, and research in all things pregnancy through childhood. The app has features such as the "Birth Club". The Birth Club is essentially a monitored chat room for each birth month where you can ask all the questions to other moms due the same month as you. I would be lying if I said I hadn't utilized this a few times! The app also has a tools feature which includes: a widget to take pictures of your bump progress with fun graphics to place on the photos, a file dedicated solely to safety in pregnancy, a kick tracker, a registry checklist, a baby name calculator, birth class videos, a birth preferences document creator, and a contraction timer. Lots built into this free app!

2) What to Expect Pregnancy and Baby Tracker - An equally popular app like BabyCenter, it has all the same features listed above PLUS a feeding and development tracker for once baby is born. For any momma's reading this who are currently trying to conceive, there is also a portion of the app dedicated to that!

3) Pregnancy + App - This app is unique from BabyCenter and What to Expect in that it is more personalized. The detailed images of the baby inside your womb are inclusive of all skin types. It also tracks your personal health throughout pregnancy, such as weight tracking. 

4) SPROUT Baby - This is a free app that offers tools to track feeding times, diapers, and even sleep tracking. The cool thing is, you don't have to log and keep track of feeding times. If you're breastfeeding, simply open the app, designate which side you're feeding on and it times the rest! If you're formula/bottle feeding, click the bottle button and you can time that as well as track the number of ounces baby ate. You can also track solid food intake. 

In addition to feeding, this app tracks sleep, pumping times and amount, dirty diapers, activity, and even baby's mood. 

5) The Wonder Weeks - This app, I will admit I was skeptical of. This app does have a fee to purchase. It is not free. However, the Wonder Weeks app is great for new moms because it identifies common fussy periods in baby's life and explains them. They call them "leaps" where you've probably heard the term "4 month sleep regression." This app details WHY those fussy periods and WHY those sleep regressions occur and goes into scientific detail about the development of your child's brain and body during that time that causes the "leap." The reason I was skeptical was because my baby wasn't always on target with when the app said a storm would be coming - but I came to realize quickly that every baby is different and this app is still incredibly useful after a day of a screaming baby or a sleepless night. Unfortunately it doesn't offer a solution to those sleepless nights, but in my eyes, it makes them a LITTLE more bearable knowing WHY they're happening and that my baby doesn't just hate me. 

6) Huckleberry: Baby and Child - The Huckleberry App is very similar to Sprout Baby. It has features for tracking feedings, diapers, sleep patterns, and pumping. It also tracks baby growth and milestones then displays that data in a super easy to read, user friendly graph...if you're a data nerd like me! 

All of these apps are designed to make life easier for you as a mom. Let's be honest, Mom-Brain is a real thing. Scientists need to jump on that diagnosis train because for real. At 3 am, you will not remember which side babe nursed on or how many ounces they ate. These apps take care of all of that so when morning time comes, you're night is tracked - without having to use any of your own brain power....WIN WIN in my eyes!