<story><title>Why are diapers so expensive?</title><url>http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2018/features/baby-diaper-cost/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>djrogers</author><text>There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo).&lt;p&gt;First off, 12 changes a day is a &lt;i&gt;huge&lt;/i&gt; outlier - even for a newborn.  8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming.&lt;p&gt;Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000&amp;#x2F;yr for diapers.  Again, that has to be an outlier based on the worst possible set of assumptions. A box of 168 diapers lasts about a month and costs ~$40.  That doesn’t add up...&lt;p&gt;And finally, many of the charities I work with will hand out diapers or cards for free diapers to anyone who asks.  If you’re really in a bind, call a local church, women’s shelter, or commissary!  We really do want to help, but we have to know you need it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nostrademons</author><text>I just had a kid 2 months ago, and 12 changes a day doesn&amp;#x27;t seem all that unreasonable for a newborn.  At our one-month checkup he was averaging 9 pees &amp;amp; 5 poops per day - several of the poops were doubled-up where he also peed, so a dozen per day is about right.  It&amp;#x27;s dropped a bit since, but instances where a single changing results in multiple diapers used (eg. he shits the table right as I&amp;#x27;m getting the new diaper on, or he pees all over the table including the diaper that&amp;#x27;s waiting to be put on) have somewhat made up for that.&lt;p&gt;Unit cost of a diaper is about $0.25-0.30 when bought in bulk (even with your example), so $1000&amp;#x2F;year = ~3200-4000 diapers = ~10 changes&amp;#x2F;day.  Change your assumptions on diaper use and everything else lines up.</text></comment>
<story><title>Why are diapers so expensive?</title><url>http://www.tampabay.com/projects/2018/features/baby-diaper-cost/</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>djrogers</author><text>There are a couple of ‘facts’ listed here that don’t line up with my current reality and very recent knowledge (3 kids, most recent is 18mo).&lt;p&gt;First off, 12 changes a day is a &lt;i&gt;huge&lt;/i&gt; outlier - even for a newborn.  8 would be a more reasonable number, and it drops down to the 4-6 range in the first year, and by now we’re at 3 if we don’t go swimming.&lt;p&gt;Second item that sounds waaay off is $1000&amp;#x2F;yr for diapers.  Again, that has to be an outlier based on the worst possible set of assumptions. A box of 168 diapers lasts about a month and costs ~$40.  That doesn’t add up...&lt;p&gt;And finally, many of the charities I work with will hand out diapers or cards for free diapers to anyone who asks.  If you’re really in a bind, call a local church, women’s shelter, or commissary!  We really do want to help, but we have to know you need it.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>brohoolio</author><text>12 changes a day is not an outlier for a newborn, it’s normal. My son is 18 months and we change him probably 6 times a day at least.&lt;p&gt;Diaper pricing is dependent on how many you buy at once, I buy giant boxes so my unit cost is low. If you don’t have $40 to buy the giant box, but only $10 to buy a small package. You are paying twice the unit cost.</text></comment>