All I Want For Christmas....is a package of diapers

Last night Tobe and I were writing out Christmas lists for Isaac and Evelyn, attempting to decide what they needed. As we surveyed the living room, which resembles a ransacked FAO Swartz after a big sale rather than the Pottery Barn showroom look that we prefer (however , it is minus a basketball goal which was relocated to the garage for the holiday season), we quickly came to the conclusion that there is nothing these two children need this Christmas....except diapers.

When we realized that our family was going to be blessed with children 21 months apart, we longingly kissed our bank account balance good-bye knowing that we were going to be shelling out big bucks to diaper two sweet little bottoms. I have researched purchasing diapers on-line, through diaper services (they don't just do cloth diapers anymore), and price compared the major supermarkets. Basically I discovered the cheapest diaper one can buy is through the large retail chains....when they are on sale....and when you have a coupon. When those stars are in perfect alignment, the cost of diapers is a tad more reasonable.

It is no secret that we love our Pampers brand here at casa de phillips....so much so that Pampers recently contacted us and asked the Phillips family to review their diapers and wipes on our blog. This meant free diapers and wipes arriving via FedEx, which I promptly declared the Christmas Miracle of 2007 (this was the Christmas miracle of 2005).

Because I have two kiddos in diapers, I have had plenty of chances to test these diapers out over the past week. Here is my review:

While pregnant with Isaac, I purchased diapers for him each week at the grocery store. I was not brand-specific at that point. I simply bought what I had a coupon for that week. Fast forward a few months and our home was blessed with a bouncing baby boy....who leaked out of every diaper we owned except Pampers. I am not the Mommy who loves changing a baby's clothes five times a day, so I quickly returned the other brand of diapers and became an avid Pampers fan. Pampers is currently one of the pricier diapers on the shelves, but the cost seemed worth it if it meant no leakage or extra piles of laundry.

Evelyn just graduated from Pampers Swaddlers, which are about the softest thing one could put on a newborn. Again, we never had leakage issues with these diapers except for when it was time to move up a size. Currently both kids are in Pampers Cruisers. These things are built to last and can withstand a 12 hour's night sleep. Also, we have only had minimal diaper rash issues here at casa de phillips. I believe the the lining of Pampers adequately soaks up the wetness and keeps it from baby's skin. If you have ever dealt much with a baby sporting a serious diaper rash, than you know how important such a lining happens to be.

Pampers also sent us two cases of wipes. We have not been consumers of Pampers wipes in the past because they tended to dry up easily in our wipes warmer and were on the thin side. However, the wipes we were sent were part of their new Stages line and are called Swipers. Tobe was using one of these wipes the other day on Evelyn and he proclaimed that they really do swipe quite well. In fact, I have noticed that Swipers get the job done in less wipes than the generic brand that we had been using and have decided to make the switch even after our freebies are gone.

One important thing to remember is that Pampers currently has a variety of diapers on the market, depending on the age and stage of your baby. This is great because it caters to your needs. Also, Pampers has two great marketing tools they utilize. Number 1 is that there is always a coupon in a diaper package for the next stage of diapers (for example, there is a coupon for Cruisers diapers in the Swaddlers diapers package.)to establish returning customers. The key to utilizing such a marketing trick is remembering where you placed these coupons when your baby is ready to graduate to the next stage. The second genius marketing tool is the Pampers Gifts to Grow points. Each bag of diapers contains a code, which you enter into your account on the Pampers website. You can collect points and redeem them for a variety of toys, videos, or Blockbuster coupons. We are currently saving our points to get the Ketrikke Oceana tricycle. If you would rather not mess with saving points and searching the rewards catalog, you can simply donate your points to the Today Show Toy Drive, UNICEF, or March of Dimes (or the Phillips' kids Ketrikke Oceana tricycle fund....).

Thank you, Pampers, for sending diapers our way. Now I just have to figure out how to make the package fit in each kid's stocking....




So, dear readers, what diapers are covering the sweet behinds of your babies?