www.incontinentsupport.org

Hello all,
With having a baby means making fiancial decisions. I have to get an SUV and also factor my son's growing expenses. This makes my monthly car payment about 150 more and also my grocery bill about 150 a month more, necessitating I cut 300 dollars from other places in my budget...

I had been subsiding on two cases of Confidry 24/7's medium each month. This is largely due to the surges of my OAB can release a bladder that overwhelms lesser diapers. With the comfort of these diapers I didn't stress if I didn't make it to the bathroom and was confident the diaper would hold (95% of the time that is true as any diaper can leak on you). Because of that reliance and because my budget allowed it, I would change out of the confidry after two full void wettings usually because I know it cannot handle a third such deluge. If I am changing them before they are reaching capacity, it kind of wastes the diaper, so I want to find a daytime diaper that can handle 1-2 full floods in between changes that is significantly more affordable than the 1.55 per brief I pay for confidry.

I am looking at abena m2 or m3 delta forms, the molicare super (though I hated those new stretch tabs), tranquility ATN (those were, 4 years ago, barely able to handle one flood so I am iffy), and whatever else this venerable board might suggest so that i can adjust my incontinence budget. Tightening my belt for my son is worth it, I just want to do it wisely without causing a blowout leak or embarrassment.

Thank you in advance for the advice and insights!!

Never look at the cost of diapers per each diaper. Always look at their cost per day.

A cheap diaper may sound great, but you will need to change more often. This in turn means you will end up spending more overall.

Look at confidry mediums. Say you need three diaper changes per day at $1.55 each. Thats $4.65 per day.

Now switch to Abena xplus M3 at $1.20 each, but you now need to change at least 4 times a day. That will cost $4.80 per day. Really though, you may even need 5 changes for a total of $6.00. Ouch.

So not only will the "cheaper" diaper cost more, but you'll be inconveniencing yourself with needing more changes. I've also found you'll reach the point of leaking much faster with cheaper diapers. This means you will get leaks more often.

Look around, and do your research. You might be able to find an overall cheaper diaper, but they to be the higher end or premium brands that actually cost less overall.

Thank you for the response, Brian.

I am looking at cost per day. For example, today. I changed when I woke up into a new confidry. I am about to run some errands. I have only leaked one flood into the diaper, but my gut is to always change before I head out, which means I am completely wasting the diaper. Would it not have been more economical to change this morning into a cheaper good diaper and then change into the confidry for leaving the house? That's where I think I could save money per day, the times where regardless of capacity, I am going to change anyway.

In that case yes. If you're going to be changing long before you otherwise need to, then yes it does make sense to just use a lesser diaper.

If your finances permit, you might consider investing in a small inventory of washables plus plastic pants. Granted, their upfront cost is considerable; however, over time they quickly repay their cost compared to disposables. Good luck.

If you have a sewing machine you can make washable diapers. I have made nine diapers and plan to make several more. Then the only cost is the energy to wash them. I hang mine outside on a line to dry making them even more cost effective.

_________________
RetiredRN

Thank you for the ideas. I hAve had bad luck with plastic pants and cloth diapers. I just can't get the right fit without leaking terribly.

By that same token, I have lost a lot of weight through running and diet. My waist is a 32 now and I am having issues with my confidry mediums. If I tape them on the lower tapes invariably pull and rip the plastic exposing he gel. Taping before the padding leaves gaps and causes leaks, so I am ordering a bag of smalls to see if that rectifies it.

I am also ordering a bag of small comforts from Northshore. If they fit and work, they might be my answer to the more affordable quality diaper as they will be roughly $0.99 per diaper. That would save money if they work.

Give the Tena Ultra or Tena Supers a chance. They're a moderate cost option and deliver a good bang for your buck.

One advantage of washables (except for those with Velcro closures) is that they can be pinned and re-pinned as often as necessary to get a good fit.

So I do have a collection of cloth diapers, but my plastic pants (Gary) suck. The liquid soaks right through the PUL. Am I washing them wrong? I thought they could be washed and dried normally, but clearly not. Cloth diapering at home would definitely be cheaper, but I need to order new plastic pants and figure out how to care for them