Written by Parker Baby Co.'s founder, Sam Huebner:

Anyone who knows me knows I love a good deal. Having twins opened so many opportunities to save money!

Diapers are a costly necessity for babies. Some will argue that reusable diapers are the most frugal option, but we didn’t even consider it in anticipation of the craziness of being new parents. Here are a few tips to save money (and time!) on buying diapers.

1. Buy diapers on sale (duh.)

I’m an active user on SlickDeals.net. If you haven’t explored SlickDeals, I strongly recommend doing so. I also strongly recommend doing so with your wallet in another room. Buying something you don’t need, just because it's on sale, doesn’t save you any money.

But you do need diapers, so it's smart to scan SlickDeals for diaper bargains. Always compare diaper sales on a cost per diaper basis. Don’t be afraid to ask questions on SlickDeals either; there are a lot of helpful members.

You’ll find that a lot of the deals require an Amazon Prime membership. If you don’t already have a membership, I recommend getting one. When things get crazy in your house (and they will), having diapers delivered to your door is an incredible convenience.

Pro tip: Set an alert for Pampers, Huggies, Up & Up, and “diapers”.

2. Stock up before your baby arrives.

Some of you might not agree with this one, but hear me out. Emergency diaper runs are expensive. You don’t have time to compare costs. You might buy a small pack (even more expensive) to hold you over until they go on sale.

We were guilty of this, and we paid for it. When our girls were using Pamper’s Swaddlers, we paid a whopping $.2803 a diaper on an emergency run, compared to the $.1441/diaper we paid on sale. That’s almost 2x as expensive.

If you want to stock up on diapers like we should have, here's a rough idea of how many diapers each of our daughters used in the first 9 months of their lives:

• Size N: 190 (+ more at the hospital). Keep in mind our girls were born early at ~6 lbs. Singleton babies will require MUCH less Newborn diapers (if any at all). I recommend getting one pack initially.
• Size 1: 290
• Size 2: 225
• Size 3: >400. I stopped keeping track here, but my girls were in Size 3 for a long time.
• Size 4: >500. Same situation as Size 3, it feels like the girls have been in Size 4 forever.
• Wipes: We went through more than 1,500 for each baby during the first 9 months. Don’t be afraid to stock up. We had good luck with Pampers, Huggies, Amazon brand, and Kirkland.

Pro tip: Stock up on wipes, too (when they go on sale!!).

Bonus pro tip: Take all the diapers you can from the hospital. You are already paying for them, you might as well bring them home!

3. Try different brands (in small quantities).

A wise mother (mine, to be exact) told me every new parent makes the mistake of buying the cheapest diapers. But it's a mistake they only make once. It’s painful to have to throw away or donate diapers because your baby got diaper rash from them or had endless blowouts. But that’s how you learn.

We started with Pamper’s Swaddlers. They are the Cadillac of diapers, and they are more expensive. But they are a great starting point, because I’ve never heard of parents having issues with them.

We moved the girls to Pamper’s Baby Dry when they were Size 2. We then moved them to the even cheaper Up & Up brand diapers when they were Size 3. We've only had great experiences with Target’s Up & Up diapers (we only wish we would have tried them sooner!). That being said, every baby is different so I recommend trying small packs of cheaper diapers to see if they work for you.

A brief review of some brands we tried:

• Huggies Snug & Dry – We mostly used these in the hospital when the girls were born. They worked well when the girls were really young, but we’ve had issues with blowouts when we used them more recently.
• Pamper’s Swaddlers – I consider these the best your money can buy, but they might be a little overkill.
• Pamper’s Baby Dry – We used these for a long time as they are much cheaper than Swaddlers. We never had any issues with them. They do not have the wet stripe like the Swaddlers, but we never missed it because we change the girls’ diapers regularly.
• Target Up & Up – Our new “go-to” for diapers. Cheap and effective. We've never had issues with blowouts or diaper rash.
• Kirkland – We love everything Kirkland, but (sadly) we haven't tried their diapers. We will probably try them in the near future because we've heard good things.
• Parents’ Choice – Stay away if you can. We had some gifted to us, so we tried them once. Never again…

Pro tip: Dad’s – throw a diaper party. I’ve seen guys do this around a sporting event (Super Bowl, March Madness, etc.) and set the entry fee at one (or more) packs of diapers.

I'm sure we are missing some valuable tips, so please comment below with your tips for new parents!

Before you go, make sure to check out our diaper changing must-haves for your little one - they seriously make the changing routine less stressful!

^^ You have to change lots of diapers, so it's important to keep your station organized. Our Felt Diaper Caddies are perfect for organizing diapers, wipes, creams, and more in a portable caddy! Order here.

^^ When you're changing a diaper and have dirty laundry on hand, you need a nursery hamper to toss it in. Our Felt Laundry Hampers are collapsable, washable, and portable, perfect for baby messes! Order here.

^^ Dirty diaper on the go? You need to be prepared. Our Birch Bag Diaper Backpacks are your perfect solution - they're cute, functional, roomy, and come in several different colors! Check them out here.