The Bottom Line

Y2K worries or not, high tech living or low, fast paced lifestyle or slow--whatever the future holds, if you are a parent of a baby, the months ahead will hold hundreds of diapers.

Experienced parents need no introduction to the diaper market, but if you are new or returning to the mom and dad scene, you have a couple of basic options.

There are diaper services that deliver and retrieve cloth diapers, and there are disposable diapers in supermarkets, baby stores and other retail locations.

Convenience, cost and environmental issues are considered when deciding which way to go.

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Let’s start with the disposables. We will begin at the wall of diapers at Babies ‘R’ Us in Oxnard. The store is all things baby, so it’s no surprise to find a section devoted entirely to baby bottoms.

As with other diaper retailers, the store offers a variety of brands and a range of sizes--diapers for the 8- to 14-pound infant up to the 27-pound-plus baby, as well as some selections for premature babies.

Generally, diaper manufacturers price their diaper packages the same regardless of the baby size, with the diaper count decreasing as the size of the diaper increases. (A box of 80 small diapers may cost the same as a box of 44 large ones.)

At Babies ‘R’ Us, Pampers Baby-Dry diapers were priced at $7.29 for 22-count to 40-count boxes.

A box of 40 newborn diapers was a bit more at $9.29 and a box of 20 diapers for premature babies was less at $5.59. The Pampers Rash Guard selection was priced at $12.99 for boxes of 22 to 52.

In larger quantities, boxes of 68 to 104 Baby-Dry diapers were priced at $18.39.

Huggies Ultratrim diapers were priced at $7.29 for boxes of 20 to 40, and Huggies Supreme diapers were priced at $12.89 for boxes of 36 to 60. Boxes of 68 to 120 Ultratrim diapers were selling for $18.69.

Luvs diapers were priced at $9.99 for packages of 44 to 80. And the Especially For Baby store brand was selling for $4.99 for boxes of 22 to 44 and $16.99 for quantities of 88 to 144.

At Ralphs supermarket in Camarillo the selection was equally impressive.

Huggies Ultratrim diapers were priced at $7.49 for quantities of 18 to 40; Pampers Rash Guard diapers were selling for $13.79 for quantities of 36 to 60; Luvs diapers were priced at $6.49 for boxes of 24 to 40; and Drypers Supreme, with Sesame Street characters on the fastening panel, were $9.59 for boxes of 28 to 35.

The Ralphs-brand diapers were selling for $5.69 for packages of 24 to 40, $9.99 for packages of 48 and 56, and $18.99 for boxes of 96 and 112.

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At Smart & Final in Ventura the selection was much smaller, but the prices were good.

The Huggies Ultratrim line was $19.99 for quantities of 68 to 120 and the same price for the Supreme line in quantities of 44 to 68.

The Smart & Final store brand was $17.99 for 104 large or 72 extra-large diapers.

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For parents interested in cloth diapers delivered to the front door, there are two options in Ventura County--the Bare Bottoms Diaper Service of Camarillo and the Dy-Dee Diaper Service of Pasadena.

Dy-Dee Diaper Service, for example, recommends a supply of 80 diapers a week (to accommodate 10 to 12 changes daily) for a newborn.

The cost is $54.80 a month ($13.70 a week), plus a one-time $10 setup fee.

As the baby grows the price can either remain the same with the quantity decreasing, or the quantity can stay the same with the cost going up about 60 cents a week.