The Best Travel Diapers for Babies and Toddlers

You’re planning a trip, and amidst the frenzy of packing, organizing, and mentally preparing yourself for the adventure ahead, you suddenly realize you’ve overlooked one crucial aspect—diapers. Yep, that’s right, diapers.

If you’re a parent like me, you know that when it comes to traveling with little ones, choosing the right diaper can make all the difference between a smooth journey and a chaotic mess. After exploring 11 countries and taking hundreds of flights with my son, I’ve come to rely on one diaper brand above all others: Coterie.

My son has experienced diapers from four continents now. And there’s a clear winner when it comes to absorbency and containing blowouts. Why are they the best travel diapers? Let me break it down for you:

A Travel Diaper Needs to be Extra Absorbent

First off, let’s talk about leaks. Ah, yes, every parent’s worst nightmare, especially when you’re thousands of miles away from home and the nearest washing machine. Believe me when I say that I’ve had my fair share of diaper disasters in the most inconvenient of places—airport lounges, cramped airplane bathrooms, you name it.

But ever since we made the switch to Coterie, those dreaded blowouts have become much less frequent. Seriously, these diapers are like little miracle workers when it comes to containment. Sure, accidents happen, but Coterie has saved us from more than a few messy situations that other brands couldn’t handle.

Now, I’ll admit, I wasn’t always sold on Coterie. In the early days of parenthood, when my son was a newborn, I gave them a try but didn’t quite see what all the fuss was about. They seemed like any other diaper, nothing special. Back then he was little and his pees were little, and we were changing diapers constantly, so almost any diaper would do. It wasn’t until my son got older and those nighttime leaks became a regular occurrence that I found my way back to Coterie after Googling the most absorbent diaper. We don’t use them 100% of the time since they’re pricey, but we definitely want them for overnights at home and on the road. You truly cannot put a price on sleep.

Do You Need to Bring All Diapers From Home?

One of the things that sets Coterie apart is their incredible absorbency. From long-haul flights to road trips, a seatbelt just has a magical way of forcing leaks. We had them all the time with any other diaper we tried.

Initially, we did buy diapers in Japan, Portugal, and South Africa, while they’re almost always cheaper, I’ve never been able to find a brand that was nearly as absorbent.

On our most recent trip to Thailand and Singapore, we decided to just bring all of our diapers from home to avoid leaks. We’ve learned the hard way that there tends to be no competition.

Also, since we’re now traveling with the Cosco Scenera car seat and this travel bag, we are finding we have so much extra space now in the car seat travel bag that we can stash two weeks worth of diapers if needed. Thankfully, a car seat is almost always free checked luggage. We can also fit an entire pack in our travel diaper bag.

What to Know about Coterie

But aren’t premium diapers like Coterie expensive? Sure, they might cost a bit more than your average supermarket brand, but trust me when I say they’re worth every penny. When you’re halfway across the world and the last thing you want to deal with is a diaper disaster.

That said, keeping budget and packing in mind, we sign up for the Coterie subscription since it’s 10% cheaper, but have it come half as often as it normally would. They always email before they send the next batch, and it’s easy to move the date to whatever I need it to be. We use them at night at home and for travel, then supplement during the day at home with Honest brand. You could do the same with a local brand of diapers when you travel.

The nice thing about Coterie is the nontoxic materials as well as their commitment to sustainability. There’s no truly sustainable disposable diaper, but their diapers are made from responsibly sourced timber, are Environmental Working Group certified for low chemical exposure, and their wipes are home-compostable.

So whether you’re a seasoned globetrotter or just embarking on your first family adventure, do yourself a favor and stock up on at least enough Coterie diapers for the flights, long car days, and overnights. Your sanity (and your suitcase) will thank you.

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