Brandon Gilbert

When Ryne was first born I wrote about how all diapers were not created equal. When we were still naive and thinking about the rainbows and unicorns side of parenting, we decided we weren’t going to be picky about what types of diapers we were going to use. We didn’t want to be “those parents” that have to be so particular with their child. Then IT happened. That fateful day when everything that was supposed to stay on the inside was on the outside. Since that fateful day with the most horrible of wardrobe malfunctions, we have stuck with Pampers. A diaper has to contain the devastation…that’s its only purpose in life. Pampers does that well. Sure, we’ve had a few mishaps with Pampers along the way, but in almost every case, I can say with a good amount of certainty that it was a poor fastening job by Daddy or Mommy. Diapers are like a Dam with a Lock. They’re supposed to hold back the flood, but that only really works if you make sure to close the gate.

Then a few months ago, my Pastor, Aarron, tries to convert me. Imagine that….a Pastor trying to convert people. He tries to tell me that Target has a Store Brand that works just as well as Pampers. My first thought was that the stress of planting a church had finally gotten to him. We had seen the devastation caused by not following the  “Thou shalt have no other diapers before me” commandment from Pampers. We just weren’t ready for that kind of change in my life. Notice, I said it was a few months ago that he had told me.

Fast forward to this week. Still without a job after almost 11 months, I am looking for any way to cut expenses. Aarron has still been praising the Target diapers, so we finally broke down and decided to give them a try. At $7 less a box, we figured it was worth at least an experiment. I still was not without reservation. I was ready to try them, but I told myself that the first time they malfunctioned, Aarron was going to get possibly the worst Pastor’s Appreciation Day present in history.

Our whole family was skeptical. When we opened the box, TheBrandNewMom examined them closely to see if they even looked like they acted like Pampers. TheBrandNewSon was waaay confused. The first time I went to put it on him, he raised his eyebrows at me in a worried and perplexed look, as if to say “Hey, Dad….you realize that’s not a Pampers diaper, right?” I calmed his fears….even though I was bracing for the worst. We let him play and then he took a nap. Then he got up and ate, and played again. He didn’t have any poopies….but he did have about a quart of liquid in there. The Target diapers held their own there. But that was not the main test of concern. I can handle a small leak of liquid. It’s the other stuff that gets me. Well, that time came and went as well, and again, the Target diapers passed with flying colors (no pun intended).

So, about a week later, we’ve still had no malfunctions, though there’s been plenty opportunities for it. So, if you have a Target in your area, I highly recommend Up and Up Brand diapers.