Julia (born 8 lb 5 oz) wore newborn the first month, size one a couple of weeks and size two since. We think she’ll be in size two for a while but as everyone repeats in blogs and chart subtext, you just have to try one size and go from there.

When pregnant, this kind of grey advice bothered me. I wondered how I would know, and hesitated to buy the smallest sizes to avoid waste. Part of this need to buy the perfect amount of each size was because we wanted the fancy, chemical-free ones you can only buy online. I felt a lot of pressure to pick the right kind in the beginning, and never let a pricy diaper go to waste.

It turns out this was easy. The hospital sent us home with newborn pampers which were much better than I thought they’d be from reading online, and when we couldn’t tell in comparison that the pricy online version was better, we began experimenting. Fortunately (or un), babies go through so many diapers that it is easy to buy several kinds in smaller amounts to try, and to go through all in one size before moving on to the next. Diapers cost less the more you buy in bulk, but not enough to mean you should never experiment with brands. It came down to a few dollars difference for us, which was well worth it to find the kind we like.

And they’re all just fine. I was prejudiced against anything with chemicals, and while the Honest brand isn’t completely cleared of them, it turned out to be my favorite. It’s feels flexible like the Pampers Baby Dry, but is much less perfumed.

I’ve relaxed so much about this (or slept so little it no longer is a priority) that at Target when they were out of Honest, we stocked up on Pampers Baby Dry and called it quits on our search for the perfect nappy.

Size and weight guide: