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If you're about to become a first-time parent, you may be looking at the looooong list of things you need to purchase or add to your baby registry list and wondering what's ACTUALLY necessary and what you can get by without.
Like, how essential is a monthly milestone blanket to mark how big your babies have gotten? It might be nice to have to look back on how they've grown, but you can certainly get by without one.
And how much do you really need an activity mat? Again, it's nice to have, but you can absolutely get by with laying down a nice, soft blanket for your babies to relax, play, or do tummy time on.
But when it comes to anything diaper-related, that's one area you do not want to skimp on.
So, if you're sitting there asking yourself, "Do I REALLY need a diaper pail?"
The answer is yes. A resounding yes.
If those three words from a mother of twins aren't enough to convince you, read on.
There's no getting around diapers
As a parent to twins, you HAVE to deal with diapers. A staggering number at that.
In the first 100 days, you'll change approximately 800 diapers…per baby.
And by the time your twins turn one year old, they'll have used about 2,500 diapers…each.
With so many diapers in play, you'll want to invest in a diaper bin that can keep all the smells at bay while storing a huge amount of diapers because you don't want to be changing the pail bags as often as you're changing your babies.
Because there will be a solid stretch of time where you'll be getting 45-minute cat-naps (instead of the actual stretches of sleep we used to know and love) in between change-feed-burp-sleep cycles, so you do NOT want to spend a few of those precious minutes every day emptying an itty bitty garbage can that's full after a few diapers.
And if you're telling yourself you can stand the smell of a few dirty diapers, all the power to you, but some of those early newborn diapers can be…rough.
And some of those early days can ALSO be rough.
In the first few months as a first-time parent, you experience things you never thought would be on your Bingo card. There was one especially memorable day where I was peed on, pooped on, AND puked on, all in the span of a few hours.
In the first few months as a first-time parent, you experience things you never thought would be on your Bingo card. There was one especially memorable day where I was peed on, pooped on, AND puked on, all in the span of a few hours.
With all of those fun things going on, you might as well do everything in your power to make diaper changes as easy as possible.
You'll be changing diapers double-time, so you want your bin to be up to snuff, so that you don't have to sniff what's sitting inside.
Top things to consider
There are many things to contemplate when picking a pail for your nursery.
I'd say the three most important things are odor control, capacity, and sturdiness.
You want a diaper pail that can block out the smells for as long as possible and that won't disassemble itself while you're trying to toss a nasty nappy that gives you nightmares.
The Munchkin Step Diaper Pail is the best bin, hands-down, for disposable diapers. It's amazing at trapping odors and will have you breathing a sigh of relief instead of fighting to hold your breath while you change your babies' diapers.
It has a self-sealing system that ensures the disposal bag is sealed shut as the lid closes. Zero smells escape, even while the lid is open.
We have this pail, and it works.
Its design incorporates an Arm & Hammer baking soda puck insert and lavender-scented liners to help contain nasty odors within the bin and keep them from stinking up your nursery and the rest of your home.
This pail is super sturdy and has a colossal capacity. I often found myself wondering how the bag didn't need to be emptied yet.
It holds many more diapers than other popular pails (we tested ours and got up to 33 Size 5 diapers before we had to empty the bin–incredible!).
When the time finally comes, removing the full bag of diapers from the Munchkin pail is much easier than emptying other bins–in part, because it's so sturdy that it's not falling over when you pull the bag out.
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Munchkin Step Diaper Pail
A Titan at Trapping Odors
This is the Munchkin Step Diaper Pail. It's engineered to lock odors inside the bin, even when the lid is open and the pail is in use.
Plus, this pail is hands-free, with a convenient step pedal to activate the unit. This means you're never touching the bin to open a lid while holding a monstrosity of a diaper or trying to keep a wriggling baby from doing a barrel roll off of the changing table.
And it's much more sturdy than other pails on the market. There is no fear of it wobbling or falling over if it's nudged by a roaming toddler. While YOUR baby is constantly on the move, THAT baby (the diaper pail) isn't going anywhere.
It's your call, but a bin is pretty crucial
If you really don't want to invest in a diaper pail, do what works best for your household, but of all the things to skip or cut back on, I personally don't think the trade-off of skipping the diaper bin is worth losing the odor control or the gift of having more time before having to take garbage outside.
There are many factors to consider when choosing which diaper bin will meet your needs, and those needs might change as your babies grow or as different situations arise.
Think about things like odor control, ease of use, capacity, bag refills, esthetics, whether you'll be using the pail for disposable or reusable diapers.
The Munchkin Step Diaper Pail is magnificent at obliterating odors and saving you from having to empty the bin every single day.
With your twins, you'll be changing literally thousands of diapers (anywhere from 6,000 to 9,000...per baby!) before they're ready to start potty training, so make sure that whichever diaper bin you decide on can handle this major undertaking.
You can read more on our favorite diaper pails, here. And while you're at it, be sure to check out why this wipes dispenser is the cream of the crop, especially when you have twins and will be flying through wipes like nobody's business when your babies are doing their business.
Did you opt to skip a diaper pail when you had your twins? Did you get by okay without it? Let us know in the Comments section below or connect with us on Instagram to share your thoughts!
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