Diapers: Pampers v. Huggies

When Ethan was first born, we used Pampers. I'm not even sure why, except that we received a lot as gifts, and I think we were sent home with Pampers from the hospital. The neat thing about those newborn diapers was the indicator strip on the outside that changed color when he wet his diaper. We could just do a quick spot-check on the outside to see whether or not he needed to be changed, which was pretty cool. The thing is, once we got past the newborn stage, when we were changing diapers all day long and he hardly had them on for any significant length of time-- or for any significant amount of use, ahem-- they stopped being so cool and started to bug us. As he got older, we noticed the same problems whenever he would wear Pampers; he would get diaper rashes, he would soak through his diapers and wet his clothing or sheets, and he would get red marks on his abdomen where the tabs pulled away from the diaper and stuck to his tender skin.

So, we moved away from Pampers and tried a few other brands, including the Babies R' Us brand, "Especially for Baby." Horrible! They were so stiff and thick and unyielding that it was like a cardboard diaper, and with similar effect-- they had zero absorbency and the first time he wore them he ended up with mess up his back. We ended up tossing them all, they were that bad.

Then we tried Huggies, and fell in love. They're awesome! We prefer to put Ethan in the "Little Movers," which are more flexible than the "Snug 'N Dry" and shape better to his active little body, and seem more comfortable. We also love the Huggies Overnites, which we have *never* had a problem with. He can sleep for 10 hours with no leakage, and also not wake up in the middle of the night feeling wet and uncomfortable. Which means, of course, more sleep for us! And we have no diaper rash issues with Huggies, either.

Here's the problem: I read many many reviews of the two main brands-- Pampers and Huggies-- and still don't understand how people can have such widely differing experiences with these diapers. Some parents had the same reactions we had to the Pampers; others swear by them and instead blame Huggies for leaks and rashes. How are people supposed to find out how they truly work with such disparate reviews? Which ones do you believe? Nobody is lying, I'm sure, but then how do you explain that person A and person B had the complete opposite feelings about the same exact product?? It's just too confusing... but we'll stick with the winner!