Raising a child might come with some sticker shock for new parents, so News 8 set out to see where you can save the most money on essential baby items.
In one day, we visited six stores -- a Walmart, Target and Hy-vee in both Iowa and Illinois. We then purchased the same items at each place, including a box of Pampers diapers, Huggies wipes, Enfamil formula, Gerber baby food and a two-pack of Nuk pacifiers.
Among the purchases, we found some fairly significant differences in cost.
The pacifiers ranged the most in price, from $5.99 to $3.50.
Diapers, however, were pretty consistent, with only a 5 cent difference between stores.
Formula was more than a dollar cheaper at Walmart than both Target and Hy-Vee. Baby food was also cheapest at Walmart. There, it cost 88 cents, compared to $1.02 at Target.
Overall, the cheapest store we found was Walmart in Moline, where the items totaled $50.29.
The second-best option was the Davenport Walmart on Elmore Avenue, where the total came to $51.51.
Totals at the other four stores were all within 30 cents of each other, right around $53.50.
Based on our experience, there isn't a significant price difference between Iowa and Illinois; however, baby items do vary in price based on the specific store where you shop.