Frugal baby tips?

[mydaddysjag]

Im looking for some frugal baby tips. Not in a way that can harm a baby or anything like that, more like cloth diapers, homemade wipes, etc.

I've realized how expensive disposable diapers are, and im worried about the cost. Anyone know after the initial cost, if the cloth diapers are realy cheaper, and if so, how much?

I'm also worried because I have a weak stomach when it comes to those things, but everyone said I'll get over that quickly when I have a baby. Any tips for storage of diapers when dirty etc?

 

[~Lisa~]

I used cloth diapers for both my kids until they were about 10months old and walking at which time I found the papers prevented leaks better. They were alot cheaper and I bought them and washed them myself although a diaper service is nice I did use that for a bit with my oldest.

Shop for clothes at the many shops that have gently used items you can also get cribs and changing tables there for a fraction of the cost. I could take 25 bucks and come home with tons of outfits and then as the kids outgrew there things sell them back to the store and get a credit on more new things.

 

[Horse Feathers]

When my daughter was expecting, her husbands friends had a diaper party. Each person that came brought a pack of diapers( they had enough to last a year).

 

[Chico]

My husband and I had a baby right our of college. Because I wanted to stay home our budget was tight to say the least. We did fine and our baby was well cared for. It can be done. My first tip would be to breast feed. Formula is expensive and breast feeding is "cheap". I would highly recomend this route if all possible. Grind up bland "people" food instead of baby food. One yam for example can be many meals and is much cheaper than baby food. Shop yard sales for baby clothes and items. Little babies rarely damage their clothes and such. A good cleaning can make them "new". Use coupons. Have family and friends be on the look out for you. Pots and pans, boxes, etc. can be fun toys. Of course, make sure all is safe for a baby. My daughter loved plastic measuring cups and spoons. Use the library for books, videos and music. You can make your own playdough. Cute up little shirts and such with fabric paint, ribbon, and fabric. Fun to make and much cheaper than "special" store items. I used to look in stores for ideas and then make my own. Color books have easy and fun drawings to use for picture tracing. Little socks make great mittens. Buy clothes a little big because babies grow fast. Buy cute seasonal clothes after the holiday and save for the following year. Have friends with babies help you figure size. Use clinics for shots. Have a regular doctor for check ups and sick visits.

Good luck and have fun!

Chico

 

[Katiean]

I have a niece that that makes cloth diapers. She puts something in the middle of them that makes them super absorbent and they are fitted like the disposable ones. She made me some for my ex's daughter when she had her baby. The thing I didn't like about them was they were not white. She did make waterproof covers for them though that were white. The plus with the cloth is you always have them. You can also use them with or with out a cover to prevent diaper rash (the little baby bum can air out). I can see if Daisy is done with what I sent her. Maybe she will be willing to pass them on. You will have the problem of dumping them out

so you can wash them. I am planning on taking the foster care classes in the spring and I may need some diapers myself. Just because the disposables cost so much I would want cloth.

 

[mydaddysjag]

I defiantly plan on breast feeding. As a baby I had allergies to formula, and even now have a lot of stomach problems, and hubby had the same problems. The added plus is that it is much healthier than formula, we wont have to worry about buying formula between paychecks, and it's cheaper. I am eligible for a WIC program (I couldn't believe how high the income limit was) so they will help me out with a lot of things while im pregnant and breast feeding. It wont be everything, but any little bit helps. While researching cloth diapers today I found out that they make a "diaper sprayer" its like a sink sprayer that hooks to your toilet, and you just spray the diapers out into your toilet. Mom said If I really cant handle the diapers, she can help. We are moving into our own apartment again in 2 weeks, the plus is its around the block from my parents house. I refused to move far away when Im having a baby. I'm the youngest in my family, and have never even held a baby yet. Im going to need all the "mom" advice I can get lol. (yes, we are going to take classes too, my insurance will pay for them)

I read somewhere that some people use a food processor to grind foods up (yams, boiled carrots, pee's, beans, chicken, turkey etc) then put it in ice cube trays and freeze it for baby food. This seems easy, and cheaper than buying baby food, but I wonder if it gets freezer burned etc?

I also read you can make your own laundry detergent that is baby safe, I will have to look into that. I saw the price of dreft tonight at the store and almost had a heart attack.

 

[Bess Kelly]

I can still remember seeing lines and lines of diapers drying in the breeze and my kids are 40 & 43!!!!!!!!! But, with the cost of disposable, it would be the way to go, IMO. It will require bleach. But, if traveling you can't beat the throw away convenience. When I left the hospital with my first they gave us a sample pack of this "new" on market diaper.

Yep, a small blender can make your baby foods -- those are expensive, too! I have a Magic Bullet and use it for chopping meats for an old cat, besides my own needs. Fast, great job and small. Yep, if kept too long it can freezer burn but you just make small amounts. Remember to blend only the NON seasoned items.

WIC will pay for formula & baby foods, if you find you need to go that route. There are some women who just cannot produce enough milk &/or it isn't "rich" enough. Never know until the time gets here but, you will have a source to pay for the formula if needed.

 

[Keri]

Be very careful with making your own baby food. There is a reason why baby food is expensive. The tests that they have to go through before hitting the shelves is extensive. Be sure to boil your food. I would avoid anything from a can. Stick with fresh and clean it very good.

Used clothes stores are great. Get used clothes at great deals, then when your child grows out of them, take them in for store credit. We did that a few times, though we were lucky to have a family member with one just 7 months older than ours. So we got a lot of hand-me downs. Ebay is a great place. You can get a huge lot of clothes for fairly cheap (just watch shipping). I buy a lot of my sons jeans on there as they are way cheaper than stores. I also shop the clearance racks at stores. So buy next years summer clothes at 75% off this year. You can generally guage how fast they'll grow. Same with shoes. I see some on clearance I buy them. May be 6 months to a year before he fits them, but he'll wear them eventually. I also buy a nice sturdy boot and a shoe. That's really all they need as far as shoes. And also check out your local classifieds. People may have bundles of baby things they want to get rid of.

 

[luv2ridesaddleseat]

Is there a www.freecycle.org near you on the internet! Sign up! It is AWESOME!! You can't beat it! Best of luck to you!

 

[Chico]

Making baby food tips. Yep, you can freeze in ice cube trays. The trick is to move them from the tray to a freezer bag when frozen solid. Small batches do work best. Use good food safety tips and you should be fine. Another idea to avoid the freeze thing is to puree what your making for dinner. (older baby) An up side to making your own is you control the content. Breasst feeding does take a week or two to get comfortable with. Be paitent with yourself and baby. Ask for help if needed. I waited until after I hade sore nipples to seek advice.

Chico

 

[FoRebel]

For detergent... You don't have to use dreft... There are others out there like All's Free and Clear that are MUCH cheaper to use. You can make your own cloth diapers from flannelette cloth and just buy the plastic covers or try to find them on freecycle. Also look at craigslist for your area under baby & kids... There are a lot of cheap things that you will need for baby on there too. You may have a Baby consignment sale around you too, google for that as it's a great way to get what you need for cheap and it's all in good condition.

 

[Filipowicz Farm]

Just make sure when ou purchase used cribs, car seats and high chairs that they are not on the recall list . Check with the manufacters of item or have the resale store check there list.

 

[PrestigeMiniHorses]

I am having baby number 2 in less than 4 weeks. I am not using cloth diapers, not breastfeeding (that is if I can't produce enough or if my kid just won't do it) and I won't be using dreft or making my own baby food. I am however one of the most frugal people you will meet. I clip tons of coupons and request samples. WIC is amazing though and has helped us out alot. I cut coupons and shop sales. All the clothes I have bought have been second hand or on a sale rack. IF you have to buy formula I have contacted several manufacturers and Walmart and Target brand formulas match up to Similac and Enfamil. I love craigslist and freecycle though and it does help a TON! That's how I bought alot of my things that I needed. I also made my blankets needed for the crib and put together the crib bedding together myself. I did two rooms for less than half of one. I get most of the toys and books at Goodwill or places like that... All they need is a good wipedown and some batteries most of the time, that is if they even require batteries. As for my diapers, I have been using the Dollar General and Family Dollar brand and I LOVE THEM. No looks and they are cheaper than Walmart by far!!! Costco and Sams Club is good for diapers sometimes too.. I find deals are to be had on the smaller sizes...

 

[dgrminis]

I just had my son 7 weeks ago... I don't really think I am frugal but I try not to spend money foolishly.... One of the things I learned right away was dont buy outfits that are expensive -- they grow out of them way too fast... You dont want to spend $20 for an outfit that they only wear once before it no longer fits... (Thankfully I didnt buy any like this but we did get some outfits at our baby shower that were too small for him even when he was born).

I was not interested in cloth diapers at all -- I figured disposable diapers were something I wouldnt mind spending money on as the time to clean and wash cloth diapers as well as the extra costs associated with doing the laundry made it worth it to me to just spend the extra... I dont know about in your area but here the Sunday paper always has at least 1 coupon for $3 off Huggies which makes them $5 for a pack of 36 (which if I did my math right I believe is less than 15 cents a diaper)...

This is a great site for coupons...

http://www.parenting.com/article/Mom/Work-...n-Sites-for-Mom

I have gotten over 20 coupons each $5 off formula which makes a big difference - I also got 4 containers of formula sent to me in the mail from similac (that is the brand we use). My son is almost 2 months old and we primarily breastfeed but since I will be returning to work soon we wanted him to be used to formula as well...

Someone also mentioned Sams - they have good deals on formula, diapers and wipes if you want to buy them in larger quantities.

Target has the best wipes I have found -- it is there store brand -- they are soft and gentle but they dont fall apart when you are using them - they come in scented or unscented and the box has 8 packs of wipes with 88 wipes in each pack and the whole box is just over $11 -- so that is a great deal -- if you buy huggies wipes there are 64 in a container and it is $2.50 so you can see that the target wipes are much better buy....

If you have a carters near by watch them for sales -- my mom got us some outfits from there for $1-$3 each when they were having a sale... Also check with people you know that have a child that is older than yours... My mom has a friend that has a grandson that is 7 months older than our son so we have gotten alot of hand-me-downs from them - toys and clothes, even some furniture...

Good Luck!