Craigslist Find

It took a couple months, but yesterday I finally took the plunge on a climber for our daughter. For $35. Similar ones brand new can run between $100 and $200. Thank you Craigslist (and the nearby family who is in the process of selling all of their "big plastic" so they can buy a bigger swingset for their school-aged kids)!

Are you on the hunt for anything on Craigslist right now? Share you stories in the comments.

Over 3000 disposable diapers avoided

Well, we have hit another cloth diaper milestone. Last week we went over the 3000 disposable diapers avoided mark. Here's a link to the post I did when we hit 2000 diapers. Every time I wash a load of cloth diapers (which is about every three to four days now) I make tick marks on a piece of paper taped to the wall to keep track of the number washed. I've been doing this since we started using cloth diapers when my daughter was three and a half weeks old.

By my count, we have saved $450 if we had used Target Up & Up brand diapers (about 15 cents each) and $750 if we had been using Pampers (about 25 cents each). Not to mention the money saved by using a cloth swim diaper rather than disposable swim diapers at 75 cents each.


Cotton Babies, a cloth diapering website, has been sponsoring a program called Change Three Things to have parents pledge to use at least three cloth diapers a day instead of disposables for one year. So far through this program they have avoided over a million disposable diapers going in the trash. Check it out!

Thrifty Strategy- Amazon Mom for diapers

Thanks to my friend, fellow thrifty mom Robin, for this tip. While I'm a diehard cloth diaper user, I know there are lots of parents out there for whom disposables are the right choice. Robin has done a lot of comparison shopping and found a great way to save on disposable diapers and have them delivered to her door! Here are the details, in her own words:

"A box of Pampers typically costs about $40. Best deal I found was at Sam's Club for $38. However, I just joined AmazonMom on Amazon.com. It was free to join, and that also rewarded me with a temporary free Amazon Prime membership, which includes free two-day shipping. If you just buy diapers on occasion from them, there's really no deal. But I signed up to have automatic delivery of diapers once a month (you can choose how often), and that gives you a huge discount! The box of diapers is now only $28, and no shipping costs! How cool to know that diapers will arrive at my doorstep, $10 cheaper than Sam's Club, and with no delivery fee?"

So take a look at AmazonMom, it might be the right choice for you, too.

New MVP thrifty kitchen tool

My lovely daughter turns one in a few weeks. She still has ZERO teeth! Because of this, we aren't as far along on her eating "real food" as some babies are at this point. However, now that she has quite a bit of experience in gumming foods, I have stopped using the food processor to puree everything. My new best friend for making her homemade food is....



a potato masher.

It's perfect. I can steam or boil vegetables, drain, and then mash them up right in the pan. A current favorite is the frozen carrot/pea/corn/green bean mixture. It makes a colorful, nutritious mash. She eats that alone or mixed into yogurt. Who needs to spend a bunch of money on processed "stage three" baby food when you can mash it yourself! I did the same thing with canned peaches- mashed them up and mixed in rice cereal. Viola- peach cereal! The masher also works for meals like lasagna and mac and cheese.

So those of you out there who are registering for baby gifts, maybe a potato masher should be your next addition.

I know you were in suspense...

I bought the below at Target yesterday and got some amazing deals. (see blog post from yesterday for teaser/preview) I got everything you see below for less than the original price of the shoes!

My purchases:
Butterfly sweatshirt $0.98 marked down from $3.99
3 pairs sweatpants (3 different sizes) $0.98 each marked down from $3.99 each
1 pair shoes $3.74 marked down from $14.99
2-pak fleece sleepers $4.98 marked down from $9.99

Total Spent: $12.64 (actually a bit less than that since I get 5% off for using my Target Visa and there is no sales tax on clothes in MN)
Original price: $40.94
Amount Saved: $28.30

Everything but one pair of sweatpants is in larger sizes for my daughter to wear during spring or for next winter. Just proves again that shopping at the end of the season can yield some great bargains.

For those who shop at Target there are a lot of baby-related items on clearance right now. Also some great deals to be had in shoes, toys, and home decor.

2004 Diapers- Another Milestone

Chilling on the dock this summer

Well, we have made it to another milestone. Our 10-month old daughter started climbing stairs recently, but I am talking about a cloth diaper milestone. Yesterday we reached 2,004 disposable diapers avoided! As I wrote about here, every time I wash a load of cloth diapers I count them and make hash marks on a piece of paper posted on the wall in my laundry room. Here's what it looks like now:

My cloth diaper tally sheet

By my count we've saved about $250 if we had bought Target Up and Up diapers and about $450 if I had bought Pampers. We own 32 diapers, mostly BumGenius 3.0's, and received most of them as gifts, registering for them at Target and at Cottonbabies. We've also saved on buying disposable swim diapers, as my mom found an awesome cloth swim diaper at a garage sale that we used for all of her swimming lessons and at least once a day for swimming while on a recent vacation.

I haven't been on my cloth diaper soapbox for awhile, but I am still convinced that they are the thrifty, easy, environmentally responsible way to go. We were recently on a two-week vacation and brought 14 or so diapers along. We did a load of laundry every two days or so. We even used the cloth diapers while on the plane. They worked great as usual, no leaks or issues.

Baby Food Stories

Still making all of our daughter's baby food. Some recent purees include carrots, yams, and a mix of peas/carrots/corn. However, since she's nine months now she is eating more and more "real food." Some interesting things she's eaten lately:

- Vegetable curry from an Indian restaurant. I ordered it mild and mashed the peas, carrots, and chickpeas with my fork, then mixed with some rice and some yogurt. She loves it!
- Meatloaf. I made it from scratch and again, mushed some up with my fork and she ate it right up.
- Pulled pork. We were staying with friends who made an amazing pulled pork shoulder in the crock pot. I gave her some small pieces. The meat was so tender she was able to eat it with no problems.
- Pumpkin pancakes. We were out to breakfast and had to try this seasonal special. They were very tasty and our daughter agreed.

Have you fed your baby anything interesting lately? Experts say it's important to have them try many different flavors. Of course I still try to abide by the rule of not introducing more than one new ingredient at at time.

Another cool thing about libraries

As a parent, the library is a thrifty treasure trove of information and activities. We go to a free baby and me storytime on Mondays at one of our local branches. The children's librarian leads a group of 5-10 pairs of parents and babies as we read four books, sing songs, and have playtime. The whole thing is about a half hour long. What a great way to improve literacy! Another local library has an amazing children's area with puppets, a train set, lots of board books, picture books, and several storytime offerings, for babies as well as toddlers and preschoolers. There are also large sections of parenting books to help us parents figure out what we're doing!

A weekly trip to the library is a must for any kid, whether they are 2 months old or 12 years old. I'm hoping that our trips and the many books we read every day will instill a love of reading in our daughter.

New cloth diaper prints

Today is a big day, BumGenius is announcing their new printed diapers this afternoon via a YouTube video. I'm hoping there will be some cute stripes and polka dots. If there is a print that I must have, I think I will try their Growing Up in Cloth program. You can send in your clean, used diapers and get a credit towards a future purchase. Maybe I'll trade in a couple boring white diapers for a printed one! A thrifty way to try the latest product.

More info to come once they make the announcement.

** Update **
Well, I must say I'm not too thrilled about the prints. It's basically five different colors of the same print, kind of a tribal/modern look. You can see them on the BumGenius site. Guess I won't be trading in my old diapers for new prints!

Thrifty Recipe- Turkey, Rice, and Apple Baby Food

We have quite a bit of leftover turkey from the recipe (posted here on my blog) I made this week. I decided to use some of it to make a new baby food concoction. It turned out well and she liked it! This is also quite thrifty as a Gerber 2nd Foods Turkey Rice dinner is about $1 a jar if you buy a 12-pak. I got an entire 5.5 pound turkey breast for $5.

Turkey/Rice/Apple Baby Food

• Take leftover cooked turkey, break into chunks, and place in food processor bowl
• Add cooked rice, brown or white, I used jasmine
• Put in some applesauce. I'll bet it would also be good with sweet potato or even pears.
• Turn on food processor and let it run until you don't see individual grains of rice, then drizzle in a little water until the mixture turns into a paste-like consistency, right for your baby
• Store covered in the fridge for a day or two or freeze in individual servings

Why she never gets new things

Last week, we bought our daughter a new car seat. She is almost too big for her infant carrier so we got her the next size up, a convertible (meaning it faces rear now but can also face forward) car seat called the Graco Comfortsport. It was on sale at Target last week plus we had our extra 10% off from our Target Visa. And it seems really cushy and comfortable, we couldn't bring ourselves to get her the cheaper Cosco model that didn't seem to have enough seat padding.

Today I was reminded why we have bought her very few new things. Most of her toys, furniture, etc are from Craigslist, garage sales, gifts, etc. We haven't attached the seat into the car yet, and I decided to put her into the seat on the floor in the house to make sure the straps were adjusted correctly. I got her all strapped in and adjusted and she seemed very comfy. Then she spit up all over the straps and buckle! Of course the one brand-new thing she got has already been broken in. Oh well, I'm sure the car seat will have many more adventures over the next few years.

Baby products- what you need and don't need

I recently found out that a friend is expecting her first baby. It got me thinking about what items I couldn't have done without for the first few months and which I could live without...

NEED

• Gilligan and O'Malley Nursing Tanktops- I have three of these, in pink, black, and white and basically rotated between them 24 x7  for the first three months of our baby's life. They are comfortable and convenient.
• Boppy or other nursing pillow
• Swaddles with Velcro- We swaddled the lower half of our baby's body, always leaving her arms out, most of the time for the first few weeks. After that we swaddled for sleep only for about another month.
• Breast pump- I love my Lansinoh but I know many who swear by Medela.
• Mam brand pacifiers- they look cute and are the right shape
• The First Years Breastflow bottles- the only ones we have used, are supposed to be more like breastfeeding.
• Kimono style onesies- Babies, especially newborns, don't like having things put over their heads and generally don't like being dressed and undressed. Our friends gave us a pack of these in newborn size and they were our go-to outfits for the first few weeks.
• Diaper Champ- Can be used with disposable or cloth diapers. You can use regular plastic bags with them so you don't have to buy expensive refills.

DON'T NEED

• Wipe warmer or bottle warmer
• Baby lotion, baby oil, baby powder
• Crib bumpers and thick blankets
• Bumbo

Also, as I have mentioned in several past posts, we are using cloth diapers (BumGenius brand) which are awesome! I would call them a "need" too.

Any items that you want to add/delete from these lists?

Thrifty Strategy- Making baby food

Today was a big day. My daughter turned six months old today (can't believe it), and what better way for her to celebrate than by trying peas for the first time! After successful eating of rice cereal, unsweetened applesauce, and some avocado, I decided it was time to bust out the cute little grinder I had registered for and make some baby food.

Even better, Target had their Market Pantry frozen peas on sale for 99 cents this week.

First, I steamed about 3/4 cup of peas on the stove. Then I let them cool. I used my little hand grinder to grind them up and got....

Yummy! I tried it and it tastes really good. The whole process took about 10 minutes. It was a bit thick for our daughter, so I mixed her serving with a little breastmilk. She seemed to like it. This little container above probably has enough in it for four or so servings. I still have over 3/4 of the bag of peas left. Talk about thrifty! And it feels really good to know exactly what she's eating.

In the future, I plan to use my giant Cuisinart food processor to make large batches of baby food to freeze, but the hand grinder is great for making small amounts so that we can make sure she will eat it before we go nuts making a huge batch. Or if I'm going to make a veggie for dinner, I could just steam some extra and grind it for her to eat when we are eating.

1024 Diapers- We did it!

We have been using cloth diapers ever since our daughter was three and a half weeks old and big enough to wear BumGenius. You can read more about our experiences on two of my past blogs here. Once we switched, the only time we used disposables other than some one-off times was when we were in San Diego in a hotel for five days. Other than that, it's been all cloth, all the time. Each time I wash and dry a load of diapers, I count how many there were and mark my handy tracking sheet taped to the wall in our laundry room. This week we hit a major milestone, over 1000 diapers!

Here are some of our diapers (We have 31 of them) hanging on the drying rack. I usually do a load every two or three nights and leave them to dry until the next day.

And because I couldn't resist, here is a picture of our daughter at about a month and a half with her diapers.

I'm estimating that we have saved about $125 by using cloth (since our diapers were gifts we don't have to earn back the $18 cost per cloth diaper). This is based on the price of 50-pack Up and Up diapers. I can't wait to keep saving more money! Plus, we've avoided putting 1024 diapers in a landfill and our daughter looks so darn cute in them.

New BumGenius 4.0 and travel with cloth diapers

For those of us who cloth diaper, yesterday was a big day. Cottonbabies finally announced their new cloth diaper product, which replaces the BumGenius 3.0 diapers. As I mentioned here, we have been using cloth diapers since our baby was a few weeks old.

New BumGenius Video

I am excited about the new features and three new colors, and if I was looking to expand my cloth diaper supply, would definitely buy some 4.0's. The main updates are new colors, a choice between velcro and snaps, and the ability to fit bigger babies. One other cool new feature is the ability to easily replace the elastic on the diapers yourself if needed.

Cloth Diapers and Travel
Some people have asked me how I travel while using cloth diapers. Our daughter has gone on three trips so far. I used cloth for two trips and disposable for most of one trip. The main decision point is access to a washer and dryer. When we travel somewhere and stay in a home instead of a hotel, it is easy to travel with cloth diapers. I just bring about 10 diapers, enough for a day and a half, and do laundry a couple times while we're there. When we're in a hotel, I don't use cloth. However, I bring a few cloth diapers and use them on the last day, then just wash them when we get home.

Day to day I carry a couple extra cloth diapers, along with a roll of plastic bags, in my diaper bag. If she needs a diaper change, I just put the dirty cloth diaper in a plastic bag and knot the end. When we get home, I put it in our Diaper Champ along with the other dirty diapers. You could also use a "wet bag" when on the go which is a waterproof, reusable bag.

Do you have any other questions or comments about using cloth diapers? Let me know!

Thrifty Strategies- Garage Sales

Some recent garage sale finds by me, my mom, and my husband, including a $1 exersaucer.

Where can you buy a side table, package of swim diapers, a cooler, baby clothes, some work gloves, a board game, and an exersaucer, all for a total of less than $5? At garage sales! Garage sales are hit-and-miss, sometimes you hit the jackpot and sometimes you come up short. Here are some strategies to make the most of your time (and money).

• Use Craigslist to find garage sales near you. There is a whole header under the For Sale section. You can search on the location and/or on specific items or categories.
• Once you have a list of several sales, use Google Maps to develop the best route, and print it out so you can find your way.
• Once on the road, if you see a sign for a sale that's not on your list, stop in. You never know what you might find!
• Bring lots of change and small bills, I use this as an opportunity to empty out our change jar
• Don't be afraid to bargain or to offer one price for a group of several items
• Go in with a list of what you're looking for and try to stick to it
• Make sure the items you buy are in good condition and not broken. Wash and/or disinfect all items, especially things for babies or children.

I learned my garage sale strategies from my mom, who has made some amazing finds over the years. Especially recently with items for our baby, including a swing for $20 that sells in stores for $150, a bike trailer, and all kinds of baby clothes for 25 cents or less each piece. Give it a try, you might find some treasures!

Cloth Diapers?!

While we were planning for the arrival of our daughter, my husband and I talked to a lot of parents about their experiences. A few of them mentioned that they used cloth diapers. My first thought was: cloth?! Aren't they messy and leaky and don't they use big pins? Then we started looking into it and realized that cloth diapers have come a long way since the ones our parents used for us in the 1980's and before. They come in cute colors and many have adjustable snaps and velcro. We then started crunching the numbers on the cost of disposable diapers vs cloth and came to the realization that we could save some serious money, especially since we registered for the diapers and received most of them as gifts. Also, we will be able to use them again if we have another child.

Here's what we ended up doing:
- We decided on the BumGenius 3.0 cloth diapers. We registered for them on our Target baby registry and on the Cottonbabies website.
- We bought a Diaper Champ on Craigslist for $5 to hold the dirty diapers until I do laundry. You can use regular kitchen size trash bags with it.
- We wash a load of diapers every two to three days, using the Target Up and Up free and clear detergent

I'm sure there will be more posts to come about the details and day-to-day of cloth diapering. We've been at it for four months now and it's working great!

Some Useful Cloth Diapering Links:
Great overview of cloth diapering: Lazy Moms Guide to Cloth Diapering
Website that sells several types and offers a gift registry: Cottonbabies
BumGenius Website: BumGenius