Thursday, January 10, 2008

Money-saving tips on baby products

When Samuel was born, I was unrealistic about how much money I would have to spend on baby products. I started out using all Aveeno baby wash, diaper rash cream, and lotion. Pampers were the only diapers to touch his bottom. Dreft was the only detergent I used to wash his clothes. I soon found out how expensive these products were and how I could easily save money by shopping around.

So, I just love Aveeno baby products, but they are so stinkin' expensive. After Samuel was born, I found Aveeno coupons on eBay and used those for awhile. When I ran out of coupons, I found that Target sold a generic Aveeno. I was so excited!!! That enthusiam died by the time Samuel was a year old because Target stopped making them. Never fear though... Publix saved the day. I found out that they have a generic version at a good price. Just check the baby aisle. They are right beside the Aveeno products. Oh, and Publix sometimes puts their Pampers diapers on sale for $5 or $6 less than you would pay elsewhere. Check the online ads or your local Publix if you shop there. I rarely shop at Publix, so I tend to search the ads. Also, since I'm a member of the Publix Baby Club, they send me notice of sales and coupons too.

By the time Samuel was 8 months old, I started using the Target brand of Desitin diaper rash cream (blue and white box), which I love even more than the Aveeno brand. I use it every time I change Samuel's diaper, which has prevented him from getting a diaper rash. I highly recommend doing that! Recently, with Samuel teething so much, I noticed some redness (not rash but redness), so I use Boudreaux's Butt Paste most of the time. It works like a charm. It is messy though, and I will warn you that it can stain clothing. It stained my changing pad cover. :( I will quit using it when I feel like he's over the teething. By then, I hope he'll be potty trained.

When Samuel was born, I used Pampers Swaddlers. So many people gave me diapers, that I didn't buy Pampers Swaddlers for 4 months. Even though I had a ton of Pampers Swaddlers, I felt like I was throwing away money if he only wore them a few minutes, so when Samuel was about 2 or 3 months old, I started using Luvs diapers when I knew he wouldn't have the diaper on for very long (i.e. right before I nursed him). I used my stockpile of Pampers the rest of the time. Because I wasn't too thrilled with the fit of Luvs (no stretch at all), I stopped using Luvs once Samuel went to a Size 3 diaper. Pampers Cruisers are so expensive though, so a month ago I went back to Luvs during the day and a Cruisers diaper at night. I was pleased to see that Luvs got their act together and added stretchy tabs. I haven't been disappointed. And Luvs are much cheaper!!!

Now, in order to save money on baby detergent, I shopped around and found that for $19.99 I could buy a HUGE container of liquid Dreft at Target. It's 200 or 300 oz. I would check, but I quit using it when Samuel was 18 months old. That container lasted months, so it was in no way a waste of money. For dryer sheets, I shopped at Babies-r-us and found a baby friendly one that I still use some. Ok, so at the 18 month mark, I decided to quit using baby detergent. I found Tide Free, and now I use Tide Free for all of our family's laundry. I think I will stick with that with the new baby. It's basically Dreft without the baby scent, right?

I almost forgot to mention that my FAVORITE stain remover for babies is Baby Oxyclean. The cheapest place to buy it is Babies-r-us because they sell a container 3 times the size of the container at Target. I wouldn't waste your time with any other stain removers. You can use this to make a paste on a stain or soak clothes in it when you have a little one around. (Once they're bigger, I just use Shout for stains.) Some people don't realize that you can use Oxyclean in every load of laundry to get your clothes cleaner. I've been using the regular Oxyclean in every load for years. Once Samuel was born, I was concerned about the chemicals until I saw the baby version. At 18 months, I also quit using the Baby Oxyclean and use the regular one.

If you have any questions, let me know. I would love to help any new moms out there!

1 comment:

  1. I just have to AMEN Ocyclean! I had a friend tell me it didn't work and to not waste the money. OK, don't know what she was using - because it has saved every outfit we own. I now keep a bucket in a utility sink with OxyClean water in it and dump Megan's bibs each day. The Oxyclean not only has gotton out her new stains - but also all the month old washed and dried in stains. LOVE IT!

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