Saving With Baby

There are SOOO many things we as moms can do to cut down the cost that comes along with having a new baby enter our family.  Here are some ideas that we used in our family that really cut down the costs and I hope they help you to.

Clothe Diapers:  I know I know, ewww, BUT they aren't even that bad.  I found over 55 of them on Kijiji for only $150.  Clothe diapers these days do up with Velcro and have inserts.  There is also liners you can put in that hold all the solid stuff and you just throw it in the garbage.  People say you have way more laundry to do..... not here.  This is what I would recommend...

• use throw away diapers for the first month.
• start your cloth diapers the second month with liners.  Use my cleaning technique and wash in cold water with regular loads of laundry.  At night, have your baby wear throw away diapers.  Also have throw away diapers on hand for trips and outings.
• clothe diapers cleaning technique:  buy the "sunlight" bar.  You can find these at walmart and superstore with the laundry detergent and they look like this.... this pack contains 2 bars and costs $2.

•  after your baby has done a poop and you have changed them, take the dirty diaper to the tub and turn shower head to full stream hard spray.  Clean off chunks.  Take out insert and take both to sink.  Grab your sunlight bar and rub into all stained areas on both the insert and diaper.  Then place in washer.  You can leave diaper in the washer for days until your ready to do a load of laundry..... no bleach needed.  And here is proof:

 before

 after

And this diaper was in my washer for at least 2 days, waiting for the washer to fill up.  No bleach used, nothing but the sunlight bar!! 

Make Your Own Wipes: What I did was buy a bunch of baby wash clothes.  Before I laid my little one down to change his bum, I would grab a baby wash cloth and wet it.  I found them to be nicer on the skin and worked great.  I would just throw the cloth in the washer when I was done.

Make Your Own Baby Food:  It's easy and cheap.  Find your food processor and dust it off.  If you don't have any kind of food processor or blender, then purchase a hand blender from Walmart from $20.  They come with a large cup and look like this.....

 

• Check out this link HERE for recipes and tips on how to make your own baby food.   Comparing on average $.80 a jar of baby food to $30 for 2 months of baby food, making your own is definitely the way to go.  I just took an afternoon to cut, boil, and puree everything down.  
• To store your homemade baby food is easy.  Go to the dollar store and buy a bunch of ice cube trays if you don't already own some.  I bought 8.  Once you are done pureeing, fill up your ice cube trays with the puree.  Place in freezer for 24 hours or until frozen.  Pop out the cubes and place into large zip lock bags, labeling what each bag is.  When it's supper time, just go to the freezer and take out 3-4 squares, mixing up the tastes, and defrost.  You can defrost using the microwave or the healthiest way is to take out the cubes you are going to use the following day so they can unthaw in the fridge till needed.
• When it comes to baby cereal, you can make that too!  With your food processor or coffee grinder ($8 at Walmart for the cheapest) grind up rice/ oats/ or granola to the finest powder (chunkier as your baby gets older).  Cook about 3 days worth at a time and keep in the fridge.  Also keep what you have ground in the fridge for longer lasting.  I use instant oats so you don't need to cook really.  I just added water and microwaved on high for 1 minute.  Cooking does keep more nutrients in though!
• And you don't always need to feed your baby your homemade baby food from the freezer.  Say one night you had spaghetti.  Take enough spaghetti, puree with your hand held blender, and serve!  
• Baby snacks can really hit the pocket book.  Instead of the puffs you find from Gerber, buy a large bag of puff wheat for $2.50 from your grocery store.  Instead of mum mums, find rice cakes and break into pieces.  Or buy the no name mum mums from Superstore for almost $1.50 cheaper.  Or you can make your own baby snacks HERE.

Baby Clothes: Unless you plan on having a lot of children, buy your babies clothing second hand.  They grow out of their baby clothes so quick, its not worth spending the money.  Go to local second hand stores or garage sales.  Even check on Kijiji and Craigs list, people are always giving away their used baby clothes.  Make sure you wash at home before using, and I would add in a little bleach just to make sure, but once washed, good as new.  The baby won't know the difference!

Baby Shoes:  Until your child starts walking on their own, shoes are not a NEED.  Baby shoes can be super expensive and completely non functional.  Think about making your own baby shoes.  Click HERE for a list of different sites to learn to make baby shoes.  Their little feet grow so quick between newborn and the first year, save your money and stay away from the shoes!

Large Baby Items: Zellers in Canada is great for them and about every 6 months they have cribs and change tables for 50% off!!  Your stuff doesn't always have to be new, there are some great used items out there to.  It may take a little longer to find, but in most cases we have 9 months to get a crib!  Check out kijiji or free cycle.  You may find a treasure!  I got an angel care system (baby monitor) regular $149, for only $65 on kijiji.  It had only been used once!!!