Baby

This page explores ways to save on baby related items like clothes, wipes, food, furniture e.t.c.   Please feel free to add more tips from your experience.  Thank you

Save money on Baby Wipes by making your own (thanks to Amy W. for sharing this Tip)

Ingredients:
1 Roll of Bounty
1-1/2 Tbs baby wash
1-1/2 Tbs favorite baby lotion
1-1/2 cups boiling water


Directions:
Cut the roll of Bounty (or other strong brand of paper towel) in half to make two half rolls.  Use a very sharp knife so that the paper towel is cut instead of shredded.  (Set one half roll away for next time.) Unroll the paper towel and fold it back and forth like an accordion.
Put the folded sheets in an old wipes container.  The accordion folding will allow the sheets to pop up one after the other.

Mix the baby wash, lotion and boiling water in a bowl.  Pour over and around the wipes.  The wipes will absorb the mixture and will be ready to use once they’re cool.

If you have two containers you can make the other half roll now or later as you wish.

Buy the paper towels on sale and it saves a lot of money over regular wipes.  You also know exactly what’s in these home-made wipes.  Don’t worry, as long as you buy strong paper towels, they will hold together and you won’t be using twice as many as you used too!

(Financials: 720 Huggies wipes at $18 compared to making 1680 home-made wipes for $14 = 1/3 the cost.  (We also buy our paper towels on sale and used coupons to reduce the cost whenever possible.)

Variations:
1) Vary the ingredients: Some people like more or less of an ingredient to make them less damp, more lotion, etc.  You can also add a drop of tea tree oil drop or other essence if you like it scented.

2) If you have a round ice cream container you can choose to skip the accordion folding.  Instead stand the half roll of paper towel up in the bucket and add the ingredients.  The roll in the middle can then be pulled out and then the sheets can be pulled from the center.  I personally prefer to use the wipes box and the pop-up method better but I get my daughter to do the accordion folding for me.

Baby Food:
Consider making your own baby food. It is not as difficult or time consuming as you might think.   Making pureed sweet-potato, peas and carrots, apple sauce to name a few at home can save you tons of money when compared to buying the bottled stuff from the grocery store.   Plus you know exactly what is going into the food, which in most cases is only 1 or 2 ingredients. By doing this you can save up to 90% on the cost of solid baby food.

A good idea is to make large batches and freeze in single serving sizes so that you can defrost only what you need for each day.

Clothing:
1) Seek family, friends and colleagues, have kids 6 to 12 months older than your child and ask if you can buy their babies clothes as they outgrow them. You potentially can save more than 60% of the cost of buying new clothes.

2) Thrift shops and second hand stores are great places to find bargain prices on baby items.

3) Sell your babies clothes they have outgrown.

4) Wash all used clothing items in the hot water cycle.

Car Seats:
1) When buying used, inspect the seat to make sure it does not show any signs of impact or damage.

2) Check the expiry date to make sure it is still valid.

3) Check your local motor vehicle department to get the current car seat policy and rules for your region.

A certified car seat specialist sent the following information to me on this subject:

All car seats have an expiry date due to materials deteriorating over time, and safety standards changing. Manufacturers set their own expiry dates, so dates are different not only between manufacturers, but also between models – and sometimes even between production dates of the same model. All seats have a manufacture date on them, and an expiry date should be imprinted on the seat as well, but often this is hard to find.

The easiest thing is to call the company with the date/model and they will tell you – they can also tell you if there have been any recalls on the seat. A lot of seats are under recall, some for minor things, and others for significant safety issues (which is why it is important to ensure you register your seat, and update the information if you move).

Insurance companies can deny claims if the seat is expired, or improperly sized for the child (this is rare, but I would hope fear of insurance claim denial would not be the reason parents would have their child in the proper seat).

If you know the history of a seat and it is still within its life limits then I fully support using a friend/family’s seat.   Make sure the seat is 2012 compliant.

It is important that car seats fit properly in the car (not all car seats are compatible with all cars), the child fits properly in the seat – and it is appropriate to their size and development, and finally that the seat is easy enough to use that parents will use it correctly 100% of the time.

The key is to take the time to do your homework so that you get the right (size, model, safe, valid) car seat for your child.
Furniture:
1) Look to buy or borrow from family friends and colleagues with kids older than yours.

2) Thoroughly inspect to make sure items are sturdy, safe and in excellent working condition.

3) Don’t forget to check thrift shops and used stores for deals.

4) Properly clean and disinfect all items.

2 Responses to Baby

  1. Andrew says:

    A baby food mill is also great as the baby grows a bit bigger. Simply take pieces of the family dinner like spaghetti, casserole, etc. and put it through the grinder to quickly make the family dinner safe for baby without preparing separate food. Also a nice way to use up small left overs the next day 🙂 As an example, search for the KidCo Baby Food Mill.

  2. Aditi Ranay says:

    Using washable & reusable cloth diapers! We tend to spend a lot of money on baby diapers annually. By using cloth diapers we’re not just saving on money but also protecting our child from those horrible bum rashes that irritate babies. It does cause some level of inconvenience in washing a load full of cloth diapers everyday as against disposable ones but cloth diapers prove to be effective in the long run.

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