Baby "Must haves" and savings tips

So being a "seasoned" new mom LOL, I thought I would post about the items I have for Matthew that I feel are 110% absolute necessities:

1.) Baby Aquaphor (or the CVS knock-off brand). I don't know if it's because he's a winter baby, or just a baby in general, but my son has been blessed with super-dry, itchy skin, mostly all over his head and face. This is what my pediatrician and all other new moms seem to recommend to get rid of this yuckiness. I also often put a little cap and the infant gloves from Gerber on his head and hands to help prevent him from scratching so much (babies do have very sharp nails even if you file/trim them daily). He often looks like he has been through a warzone and back!

2.) Fisher Price Papasan cradle swing. Also recommended to me by a seasoned mommy, this is probably my most favorite gadget invented ever. AKA the "sleep machine" it's a blessing in disguise when I need to get work done around the house, or especially showered and dressed for the day and DH is not around to help out. I also have the matching vibrating seat, but we don't use that nearly as much as the swing. Another "tip" I learned is to pick up a ton of batteries at the 99 cents store to keep on hand. If you use the swing regularly like I do, you go through batteries really quickly. There's no "cents" shelling out the costly prices for batteries at the local pharmacy or grocery store when they work just as well from the discount place.

3.) Baby gowns for night-time. They sell these at places like Target and are my favorite clothing for bed-time. I especially like the 0-6 month size because there is a lot more "room" for DS to move around and they cover his legs and don't ride up as much. They make middle-of-the night changings an absolute breeze. (They are also made out of thin cotton, so he won't sweat as much with the next must-have product).

4.) The Swaddle Me is another product to pick up a couple of. I have found this is the dream invention that does in fact keep my son in a dream-like state all night long. He rarely wakes up in the middle of the night when I use this product. Also, keep in mind that you are never, ever supposed to use blankets, even swaddled tightly on a baby. They can easily wiggle their way out and cover their face with blankets. This actually happened within the first couple of weeks of DS being home so we never, EVER use blankets anymore.

5.) I have found a good way to cut costs are buying my diapers and baby wipes for half the price by using Target brand. They work just as well for my son as the name brand Huggies and Pampers, that are twice as expensive. I learned however that I really can't go cheap on the formula (I switched to Target brand from Similac for a week and it gave him massive diarrhea). However, you CAN sign up on the brand-name formula websites and they often send you $5.00 off coupons in the mail regularly. I also look for sales on these products and have asked my family and friends to sign up too so they can give me the coupons. (Similac is normally around $23.00 a can where I live and this often lasts a little less than a week for a 2-3 month old).

6.) Giftcards: Tell your family and friends for your shower or welcome-home gifts for baby, to buy you giftcards to Target, Babies-r-us, etc. instead of giving you yet another outfit he or she is only going to wear one time (babies get so many clothes at showers it seems and they outgrow them so fast). For our first couple of months, I spent very little out of pocket on his formula and diapers and just applied the giftcards to these necessities.


7.) Invest in a Brita water pitcher and a regular old-tea pot. I boil the water for his formula every couple of days and then pour it into the Brita and keep it on my kitchen counter. I make his bottles from the powdered formula and serve them to him room temperature. Things like "bottle warmers" are really a huge waste when babies are perfectly content drinking their milk at room temp. There is also absolutely no reason to purchase a ton of bottled water when you can make your own for free!

8.) The Bundle Me. If you live in a cold climate or have a winter baby like I did, skip the snow suits and just get one of these. It makes life so much easier with dressing and keeps baby toasty warm. Most of his winter fleece is going to get donated because we never even took off the tags because of this great invention. (Oh btw, they also make a Bundle Me "lite" for the Spring and Fall months or warmer climates ;) ).

9.) Skip expensive detergents like Dreft. Keep in mind that most of the time, baby's skin will be up against what you wash your clothes in anyway. If he or she is not getting rashed rubbing against you, they should be fine with your regular old detergent that is probably 3x cheaper then products like Dreft.

10.) My most favorite "tip" of all is to remember that every baby and family is different. What works for you may not work for someone else. When you have a baby anyone and everyone is going to start giving you all kinds of advice on how to raise your child. I have learned to let it just roll of my shoulders and go on with my daily routine. Before you know it, everything will become completely second nature for you as a new parent ;).