Saving Money on Baby Wipes {How To}

After my daughter was born I was fortunate enough to be able to quit my job and become at stay-at-home mom. Being on one income is much different, and finding ways to save money is very exciting. I stumbled across this on accident and not only is it much easier to change my baby's diaper, but the wipes last much, much longer and in return I am buying less wipes and saving money SCORE!


Here is how I save money on baby wipes:

1. Buy a package of baby wipes (I use the target refills unscented, they are a great price and work fantastic for this DIY)

2. Unseal the package of baby wipes

3. Put the package (closed, but the original white seal taken off) under running water in the sink

4. Let the package fill up with some water through the top (the top should be closed when doing so, but seal taken off prior)

5. Use the wipes!

Not only will this make it so you do not need to use as many wipes, it makes changing the diaper much easier! With the super wet wipes everything comes off much faster, and with less needed.


xoxo,

Kate

 

Daily Schedule that WORKS for my 9-12 Month Old

 

My daughter started sleeping through the night around six weeks old, but unfortunately that wonderful streak of sleeping through the night ended around five months old. We tried every schedule we found, we had a daily routine a bedtime routine, and still she would wake up between 1-5 times a night! We tried different natural medicines for teething and made sure she was burped before she went down, but still nothing worked. Sometimes it would take upwards of two hours of rocking her and walking her around to get her to go to sleep {we tried the crying out method, and do not believe in it at all}. Finally around eight months I happened upon another mom's schedule and decided to try something similar. She had her daughter going to sleep between 8:30-9PM instead of 7-7:30PM, which I thought was interesting, because my daughter had  a hard time going to sleep early, so I thought I would try it - it worked wonders!

Here is our current schedule:

8:30/9:00 {Wake Up}
9:00  {5oz Bottle}
10:00 {Breakfast}
10:45/11:00 {Nap, 2oz bottle}
12:15/12:30 {Wake up}
1:00 {Lunch}
2:00 {5oz bottle}
3:00 {Nap, 2oz bottle}
4:00 {Wake up}
4:30 {Snack / Diluted Juice}
6:30/7:00 {Dinner}
7:30 {Bath}
8:00 {Bottle 5oz, Books}
8:30/9:00 {Bedtime, 2oz Bottle}


She finally started sleeping through the night again with this routine! Find what works for your baby, and remember not to compare. I wish I had just tried a later routine earlier, it would have saved a lot of sleep, but I am glad I have one now.

DIY Changing Pad Cover

I was so excited when I finally finished this project that has been on my list forever, and in less than an hour! Make a beautiful changing pad cover for under $10. I followed the directions from this blog here. She has amazing step-by-step pictures and directions. I will definitely be making many more!

Registering for Baby #1 {Everything You Need to Know}

Registering for baby is so fun! Make sure you are putting things on your registry that you really want, don't worry about the price if it is high quality, it is better to ask for something a little pricier that is high quality rather then settling for something that may break or be a hazard to your precious baby. Your friends and family could always go in together on a more expensive gift.

Here are my favorite places to register for baby:

Online
1. Baby List
2. My Registry
3. Amazon.com

In Store (you can register online for in store items).
There are always those people who want to physically go buy a gift and don't like shopping online, I recommend registering for basic needs (non specialties such as diapers, wipes, bath tub, etc.) from these stores
1. Target
2. Pottery Barn Kids
3. Babies R Us
4. Land of the Nod

Please note anything with an * is extra.

Here is my list for registering for baby #1:
{Bath Essentials}

1. Infant Bath Tub - the Puj tub is amazing for 0-6 months, it folds in half and stores very easily, once baby can sit up a bath seat that can go in the tub is perfect.
2. Baby Bath Towels [2] Aden & Anais is a great brand, Pottery Barn Kids has adorable, quality bath towels as well. You can always use regular adult towels if you did not want to add baby towels to your registry.
3. Baby Shampoo {Burt's Bees Baby is my favorite brand}
4. Baby washcloths [3-4]
*5. Bath toys and holder [these can also be purchased later and does not have to be on your registry]

{Diapering Essentials}

1. Cloth or regular diapers, expect to be using at least 10 regular diapers a day, and more likely than not your baby will have grown out of the newborn size in a few weeks.
2. Wipes.
*3. Diaper caddy if you live in a two floor / larger home
4. Diaper rash cream [Burt's Bees Baby Multipurpose is my favorite]
5. Basic Changing pad
6. Changing pad cover [2-3]
*7. Disposable hospital pads [you could buy these on your own if you did not want to put on your registry. These saved us many washes, and outfit changes. With these pads you can scoop everything up and throw it away]
*8. Diaper Genie and Diaper Genie bags [Target carries the refills in the Target brand for a better price]

{Feeding Essentials}

1. Breast pump [Medela is by far my favorite]
*2. I did not put this on my registry, but wish I had; hands free breast pump bra / shirt
3. Bottles compatible with breast pump 6-10 varying sizes of 2.5-8 ounces, freezer storage milk bags, and on-the-go breast pump wipes
4. Burp Clothes 6-10
5. Boppy pillow and cover (Etsy has adorable unique covers)
6. Nipple shields [these things are life savors at the beginning stages of breastfeeding]
*7. Sippy cup, solid food storage items, baby bullet etc.
8. Bottle brush 


{Bedding Essentials}

1. Swing and /or bouncer
2. Swaddle blankets 6-10
3. Sleep sacks 2-3
4. Pack and play and pack and play sheets x2
5. Crib Sheets x2
6. Crib mattress cover
7. Crib pad
8. Floor blanket for tummy time 
*9. Crib Skirt / crib quilt / other crib decor


{Clothing essentials for 0-3M}

When putting clothes on your registry expect to not get the ones you put on there, but the ones people decided to buy for you instead - sometimes it's better to leave clothes off your registry and just ask for gift cards for clothing items.

1. Sleep and plays (or sleepers/ layettes) 6-10
2. Onesies 6-8
3. Leggings / comfy pants 3-4
4. Jackets 1-2 (depending on time of year maybe more, maybe even less)
5. Hats 2-3 (beanies and/ or one sunhat depending on time of year)
*6. Nicer outfit 1-2 (babies look so comfy and cozy in their sleepers or comfy clothes, I really didn't want to dress her up in too many fancy outfits when she was so little)
*7. Hangers for baby clothes
8. Baby socks 7-8 pairs
9. Baby scratch mittens 2-3 pairs

{Playtime}

1. Rattles / toys Sofie the giraffe 
2. Play gym
3. Books
4. Crib mirror

{Other Items}

1. Pacifiers / Pacifier clip
2. Stroller
3. Carseat
*4. Stroller blanket
5. Carseat cover
6.  Baby monitors
7. Baby nail clippers, brush and tooth brush
8. Baby thermometer
9. File folder for documents at the hospital
*10. Baby grocery kart cover
11. Baby carrier {I love Ergo!}

Activities for Baby 6-9 Months

Who knew it would be so hard to keep something so small entertained!! I love finding new ways to stimulate my daughter's brain and help her grow and learn the best. Here are a few of my favorites:

1. Walks. Simple I know! She loves walks, I love walks - it's a win, win. Talking to her during the walk helps stimulate her brain and learn about the environment around her, such as, "Do you hear the birdies?"

2. Books. Another simple one! Reading is one of the best things you can do for your baby, she adores books and I love bonding with her while we read. A few of our favorites:

1. Goodnight Moon
2. The Very Hungry Caterpillar
3. On the Night You Were Born 
4. Pat the Bunny
5. Love you Forever 

3. Hanging toys / Mobiles. These are great especially before baby can sit up on their own. This blog made a wooden toy gym, I plan on doing this for my next baby for sure. Check it out here. 

4. Bright Toys. A great trick is to put a blanket down and put the toys a foot or so out of baby's reach and let them try and get them.

5. Watching a short video. Too much screen time / TV time can be bad for baby, but we found this short baby movie on YouTube and she goes crazy over it, try it out! Short Movie for Baby.

6. Singing and dancing. She loves when we sing to her and make her hands move or feet move to the  song.

7. Baby Massage. It is best to massage baby right after bath time to calm baby down before bed. It is a great bonding time for you and baby. Any baby oil or gentle baby lotion works for massage. Find out more about baby massage here.

8. Baby Yoga. They need to stretch out their limbs too! This is one of my favorite Baby Yoga Videos.


I would love to hear how you entertain your baby!

xoxo.

Clothes Clothes Clothes (for baby)

I have nothing against pink, but when I found out I was having a girl I did not want her wardrobe to look like an explosion of pink, so I chose stores that have simple and classic clothes for girls.

Some of our favorite places to shop:

1. Baby Gap
2. Zara
3. Instagram (weird right? But so many cute things on there!)
4. Etsy
5. Baby Consignment Stores 
6. H&M
7. Occasionally Target & Amazon

DIY babylegs from adult socks

 

 I always had a problem finding babylegs that I liked for a good price, but when I decided to use socks, I had an unlimited amount of cute choices. Here is how I make babylegs from socks:

Step 1: Purchase (or find) the long socks of your choice. The ones shown above were found at Target. 

Step 2: Lay the socks out on a flat surface.

Step 3: Mark on each sock (with a pen or pencil) where you would like to cut, make sure it is the same on each sock. 

Step 4: Cut off the bottoms at the point your marked off.

(optional) Step 5: Sew the edges around the cut off sock with a sewing machine. I did not do this and they turned out great, it's up to you.

And there you have it - adorable two-dollar babylegs!