Make It Yourself: Baby Food

Now this may sound absurd to you, but for many years I thought the only option for baby food was the Gerber jars you buy at the grocery store. Then as my friends started having babies, I heard talk of making your own baby food. That sounded too hippie for me, as well as too domestic and time-consuming. Then I had a baby of my own and my thinking radically changed about what I was putting into that precious little body. I also started pricing those miniscule jars of food. It looked like the price of gold listed on the shelves.

The turning point for me to actually consider making my own baby food was in talking to a friend who was currently making her own. She assured me it was very, very easy. Easy as in pick out a veggie, bake or boil it, then grind it up. I did some searching online for a few pointers and found a site that was just what I needed: Wholesome Baby Food. There you'll find an abundance of information about vegetables to use and how to cook them.

I want you to know that making baby food really is easy and takes very little time. It saves a great deal of money as well. Even with that, the most rewarding part for me was knowing I was giving my little one nutritious, yummy food.

(Don't have a baby, but maybe a picky child or husband? You can use baby food in recipes to "hide" fruits and veggies so they get the nutrients they need. You can find lots of recipes online.)

Wash Disposable Swim Diapers? You Make the Call.

I first learned of washing and reusing disposable swim diapers from a link Deal Seeking Mom shared. In reading the comments, many of which were negative, I saw that Walmart sells cloth swim diapers for around $5. The cloth swim diaper seemed more logical to me, but I couldn't find one at the two stores nearest me. So after a trip to the pool, I washed and air-dryed the swim diaper. Here was the result:

Sorry about the poor picture quality, but you get the point. Since then, I've used and washed this same diaper again. In my personal experience, we have had no problems. But we haven't had any #2 issues, either. According to the original link where this idea was shared, you should not wash the diaper any more than 3 times. And if anything besides liquid gets in the diaper, just throw it away.

Happy swimming!

Diaper Reward Programs: Earn Gifts for Yourself and Others

I'm not one to be brand-loyal when it comes to diapers. I've put all types on my baby's bum, just for the sake of keeping it covered. But, I'm not one to spend more than $5 on a jumbo pack of diapers, either. That means I usually buy Pampers and Huggies, thanks to sales and coupons. I know there are many of you who buy these brands no matter what, so I thought I would share my experience with Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards and Pampers Gifts to Grow. That way you can get a little something back for all of your smelly work.

In the 17 months that we've been buying diapers, I've collected enough Huggies codes to receive a $25 Sephora gift card. I'm half-way to getting another $25 gift card of some sort. The Huggies rewards change often, so you have to get what you want when you see it.

Like I said earlier, we also use Pampers. The use of both brands has not hindered my points collection! I redeemed my points with Pampers for a 12-month Shutterfly photo calendar. I did have to pay shipping, but that's minimal compared to the joy my mom has in seeing her granddaughter's face each day. I currently have enough points to get two more calendars, which I'm saving for Christmas. Many of the Pampers rewards are always available, but there are occasionally items that come and go.

There is nothing complicated about entering the codes on the diaper packages. You can save them and enter several at one time (the Pampers site is most conducive to this). Pampers also distributes codes in other ways. Many couponing blogs alert you to those free codes. Huggies has a few opportunities on their site to find and earn codes as well.

If you have a little one in diapers, I encourage you to get started collecting the rewards you've already earned!

The Quest for Finger Foods

If you have a tot who is forging the road to independence, you know what I mean about finding new and inexpensive finger foods. In my searching, I began to wonder if Gerber has a monopoly on snacks for babies and toddlers. No, you just have to do a little wandering in the grocery store to find other options. I'll give you a quick list of what I've found as a replacement for those expensive treats.

• cereal bars- fig newtons work just as well and are considerably less expensive per serving (check out Aldi for a great price)
• cheese puffs- Walmart sells items made by Sensible Portions (like Veggie Straws) in which the ingredient lists are short and readable; compared to the Gerber prices, even the all-natural Cheetos cheese puffs are a better deal
• yogurt- Dannon's 32 oz natural yogurt can be portioned into individual servings; the vanilla flavor is great for combining fruits and vegetables (the sweet potatoes and yogurt combo is packaged by Stoneyfield in their YoBaby line)
• applesauce- many store brands have the natural variety of applesauce in larger jars; as with the yogurt, portion into individual servings
• baby puffs- all I have for this is buy generic--I'm not sure I could get away with anything else

I will admit that I sometimes buy the Gerber snacks when I have a coupon and when they are on sale. (Go here for coupons.) I also buy individual packs of yogurt and applesauce when they are a great deal. Such things are much more convenient for traveling.

What? Diaper Genie Refills Cost How Much?

I was fortunate to be gifted a Diaper Genie and several refills by a great friend. Unfortunately, the refills ran out within the first couple of months after having Alayna. The convenience of the Diaper Genie is great, but the expense is as stinky as the diapers you put in it. Last time I checked, the refills were about $6 each. The only generic type I ever found was at Walmart, and they were $5. Not much better, in my opinion.

So I set out to find another option. I knew there had to be something out there. That's when I found a YouTube video showing how to use basic kitchen trash bags! This was over a year ago, so I couldn't find the video. But I did find several others showing basically the same thing if you want to do a search. Essentially, you fluff out a trash bag, jam it into the place where you put the diapers, then wrap the top around the empty refill cartridge. The plastic ring from the refill is what helps hold the trash bag in place when you are feeding yucky diapers through. Here are several pictures showing how I do it:

Bag is fluffed and stuffed into the Genie.

Top of bag is wrapped around ring to secure it.

All ready to use!

Just so you know, you can also buy diaper pails that are made to use trash bags. That might be something to consider if you don't yet have a stinky little one.

Happy pails to you!

MATH UPDATE: I realize I didn't give any hard and fast numbers to show trash bags are a cheaper option for the Diaper Genie. The refill doesn't have a bag count, but rather one continuous bag you cut and knot when the pail is full. I can roughly say, though, that one refill at $6 lasted around 3 weeks (this was with smaller diapers, mind you). A box of 28-count Hefty trash bags retails for $7 at Walmart (not on sale and with no coupon). Even using 2 bags a week, this box will last well over 3 months. I recenlty stocked up on 45-count boxes of Hefty trash bags for $2. I don't think I need to do the math for you to know that is a great deal!