For the Couture Mommy! The Honest Company

Now this is my big splurge on my baby girl... The Honest Company

This Company was co-founded with Jessica Alba and sells eco-friendly, baby-friendly, recycled products for baby, home, and mommy. Things like diapers, wipes, wash, lotions, detergents, cleaners, etc.

So far I love EVERYTHING that they have. If you go to their website www.honest.com you can order a trial to see how you like it. (If you call in to order the trial you don't have to be set up for their subscription service.) Their diapers are beyond adorable with tons of original prints for girls and boys. I got the trial and loved it so I'm about to order a set of diapers to keep for special occasions when baby girls wears dresses and mommy wants a cute little diaper hanging on her behind.

It's supposed to be a subscription service that can be pricey but is automatically sent to you every month. Although I was informed at their office when setting up my trial that you can call in to order as you want instead of having things sent every month.

Absolutely LOVE it! The diapers are adorable, work great, and all of their cleaners and soaps are so mild and gentle.

I know they sometimes advertise on my blog. If you see the pane you can get an idea of their product at a glance.

Saving Money on Baby Necessities, Pregnancy, and Post Pregnancy!

So I spread through word of mouth any deals I find on Diapers, and Formula. These are going to be 2 of your biggest expenses in the first couple years of life with your little one. Here are some great places to shop and ways to find some deals on Diapers, Wipes, Formula, and many other baby necessities.

Babies R' Us / Toys R' Us

• Although they aren't really a 'deal' or 'steal' store, they most certainly can be every few months.
• Sign up for their free Rewards program and they will send you advertisements for in-store deals that you aren't going to find unless you walk in the store. They run deals like buy 2 boxes of diapers and get a $25 gift card, or buy 3 or 4 boxes of diapers and get one free. They also do this for wipes, formula, and starter foods. This is especially great if you have manufacturer coupons to stack. This is usually where I buy diapers and wipes and when they run a sale like this I'll stock up to get me through to their next sale.
• If you really want to bank on them, register for their credit card. Or just their store charge card if you don't want quite the credit hit. Either way you get a $10 coupon for every $100 you spend, AND you get special sales and deals that you wouldn't get otherwise. The coupons also last for a few months and can be used on anything. This comes in handy when you're first stocking up for baby, and at Christmas time. With the cost of baby supplies, you can easy save yourself $100 - $200 a year with these rewards, and that's not including the money you'll save with coupons.

Amazon Mom

• I've used Amazon Mom before but I prefer physically buying my supplies. I do have family and friends that are religious with Amazon Mom though. You get 10% off diapers all the time, free shipping, and you can use coupons on the site to get even better deals.

Target

• Target doesn't like to stock old products. And by old I mean they could get a shipment Tuesday, and the following week the manufacturer may change the print, number in a package, or packaging itself, and what Target has left over is considered 'old' and clearance. Look for these! They will usually sell them on end aisle caps and you can get the steal of a century. Just a month ago Pampers changed the number of diapers in one of their packages so they were selling the old boxes at over 50% off!
• Target is also great at basic coupons and stacking their coupons with manufacturers for some great deals.

Some other ways to save on Formula and Diapers...

• Register on the manufacturer website for the brands you use. I use Pampers Diapers, Pampers Wipes, and Similac Formula. After registering on their sites you get $5 off Similac coupons as well as FULL SIZE container samples of formula, and $1 and $2 coupons from Pampers. The Similac is especially great because you get these coupons every month and you get a lot of them! I know when I first registered I was getting $20 off every month, and as the baby ages and uses less formula, it slowly dwindles down to 1 $5 off a month of 2. Still... AMAZING savings in the long run. (I also know Gerber does this with their foods and Formula, I'm not sure about Enfamil.)
• Also... ALWAYS snoop around the waiting rooms and offices of your Pediatrician. Almost all of them will have samples of rash cream, baby soap, lotions, and coupons for just about everything.
• AND... Always register with your local baby stores, be it Buy Buy Baby, Babies R' Us, or any other superstores out there. They have introduction packs that give insane coupons for pregnancy, post pregnancy, and newborns. 

Pinterest Love!

Anyone looking for cute ideas, cooking ideas, and money savers that I like... follow me on Pinterest! I'm listed as MommyCanDo under people. I have a lot of great pins to share with everyone!

That's where this wooden toy came from that my baby girl is chewing on! Saw it as a suggestion and it is one amazing toy for kids. Each petal flips and turns, bells in the middle of each petal rattle, and its great on her gums!

I've been MIA! - One Sick Little One with HFM

Sorry for no posts lately kids! I've had one sick little monster and a very hectic few weeks with work... but time to get back on this blog... there is so much to catch up on!


First... Hand Foot Mouth Disease... Really?? My poor little thing isn't even in daycare and hasn't been around any children. Luckily she has a very mild case and is still recuperating now. She finally got that little smile back today which makes mommy feel much better about it!


My advice on this post is regarding her being sick. A VERY good tip that I just picked up on...


As most of us know, any baby around 6 months to 1 year and a half is fascinated with everything you eat and drink. Well mommy's baby girl was not drinking anything! I tried bottles, sippy cups, juice, water, formula, Pedialyte, even putting anything in a glass to drink. I wasn't getting anywhere!


The advice I received was to put whatever it is you want them to drink in a glass with some ice and a straw. Pretend like it's your drink that you're drinking. Then... use the straw by sitting it in the glass and putting your finger on the top to hold in the drink and give it to them. Most babies LOVE sharing Mommy and Daddy's drinks, especially from a straw. This did the trick!! I finally got some fluids in her and she was happy to take them.


Another suggestion that I haven't tried yet is to freeze whatever you want them to drink into a popsicle shape for them to suck on. I feel like they could lose a lot of the fluid that way though so I may try that in another day or so when I'm not so worried about her intake. I'll let everyone know how it goes!!

Blog Giveaway!

Now I know I'm new to the blogging community, but I'd like to try getting my page out there with a gift card giveaway! $25 Visa Gift Card to one blog follower!

Rules:

• Simply start following my blog.
• Next, comment on this post with something you would like to read about or see on the blog.
• Lastly, at the bottom of my blog page, follow the contact me link and shoot me an email with your name so I have your contact information easily accessible to contact you if you win. Your information WILL NOT be used for anything other than this giveaway. 
• Once I reach 50 followers, I will have a neutral friend of mine read through all of the comments to select the person with the most creative post idea. They will win the gift card, and I'll be sure to post on their idea, and others!
• There's no time limit on this. Once we reach 50 comments, we'll select a winner. Good Luck!

And please, remember to check back often to find some more great information and helpful tips!