What To Do With Old Baby Clothes?

Hello Everyone!!!

What to do with old baby clothes?

This is a short one. I seriously need to know what to do with old baby clothes. Baby is wearing size 6-9 months clothes now and i have so many newborn, 3 months, 3-6 months. Yes I can give them away, but to who? I don't want to give them to a Thrift Store. 

Another thought, a lot of money was spent on the clothes, so should I try and resell them for cheap? It's really difficult to decide. A lot of the clothes were given to me at my baby shower, but I also spent a lot on baby clothes. I usually shop online at Carters, Osh Kosh, Kohl's and Babies R Us. At each I spend at least $100 per trip. 

Should we really spend money on baby clothes any way? My baby wears her outfits maybe once, so I think its not very economical to buy the clothes at the rate I do. But I love shopping and I love getting little cute clothes for baby. What I do need is recommendations for new places to shop for baby with good and decent prices. So if you have any please let me know. 

Oh and a tip I learned, for poop stains, food stains and more Shout Stain Remover works wonders. If you have any other recommendations on getting stains out of clothes let me know as well. 

Be Blessed!!!

Choosing Best Diaper for Your Family

Hello Everyone!!!

Diapers, whether you use disposable or cloth diapers, at some point you have to decide which is best for your family. I wanted to do cloth diapers but it wasn't best for my family so we use disposable diapers. The majority of the diapers we have used so far were gifts from our baby shower, so basically we didn't have to buy diapers for a long time. In that time I got a chance to use Pampers and Huggies.

From the beginning we used Pampers because that's what they used at the hospital, but after those ran out we started using the Huggies. We were gifted the Seven Generation diapers but, we didn't use them because they ran small, I opened the package when baby was size 1 and the diaper was smaller than the other two brands. Out of the two brands we did use, I preferred Pampers Swaddlers. My reason is mostly due to when taking Huggies off, especially after baby poops the tabs would fold in and get poop on them and made it hard to roll diaper up without getting poop on my hands. Also they fit a little funny around the legs and baby had more explosions in Huggies than Pampers. I like how the Swaddlers fit and feel to touch. I believe they hold up well, I change my baby a lot, like almost ever hours a lot, but when I don't the diapers hold a lot.

I also started using Honest Co. diapers and I really did like them. At first I thought they felt funny to the touch but they worked well and fit well. Baby didn't have many explosions in those (I found no matter the brand there will be some leaks). These diapers are more expensive and you get less in a box for the same size. That is a down side but I was prepared to use these diapers no matter what. The prints on the diapers are also very cute so that was a plus as well. 

Price Comparison for Size 3 Diapers

I shop at Target so I am giving a price comparison for that store because it's what I am most familiar with. Diaper prices are not drastically different from store to store or Amazon so no matter where you shop you will see similar prices.

• Pamper Swaddlers: 134 Diapers for $34.99, $0.26/diaper
• Huggies Snug & Dry: 163 Diapers for $34.99, $0.22/diaper
• Honest Company: 68 Diapers for $25.99, $0.38/diaper
• Pampers Baby-Dry: 144 Diapers for $34.99, $0.24/diaper
• Seventh Generation: 93 Diapers for $28.99, $0.31/diaper

There are other brands that include store brands and Luvs, I have nothing against them I am just a bit more picky at this time. This is my first baby and I can be that way if I choose to, but there is no judgement from me if you choose other brands. I respect what others choose to do with their money. 


Which Diaper Am I Using Today? 

If you noticed I added Pampers Baby-Dry to the list above. The reason I did this is because I am currently using these diapers in size 3. Why, because I told my husband we needed diapers and I am still not back to work, so no matter how much I fussed at him that I wanted to use Honest Co. for my baby, he didn't listen. He also didn't go to the store. He bought the diapers off of Amazon, I was upset because they weren't Swaddlers, my number two choice and I fussed about it. I use the diapers and I do not like Pampers Baby-Dry, for some reason when diaper is a little wet it looks like diaper is soaked, sometimes I feel the outside of diaper and it feels wet or squishy when it's barley wet and I do not like that. They fit well so no complaint there. I went on to amazon to see if I could find the brands I like and I noticed that the diapers my husband bought were $41.99, for 204 diapers. That roughly comes out to about $0.21 a diaper, so it is the most economical choice.

 
Tips When Buying Diapers

1. Stock up when on sale or on Cartwheel (Target App) (buy different sizes if you have space)
2. If baby is fitting current size a little snug do not buy bulk in that size because baby may not fit them soon
3. If baby is having a lot of explosions, go up a size (worked for me)
4. Try different brands to see if one actually works best for your baby
5.  Don't feel guilty about the brand you choose to buy
6. If you have an unopened pack of diapers that is a brand you do not like or is too small (or big) you can take them back to the store and exchange them, even if you do not have a receipt. Which is good for items received as gifts. 

 Hope you found something I wrote to be helpful!!!


UPDATE AS OF 11/2018

So I originally ended this blog post saying I'm using Pampers Baby Dry, well we now use Huggies. My baby is 13 months now and we still purchase diapers on Amazon.com, and we saw that the Huggies brand was cheaper and we got more diapers each month. My baby was in size 3 when this post was originally posted and now is in size 5, which means less diapers in each pack. I do not have any complaints about these diapers now that we've been using them for a while. But we switched for the price and that's the only reason.

Homemade Baby Food For Baby 4-8 Months

Hello Everyone!!!

So my baby is almost 6 months old and I started making her baby food at 5 months when I introduced her to foods. I choose to do purees rather than Baby Led Weaning (BLW), and I believe either is a good option. Also, I believe whether you start introducing foods into baby's diet at 4 months or 6 months or whenever you choose to is your decision and is what you feel is best for your baby. 

How I Found Homemade Baby Food Instructions

Before I gave birth I was determined to breastfeed and make my baby's food when the time came. Everyone around me rolled their eyes and told me I was doing too much. But it was something I wanted to do and I wasn't going to let naysayers stop me from doing what I feel is best, for the child I gave birth to.

So I started researching, mainly on Pinterest and YouTube. I found that there are many different ways to make baby food, and many opinions on what to use and what not to use. It took me weeks to finally decide on what I wanted baby to eat and how I wanted to make it.

There are so many good blogs on Pinterest that give you very good ideas so I recommend looking there and YouTube helps you understand how to prepare the food visually so I also recommend checking out videos there.

Foods I Decided to Go With

I choose foods based on what I could find and what I was familiar with. But here's my list:

1. Sweet Potatoes 
2. Peas
3. Carrots
4. Apples
5. Blueberries
6. Yams
7. Butternut Squash

So I have seven different options to go with for now.

I also plan on making: Avocado, Banana, Pears and Peaches.

How I Introduce Foods

I introduce the foods above to my daughter following a widely recommended rule: One fruit or veggies every three days. The reason behind this rule is that baby may be allergic to the food and three days gives you time to determine if it was the peas or the blueberries. Now I do not stick to this religiously, I usually give my baby one food for at least 4 days because I do, no real reason.

Materials Needed to Make Baby Food

Here are the Materials I use when making baby food and are not required if you find other options

1. Baby Bullet (any blender will do)
2. Ice cube trays (silicone or with silicone bottoms)
3. Spatula
4. Sandwich bag 
5. Filtered water
6. Steamer 
7. Cookie sheet
8. Oven
9. Pots

So like I wrote above, any blender will do, you do not have to go out and buy the baby bullet, I did because I didn't have a blender and I choose that one. I recommend silicone ice trays because it is easier to remove the food cubes than in regular trays. Spatula helps get food out blender, sandwich bags because I find it easier to transfer purees into trays by cutting corner of the bag and squeezing, and filtered water to help thin food, if you want it thinner.  Also you will need steamer or a method to steam (I used a colander and a pot of water), cookie sheet to bake sweet potatoes, yams and butternut squash and pot to cook peas.

How I Prepared Food for Blending

Sweet Potatoes 
Clean, poke holes all over with fork, bake whole in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

Peas
Boil in water for 10-15 minutes, drain peas but save the water in case you want to thin, blend

Carrots
Steam for 30min-1hour (or until fork tender), blend, use water from steamer to thin

Apples
Steam for 30min-1hour (or until fork tender), blend, use water from steamer to thin

Blueberries
Boil 30 minutes or until soft, blend with water (can use less water to have thicker or more water for thinner

Yams
Clean, poke all over with fork, bake whole in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

Butternut Squash
Clean, slice in have long ways, remove seeds, bake in 400 degree oven for 40mins-hour, let cool then remove from skin and into blender

The Result

After making the baby food I freeze what baby will not be using and use painters tape to label the trays with date which is very important. Once the food is frozen I remove it from the trays and place in zip bags with date and type of food.***

Feeding Baby

When it's time to feed baby I take a cube or two depending on the size of the cube, and microwave it for 10-20 seconds. I always test it on my lips before giving to baby. Some say you should heat to hotter and let it cool but sometimes you don't have time to do that and that's why I heat between 10-20 seconds. I have baby bowls I heat in or I use the baby bullet food containers. Also, I do not mix the food during the blending process because it limits the different types of foods I have, keeping each food separate means I can mix as I go rather than being stuck with one food baby may like today but not tomorrow. 

My baby is almost 6 months and I only feed for lunch and dinner. During both I only feed baby about two ounces. I still breastfeed and diet is primarily breast milk, and baby chooses to not eat more than that. Some babies will eat more and some less. Also pay attention to the ques baby gives when feeding they will let you know if they like it or not. Going back to feeding one type of food for three days, watch baby's skin, mouth and eyes when feeding and after to see if there are any reactions because they may be allergic. It is fine to reintroduce it later to see if the same thing happens if the reaction was not severe. 

***A note: I also use the breast milk bags to store the food cubes
https://www.pinterest.com/iamcrystaldb/motherhood/