Baby Time

I have taken a little break due to our new addition finally making her appearance and the holidays right after. But since baby has arrived I can now test out all these ideas I have been throwing out at you.

I am really enjoying the amount of money we have saved using the cloth diapers! Even though some people gave us disposable diapers we haven't used them. I'll probably use them for someone else, for their baby shower. The diaper pail and liner that we have been using is awesome! It's waterproof and the lid to the pail keeps the smell in. The washing of the diapers hasn't really been that difficult either. I have just been putting them on the rinse cycle twice, wash regular, then on the final rinse cycle put in a cup of vinegar to take away the smell. Also, I found out that if your baby starts to get a diaper rash you can boil clean diapers to get the detergent out that is causing the rash.

Thankfully we just bought used clothing off of www.craigslist.com and received some outfits as gifts because she was a big baby and didn't fit into newborn clothing anyways. I'll continue to buy used since babies just grow so fast and will be saving her sisters clothes for her.

Now, I'm just waiting to recover completely to get to my detox program and exercising to get the little weight that's left off. You always learn with your first child so I have made huge changes this time around. I will keep you updated to what you can do to help yourself save money even if it is your first child, or your trying to live healthier, or you just need some advice to make it through a tough economy.

Wet Bags

Since I have made the decision to go with cloth diapering and save tons of money I figured I might as well save on all of the other products that I will need for cloth diapers. This includes wet bags. I just got a new sewing machine (early Christmas in our house) and was very eager to try anything out so besides my nursing pads this was to be another one of my projects.

I wanted one to have in the diaper bag for on the go and of course one to go into a trash pail for easy moving to the wash. For those of you that don't know what it is, it holds your cloth diapers from the time you change diapers to the time you do your washing of the diapers. However, these bags are even useful to those that don't want to use cloth diapers. They have a waterproof liner and can be used for wet clothes from accidents or going to the beach.

I used PUL fabric which is waterproof and really isn't the easiest to find. I had to go to a local fabric store instead of Walmart which was a little more costly. I also picked out cute fabric that was cheap for the outside to make it look better since the PUL selection at the fabric store was just white. You can close the bag many different ways like zipper or drawstring. I chose drawstring as I haven't done much with zippers. I looked at many different websites for patterns and kind of just came up with my own style. However, one of my favorite sites now is www.make-baby-stuff.com which was very helpful in making my to go bag. I just finished it today and still need to do my one for at home but I just had to share since I'm extremely excited about it! I think I'm even going to make one for a friend who is expecting in a couple months.

Just updated the pictures to show my at home bag which was a little bit more difficult but its all done now and ready for baby.

Green Nursing Part 2

This idea will save you money and the environment! I was at the store looking for some nursing supplies and the cost of nursing pads caught my eye. I thought it was just outrageous for disposable nursing pads! You can only use them once! Are you kidding me?! Maybe its just me and my pinching pennies ways but it got me thinking.

Couldn't you just make these? I know they use to have reusable pads. Turns out I'm not the only one that had the same question. There are tons of websites and blogs to help you decide what is best for you. There are differences in size and how thick. But really all you need is a little fabric or even receiving blankets you have already and a sewing machine.

I started with tracing a large mason jar lid on the fabric using flannel and fleece. I used two layers of flannel and one of fleece then sew these two together. I tried many different ways of sewing trying to decide on contour or flat since I can't test these out yet as the newest addition has decided to take her sweet time to join us I can't tell you which ones work the best for me. I only made six for the time being to see if they are even thick enough. If you have any other great ideas I would love to hear them!

Smelly Bath Toys

I don't like the way bath toys can hang on to water and then have this musty smell to it. Apparently I wasn't the only one. My friend called me the other day to ask if I had tried vinegar and water with bath toys like I already do with my towels. Why hadn't I thought of that!? So now it was time for me to experiment.

She asked if I would put them in the washer and run the wash like usual with a cup of vinegar. I haven't tried it that way yet as it was already laundry day for me and my washer was full. I decided I would soak the toys in the sink with water and vinegar then let them dry on a towel. This way worked great. The smell was gone and I could throw them into a clean basket. I do plan on trying out the washer next time. If you have already tried this let me know how it worked out for you!