What are YOUR Price Points for Baby Items?
Check out this email I recently received from reader, Jennifer…
Hi Collin! First, thanks for all you do to help us all save a bundle! Speaking of bundles, my husband and I just found out that we are expecting our first baby in September. 🙂 We are so happy and excited. Shortly after we found out, my husband said “you better start stocking up on baby freebies you know!” He has really come to love my couponing! LOL! I’m wondering if you might ask my fellow Hip2Savers to help me and other first time moms out there. I am totally lost on all things baby. What is a good price point for wipes, diapers, shampoo, lotion, formula etc.? Also, how far in advance can I stock up on certain items without worrying about spoiling? Can I stock up on wipes without worry that they will dry out? I have a million questions and know I can count on my Hip2Save community to help me out with the savings part!
Since all of my kiddos are finally out of diapers (Yippee!!), I am having a hard time coming up with good price points for the mentioned items above. So if you have a baby or toddler, please help Jennifer and other new mommies out by sharing your stock-up prices and any other money-saving tips/advice that you can offer a first-time mom. I would also love for you to suggest must-have baby items (i.e. for me, it was my sling and a Bumbo Baby seat) and baby items that you may feel are totally unnecessary.
And congratulations to Jennifer and all the other expectant Hip2Savers! 😀
I know this is an old post. But it helped me out a ton while I was pregnant and I just wanted to share all that i’ve learned since my baby was born in January 2012.
Diapers: I stocked up when I found sales while I was pregnant and the day she was born I had over $4000 diapers so i’m not buying more. lol But as far as sizing I only had a box and one jumbo of NB besides what they gave us at the hospital, and so we had to buy like 5 more jumbos. My 8lb 12oz baby didn’t move up to size 1’s until 6 weeks, at 14 weeks and 13 lbs now she is still in size 1’s but once we finish this box we’ll be going to 2’s. and i have 6 jumbos and a mega pack left which i’ll have to exchange for a different size.
Feeding: I breast fed for 8 weeks, and honestly it was a love hate relationship. I hated the time it took! like 12 hours a day! but i loved her needing me. But my supply was so low she was starving so we switched to similac, then had bad tummy troubles so tons of mylecon drops! and switched to similac sensitive, and now we’re in the process of switching to gerber good start gentle because of having to get WIC.
But my must haves are deffinately the moby wrap! a swing, and a little play mat. my daughter loves these! also MAM pacis (she wouldn’t use any other kind) , paci clips where they clip to their shirts! and BIBS we go thru so many!
Things that where a wast of money: BUMBO my daughter hates it she screams, BOPPY It was no use to me at all nursing it never went up high enough and i’m short! fluffy dresses, my daughter has a ton of them that she has worn once and they’re so uncomfy.
Tips:
Only boil one pack of pacis until you know what you’ll use, I boiled about 20 NUKS and she refused to take them, so I had to give them away.
Cut your wipes in half for just pee pee’s, you only use about that much any way!
Use gripe water instead of mylecon drops. My son has tummy trouble and I find the gripe water works better than the mylecon drops.
I tried gripe water it made her perjectile vomit every time.
Breastfeeding: A lot of women say they “can’t” breastfeed for whatever reason. Almost all of those women are wrong, it’s that they didn’t try hard enough. There wasn’t always formula to use instead of breast milk! That being said, breast feeding is NOT easy. It takes a lot more time then formula and it sometimes hurts (if it does use some Lansinoh, it helps a lot- the pain goes away!). Pumping is even worse (in my experience- I didn’t do it a lot and had a nice breast pump). Your body wants to hear crying, it helps you produce. When you pump, you don’t have this. If you’re planning on going to work full time, I wouldn’t plan on only breastfeeding. If you’re planning on solely breastfeeding, I would recommend signing up for the different formula companies and they will send you free cans. This way you have some on hand for those times when it would be nice to have some. I breastfeed 95% of the time but it’s nice to have formula on hand so if we go to our in laws, I don’t have to breast feed in front of them, I can have them give her a bottle. I get a little break and don’t have to “show off” in front of people :p. If you’re breastfeeding, get a cover- it doesn’t have to be expensive (I got Munchkin brand on clearance for $6) but it will be nice. A blanket is not the same- unless it has a strap to go around your neck. With a strap, you won’t have to worry about it falling off.
Formula: If you’re planning on doing formula (I recommend breast feeding, but it’s not for everyone) sign up for the formula companies right away! It took 2-3 months to get anything from them after signing up. Formula companies will send you checks that you can use like coupons and get much better deals on formula. I personally wouldn’t buy a store brand (only because with how little I use and with good coupons, name brand is about the same or a little more), but even my doctor recommended Target brand- and it’s a LOT cheaper than regular price Enfamil, Similac, or Gerber. Target.com/coupons occasionally has coupons on formula also- including Target brand.
Baby Food: Don’t buy a food processor just for baby food. At about 4 months you can start using baby cereal (don’t buy much) and then shortly after you can use baby food and by 8 months, my baby was not eating baby food any more. My baby ate breast milk and regular food. If you’re planning on buying a food processor and want decide to get it sooner to use it for baby food- then get it, but otherwise, it’s not worth it to spend $80+ on a food processor you’re going to use for 3-4 months. I think I bought about 10- 2 packs of food and that was it. It was a stretch to use it all. I bought a number of boxes of cereal, and I still have a few boxes left. My baby’s 22 months now. Don’t bother buying much of the special finger foods. At the beginning of eating foods, it may be necessary, but after a while, Cheerios are just as good. I would recommend buying some though because it’s nice to reuse the containers!
Disposable Diapers: Generally when people have problems with diapers, it’s for one of two reasons, either they’re putting it on the baby wrong (girls the front of the diaper can be lower then on boys), or they’re in the wrong size. The size of diapers doesn’t have to do much with their actual weight, it’s much more about how much they are peeing (except probably newborn and preemie size). I wouldn’t buy ANY newborn diapers if you have a history of large babies in your family. Size 1 diapers start at 8 lbs and hold a LOT more pee. There’s not much difference in size between newborn and size 1. My baby was born at 8 lbs 13 oz and wore newborns for about a week. If your baby gets a rash while wearing a different brand diaper, it’s not necessarily the diaper- it may be circumstance that they get it then. Give each diaper brand a chance- at least a week. I didn’t have any problems with any brands with either of my children. As for sales, I’ve heard that under $.10/diaper is a stock up price. I almost never find this- at least not for larger sizes. I would say that $4.50/pack or less is very good. Target brand is cheap and I believe Walgreens brand is cheap too. I couldn’t personally find good deals on Amazon.
Cloth diapers: When some people think of cloth diapers, they thing of prefolds. Oh my, I could not do that! Cloth diapers don’t have to be that much work! I don’t have a lot of experience with cloth diapers, but I have used them. I actually bought Babyland diapers on Ebay. I watched for good deals and got them as low as $.99 with insert. I think these diapers have done pretty well, better than expected. I mostly have problems with my 2 month old leaking pee. I actually think these hold in poop better than disposables because I bought one size diapers and so they are larger. They’re not much more work then regular diapers. I would recommend pocket diapers or all in ones because it is easy to just toss the poop in the toilet. With my two month old I don’t even do that, I just wash it and it comes out fine but once she starts eating food other than milk, I’ll have to start flushing it. One thing people think of when they think of cloth diapers is all the extra washing. I only do about two load extra a week (maybe 3). Those loads are NOT comparable to a regular load. All I do is throw it in the wash, take it out of the wash and separate out the covers, hang the covers and throw the inserts in the dryer to dry. You have to stuff the diapers again, but there’s not all the folding of a regular load. I don’t mind washing the diapers at all and I do NOT like doing laundry! My son started to leak with the microfiber inserts after a while so I got BabyKicks Premium Hemp inserts: https://www.amazon.com/BabyKicks-Pack-Joey-Bunz-Premium-Large/dp/B001NAAQRS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1334692656&sr=8-1. These made a huge difference! I was spoiled by disposable diapers initially so I would NOT put up with having to change a diaper every two hours. I don’t change them much more often with cloth then with disposable, certainly not every 2 hours. I’ve finally decided to try some more expensive diapers- not that expensive though, I don’t have that much money, so I’m trying the Coolababy diapers (also off Ebay). I decided on these because they are still lower priced and I’m buying the ones that have the double gusset. I’m thinking that will make a difference in use. I still waiting to get them in the mail (they take about a month). A LOT of websites recommend not using the cheap Ebay ones, but give them a chance! You’re not going to waste much money if you only buy a few. If I had more money, I would probably get Thirsties All in Ones. All in Ones means no stuffing and I like that the Thirsties come in two sizes so hopefully they would fit better and longer. I haven’t actually tried these (way too expensive), but these would be the first I’d try.
Gear: You don’t need nearly as much gear as there is on the market. These are the musts:
A chair of some kind. The $20 or $30 ones at Target are fine. If you get one that swings, your baby may get used to that and only want that.
A high chair of some kind. I got one that attaches to the table and I love it. My son can eat right with us and there was only about 3 months there where I would have wanted one of the reclining kinds. That is not worth $100 to me. The attach on kinds are much cheaper than the stand alone ones and take up less room.
A floor mat for baby. I’m way too concerned about putting my baby on the hardwood floor or on the dirty carpet and the floor mats aren’t very expensive. I got mine at Once Upon a Child for about $20.
A baby monitor (if you live in a two story house). We had people living in our basement with our first child and never used the baby monitor. With our second, it’s nice to have it so we can hear for sure if shes crying- it’s hard to hear her downstairs. Our baby monitor was less than $20 at Target and it works fine. You don’t need anything fancy. A video might be nice, but not worth $200.
An exercauser is really nice. A boppy is nice for breastfeeding- although it’s kind of awkward at the same time- and is nice for propping up your child when they’re a little older.
Clothes: You don’t need as many clothes as you think is what I’ve learned. My two year old has so many he doesn’t wear. Also, buy at garage sales! This is the cheapest way! I’ve bought very few clothes new. At garage sales, I typically buy things for $.25-$.50. I did learn from experience that you should be willing to spend more on a few really nice things for holidays and special ocassions or else you may have to make a Once Upon a Child run a week before Christmas for a nice Christmas outfit. But even with that- it’s not a big deal.
Cribs: I know drop sided cribs were recalled, but don’t just assume that means they are bad. I did research on drop sided cribs and decided to keep mine because I LOVE it. Drop sided cribs were recalled for ridiculous reasons, poor use, and idiots (in my opinion). I’m so glad I got my hands on one before they disappear. Do research on it and make your own decision. If you decide to get one, I do think that it is more susceptible to wear so you have to make sure you have it assembled correctly (with ALL pieces) and that you check it frequently. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it is in good condition. I also bought a bassinet, it’s nice to have the baby right in the room with you when they’re waking up frequently during the night. Use common sense, if it doesn’t seem safe, don’t use it.
Car Seats: Buy the best you can afford! Don’t use any one else’s unless you would trust them with your babies life and trust them that it hasn’t been in a car accident. If you do get one from someone, make sure it’s newer- it should have a date stamped on it somewhere. I can’t remember if it’s a manufacture date or a stop using after date.
Baby bedding sets: Oh my, these are such a rip off! You’re not even supposed to use bumper, all you need is a sheet and a blanket! I keep diapers under the bed- I don’t want to have a dust ruffle in the way of getting to them! A sheet is $10 regular price at Target, a blanket is $20, why would you spend $50 or $100 or more on a set? You can get matching ones at Target. I don’t need 8 things on my baby’s bed.
Wow, I just spent way too much time writing this!
Thanks for the details! How did you get the stars?
maybe collin put them
I don’t know, I didn’t put them there!
I have a bit more experience with cloth diapers and wanted to add on to what I wrote about them. I got grovia all in twos, fuzzibunz one size pockets, bum genius all in one one size and pocket one size, thirties pockets, and flip covers. I like these a lot more than the Babyland, all of them. I really like the grovia for my three month old- theyfit very similar to disposables. All of the other ones seem a bit boxy, these are nice and round. Plus, they come in adorable prints. The grovia hold a massive amount of pee. I like the grovia and the flip and grovia because you can use the covers multiple times, it helps save on costs. Velcro is nice because it’s fast and similar to disposables. Snaps are nice because they’re harder forms two year old to get off. I’ll stop talking about this aspect, tons of blogs talk about this. Cloth diapers you can rarely get good deals on, it’s very unlikely your going to get them new for 75% off. Used, they’re like 50% off! I’ve found that craigslist is the best place get them. I’ve gotten a number around $5-$7 each for pockets with inserts. Just check back often for the best deals. If you don’t live near a big city, ebay and used diaper sites Are good. If you want to buy new, I’ve found a number of brands have updated prints and so discontinued prints will be clearanced. Amazon seems to have pretty good every day prices. Cloth diapers are going really well for us! My husband’s not quite sure, but I change most of the diapers anyways. If you have a washing machine give a few different brands a chance. Resale for diapers is awesome so you don’t have much to loose!
I couldn’t disagree more with the comment that if you are planning on working you shouldn’t breast feed. I’m on baby #3 and have breasted each one – working more than full time. It takes extra work and you NEED a good pump. I have the Medea pump in style advanced and it has gotten me through all three kids. It has more than payed for itself and BF is so much better for babies. You need to decide that you are going to BF no matter what.
Well, first, I said you shouldn’t plan on ONLY breastfeeding. Many women say they are going to breast feed but give up when it gets difficult. I said that because breastfeeding is difficult! Adding on top of that working, and it’s that much harder. I bf so I definitely promote it all the way, cheaper and better, the more you do the better. I went to school part time and even with that was so close to giving up breastfeeding. Without the support of my husband- telling me you need to keep doing this, it will get better- I would have quit. And he was right, it did get better. I breast feed 6+ months after that. You absolutely need to be dedicated, have a flexible job- or the balls to stand up to your supervisors and say you legally have to give me pumping time, and be able to tolerate pain. Because of this, I recommended not planning on breastfeeding alone. You can look for a sale while your pregnant and get a few cans on an awesome sale and have them on hand in case. It’s not the worst thing ever to feed your baby formula even if you were plan breastfeeding exclusively. You’ll have it on hand if you need it. It is the worst thing ever to have to run out in the middle of the night, through 6 feet of snow, with a rundown car, to get some formula that’s NOT ON SALE! :p The not on sale part making it “the worst thing ever.” The other stuff would have been acceptable if it was a good sale. I’m not speaking from experience, I planned ahead!
Actually, not every one CAN breastfeed – no matter how hard they try. They used to have “wet” nurses or other moms step in when there wasn’t formula. There are a lot of medical reasons for why a woman might not be able to breastfeed and it’s definitely not just because they didn’t try.
FYI_Statistically only 2% of women CAN NOT breast feed due to medical explanations.
Does anyone have price points for items?
Bottles
Diapers
Wipes
Formula
wash
lotion
etc..
And how many is good to have in a stock pile before baby gets here? This is the info i need the most:) I have no idea where to start.
I typically buy most of my items at Target so most of the price points/deals are from Target.
Bottles: Target has them on sale during their baby sale and a few times throughout the year for buy one get one 50% off. I typically combine that with coupons- Playtex has quite a few coupons, and get them for around 50% off. From my experience, 50% off bottles is a good price. It depends on what bottles you want, some have coupons, some don’t. Sometimes they’ll also have gift card deals, but I’m not as familiar with those deals. I have also gotten bottles on clearance at the grocery store (Cub and Rainbow are in my area). That’s actually where I got most of my bottles, but clearance is a bit more luck. I’d start checking in the baby section as soon as you find out you are pregnant and watch for good deals. I’ve gotten a 2 pk of Avent for $7 and a 3 pk of Medela I think for $6 both on clearance at the grocery store.
Diapers: I had I think 1200-1500 diapers stocked under the baby crib right before my first was born. I got a lot of those at the showers I had. My second we didn’t have any showers so we didn’t stock up as much. I didn’t change my baby every time they peed (a diaper can hold multiple pees) so I changed probably 8-10 diapers at the very beginning and probably only 4-6 a day after they were six months old. My stock lasted my first one until he was probably a year and a half. I had about an equal amount in each size up to size 4. They go through more diapers/day when they are in size 1 and 2, but 3 and 4 have a much broader weight range. The best deals at Target are when they have their boxes buy 2 get a $10 GC for the smaller boxes or buy 2 get a $15 GC for the large boxes. Next week Target has Luvs on sale buy 2 get a $10 GC ($17 boxes). This is one of the best deals to easily get diapers even without coupons. I’ve bought a number of boxes on this deal.
Wipes: Buy at least one huggies even if you hate the wipes because they have the best container! Collin typically does wipes deals for under $.02/wipe, but I’ve gotten them a lot cheaper than that. I would stick to name brand wipes because they are nicer (I like Huggies, Pampers, and Luvs- not so much Target or most non name brand). They are a lot thicker than Target wipes is mostly the reason. I typically pay $1 for the soft sided Huggies that have 64 to 72 wipes.
I can’t do all of them right now, but I’ll try to remember to come back and finish it up!
My price points for diapers are $5 or under for a jumbo pack of huggies or pampers and $4 or under for luvs or a store brand for a jumbo pack. I wont pay over that! Wipes – on black friday babies r us usually has their refil wipes packs for like 700+ wipes for $5 so I always get as much as I can.
As for stocking, wipes will last if you don’t open them, except pampers, they tend to dry out, so use all the pampers ones first!
And diapers I’ve got a stock pike of over 2000 for my 6 month old. Whenever I find them on sale I stock up, from pregnancy to now. Get different sizes! Especially the bigger ones, because ppl tend to give you N and 1’s at showers. Even If you have too many of one size, Walmart and Target both let you exchange a pack for the same brand/type for a different size if needed!
Oxyclean (the powdered version) has been a lifesaver for my baby’s clothes. Gets out all the poop stains and food stains. There’s always coupons inside, too.
Bottles: if you plan to breastfeed, get bottles that attach to your pump. I breastfed mostly and only needed 8 bottles. Medela bottles for medela pump
Diapers: I found a great sale on diapers a few days before I went into labor. I bought about 4 large packs of each size. I only bought 2 packs of newborn because I knew babies aren’t in that size for long. Stock up on size 1 and size 2. Also, if you have a shower, have a diaper raffle. Any guest brings a pack of diapers, any size, any brand to the shower and they are entered into the raffle. My guest won gift cards to Starbucks.
Wipes: along with diapers, buy Target brand or babies r us supreme. Buy the unscented ones by the case. it ends up being like $1.20 a pack. And these stores usually have pets where if you buy both value size diapers and wipes you get money off or a coupon for next purchase.
Keep in mind less is more! Don’t overbuy on gear. I need to tend to my baby, but I’ll be back to continue.