Feeding Baby for Cheap...well cheaper

So since I am a stay at home mom I always try to get the best deals when I am at the grocery store. My newest challenge was trying not to blow the whole grocery budget feeding the smallest member of our household. Let's face it babies are EXPENSIVE between all the stuff they need then you add diapers, wipes, formula, baby food, and snacks and I am probably leaving out a couple of things that cost big bucks.

So I found a couple of corners you can cut to prevent needing a second job to feed your tiny tot.

1. Buy generic formula. I know some parents think this is "not doing the best for your child" but read the ingredients and nutrition labels, it has all the same stuff and costs almost half of the name brand stuff. I pay $11.49 for target brand formula vs. about $22 for the name brand. Wal-mart brand "Parents Choice" even has an organic formula for about $14 a can!

2. Buy the baby cereals for breakfast. When Carter first started baby food I was thinking he needed to eat only stuff out of a jar so he was going through sometimes 6 jars a day and eating mostly fruits and veggies. I started feeding him baby oatmeal with some rice or wheat cereal mixed with fruit and saved a TON. It is also super easy to make as you just add water to the flakes and you are done!

3. Starting at around 8 months (ask your baby's Dr.) they can eat yogurt and cottage cheese so take advantage. I buy ANYTHING that he can eat that is not from the baby section. It seems as though when you step away from baby-land EVERYTHING is cheaper. Keep in mind they need as many calories as they can get so find the whole fat products, and larger quart containers are cheaper as well.

4. Natural no sugar added applesauce is no different than baby apples. I buy a big jar for about $3 and it lasts a long time.

5. Make baby food whenever possible. This does not have to be labor intensive. I get ziploc steamfresh bags and frozen veggies and then use my submersion blender or food processor to make it the right consistancy.


I hope these little tips help, and if you have any other tips please feel free to share in the comments.

Teething Bites!

Carter at 6 months still doesn't have any teeth, but I am sure they are coming soon. He is really irritable and has been drooling and biting everything. And I had thought he was going to be 18 and still gumming his food. Then the poor already cranky kid rolled off the couch, he is ok, but he was even more angry! I gave him some tylanol and now he is napping, hopefully he will be a much happier little man after he gets a little rest. I just wonder why he had to wait until his Daddy went back to work to finally start cutting those teeth...I guess I am the lucky one that he decided to save all the "fun" for me!

I "love" waking up at 3 am!

Hello fellow "Vlogemotion-ers" Go check out Fort Thompson to join the Vlog Carnival and see other vlogs!
Here is my secound round of "vlogging" it was a little easier than the first time, and a little hair and make-up goes a long way don't worry I am sure next week I will be back to my norm of ponytails and PJs! I just have a CHD meeting to go to..so I take the chance to get dressed and ready when I have an actual "outing". Enjoy...

Wonderful Song

How can a song teach you to appreciate your life even more?

I saw him on Oprah and practically squeezed the life out of Carter with a big fat hug!

Look at the Big Boy!

Finally we have freedom from the baby carrier!

I never realized how heavy that carrier would be once Carter started getting bigger, and I am not a big person either. At just over 5 feet tall it was hard if not impossible to see over the carrier when it was in a shopping cart. And then there is the added stress of the carrier not fitting in all carts, for example his carrier would fit fine in the top section of the Target carts, but it wouldn't fit in the Wal-mart carts, so I would have to put the carrier in the bottom part which would inhibit how much grocery shopping I could actually do because half the cart was now full of carrier and baby.

So officially yesterday we graduated to riding in the cart without the carrier! I was worried how he would do since he barely started sitting on his own and he still tumbles over from time to time, but the little seatbelt held him nicely. I did have one of those cloth covers and this one actually has it's own strap that you can strap to the cart and also has toys attached which helped keep a teething baby occupied. Now towards the end we started to have a meltdown as he got tired of holding himself up, but all in all I would call it a success!

My Vlog Challenge...

Thanks to Tim over at Fort Thompson I was challenged to create a VLOG I didn't realize how hard it would be to get in front of the camera and talk about my challenges this week, I kind of copped out by bringing in the baby! :) I was going to get dressed and fix my hair, put in my contacts the whole nine yards...but this way you get the real me...the stay at home mom who lives in Pjs and ponytails Enjoy...

The Frightening Truth About the Internet

So I am sure we have all had those times where we felt that we have looked one too many times at someone's profile or updates. Be it on Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or any number of social networking sites. New sites seem to be popping up faster than you can "update your status" on the first.

The question comes to me now and then...who might be "cyberstalking" me?

We put out all of this personal information to keep in touch with friends and family and maybe even connect with a few strangers, but what about the people who are lurking on our profiles with no good intentions?

I heard the other day that child pornographers have been busted with children's photos even as young as infants and toddlers that were downloaded from the internet for their sexual pleasure. Just the thought of some total creep saving a photo of my innocent 5 month old for anything other than thinking he is adorable gives me chills.

With our entire lives posted on the internet for all to see do we really stop to think about who might be accesssing it?

When the baby carrier almost won...

I bought one of those baby bjorn type carriers before Carter was even born because I knew I wasn't going to be able to carry him in his carrier for long...let's face it...I'm weak sauce! So last week I was trying the carrier and I tried to plop him down in it and I couldn't for the life of me figure out how to get him arms out...so as I am prying he is fussing because I was totally tugging at him so I dismissed it as him being too small and gave up.

Last night I was bored and sorting his baby clothes so I picked up the directions which I never looked at before, I guess I was a man in a past life. Sure enough I am a dumb ass! You are supposed to release the latches so the front comes completely down and set him on your lap and then fasten it all around him....so I tried it and sure enough I HAVE MASTERED THE BABY CARRIER! So I learned when life gets too hard...read the directions!