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Tip #1: Save $$ – Avoid “newborn”
diapers
Personally,
I think this is yet another marketing hype that sucks hard earned
dollars out of new parents. The newborn diapers are labeled as “Under
10 pounds” and have “specialty cut-outs” for your baby’s umbilical
cord. These diapers are compared to Size 1 diapers labeled “8–16
pounds” but have no cut-outs. When our daughter was born the only
option available in disposable diapers was Size 1 diapers with no-cut
outs. By folding (or rolling) the excess diaper inward, we were able
to protect her umbilical cord from injury without any special
“cut-outs”. However, we would like to say we bet newborn-size diapers
are probably a blessing for parents with a preemie-size newborn
because those Size 1 diapers can be huge for these smaller babies.
Unless your baby is very tiny,
save your money and skip the newborn-size altogether. Once you compare
prices, you’ll learn very quickly newborn-size diapers are EXTREMELY
expensive for the number of diapers you get. Keep in mind that you’ll
be changing 10–12 diapers a day which further adds to the expense
these newborn-size diapers will cost you!
Most manufacturers of newborn
diapers charge about $10 for 48 diapers (or 4 days worth of changes at
21¢
per diaper).
That same $10 can buy 60–85 Size 1 diapers (or about 1 week’s worth of
changes
at an
average of 14¢ per diaper)
depending on the brand. Remember, most babies quickly gain
weight in those first couple of weeks. If your baby grows quickly,
then he may grow right out of those newborn size diapers before he
gets to use them—and that would be a REAL waste of money.
Save your hard earned money and
skip the “newborn size” diapers. If the Size 1’s are a little large,
pull the sides of the diaper as tightly as you can. To protect his
umbilical cord, fold the excess flap of the diaper down towards his
tummy so the extra flap is folded down underneath the outside of the
diaper. Folding the flap towards the inside of the diaper helps to
keep it from flipping back up and irritating the cord.
$
Total savings:
You can save $30–$50 during your baby’s first six weeks by buying Size
1 diapers instead of the newborn size.
Tip #6: Increase number of diaper changes from your wipes
Save money on wipes by reducing the total number you
use. How? Simply by tearing them in half! Baby’s bottoms are so tiny
anyway that for most diaper changes, you really don’t need a whole
wipe. If you buy a package of 80 wipes, tearing them in half can
increase your number of bottom cleanings as much as 60%!
Instead of 60–80 cleanings, you can get those same 80 wipes to do as
many as 130 changes or more! No kidding!
Just for the sake of numbers,
let’s look at the impact of your savings with this. Let’s say your
baby needs on average 10 diaper changes per day over his first 6
months. That would roughly be 300 changes per month * 6 months = 1,800
diaper changes. Now, let’s say in his next 6 months he needs, on
average 8 diaper changes per day. That would roughly be 240 changes
per month * 6 months = 1,440 diaper changes. Added together, you’re
looking at 3,240 diapers in his first year!!!
So, if you used one wipe per
diaper change, that’s 3,240 wipes or about 40 bags with 80 wipes each
you’ll need. These bags of wipes will cost you about $5/each, so
you’ll spend about $200 in wipes alone for his first year. But, if by
tearing them in half, you get those same 80 wipes to do about 130
changes, you’ll only need 25 bags of wipes at a cost of only $125 for
his first year instead. That is a potential
savings of up to $75 just by tearing them in half!!!!
Betcha ya didn’t think tearing
them in half could make such a big difference, did ya? Betcha ya do
now! This is a perfect example of how you can “nickel and dime”
yourself into spending, or saving, a huge chunk of cash. Until you “do
the math”, it’s hard to see how quickly the average cost of 3¢ per
diaper wipe can add up. Now, factor that savings over the two to three
years you’re likely to be changing diapers. Now you can see how this
simple strategy can save you $150 or more—just by tearing them in
half.
Learn whether tearing the wipe
from its top or its side works best for easily tearing your wipe
choice in half. Put this tip to work right away at your very next
diaper change and start getting the “bang for your buck” out of these
disposable items!
Extra, Extra!
Now, let us warn you up front. This tip doesn’t work as
well with the “pop-up” wipes because once you tear them in half; the
design of the pop-up container doesn’t give you a good place to store
the other half. It also doesn’t work well with many of the store brand
diaper wipes because they do not tear in half easily. Outside of this
exception, we’ve found this tip to work well on most wipes.
$
Total savings:
As much as $75 or more a year (that’s $150 over two years) just by
tearing your wipes in half!
Tip #11: Avoid wipe warmers – Period!
Yes, we know, having that cold
little diaper wipe touch your baby’s bottom may not seem fair. In our
experience with several different brands of wipe warmers, we have yet
to find one that we thought worked well. Save yourself the $25 on this
device; here’s why…
Our
experience with wipe warmers created far more “cons” than “pros”.
These “cons” far outweighed the “pro” of having a warm wipe. Whether
the warming unit was in the bottom of the device or was a flexible
band that wrapped around the wipey box, we found the warmer created a
huge waste in wipes that had to be discarded.
So,
in the end, we recommend passing on this so called “must have” for
your nursery. Instead, hold the wipe in your hands for a moment to
lessen its chilliness. Then spend the money you would have spent on
this item on a wiser investment like a baby monitor you will need.
$ Total
savings:
You’ll save $15–$25 depending on the unit’s brand.
We
discuss in detail the four major cons of these warming units in this
tip. To learn these cons, order your copy of "I Wish I Had Known
That!" today. |
