baby
Babies have sensitive skin. They need bath and body products made specially for their fragile skin. On top of that, with baby comes huge shopping bills. Diapers, formula milk, baby furniture, baby clothes add up to a huge sum of money. That is excluding hospital bills for deliverying the baby.
Baby supplies can really eat into your budget. As a new mom on a tight budget, I felt the pinch everytime we bought diapers, with 2 little ones in diapers, we spent a small fortune on diapers, baby baths, lotions and all. Add to the fact that my babies both had eczema and we needed to use special baby products on them, the amount we had to spend on their baby products really hurt the pocket.
Baby Essentials
When baby comes along, you would need these supplies. Some you can borrow, others you would have to buy or hope that the baby gifts you get from well meaning friends and family include some of these supplies to help reduce the financial cost.
Baby Bath Essentials
Baby Bath Soap
An infant's skin is very delicate. Yet all babies love being clean. Sweat and dirt is plain uncomfortable and babies hate being uncomfortable. They need their daily bath. Since babies do not stink as bad as sweaty grown ups might, you do not have to add much soap to their daily bath. Just a squirt of baby bath into the baby's bath water is enough. Wash baby carefully by dipping her the in the bath water and cleaning her with a clean face towel just for baby. The hospital recommended Johnsons Baby Bath. That is great for most babies, but some with extremely sensitive skin or eczema might not even be able to tolerate that.
Aveeno baby has a great range of soothing baby bath and body products. Or you could use a bar of soap to bathe baby with. Dr Bronners Baby soap is good for infants.
Baby Shampoo
Babies have sensitive eyes hence shampoos grown ups use might irritate them and make them cry. Baby shampoos are tear-free. I used Johnson's baby shampoo for my baby. If you can afford it Phyto baby shampoo is excellent.
Baby Massage
After bath comes the massage. At least I gave my babies massages after each bath and they loved it. You need a massage oil meant for babies. Avalon has an excellent baby massage oil you can try. Jurlique is one of the best.
- Towel dry baby completely. Wash and dry your hands thoroughly.
- Pour massage oil on the palm of your dry hand. Rub hands to distribute the oil. Use more oil throughout the massage as necessary.
- Put baby on her tummy.
- Stroke the baby's back from shoulders down to bottom with the palms of your hand, one hand after another in a gliding movement.
- Starting from the center of the shoulders, move your hands, palms down, flat on baby's back, outwards Repeatedly.
- Massage baby from shoulders outwards to the arms, to her hands.
- Massage both legs by gliding oiled hands downwards together from butt to the feet.
- Turn baby over and rub baby's belly in large circles around the belly button with you palm.
- Lift up baby's foot with one hand and massage under the foot with the palm of our other hand, up and down the foot from toes to sole and up again.
- Repeat with the other foot.
Baby Powder
Finish off the bath experience by dusting baby all over with powder to keep baby comfortable all day long. Burts Bees has all natural baby products, including a talc-free dusting powder made of corstarch, with powdered herbs and flowers to really pamper baby, and to soothe skin irritation. Baby would love it.
Changing Baby Diapers
Diapers
Before my kids were potty trained, we spent a small fortune on diapers. Considering the alternative, piles of faeces/urine laden cloth nappies that need to be washed and dried daily, diapers are a must for a busy mom. We use pamper diapers most of the time. Huggies is not bad either. The main deciding factor?
Price.
Listed below are many brands of baby products, both well-known brands, and little-known ones. From the high-end brands to the budget ones, as a convenient resource for you. Bookmark this page and browse here at your leisure to get the best prices on diapers and other baby essentials.
Baby Wipes
Every diaper change requires cleaning baby's bottom. At home, cotton balls in a basin of warm water are more thorough and cheaper. After that, baby's bottom needs to be dried with a clean towel.
Baby wipes are a lot more convenient. They are just wet enough to clean baby, without the need of a towe to dry up after that. No prep time needed. Just pull out the wipe and use it. A must when you are out of the house with baby. Tushies Baby wipes are excellent as they have aloe vera.
Nappy Rash
That sore red bottom that has baby crying irritably is something most infants might suffer some time or other. Leave the dirty diaper on too long and baby would probably get a nappy rash.
You can soothe the rash with calendula cream. I used that on my son. It was so good for his skin I didn't reserve that for nappy rash emergencies but used a little as a moisturizer all over for his eczema. Here's an diaper rash cream from Nature's Gate that should soothe baby's sore bottom. As would this Butt paste
Feeding Baby
Breast milk is best. Still, most of us would supplement breast milk with formula milk for convenience. The hospital I delivered my baby in fed the babies Similar formula milk or Enfamil baby milk.
Formula milks is usually derived from cow's milk. Additional nutrients are added to it to make it comparable to mother's milk. But some babies are lactose intolerant or allergic to cow's milk. For these babies, formula milk that is soy based might be used instead. No doubt mother's milk is best but when that is not available, or impractical, one has to make do.
Iron is often added to formula milk. Yes, it is a nutrient everyone needs but it might cause constipation, so make sure baby gets plain water if taking formula milk, to combat constipation.
As baby grows older, from around 6 months old, baby would be ready to take solids. You could boil and puree carrots and vegetables to feed baby, or you could get bottled baby food. I did both. This is the time you have the most say in shaping your child's taste. When my kids were starting solids, I gave them mostly brocolli with potatos or carrots. Either home cooked or from the bottle. Now, they like brocolli and carrots. The very vegetables they were weaned on.
For commercial baby food, I used to get Gerber baby food for my kids. I got all the flavours to give them a wider spread of tastes.
Bringing Baby Out
Will you be keeping baby indoors all the time?
In a car, for the baby's safety, put her in a car seat. That can mean the difference between life and death should an accident occur. Get Graco infant car seats or at least car seats from another brand that is just as reputable. You would need a stroller as well if you want to bring baby out for a walk. Carrying baby around in your arms can get very tiring. Baby jogger has everything you need to take baby with you when you walk or jog. It would be a great way to shed those pounds and bond with baby.
Baby furniture
For your first baby, you would probably need new furniture. Or perhaps, you could get a cot from relatives or friends whose kids have outgrown them.
If you can't don't fret. AFG baby furniture is cheap and good. As for bedding, check out these Baby bedding sets
Baby Gifts
Looking for a baby gift?
I know how tough it can be. I've been hunting for a gift for my newborn niece and I wanted the gift to be perfect. I already got her a new dress, which though meant for 0-3 month old infants, was too small for her, but she'll grow into it one day. This time, I couldn't decide between something for my sister or for her baby. In the end, I got her some natural baby bath products since every girl should be pampered. Especially my tiny baby niece.
I took days to hunt down the perfect gift, going from shop to shop, visiting each shop twice, before finally buying the present. Bookmark this page. It is much easier to get your baby gift by browsing the brands available and having the gift delivered to your doorstep or to the baby's home, whichever is more convenient.
Looking for the cheapest baby product online?
This is what I've found.
H & H Labs - Oil Baby - 4oz, 4 oz
Your Price $0.59
Most Discounts
If you want value for money, (I know I do) here are the ones with the highest discounts as a percentage of the original price.
Yves Saint Laurent Baby Doll Eau De Toilette Spray 50ml/1.7oz
Retail Price $54.50
Your Price $38.00
Your Discount 30.28%
Highest dollar savings.
If you want to treat yourself to something special. Go ahead. With these savings, these luxuries are finally within your reach. This is where you can find the best dollar savings online.
Yves Saint Laurent Baby Doll Legere Eau De Toilette Spray 50ml/1.7oz
Retail Price $63.00
Your Price $54.50
You save $8.50
baby brands
