$5 off $25 at Drugstore.com

Using this link you can get $5 off an $25 purchase of mom and baby items and drugstore.com. If you have a shoprunner membership shipping is free! I am getting Butt Paste to treat and prevent diaper rash because I need some, and it is on sale for a god price. Diapers come out to 20 cents a diaper for the jumbo case of the cheapest brand, not a great deal.

Lysol Wipes

Today only (2/13/12) a tub of 35 Lysol sanitizing wipes will be $1.99 at STples. Shipping is free. This deal will become available at 10 pm/ The usefulness of this deal depends on your usual wipe buying habits. At Amazon these wipes are typically 7 cents a wipe. However at Costco they are often cheaper than 7 5 cents per wipe (if you have a Costco membership) and sell in larger containers. The small size is ideal if you don't use them that often, so that they won't dry out, and if you keep them in places like the car. If you have the time to head out to a brick and mortar store you are better off at Walgreens. This week they have the 35 count tub buy one get one free. That makes it $3.59 for two tubs.

Profit From Your Used Books!

Free today at the Kindle shop is The Home-Based Bookstore: Start Your Own Business Selling Used Books on Amazon, eBay or Your Own Web Site. Admittedly, I have not yet read the book. But it's free. So it can't hurt to download it now before the price goes up again. I have blogged before about how I made a decent profit and kept graduate school costs down by reselling the books I needed to buy (often for the same price or slightly more than I paid for them). If this book can streamline that process and help me get rid of the last set of books I have festering on the shelf, then more power to it. Also by this author (and free right now but it has been fluctuating all day) are: Barcode Booty: How I found and sold $2 million of 'junk' on eBay and Amazon, And you can, too, using your phone, ePublish: Self-Publish Fast and Profitably for Kindle, iPhone, CreateSpace and Print on Demand, eBay 101: Selling on eBay For Part-time or Full-time Income, Beginner to PowerSeller in 90 Days, Etsy 101: Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, the DIY Marketplace for Handmade, Vintage and Crafting Supplies. It seems he is a real pro at online selling, or writing about it anyway ;)

Other free books of note:

Fairy Tales Every Child Should Know
Innocent Deceptions
Candy Cookbook
Revenge (A Travis Mays Novel)
Sleeping with Paris

75% Off Disney Kids Clothes on Amazon

Amazon has Disney clothes for %50 off. For a limited time entering the code DIS25OFF at checkout gains you an extra 25% off. All items qualify for Free Super Saver Shipping or Prime.

Boppy Pillow - $20.99 at Amazon

The Boppy Bare Naked Pillow is beloved by many breastfeeding moms as a way to make nursing easier. The pillow wraps around the waist and supports baby. Moms who have had c-sections also find the pillow eases pressure on the abdominal wound during nursing by supporting the baby. Even the hospital lactation consultant was discussing the boppy and its uses during her classes. Personally, I actually like the boppy for tummy time and don't use it for nursing. Amazon has it for a good price right now and since it's a baby item it qualifies for free returns for a year. If you will use it for nursing go for it. if you won't (like me) it's not worth it. Mine was a hand me down from my sister. Otherwise I would have forgone it since I am one of the few moms on the planet who doesn't use it for nursing.

Parenting Resources

There are a million advice books, gadgets and the like on the market for new moms. With only a very small apartment, there's not much we can fit here, yet alone afford. I also don't have much use for a lot of new age advice on "baby nurturing". Here's what I have found actually useful over the past few weeks.


On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the Gift of Nighttime Sleep This book is full of practical, useful advice. It soothes a lot of the fears of first time parents and makes everything so much more manageable. My little girl sleeps like an angel thanks to the solid principles from this book. They really mesh with my parenting style.




Ameda Purely Yours Ultra Breast Pump Formula is ridiculously expensive, and not as nutritious or beneficial to the baby as breast milk. I therefore decided to make every best effort to give my baby exclusively breast milk for the first year if I could and avoid formula altogether. To facilitate this, and to still get some sleep I started pumping the excess milk after feedings so my husband could give the baby a morning bottle and I could sleep a little more. I am also going to need to go back to work and pump milk while there for the nanny to give the baby. Lansinoh 20435 Breastmilk Storage Bags  are great for storage, lie flat very well and are cost efficient. The price of the double electric pump is a tiny fraction of what formula would have cost me. This pump is also a closed system so it won't get moldy between baby 1 and the next siblings birth one day or require excess sterilization. Plus you can adjust both speed and suction. 

Philips Avent Soothie Pacifier, 0-6 Months, Pink/purple To get nursing off to a good start, I did not give the pacifier for a week and a half. Then we chose this one because it closely resembles the breast. It really helps when baby just wants to suck. Plus the American Academy of Pediatrics says that using the pacifier when baby goes to sleep helps ward off SIDS. We do not give the pacifier at all times and we allow the baby to fuss sometimes so that she doesn't become dependent.

HALO SleepSack Micro-Fleece Swaddle, Cream, Small Babies love swaddling. This contraption ensures they can't break free. It also signals to my baby that it is time for nighttime sleep (we only use it at night). She sleeps longer and sounder. Plus I don't have to worry about her being cold or needing any blankets in the bassinet (another SIDS danger).

Everything else (besides for diapers and a place for her to sleep) is kind of nice but not necessary or completely useless. We're happy leaving a lot of it on the store shelves and not in our crowded living space!

Baby is here! Mommy is Exhausted

You may have noticed I have been gone for some time. That's because my long awaited bundle of joy has arrived. She is cute as a button and these two weeks have been wonderful...but exhausting.

I knew breast feeding can be tough, but I never realized how exhausting it could be. The feeding schedules of babies (every two hours, every three hours) make you feel like your body is no longer your own. Plus a lot of nutrients and such must go into the breast milk so you've got to eat and drink to keep up your stores and not be drained. Still it is such a beautiful and special thing. However new moms should be warned than it can be seriously tough, mentally and physically draining and they should not be ashamed or embarassed to ask for help. I was a total basket case until a La Leche League volunteer came and helped me out (engorgement in the extreme. not comfy).

Babies also go through many, many diapers in this stage. And just as you open a diaper or get on a new one they shoot out some more poop or pee. Requiring a new diaper and sometimes a new outfit (for baby and mommy). So buying diapers in bulk is a good idea. Luckily Diapers.com is having a great deal now where you get $5 off every case of diaers you buy, free shipping on orders over $49 and $10 off your first order. At around 13 cents a diaper it works out very well. Ideally you want to be under  25 cent a diaper.

Nursing has been helping me take off the baby weight but my tummy is still kind of spongy. Mommy needs to get to the gym. Seriously.

Baby has also been doing well in all the great clothes she has been given by people, and mommy is now on the lookout for good baby bargains. Stay tuned!