The Medela Pump in Style, for example, which retails for around $340 on Amazon, is now tax deductible.

As you probably know, these days, “breast is best,” and it seems that the government thinks so, too. If you’re in the market for a breast pump—or know someone who is—be sure to take advantage of the fact that “Expenses paid for breast pumps and supplies that assist lactation qualify as deductible medical expenses,” according to the new IRS ruling.  As reported in Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, a double electric breast pump, which is a must if you’ll be pumping and going back to work part-time or full-time after your baby is born–can cost as much as $350. Yikes! Fortunately, though, now you can add the cost of your breast pump and other lactation supplies (such as bottles and tubing) to your other deductible medical expenses if you itemize on your tax return. (Medical expenses are deductible when they exceed 7.5 percent of your adjusted gross income.) Or, because of the new tax treatment, you can use pretax dollars from your flexible spending account to pay for breast pumps and nursing supplies. So be sure to take advantage of this new tax benefit if you can.

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The Bugaboo Donkey converts to a side-by-side convertible stroller, which is its greatest feature. It accepts two infant car seats, which is rare in the side-by-side stroller world. You can then convert it to a traditional stroller as your kids grow. By 6 months old or so, your babies can ride sans infant car seat if and when they can sit up. Many parents buy more than one stroller–a lightweight one for travel and a more solid unit for everyday. But with the Bugaboo Donkey, you could get away with buying only one stroller and using it until the stroller stage is over (that could be up to age 5 or 6; Kindergarten-age kids will still need a stroller at times if say, you’re spending the day at Disney World. They can’t be expected to walk for five or six hours at a shot.) The Bugaboo Donkey’s longevity is a definite plus and can take some of the edge off the asking price.

General things to know about side-by-side strollers:

They’re great for kids of the same weight. If you’ve got kids of different ages (and thus weights), side-by-side strollers can list to the side of the child who is heavier. That’s a steering issue that can get tiresome after a while.

They can be a tight squeeze through standard doorways, or might not fit at all. The Bugaboo Donkey is 29 inches wide, so it’s narrow for a side-by-side stroller. But it’s still wider than a traditional or a tandem double stroller, which is as wide as a single, traditional stroller.

Two key questions to ask yourself before buying a Bugaboo Donkey:

1. Am I having twins? If yes, you’re a definite candidate for the Bugaboo Donkey if it’s in the budget and/or you’ve got generous friends and relatives.

2. Where will I be doing most of my strolling? If you live in New York City, for example, and you’ll be going in and out of stores or an older apartment building with a narrow elevator door, a tandem model, in which the seats are one directly behind the other, is probably be a better bet. If you live in the suburbs and you’ll be doing most of your strolling at the mall or on the sidewalks or streets around your neighborhood, you’ll probably do just fine with a side-by-side stroller like the Bugaboo Donkey.

I like the fact that the Bugaboo Donkey has lots of storage space since strollers do function as shopping carts.

Silly but useful tip: Learn how to unfold the Bugaboo Donkey or any stroller for that matter, before taking it to the mall and teach Grandma and Grandpa how to do it, too. I have one friend who gave a Bugaboo stroller to her mother to use with the kids at the mall for the day. Grandma couldn’t figure out how to unfold the stroller at day’s end. Out of frustration, she was tempted to abandon it in the parking garage. Luckily, she managed to get the whole stroller into the car without folding it up and off she went.

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I once attended a “no gifts please” christening and couldn’t stop myself from bringing a present. It was my friend’s third baby, so I could kinda understood the sentiment. Still, didn’t this baby deserve some new, fun stuff too? I thought. No way was I going to show up empty handed. So I brought a cute onesie and rattle. Later, I got a thank you note from my friend, who loved both. (Whew! She didn’t send my gifts back.)

Here’s my take on this “no gifts please” baby shower trend: If you don’t want or need gifts, don’t have a shower. There’s no obligation to have one. If you get invited to a shower but can’t afford a gift, just send your well wishes and your regrets. But if you (the parent) have a shower with a “no gifts please” clause, be prepared to get a lot of nice stuff but also stuff that you don’t want or need and repeat gifts (like tons of hooded towels). When it comes to babies–even second, third, fourth babies, and so on–people want to give gifts. And if you don’t register, they’re going to send what they want.

In light of the recession, you can put lots of really affordable items on your registry, like yes–one hooded towel as well as diapers, diapers, and more diapers, especially in the upper sizes, for later. Bottomline: It’s okay to have a baby shower (with gifts) in a recession. If this is not your first baby, and you feel uncomfortable asking for gifts, don’t have a shower.

What’s your take? Is there such a thing as a baby shower without gifts?

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Some bottle sterilizers like this Philips deluxe model retail for more than $60.

For as little as around $20, you can buy a bottle sterilizer or put it on your baby registry for someone to snap up. But it’s $20 (or a lot more, depending on how techy you want to get) that could go toward someone really essential, like diapers and more diapers. Hot, soapy water or your dishwasher will do the job of cleaning bottles just fine, lactation experts tell me. In fact, one lactation consultant mentioned this potenial downside to bottle sterilizing. That is, if a plastic baby bottle (BPA-free, of course) has any milk residue in it and it’s sterilized (heated to a high, bacteria-killing temp), the protein in the milk could bake against the sides, leaving little, microscopic ridges for bacteria to grow and hide in later, when you use the bottle again. That’s a nerdy take on what could go wrong with bottle sterilizing but it’s worth noting.

I know some people will swear by their bottle sterilizer. Feel free to weigh in on this blog if that’s you. But if you’re looking to downsize your stuff list, I say that it’s safe to omit this item. What else do you think could go? What baby products did you buy or receive that you ultimately didn’t need or use?

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On average, disposable diapers cost 25 cents each. With Huggies Little Movers, you’ll pay about 27 to 28 cents per diaper. So they do cost a little more. It’s just 2-3 cents per diaper, though. At a max of eight diaper changes per day let’s say, you’ll spend an extra 24 cents per day–that’s $1.68 per week, which translates to $6.72 more per month or $80.64 per year. That’s not much at all, but still, if you’re watching your pennies, you will be paying more for “the look.” 

The Poop on Diaper Savings

Want to save the most on diapers you possibly can? In general, here my tips for buying disposable diapers for much less:

–If you love the look of denim diapers–and I have a feeling Huggies Little Movers Denim are just the beginning of a disposable diaper fashion trend–save them for special occasions and use plain old white diapers for every day. 
–Buy big. In general, buy the largest count diaper box you can find and buy the smallest size diaper your baby can comfortable wear. In other words, don’t be too quick to trade up to the next-size diaper. Larger diapers cost more than smaller-size diapers do.
–Use coupons and load up at sale time.
–Try store-brand disposables.

All told, if you use all these tips, you can save as much as 17 cents per diaper. Based on my estimates, that’s $1.36 per day or $9.52 cents per week or $38.08 per month or $456.96 per year in your bank account. Yowza!

What do you do to save $$ on disposables?

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As it turns out, there are lots of baby products you shouldn’t buy used. I’m finding, though, that my list of “what not to buy used” is constantly changing, as safety standards get updated. Toys, for example, used to be on my ”okay to buy used” list. But since toy safety standards were revised as part of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008, I’m generally not recommending buying used toys unless they’re new or look like new since they might have been made before 2009, when the new toy safety standards got implemented. The new standards ban three types of phthalates, a chemical in plastic, and lower the bar on the permissible lead limit in paint applied to children’s products.   

On the other hand, cribs used to be on my “don’t buy used list.” But if you buy a stationary crib (no-drop sides), as we now recommend in Consumer Reports Best Baby Products, a stationary crib now seems okay to buy used, provided that all the slats are sturdy.

A stationary crib has no potentially dangerous drop sides.

 A stationary crib is a solid piece of furniture; the danger with drop sides, which can malfunction over time or be installed incorrectly, is eliminated. But here’s the catch: If you decide to buy a used stationary crib, know the date it was manufactured. The safest stationary cribs were made after August 2009, which coinsides with the new lead paint standards.

Feel free to chime in!

What baby products have you bought used? What tips can you offer other parents who may be considering going this route?

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Stores and Websites often put diapers on sale as "loss leaders" to induce parents to shop there, so take advantage of good deals.

In any event, here are three more ways to save on both types of diapers:

–Shop Wal-Mart and Target. You’ll find rock-bottom prices on disposable and reusable diapers at www.walmart.com and www.target.com. Don’t be afraid to try the store brand and save at least 3 cents per diaper with every change. (It adds up!) 

–Visit www.drugstore.com, www.diapers.com, www.amazon.com, and www.cvs.com for good deals on name-brand and store-brand diapers (and save yourself a trip to the store) and stock up at sale time.

–Save on regular deliveries. Amazon’s Subscribe and Save program, which pops up at the checkout, offers the best deal if you sign up for regular deliveries; you can save 15 percent and get free shipping too.

What do you do to save money on diapers? Give us the poop!

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Happy new baby!

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Still, babies can snooze through anything. That’s because infants spend 50 percent of their sleep time in slow-wave sleep, which is the deepest stage of sleep, says Judith Owens, M.D., associate professor of pediatrics at the Warren Alpert School of Medicine at Brown University, in Providence, Rhode Island. (That gradually diminishes, dropping to just 15 percent of the night by young adulthood.)

So a cherry red room isn’t apt to keep most babies awake.  And painting your baby’s room red, or some other non-traditional baby color such as lime or Kelly green, navy, yellow, or lavender might even stretch your decorating dollar. Your baby is less apt to outgrow those colors as quickly as say, babyish pastel pink or blue. All you’ll need to do is change the accessories, such as the artwork, as your little one becomes a toddler, then a big boy or girl, rather than re-do the entire room.

So I’ve changed my mind about nursery colors, especially in this econony.  I still like more muted colors in general, but I say go ahead and paint the nursery cherry red, if you want to, and save yourself the time and expense of a room do-over later.

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