babyproductsmom.com » saving money http://babyproductsmom.com/blog baby products--saving money and safety Tue, 10 May 2011 12:49:36 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 Toys R Us Great Trade-in Event–the clock is ticking http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/baby-safety/toys-r-us-great-trade-in-event-the-clock-is-ticking.html http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/baby-safety/toys-r-us-great-trade-in-event-the-clock-is-ticking.html#comments Thu, 18 Feb 2010 12:11:44 +0000 http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/?p=216 If you’ve got a used baby product, there’s still time–until February 20th–to take advantage of Toys “R” Us’s Great Trade-in Event. Trade in your used crib, car seat, bassinet, stroller, travel system, play yard, high chair, or toddler bed for a 25 percent savings on the purchase of a new baby item in any of these product categories from select manufacturers.

Have you taken advantage of the Great Trade-in Event? I’d love to hear from you about your experience with it. What did you trade in and what did you buy in return? Would you do it again if the program is re-offered?

]]> http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/baby-safety/toys-r-us-great-trade-in-event-the-clock-is-ticking.html/feed 0 Bare is best for your baby’s crib http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/uncategorized/bare-is-best-for-your-babys-crib.html http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/uncategorized/bare-is-best-for-your-babys-crib.html#comments Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:04:35 +0000 http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/?p=207 I had the privilege of speaking on two radio shows yesterday–WARM 103.3 with morning show host, Traci Taylor, in York, PA and Money Matters Radio with Chuck Nilosek in Boston on how to save money on baby gear. Both Traci and Chuck asked me: “What’s something lots of new parents buy for their baby that they just don’t need or that’s even unsafe?” My answer: Crib bedding.

Crib bedding–a bumper, blanket and pillow set–can run you hundreds, even thousands of dollars, depending on how designer you want to go. But it’s money that you needn’t and even shouldn’t spend because the safest cribs are bare. They’re outfitted in nothing but a tight-fitting mattress and a tight-fitting sheet. Everything else–even sleep positioners–pose a suffocation/SIDS risk. To keep your baby warm, dress your baby in a sleep sack or a swaddle sack to replace a blanket.  

A bare crib isn’t something you’ll often see in stores and in magazines. Check out this study by Rachel Moon, M.D., a pediatrician at Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C., on how more than one third of pictures of sleeping infants in magazines geared toward women of childbearing age showed unsafe sleep positions or environments that weren’t consistent with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics:

A decked-out crib can be dangerous.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19706591?itool=EntrezSystem2.PEntrez.Pubmed.Pubmed_ResultsPanel.Pubmed_RVDocSum&ordinalpos=1

]]> http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/uncategorized/bare-is-best-for-your-babys-crib.html/feed 7 Random survey about mommy bloggers accepting freebies http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/faq/random-survey-about-mommy-bloggers-accepting-freebies.html http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/faq/random-survey-about-mommy-bloggers-accepting-freebies.html#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:12:41 +0000 http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/?p=146 “Is becoming a mommy blogger a good way to save money on baby products?

I was asked that question this week by a writer for www.bankrate.com. It was a curious question, especially since Consumer Reports accepts no advertising and buys all the products we test. She noted that several of the mommy bloggers in her new-moms group were receiving free baby products from manufacturers. It goes to show you how pervasive this practice has become–getting freebies from companies in exchange for a review (or not).

As you may already know, the FTC is cracking down on product endorsements. An existing FTC rule that states product reviewers must reveal any connection they have with advertisers was extended to bloggers and takes effect on December 1.

Anyway, that question really didn’t quite apply to me. But as a result of it, I’m taking a random and anonymous survey. I’d love to get your thoughts on this…How do you think the new FTC rule will affect the mommy blogger “industry?”

]]> http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/faq/random-survey-about-mommy-bloggers-accepting-freebies.html/feed 2 Fall-out from the economy: Changing diapers less often http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/proactive-parent/fall-out-from-the-economy-changing-diapers-less-often.html http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/proactive-parent/fall-out-from-the-economy-changing-diapers-less-often.html#comments Fri, 09 Oct 2009 16:16:38 +0000 http://babyproductsmom.com/blog/?p=124 Members Mark diapersThe economy has affected us in all sorts of ways and a notice for a diaper drive in the restroom of my nearby public libary caught my attention recently. The notice about the drive, sponsored by the United Way, mentioned that babies in families struggling to make ends meet often spend the entire day or longer in a single diaper. Infants need up to 12 diapers a day and toddlers up to 8 a day. If you don’t change a diaper that often, it can lead to diaper rash. The notice mentioned that it can also increase the risk of hepatitis, even child abuse from the constant crying that can result when a child is left in a dirty diaper too long.

You can’t use food stamps or the WIC Federal Program to purchase diapers. That’s where the diaper drive comes in. Turns out anybody can organize a diaper drive in his/her neighborhood or workplace. If you’d like to help, contact the United Way. Here’s the link:

 http://volunteer.united-e-way.org/uwoci/org/opp/10243089539.html?return_url=%252fuwoci%252forg%252fopp%252fmedallions%252f%253fmedallion%255fid%253d10277321974

Meanwhile, to save on diapers in general, my best advice is to go with store-brand disposable diapers. Although Consumer Reports’ tests show that the name brands are the top-rated disposable diapers, because overall they tend to be more absorbent and fit better, you may find store brands more than adequate—and a cost cutter. You’ll save about 3 cents per diaper if, for example, you compare the cost of size 1 Par­ent’s Choice, Wal-Mart’s store-brand diapers, with Pampers, also size 1. Saving pennies per diaper may not seem like much, but with 10 changes per day (which is reasonable with an infant), you’d bank about $9 per month and $108 per year using the size 1 store brand diapers.

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