Frugal Friday.... frugal babies :)

A while ago, there was a pregnant flash mob to the song "Baby".  I thought it was so cute!  You can check it out here.  Anytime I would hear the song "baby" I would think of this video and one day I said to Matt, "Do you know the name of the lady who sings that song?"  To which he laughed and replied "It's a 15 year old boy named Justin Bieber."  :)

Today's frugal Friday is all about babies because they can be expensive, but they don't have to be!

Here are some frugal tips to keep costs down with babies:

1) Breastfeed!!!

(sorry Matt, Covenant Eyes won't be happy with this google search) 

For me, breastfeeding was pretty brutal in the beginning.  I gave it up with Warrick when he was only 4 weeks old, but I was able to nurse Tynnley for 10 months.  If it's hard for you as well, rest assured... it gets easier each day and you will be happy that you kept it up.  (And call a lactation consultant, they can save your sanity!)  After I stopped nursing Warrick, I was in for a rude awakening financially.  He ate 2 1/2 cans of formula each week (at $22 each!)  That was $55 added to our grocery bill each week.  It is insane how much formula costs.  And if money alone doesn't do it for you, here is what webmd says about breastfeeding:  "Breast-feeding lowers your child's risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and many types of infections and allergies. Breast milk may also help protect your child from some health problems, such as eczema, obesity, asthma, and diabetes.^1, 2

Breast-feeding has benefits for you too. You may recover from pregnancy, labor, and delivery sooner if you breast-feed. You may also lower your risk for certain health problems, such as breast cancer.^1"  

2) Use cloth diapers.

I was never this adventurous, but I can only imagine how much money I would have saved!  If there is ever a baby Robinson #3, I will try my hand at it.    

3) Make your own baby food.  

I recently read a friends blog where she made a TON of baby food for only $13.23!!!  This was taken from her blog:  

I ended up with 7 full ice cube trays (one is not pictured).  Here is what I made. 

• carrots
• carrots, sweet potato and cauliflower
• mashed potato and peas
• sweet potatoes
• apples
• pears
• banana avacado (*not pictured)

Here is the cost break down of what I spent.

2.5 lbs of sweet potatoes ($2.15)
3 lbs of carrots ($.78)
1 avocado ($1.24)
2.5 lbs of apples ($2.35)
1 russet potato ($.59)
2.27 lbs of pears ($3.34)
1 head of cauliflower (2.78)
1/4 bag of frozen peas (I already had it in the freezer)
1banana (already had on hand) 
Total = $13.23

All of that made 112 cubes of food.  That's  224 ounces.  I should have enough to last through most of October.  

You can read Kelly's entire baby food making process here.  

4) Shop consignment stores or off-season sales.  I have found amazing clothes and baby needs second hand for a fraction of the cost as new and in great shape!  And my kids spit up and stained everything they owned from birth until 5 months, so why would I spend $45 on that cute Gap sweater?

Have other frugal baby suggestions?  I'd love to hear them.