3 Mistakes I Made When I Was A New Mom

Now that baby No. 2 is baking in the oven, I have to say, I feel a lot more confident this time around. Maybe it's because I've learned from the mistakes I made the first time around.

With that said, if you are a new mom, I advise you to learn from the following mistakes – because in the end, you'll be saving yourself time, money and pain!

1. I stocked up on newborn diapers.

Babies fit newborn diapers for such a small amount of time. I learned this the hard way by purchasing newborn diapers from a warehouse company – I had so many leftover newborn diapers and they took up a lot of room in my little condo!

2. I didn't invest in a good baby carrier. 
My husband and I used the Snugli and it just wasn't right for us. Our backs, shoulders and hips hurt, we constantly felt like we were slouching. We just gave up on carriers all together. Take the time to find and invest in a comfortable baby carrier – it will save your arms and hands for multitasking.

3. I didn't rest enough.
The day after I gave birth, I decided to walk around a local mall and shop for a breastfeeding pillow. I couldn't walk properly. I could barely push the stroller. Do yourself a favour and assign yourself to bed rest the first week or two after you give birth. Rest up, take that time to learn to feed your baby, let yourself heal. 

Are there any other mistakes new moms shouldn't make? Post your comments below.

Review: A quick visit to Target (Square One, Mississauga)

So I finally checked out Target at Square One in Mississauga last night. I only had a bit of time as I had to run other errands, but this is what I thought: Meh... nothing to get excited about.

A few things I noticed:

• For baby and toddler clothes, Walmart is still cheaper. Walmart has tops and bottoms starting at $3 - Target's start at $5. 
• Toy selection at Target isn't fab. It's actually pretty small and pricey.
• On the lower level at the mall entrance, they have four or five self-checkouts. Well, they had staff helping people at the checkouts because customers weren't sure how to use them. Plus half of the self-checkouts broke down.
• Their house brand of diapers are very cheap - cheaper than Costco, Walmart and Real Canadian Superstore. But here's the thing: I have no idea what their brand of diapers and wipes are like. Sure they say "leak-proof" but are they really? I'd rather spend the extra money on Pampers because I know they work.

So my final thoughts? I'll stick to Walmart and the Real Canadian Superstore. Although Target price-matches, I'd rather go somewhere else to price-match because Target doesn't have fresh produce.

Thoughts?

Learn from my mistake!

So, shame on me! I broke my number 1 baby shopping rule: Don't stock up!

Last year, I blogged about how you shouldn't buy something just because it's on sale. Stocking up, especially if there's an expiry date on the product, just wastes room in your home. And when the baby grows out of the product and you have leftovers ... oh, oh, right? This is why I don't stock up on diapers.

However, as I was cleaning out my cabinets today, I found something that expired last month, January 2013: An unopened box of Life Brand Polyvitamin Drops.

Oh, Life Brand Polyvitamin Drops, I knew you were trouble when I saw you on sale at Shopper's Drug Mart. (Ok, that was sort of supposed to be my rendition of Taylor Swift's "I Knew You Were Trouble" - sorry, that didn't work out!)

A year and a half ago, Shopper's Drug Mart was selling this for $7.99 each. At the time, I thought, "OK, my daughter needs it anyway, I'll just buy three packages!" Well, sure enough, she slowly realized that the taste and smell was icky and that she could fight, fight, fight her way out of taking vitamins.

So I ended up only using two out of the three packages. What a waste! But it was a good lesson learned, right?

Reduced to clear

Although I like to think of myself as a savings kind of gal, there's one aisle I don't check often: the "reduced to clear" section. I know, totally ironic, right? Maybe it's because it's out of the way. Or maybe it's because I have to jet thanks to an impatient toddler.

A few weeks back, I happened to pass by this bargain section at a Real Canadian Superstore. I couldn't believe my eyes (or, I mean, what my daughter was using as a drum): diapers ... and they were in her size!

About 90 percent of the time, I use coupons to buy diapers. I normally pay about 17 cents a diaper (she wears size 3 still, which is why I can keep the cost this low). But on this lucky, non-full moon evening, I paid $10.44 for 136 diapers. That equals to .... 7 cents a diaper! (Here's your cue to say, "whaaaaaat?!")

So sometimes it doesn't hurt to take a u-turn towards the bargain section. Here are a few tips if you find diapers at an incredibly, eye-popping price:

• If they're cheap and you know they won't work for your baby or tot, forget about it. (P.S. Same goes for skincare and personal care items on sale.) You want to keep your sanity during diaper changes, not lose it for a few bucks. If I see something at an amazing price, I'll sometimes text my mommy friends. Hey, why not pass on the savings? 

• Watch that you don't buy too many boxes at once. If you buy 500 diapers and you're kid outgrows the first 100, well ... 'nuff said. See my post "You don't have to buy it just because it's on sale!" for details.
  

Diapers and In The Night Garden

First off, let me say how disappointed I am at the diaper sales for the past few weeks. Diapers from all brands have started at about $0.19 per diaper, going up to as high as $0.29! However, I was at a Superstore in Mississauga and they have an in-store coupon for Huggies Snug & Dry for $3 off. I don't remember the count, but a size-3 box with the coupon was $0.16 per diaper. Unfortunately, I recently bought a box of Pampers 222 count (and with a stupid coupon they totaled at $0.18 per diaper!), so ... I'm stuck with that for now.

On the plus side, I discovered a thrift store called Talize. I never bothered to figure out what it was all about. However, I saw their sign in Brampton that said "Discover the new Power of Thrift" so I thought, "Okay, why not?" Well, thank goodness I did check it out because I found an In The Night Garden doll for $1.99 and it talks, too My daughter absolutely LOVES this show and Upsy Daisy, the doll below, is her favourite character. (Like many first-time adult viewers, I totally found the show weird at first (uh...Makka Pakka and Hahoo?!), but then I discovered it was made by the creators of Teletubbies, so it all made sense.)

My friend was asking me the best days to visit thrift stores for good finds and to be honest ... I can't think of any best days. (But if you know the secret, let me know please!) From my experience, it's been a luck of the draw. Sometimes you find things, sometimes you leave empty handed. So if you're trying to save some bucks on toys ... just keep checking out the thrift stores whenever you can. But come spring and summer time, it'll be garage-sale season, so those will be fun to sift through!

Diaper discussion

When I buy diapers, I NEVER purchase them without coupons. This is what I do: I go through all of the flyers in my local paper and check which store has Pampers or Huggies on sale (these diapers seem to work the best, in my experience. The stupid Seventh Generation ones rip and leak!). Then I price them per diaper using the sale price AND a coupon on top of the sale price. The most I've ever paid for a size-3 package is $0.16 per diaper.

So here's a little demo "case study": I have flyers from Walmart and Superstore. Walmart has a 222-pack of size-3 Pampers on sale for $32.99; Superstore has Pampers in a 172 pack for $28.99. I have a $2-off coupon. You'd think Superstore would be cheaper, but guess again.  According to my calculations, I would choose Walmart, as the package would be $0.13 per diaper. (If I were to go with Superstore AND use my coupon, it would be more expensive, as I would be paying $0.15 per diaper.) Many would think that my shopping technique is too frugal, BUT saving here and there goes a long way.

In my opinion, stocking up on diapers is a no-no. Here's why: babies grow FAST. You don't know how big they'll get. I used to think people said this to make conversation, but after having my own, I've realized that it actually means something! Babies tend to double their weight by the time they reach four months. So if your baby is only wearing size 2 for about a month and you've bought that size in bulk, you've wasted your money (and the diapers take up space!). I found purchasing NB diapers in bulk was a huge disadvantage: Although my daughter could have more than comfortably fit into size 1, I squeezed her little bottom into NB diapers because I had too many stored away. (Sorry, babes!) Generally speaking, today I purchase two boxes MAX in the diaper inventory.

Thoughts? Comments from lovers and haters are welcome! Bring it, biatch!