BUY ME – Page 2 – BabyCostsMoney

The Target Baby Box Rocks My Socks.

Published on August 10, 2017August 8, 2017 by Darlene Dee13 Comments

I love the Target Baby Box ($7.41 with tax). I really appreciate the ability to try out baby products without a huge investment. Ok, I MOSTLY appreciate getting a package of fun little travel size products in the mail for less than $10, but I like the trying them out thing second best. Or maybe third best. I like getting mail, I like having little cute bottles to tote around, and I like being able to try out the products without a huge investment. Oh, and I also like looking at the pretty gold box all wrapped up like a present, and I like that the $10 coupon that is included that makes it basically free. MORE than free, actually. I would be silly NOT to buy the baby box. Plus, of course, I get the opportunity to try out new baby brands or products that I otherwise might not have purchased.

(I totally have an image of Steve Martin sitting in front of a Christmas tree on that burgundy chair on Saturday Night Live, and reciting his Holiday Wish skit. I hate that skit. I know that most people love it, because it is included in the ‘Best of SNL’ Holiday Special every year. But Steve Martin annoys me and I am not sure know why. I think it’s because of Shop Girl. He played such a sleazy guy in that film, which he himself wrote and likely cast. So maybe I don’t like him because he is a really good actor? I like The Jerk, Parenthood, Father of the Bride, Roxanne, and Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. I did hate him in Little Shop of Horrors but I think that was kind of the point. Anyway, I realize that I just basically ripped off a SNL sketch and I wish I had at least recreated one that I liked.)

The most recent Target Baby Box came with $20.54 of baby things. I know this because one of my brilliant college student children did the math. Check out the breakdown.

Method 4x Concentrated Laundry Detergent Free + Clear

53.5 oz for $12.99
8.1 oz for $1.97

Baby Dove Rich Moisture Tip-to-Toe Wash

13 oz for $5.99
1.8 oz for $0.83

Mustela Hydra Bebe Body Lotion

10.14 oz for $12.99
1.69 oz for $2.17

Cetaphil Baby Gentle Wash With Organic Calendula

7.8 oz for $4.29
1.7 oz for $0.94

Philips Avent Freeflow Pacifier (0-6 Months)

2 pack for $5.49
1 pack for $2.75

Honest Company Hand Sanitizer Spray Lavender

2 oz for $2.99 (FULL SIZE)

Triple Paste Rash Ointment

2 oz for $7.49 (FULL SIZE)

Seventh Generation Baby Wipes Free and Clear

64 ct for $2.99
30 ct for $1.40

TOTAL VALUE $20.54

PLUS the Baby Box included a ‘$10 off of $50’ Target baby coupon. Do you know how easy it is to spend $50 in the baby section at Target? So easy. So so so easy. So basically, the Baby Box is free even if I don’t use any of the cute miniature products.

Because the truth is, I’m not going to use all of these products. I will give some away, like the Avent pacifier and the Triple Paste rash ointment. They are fine, I just don’t use them. I will use some right away, like the Method laundry detergent and Honest Company hand sanitizer spray. That 30-pack of Seventh Generation wipes is currently in my diaper bag. I will save the Mustela lotion to try after further research. And I will likely toss some immediately. We already know that the grown-up versions of Cetaphil and Dove contain some very suspicious ingredients, and so far I assume the same is true of the baby versions.

But did I mention that the Target Baby Box has POLKA DOTS!?

RAISING BABYSTAR: $20,435.30

Searching for the Unicorn of Water Bottles.

Published on August 8, 2017August 6, 2017 by Darlene Dee27 Comments

I am on a constant quest for the World’s Best Water Bottle. This pursuit extends to every member of my family, but this post is about Babystar.

We love love LOVE almost everything about her Contigo water bottle but I can’t stop won’t stop searching for perfection.

The Contigo doesn’t fit in her car seat cup holder. The Contigo should easily hook to a packback or stroller bar. The Contigo straw is a bit large for Babystar’s mouth; I want a more straw-like straw.

Enter the Skip Hop Zoo Stainless Steel Little Kid Water Bottle. It is ADORABLE. It fits in one of our car seat cup holders but not the other. It has a velcro strap so it should easily attach to things but it is kind of heavy and expensive so I am afraid to lose it. The straw is perfection, though. It is a thicker but regular size straw that closes up under the bottles lid for cleanliness. And Skip Hop is thoughtful enough to include an extra straw. The stainless steel design keeps her water ice cold.

But there is one HUGE bummer: it leaks. This is definitely my bad because nowhere on the packaging or on their website does Skip Hop claim that this bottle is leak-proof. I just assumed a bottle meant for children (it has LITTLE KID in the name) would be leak-proof. Especially one priced at $17.99. But nope. I soaked several diapers and two sets of extra clothes on a day when that was less than ideal. Perfection, this is not.

It’s cute, though. REAL CUTE.

MAYDAY MAYDAY: What is your favorite sippy cup or water bottle for your kids, and why? I am so close to finding Water Bottle Nirvana that I can almost taste it, but of course it is tasteless because a weird taste would be worth several demerits.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $20,427.89

Wash Me.

Published on July 27, 2017July 23, 2017 by Darlene Dee3 Comments

I paid the Teenager $20 so that I could shower.

To be more clear: I paid the Teenager $20 for two hours of babysitting so that I could vacuum and then take a long, hot shower that was worth every penny. (Also, there are like fifty filters on that picture because that is NOT how I look freshly showered.)

While in the shower, I realized that I have not added the cost of Babystar’s latest baby soaps. We bought the two-pack of Honest Creamsicle (or vanilla orange whatever) at Costco again, months ago. We are almost out of both, but they do almost last forever. Which is amazing because both because Babystar considers it a snack food AND she gets a bath every night. $14.99.

(I am lucky to get two showers in the same week. How did this happen?)

(There are zero filters on this picture because my bathroom tile is SO PRETTEEEEE.)

I haven’t added in laundry detergent since last May. I estimate I use about one extra box per month washing Babystar’s clothes and diapers. Sometimes less, sometimes more, but it’s a good average for now. And now I know that a box of Arm & Hammer from Harris Teeter (literally all we buy) is $8.46 with tax. So, $8.46 from June of last year is $109.98. I’ll add a box of laundry detergent each month to her monthly food post starting in August.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,761.37

Llama llama, MORE BOOKS MAMA!

Published on July 24, 2017July 23, 2017 by Darlene Dee3 Comments

Dude. I can tell myself over and over that Babystar has ENOUGH STUFF, and I am totally right. But I keep buying her books.

She loves books. She ‘reads’ her books to herself and her friends. (Her friends are stuffed animals.) She reads her books to Tillie the Kitten, who seems oddly into it. She brings her books everywhere and will ask anyone to read to her. Her books ward away toddler meltdowns. Her books are fucking magic.

(Yes, I know about libraries. I love the library. I also know that if my kid likes to lick her books, other kids probably do also. I mean, duh, licking books is SO LIT. So we don’t check out board books or ‘beginning reader’ books from the library. We do check out story books from the library, but those are read TO her by an adult under highly supervised situations.)

Last week, I bought a six-pack of ‘Learn-to-Read’ Little Critter books at Costco for $9.99. We already love Little Critter, and the kid needs practice on NOT RIPPING PAGES of non-board books. At less than two dollars per book, this seems like a nice price point for practice. And — bonus! — maybe she will in fact learn to read.

Then on Saturday, we bought two new board books from the last of the big box brick and mortar bookstores, Barnes & Noble, for $16.98. We also joined their Kid’s Club, which is totally free! (Their adult version is $25 so free is awesome.) You get $5 off for each cool hundred that you drop in their store (books totally add up quickly tho) and the kids get a free cupcake on their birthday from the cafe. And they probably email you some coupons and stuff, I’m assuming. Since they asked for my email address. Or maybe they just want to sell it to make some money to pay the rent since everyone buys books on Amazon these days. (Which I totally get because I could have saved $3.08 buying them on Amazon. But I like to touch books and I miss bookstores.) Either way, I’m kind of cool with it.

MAMAS AND PAPAS AND ANYONE WHO HANGS OUT WITH THE LITTLES: How old was your kids when you started checking out library books? And do you prefer Amazon’s prices and convenience or the magical experience of actual bookstores? (I like a good combo platter myself.)

RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,577.70

Funscreen.

Published on July 14, 2017July 11, 2017 by Darlene Dee12 Comments

Ok, we all know that I mean sunscreen but does ANY TODDLER like having sunscreen applied? Maybe it just needs a new name? Funscreen. Like when I call bathtime, splashtime. No?

MAYDAY MAYDAY: Does anyone have any ideas on how to apply sunscreen to a wiggly ToddlerMonster in a fun, laughter-filled manner? Or at least in a way that gets full coverage with zero tears?

I ordered the Target Baby Box last April ($5) with some great intentions of reviewing products for all of you wonderful people that take the time to read my little blog. I wanted to give something back to you, even if that something is just more of my opinions. I did not do that. Mostly because I’m lazy. But I did discover a wonderful baby sunscreen through that Baby Box so it was totally worth it.

I highly recommend the Aveeno Baby Continuous Protection Sensitive Skin Lotion Zinc Oxide Sunscreen SPF 50. I have read a lot of scary articles this past spring about all of the poisonous crap in a lot of sunscreens out there in the world. I even found out that my SPF 15 face lotion was most likely going to kill me.

MAYDAY MAYDAY: Does anyone have and love a grownup face moisturizer with an SPF of at least 15?

I used the entire tiny bottle of Aveeno Sunscreen that came in the Target Baby Box and just recently had to replenish ($10.49). It goes on not-too-thick and it’s not at all greasy, but it definitely works. We have been in the sun quite a bit this summer and my little pale blond super white ghost baby has not had a single sunburn. Babystar is the whitest little marshmallow ever, so this stuff is legit!

RAISING BABYSTAR: $19,349.41