DIY – BabyCostsMoney

Ikea > Disneyworld.

Published on September 22, 2016September 19, 2016 by Darlene Dee3 Comments

I went to Ikea again the other day. And by the other day, I mean two months ago. Or was it three? The POINT is, I went to Ikea and I was reminded how much I FREAKING LOVE IKEA.

I had read on dirtydiaperlaundry.com that Ikea was selling a thing that was not called a flat diaper but basically was a flat diaper so I went to check it out. I use all-in-one (AIO) cloth diapers for Babystar, but I have a stack of leaky BumGenius Elemental diapers and I was looking for a fix. I bought a two-pack for $4.99 (one is plain white but the other has stars – swoon) and just so you know — no, they did not fix my problem. Folding up the flat and adding it behind the attached cotton of the Elemental DID stop the pee from leaking but it made the diaper too puffy to be practical. I guess I could cut the flats in half. Or buy half-size diaper flats online somewhere. Or cut the cotton out of the Elementals to turn them into covers. But then I’m no longer really using AIOs which I have kind of gotten used to so I will probably just sell the BumGenius Elementals. I have enough Smart Bottoms and Blueberry Diapers now. And the stupid Smart Bottoms are leaking now too. Long live Blueberry.

BUT I DIGRESS.

Ikea is my bae. Which is teenspeak for luv-ah. I think.

I also bought a pack of popsicle makers for $2.99 to save for when Babystar starts teething. Which is right freaking now as she is getting eight teeth all at the same time. Poor Babystar. So I had to find the popsicle thingies which reminded me that I bought them hence this post.

If you are wondering, I made the popsicles using some of the frozen baby food cubes from the freezer (thawed in fridge then repurposed) from her puree protest from the summer. I mixed pureed fruit with yogurt and swirled it a bit before refreezing. She enjoyed it but wouldn’t hold it by herself. Lazy baby.

I have loved Ikea since we met many years ago, but my love has def grown deeper wandering that Cave of Wonders with a smol one.

First of all, there is nothing more boring than waiting in line while your mother returns something. Oh, but look, there is a cool giant toy thingy to play with over here. Nm, take your time, mom.

Did you guys know about this secret room for parents with a comfy chair for nursing and a play table to occupy older kids and a changing table with mobiles hanging over it and FREE FREAKING DIAPERS if you run out and books to calm a cranky toddler and this room is a miracle and I never even noticed it until I had Babystar with me and was looking for a place to nurse her. I think it’s some sort of Hogwarts-esque (or would that be Durmstrang?) Room of Requirement that you can only see/enter with a child. I am only 70% joking. (For those of you Woodbridge Ikea patrons, it’s near the restrooms that are near the restaurant that is near the children’s section.)

And speaking of the children’s section.

This is the greatest high chair ever and it’s only $19.99. Don’t be fooled by that sign that shows $14.99. The tray is an extra five bucks. We had this high chair long before I was even pregnant with Babystar because my niece visited enough that she needed her own place to sit. And it’s minimalist enough to just blend into the house without screaming BABYBABYBABY.

Same deal with these bowls and forks and spoons and plates and stuff. So cheap. So useful for when Littles are visiting. I have bought a few more packs now that Babystar eats here daily. And I can toss a bowl and fork or whatever in the travel bag and if it gets lost, ok. Not ideal, but ok. They are so inexpensive and perfectly sized. Thank you, Ikea.

This little boat is the best bath toy ever. My sister bought it while visiting with her son and left it and it is super cool. The little cups stack on top and one pours and one has holes in the bottom to make a shower in the bath when filled with water. Plus it’s a boat. Babystar loves it.

The play area is the bomb dot com. Yes, I know they are trying to sell me these things. (Don’t worry. I’m sure will buy them.) It is clean. Clean. I’m telling you, I have recently been paying attention and most ‘kid’s play areas’ are not very clean. And it’s full of actual fun things. I did not post those random kids there. In fact, I had to wait until none were showing their faces because I wanted a picture but wanted to respect other’s privacy. It took awhile because the kids were having so much fun. (I just pretended to be texting.)

These are the flat diapers sold as ‘burp cloths.’ Did you see the stars? You see the stars, right? Too cute.

I also bought Babystar a set of child-sized kitchen utensils for $3.99 that day a few months ago. I see one or two of them every once in awhile. She loves them but hides them all over the place like a squirrel. At least this one is in the kitchen, right?

RAISING BABYSTAR: $12,141.10

Sticky Fingers.

Published on August 8, 2016July 28, 2016 by Darlene Dee6 Comments

Messy face. Sticky fingers. Wet belly. Sloppy hair.

And let’s not even talk about the floor.

Or let’s DO.

I have spent so much time on my hands and knees cleaning the floor under the high chair. I mean, I don’t want ants or anything. Unless the ants would promise to just take away the food bits and immediately leave the premises and then I totally want ants. But I don’t speak ant and I don’t trust them to honor our agreements.

Anyway.

I checked my favorite store ‘The Internet’ and found all kinds of high chair mats at all price points. Non-plastic, washable ones were anywhere from $15 – $50. For one.

(I should note here that pre-baby I was all about having a pretty house and I have painted and repainted literally every room at least once so I am intimately familiar with the offerings of the Home Depot paint department.)

I bought this 4 foot by 15 foot washable canvas drop cloth from Home Depot for $19.32, and cut it into fourths to make FOUR high chair floor mats. I’m not trying to wash a floor mat every day. I have things to do. Like, um, cut orange slices into thirds and read Good Night, Gorilla one hundred thousand more times.

Someday I might even hem the edges or something. One of the edges is already hemmed, but, um, it came that way. And I bet we can decorate these as a fun craft project when Babystar is older. I’m only half-kidding. They are beautiful just the way they are, especially at only $4.83 each.

How do you keep the food off the floor? Do you have a dog? Should I get a dog? (I should NOT get a dog.) Can I rent a dog for a year or two? Maybe invite one over every evening for a snack??

RAISING BABYSTAR: $11,476.13

Fun with Failure.

Published on July 31, 2016July 28, 2016 by Darlene DeeLeave a comment

What a nice way to live: “Failure can be fun.” That’s what I tell the kids while inside of my head I am totally annoyed because I hate wasting time but mom, it wasn’t wasted time because we had so much fun doing it and damn it the Teenager is smarter than me.

I mentioned that we bought some wooden forks for Babystar’s first birthday with the hopes of decorating them. The plan was to dip them in paint so the ends were navy, light pink, or gold. We had that little theme going on.

So we did it. We are geniuses. Look how cool they are.

Guess what happened? Some of you smart people know already. We were not smart.

Yep. Just kidding. We are not geniuses. The paint pooled at the bottom and stuck to the paper. Whoops. We had the forks drying on an incline, but we really should have had them on a clothesline with a drop cloth underneath. I don’t have that kind of space in my house. Or my life.

I bought some stuff recently, though. Some boring stuff that’s not worth a post but still needs to be added to Babystar’s ever-growing bottom line.

giant pack of wipes from Costco: $19.99
box of Seventh Gen diapers (used Babies R Us points): $13.04
3-pack of MAM pacifiers to replace the ones she keeps losing: $7.49
Baby Orajel and Motrin: $16.98
Smart Bottoms Monster Mash wet bag from Abby’s Lane: $20.14

Ok, that last one isn’t boring. I broke my ‘no-phones-during-dinner’ rule while out on a rare date with my husband to try to score an exclusive diaper. I got the wet bag but the diaper disappeared from my online shopping cart at check-out. Bummer. Look at this pretty print.

RAISING BABYSTAR: $11,396.90

The Anti-Toy Movement.

Published on June 17, 2016June 11, 2016 by Darlene Dee3 Comments

This must surely be a thing. EVERYTHING is a thing these days. IS this a thing?

Babystar prefers Not-Toys to Toys.

Is there an Anti-Toy Movement? Should we start one? We could be super vintage. Like Bronze Age-vintage. You know, when babies mostly just played with bronze. Silly babies.