Recently, we welcomed our third child into our already full and amazing family and as any mama knows, with each new child comes a new season in motherhood. So, I thought I’d put together a list of some of my favorite “keep mommy sane” strategies and products as well as a few simple ways to save on formula and diapers!
Books Worth Reading
On Becoming Baby Wise: Giving Your Infant the GIFT of Nighttime Sleep by Gary Ezzo and Robert Bucknam
This book seems to be one of those, “you either love it or you hate it” type of books. Personally, this book has saved me with all three of my kiddos. I’m a Type-A, must have routine and structure to my day in order to function, type of person. So, for me, this book has been everything that I’ve ever needed in order to get my babies on a routine and to get them sleeping through the night. Check out this book for yourself to see if it’s something that you’d find valuable here. *
Lose Your Mummy Tummy by Julie Tupler and Jodie Gould
Moms, you need this book. After I had my second child, I couldn’t figure out why I felt so weird in my tummy. Even though everyone told me how skinny I was, I knew something was off with my body and in fact there were a few times that my husband and I both thought I was pregnant because my tummy started to look like it does when I first get pregnant.
When I first heard about this book, I was extremely skeptical but I was desperate for anything to help me fix my tummy issues so I bought it. After I did the test to confirm that I had diastasis, I started using the exercises in this book and what a difference it made. Now, after having our third child, I’ve been using the exercises again and I’m already feeling and seeing improvement in my post-partum body. I highly recommend all mamas, no matter at what mothering stage you’re at, to check out this book, because it’s awesome. *
The Confident Mom’s FREE Household Planner
Okay, so technically this one isn’t a book to read but it’s a free printable household planner that is amazing! I like to use her pre-filled version but there’s a blank version as well. It’s perfect for getting all the household stuff taken care of! Check it out here.
My Personal Must-Have Services
eMeals
I wrote in great lengths in my Meal Planning Made Easy post about how much I love eMeals and think it’s worth every.single.penny, but I wanted to showcase it here because once those free meals from neighbors and friends stop coming, you’re left with trying to meal plan, grocery shop, and cook all on your own. Or at least, that’s been my experience with each baby, which is why I love receiving an email every week with our clean eating meal plan already made out for me. I can then just go through the grocery list (they already prepare that for you too!) and add anything we need or cross off anything we don’t need. eMeals is offering a free two week trial currently, so if you haven’t already tried them out for yourself, you can get started here. *
ePantry
In my money philosophy post, I shared how even though I love using my homemade detergent over any store-bought or natural brand detergent, life happens. For us, ePantry has natural products for less than the stores (including Walmart!) in my area. So, we’re able to have on hand natural cleaning products like a bottle of natural detergent without forking over a ton. Again, ePantry may not be right for you so make sure you head here to compare prices to your local stores. *
Amazon Prime
I’m sure you know about Amazon Prime and I’m sure the $99 yearly price tag freaks you out, because it totals freaks me out, but it has literally saved us over $500 this year alone! Just as I mentioned above under ePantry, our local area stores are not always the cheapest and I can usually purchase much-needed items for cheaper through Amazon. Not to mention that Amazon Mom is kinda freaking fantastic and the best part is, I don’t have to load up and lose my mind shopping with three kids ages three and under.
Amazon Prime also makes our at-home date nights easier because we can rent movies (most of which for free) and stream them without ever leaving home! It’s awesome sauce and oh, once you do sign up for Amazon Prime, you can start referring your friends and family members to it and receive a $5 credit every time someone signs up. You can learn more about Amazon Prime here. *
Saving on Baby Essentials
Formula
With all three of my children, I’ve breastfed and bottle fed and I can tell you that formula never gets cheaper. However, there are a few ways to save money on formula:
Sign up for free samples from Similac Strong Moms
They will send you free samples in the mail as well as money-saving coupons that can be used in conjunction with other coupons! You can sign up here.
Don’t be afraid of generic
With my first baby, I was all freaked out about using generic formula (which is silly since I always buy generic everything…) but once I read the labels, I realized that the generic version contains exactly the same ingredients as the name brand.
Ask for samples.
Don’t be afraid to ask your baby’s pediatrician for formula samples. I do this every time I go to the doctor’s office and every time, I walk out with at least three full size containers of formula!
If you end up with formula that you’ve never used, most food pantries or women’s shelters will take unopened and unexpired formula. So, you can use your money-saving skills to do some good as well! 🙂
Diapers
In my How We’re Saving $288 a Year on Diapers post, I shared with you how using The Honest Company has literally saved us hundreds of dollars on diapers. However, this is because the coupon game doesn’t really work where I live because I don’t live near a pharmacy (like CVS or Walgreens) to make the most out of it (it would cost me more in gas to get to one of those stores than the savings I would be saving). And once again, most stores around me are not very price-friendly.
So, I encourage you to check out all your options before committing to anything, but you can sign up for a free trial here with Honest (just pay shipping) so you can try out their diapers and other amazing products before purchasing a bundle. If Honest isn’t right for you, there’s always Amazon Mom where you can subscribe and save to your favorite brand of diapers and they usually run coupons for diapers every free months so you could potentially save even more.
Since I’m not a cloth diapering mama, I know nothing about how to save money on cloth diapers. So, if cloth diapering is something that you’re looking to save money on, I encourage you to head here to my good friend Stephanie’s site who is a cloth diapering mama to four kiddos to read her tips on saving money with cloth diapers!
Okay, so these are just a few of my strategies for staying sane while staying home with three kiddos. I’d love to hear any strategies you may have for saving money on babies or for just making a mama’s life easier!
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Liz S says
Just wanted to chime in that you can split the cost of Amazon Prime with 1 or sometimes even 2 friends or family members! Right now my brother-in-law subscribes (so he gets the free media/digital perks, but I don’t care) and he invites me onto his account and I pay him half…works out great! 🙂 I’ve also heard one of my friends say they were able to invited 2 people on, costing each person only $33.
Jessi Fearon says
That’s an AWESOME idea Liz! Thank you so much for sharing — y’all rock! 🙂
Amy @ DebtGal says
Great tips! When my daughter was in diapers, we bought them at Target, whenever they had a deal (buy two cases, and get a $10 Target gift card), and used store and manufacturer coupons. (This was pre-Cartwheel app.) We also sometimes purchased them and formula at BJ’s.
I hope everyone is sleeping well soon!! (We used the Ferber method with my daughter. It was unpleasant, but worked very quickly.)
Erlene says
It’s been a long time since my kids were little, but these are all great suggestions to help any mom. Thanks for sharing them on Merry Monday.