My sister inspired this list of new mom hacks to save money – she shared the first idea on this list, which can save every new mom about $20 in just a few minutes. To all the new Mom’s who need more sleep – I can’t give it to you – but I can help you save money!
Here are 7 new mom hacks to save tons of money.
1. Cheapo hands free pumping bra. Most moms I know, whether you go back to work soon or not at all, end up pumping milk. Maybe you pump to increase supply, or decrease supply, to give dad a chance to feed the baby, or to be able to sleep through one feeding. The reality is a lot of new moms pump milk and therefore are in need of a pumping bra. That’s the ridiculous looking bandea bra with two conveniently placed holds to cup each pumping valvue and bottle. The beauty of the pumping bra is that you can nurse on one side and pump on the other, or you can pump on both sides and have two hands free to read or use your mobile or laptop! It saves time and the hassle of propping each valve and bottle perfectly so as to maintain ideal suction.
You can buy a legit hands free pumping bra or you can grab a cheap sports bra and cut one hole for each boob. Start with small holes and you can enlarge them as needed!
2. Speaking of pumping, why buy a new electric breastpump (unless your health insurance covers it) when you can grab a used pump at a kids consignment sale and buy all new tubing, valves, and bottles? The actual mechanical pump part is encased in a plastic box, so the fact that someone else has used this same machine before doesn’t sully it in the least. Would you buy a used dishwasher, blender, breadmaker, car, or other used items? What’s the difference?
I bought a used Medela pump for $20, plus I spent about $30 buying new tubing, valves, and bottles. That’s about 20 percent of the cost of a new electric pump!
3. Buy old fashioned cloth diapers and use them as burp clothes, to line your changing table (they’re so much easier to wash than a fitted changing table sheet), as bath cloths, to clean up messy faces, etc. The package of Gerber old fashioned diapers even suggests you use them for “household dusting, car washing/waxing.” A pack of these bad boys is much cheaper than having task-specific cloths or wipes. And you can always bleach them if they get really gnarly.
4. Shop kids consignment sales for as many baby items as you can. The prices are jaw dropping, especially in the clothes section. Everyone has baby clothes to unload! Used items give you the heebie jeebies? Think of all that used gear and clothes as hand me downs from your larger community.
5. Make your own baby food. It really is as simple as boiling water. I make a week’s worth of baby food in one hour at home on the weekends. Clean and rough chop food. Boil in a moderate amount of water until tender (You don’t want to pour off water because some of the nutrients leach into the water. Better to additional water post-cooking to get the consistency you want). Pour contents of pot into blender. Blend. Freeze in small portions.
6. Make toys. There are a ton of baby toys you can make. Remember, the little ones don’t know the difference between a toy you bought from the store and the really amazing wood spoon you grabbed from the kitchen. It’s all new and it all needs to be discovered and explored!
7. Buy books from your local library friends store. I’m assuming you already have a library card and are checking out books for free. I like to have books at home that we own, and I’ve found the most amazing deals at the bookstore that volunteers operate to raise money for my public library. Each book in the kids section is either $.50 or $1. Those prices can be beat!
[…] citizens know the value of a coupon, and many American moms are couponing extraordinaires. In the Sunday paper and online, you can find a wealth of […]