OFB Baby Update: Five Months


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Baby Bucks

In the Baby Bucks series, we babble about babies and money and sleep deprivation and cuteness overload. In that order.

Somehow another month has passed in OFB babyland, and our girl will be rounding the 5-month corner this week! Here’s an update on our parenting journey so far, financial and otherwise.

General Baby Thoughts

Our Chubster: Baby Girl can scarcely go out in public without getting comments about her cheeks. She’s also frequently referred to by everyone who comes within 10 feet of her as “chunk-a-monk” or “chunky monkey,” followed by a comment about wanting to “squeeze” her. As her mom, I can say that I’m getting quite the forearms carrying our darling around all day. The most frequent question I get from other mommies is a concerned, “Are you feeding her solids?” I guess people think I’m overfeeding her? To which I reply, “Still just nursing.” On the flip side, I’ve also gotten some “Congrats!” and “Good job!” comments on having such fattening breast milk, which makes me feel weird since it’s nothing I actually have control over. But I do appreciate the praise. Mommying is hard work, so I’ll take any “good job’s” I can get! 😉

New Tricks: The fourth month has been full of new milestones. From rolling, to eating her feet, to fake coughing, to kind-of-sitting, Baby Girl’s schedule is jam-packed. She barely has time for fist-sucking anymore. However, she has found the time to learn to yell, roar, and growl. She’s officially the loudest member of our household. When our girl is especially ornery and mid-yell or roar, Johnny and I wonder, Where did you learn these sounds?? Your mom and dad don’t yell. Or roar. Or growl. Unless our cat Persie is teaching her these unladylike noises when we’re not watching, I think we’ve got a very boisterous baby on our hands.

Financial Baby Updates

Toys: We gave in and got our girl the Baby Einstein jumper we’ve had our eye on for a while now. And as many of you recommended in your comments from this post, we went the Craigslist route. We found a jumper that looks brand new, and we paid a total of $40 buckaroos (rather than the $90 that Amazon is currently asking for it). Our budget was very happy. And we think our girl likes it. Currently, she yells angrily as she furiously hits the toys on it. So the jury’s still out.

Baby Einstein

Diapers: Even before Baby Girl was born, I was preoccupied with the cost of diapers. Since her arrival, I’ve been buying her diapers using Amazon Prime + Amazon Mom. And I’ve gone with Pampers Swaddlers. I lurve those Swaddlers. But as our daughter’s getting bigger, the price discrepancy between Pampers and other diaper brands has been getting bigger as well.And so Johnny and I decided to try out two cheaper brands: Huggies and Walmart. The Walmart diapers were a disaster! Poop. Everywhere. Up to her shoulders! Without getting too graphic (too late for that already?), when our girl does her business, she really does it. So we need protection, people! With the Pampers Swaddlers, we’ve had three barely-blowouts in four months. And I was ready to go right back to their safe embrace, so to speak, after the blowout of all blowouts occurred with Walmart diapers. However, the Huggies have ended up being very reliable. And I can get about 50 more of them by paying the same price that I would for the Swaddlers. So in the end, if we’ll save a significant amount of money, I guess that awful, terrible, mind-scarring blowout was worth it.

Clothing: In the past month, I’ve spent $12 on clothes for Baby Girl. Those twelve dollars were spent buying her some outfits at the thrift store! I had such great success that I’m dying to go back. The shorts she’s wearing in this picture are thrift-store originals. I kind of want them for myself.

Baby Girl

We’ll have to see what month five brings in the baby department! Baby Girl definitely keeps us on our toes. And she continues to bring such a happy feeling to our home. Financially, diapers and wipes continue to take the cake for our expenses. We’ll see how long that keeps up.

For the been-there-done-that crowd, does this sound pretty typical? How do we relate and differ? I’m really glad babies grow out of the drool stage. I just don’t think I could live in a world where adults had saliva-soaked chins and shirts.

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38 Comments

  • Reply Mrs. Pop @ Planting Our Pennies June 3, 2013 at 7:26 am

    If you’re giving baby girl’s clothes away, I’ll take her heart tank top. Too cute. But maybe about 10x as big. =)

    • Reply Joanna June 3, 2013 at 11:57 pm

      I would seriously consider wearing most of the baby clothes sold these days. Most of it is cuter than the stuff in my size!

  • Reply Michelle June 3, 2013 at 8:15 am

    Awww she is just too cute!

    • Reply Joanna June 3, 2013 at 11:58 pm

      Thanks, Michelle! 🙂

  • Reply Brian June 3, 2013 at 8:43 am

    We have been using huggies for a while, mostly because they were the only premmie diapers that were ever in stock. Since they worked we just kept with them. I am amazed by the amount of pee a diaper holds, it is almost a mind boggling amount!

    For us, today is a big day since out little guy turns 1 today! Everyone always told me the time would fly and I didn’t believe them, but man oh man did it go by fast!

    Also, enjoy the days she isn’t mobile, once they are mobile the real “trouble” begins!

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:00 am

      Ah, Happy Birthday to your little one! What an exciting day. I hear that the first year is the hardest, and you guys made it through!

      I can’t believe we’re almost five months in… it’s been a blur!

  • Reply Anesha June 3, 2013 at 9:27 am

    Do you have a target near by? I’ve decided to boycott Walmart. When I leave there I feel like I’m a horrible person. Our Walmart’s down here just bring the beast right out of you. I ask if you have a target because their brand diapers and wipes are awesome. I was shelling out the dough on the pampers baby dry (huggies just wern’t working for us.) Roo at neonfresh did a post on items to buy generic and everyone in the comments were raving about the target diapers. So I gave them a go and I’m hooked. We’ve gone though the “super mega jumbo ginormica pack” and have not had a leak yet. AND I buy their wipes too. I get the white and blue box (in bulk) unscented and they are very comparable to the pampers wipes. (Again, tried the huggies wipes and hated them). The cost for the diapers we get ends up being about $0.15/diaper. Well worth the trade off of paying for something that gets pooped on vs. dealing with the poop yourself. Makes me happy happy happy!

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:37 am

      Thanks for the tip, Anesha! I have never tried Target’s diapers or wipes, though it doesn’t surprise me that they’re great… Target has a habit of being great. I’m really excited to give them a try now! $0.15/diaper is an awesome price. I never thought I’d see the day when I’d be getting excited over diapers! 🙂

    • Reply Emily June 4, 2013 at 3:48 pm

      I second the Walmart thoughts, though I go when I must. On the diaper front I have heard a few other mamas feel the Target brand does better than Walmart. When bambino outgrew our CDs and was kind of potty training, we’d use Target’s diapers.

  • Reply Tara June 3, 2013 at 9:43 am

    I don’t have a kid, although I had a Western Civ professor with twins in college who swore by buying diapers on Ebay. I guess he would buy leftovers from folks whose kids outgrew them? He was an adjunct professor so I assume he wasn’t raking in the dough. But he mentioned how that really helped with the cost and I still remember him mentioning that (although that was 7 years ago, it’s worth checking out at least).

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:39 am

      Oooh, that’s a cool idea. I always worry about having leftover diapers in a too-small size, so I’m sure it happens a lot. I’ll have to check and see if eBay’s still got some sweet diaper deals to be found. Thanks for sharing, Tara!

  • Reply Elvin @ Journey To Millions June 3, 2013 at 10:07 am

    Your baby is so cute and adorable! I am not convinced that she learned those yell, roar and growl from Persie. Laughs!

    So I researched and found this TED video from Deb Roy.

    http://www.ted.com/talks/deb_roy_the_birth_of_a_word.html

    • Reply Johnny June 4, 2013 at 12:27 am

      Persie! I’m sure you’re right.

      I love TED talks. I’m going to watch this in bed before I catch some zzz’s. Thanks.

  • Reply Jodi T. June 3, 2013 at 10:36 am

    Jumparoos. Are. A. Miracle. My children loved theirs. It was the only thing they’d let me sit them in, so that I could get a few things done… Like a quick shower. 🙂 Also, when mine got mobile, the pack n play was a very good thing. Throw them (not really 😉 in there with toys and books, and you might get a whole 5 minute break!

    You are lucky that the nursing thing is going well. We had to go the formula route, and there were nights that my husband and I ate off the dollar menu after buying a $25 canister for my sweet bebes. 🙂

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:48 am

      Today our girl lasted a solid 20 minutes in hers, which was a Christmas miracle! (She has a notoriously short attention span right now.)

      And I do feel very lucky that nursing has worked out… before we had our girl, I had no idea how expensive formula was! Johnny and I eat off the dollar menu more than I’d like to admit, so I’m sure when our girl starts solids, she’ll eat better than we do! 🙂

  • Reply Tina June 3, 2013 at 10:51 am

    Aww, I love babies with chubby cheeks. Frankly, I’d be suspicious of a skinny baby, lol. I think you guys are doing very well. My sister buys diapers from a warehouse club in order to save, but she tends to buy clothes and toys new which drives up costs. Unfortunately, she doesn’t live in an area with a robust second-hand market.

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:50 am

      Thanks, Tina! From here on out, I’m just going to assume all skinny babies are just wearing baby spanx, like the SNL video. 😉

  • Reply Stefanie June 3, 2013 at 10:56 am

    I can’t recommend the Target brand diapers enough! They work just as good as Pampers and Huggies, I think and they are way cheaper and way cute!

    Target also puts out a million coupons for their diapers as well. Have you checked Facebook to see if there are any craigslist-y type groups in your area. There are a million plus 1 of them for my area where moms buy and sell gently used goods for amazing prices. Usually something like “________ area buy/sell/trade.” I grabbed a barely used Pottery Barn kitchen for $35! That sucker retails for $199 new.

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:53 am

      After hearing your rave review, I can’t wait to give the Target brand a try!

      I haven’t checked out Facebook for any buy/sell mom groups in my area, but that’s a great idea. You got a steal on that kitchen! Deals like that are the *best.*

  • Reply Jake @ Common Cents Wealth June 3, 2013 at 11:53 am

    Sounds like another great month for the baby and her parents. I like reading these updates because it gives me an idea of what I’m in for when my wife and I have a kid. I’m looking forward to most parts of being a parent, but there are some things I could do without.

    • Reply Johnny June 4, 2013 at 12:30 am

      The sad reality is these little angels/monsters don’t come a la carte. They’ll usually do something that melts your cold heart—and then they’ll spit up all over your shirt. For the third time today. 🙂

  • Reply jrm June 3, 2013 at 2:13 pm

    Add me as another person who wants to nom nom those sweet baby arms!

    • Reply Johnny June 4, 2013 at 12:44 am

      She tries to eat everything in sight now, so there’s a good chance she’ll eat your hair while you’re noming her arms.

  • Reply Catherine June 3, 2013 at 2:59 pm

    I also love Pampers but the price kills me. I really like the Costco (Kirkland) brand diapers if you have one close…Super cute kiddo 🙂

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 12:55 am

      Thanks, Catherine! And I’ve heard good things about Costco’s diapers. We’ve got a long road ahead with diapering, so I’m sure I’ll give them a try soon!

  • Reply MomofTwoPreciousGirls June 3, 2013 at 3:36 pm

    It amazes me the comments people make! I always get “are they from different fathers?” Uh…no. One looks like dad and one looks like me! What possesses people?!

    She is gorgeous and healthy. Those round cheeks and leg rolls eventually go away…and it will make you sad!

    Sadly, long way to go before the drooling ends! It seems worse when they are teething…and my youngest is a thumb sucker. At four she drools all night and IT.IS.GROSS!

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 1:02 am

      I’ve been surprised by the comments people make, too! There seems to be a surplus of older women I encounter in public who like to critique my parenting, which is pretty annoying. But I try to just smile about it. 🙂

      Fingers crossed your thumb sucker figures out how to stop drooling soon… although, I admit I drool occasionally if I’m especially conked out during a nap. Gross confession, I know. I guess my girl is just going to be wearing bibs 24/7 for the indefinite future until her drooling stops! It’s the only way to keep her clothes dry!

  • Reply Chris June 3, 2013 at 4:45 pm

    “after the blowout of all blowouts”…this…this is why I want to have children.

    • Reply Johnny June 4, 2013 at 12:31 am

      OFB: The most natural birth control since 2012.

  • Reply Blair@LifeDollarsandSense June 3, 2013 at 8:02 pm

    your baby girl is adorable! And your right, the cheeks are the cutest ever

    • Reply Johnny June 4, 2013 at 12:53 am

      She’s storing some serious acorns for the winter. Thanks for the comment.

  • Reply Laurie @thefrugalfarmer June 3, 2013 at 8:12 pm

    Joanna, we always used LUVS diapers and LUVED them. 🙂 They were reasonably priced and held poo well, although this was 5 years ago. Yes, it sounds like baby girl is right on track, and cute as all get out still. AAHH, I remember well the days of the super muscular forearms. I felt like I could kick tail on any street kid with those bad boys. 🙂

    • Reply Joanna June 4, 2013 at 1:05 am

      Awesome, Laurie! I’ve never tried LUVS only because I’ve never heard one way or the other whether they’re good. I’ll have to give them a try! Thanks for the tip.

      At least with carrying a heavy baby around all day I don’t feel so bad if I miss a workout or two!

  • Reply K.Nicole June 4, 2013 at 9:48 am

    Hey, I love seeing your baby updates because my bambino is the same age. I LOL’d at the description of her sounds because I can relate. Although my bambino has two older brothers so his volume is pretty much on par with theirs. In fact I always joke with the hubs that our baby has no voice modulation, like this SNL skit…”I can’t control my voice”.
    I’m an Amazon Mom as well and I love being able to schedule my diaper and wipe purchases. We’re with Huggies as well.
    Before my babe-o was born I bought a huge bag of clothes from a mommy on CL who had a son the year before born in the same month, so the clothes sizes match the seasons. But she didn’t have a lot in the 6-9mth age range I guess because they’re so hard on their clothes at that age with spit ups, blow outs, babyfood, etc. I was about to head down to Tar-jay to go buy him some new clothes, but I’ll check out the Thrift Shops before I do. Thanks for the idea!

    • Reply Joanna June 6, 2013 at 9:27 am

      Haha! We love that skit! Our little gal definitely has the same issue, and it always gets louder when Johnny and I are trying to have a conversation.

      We had friends who did the “bag of clothes” option on CL and Ebay and had similar success. Had we not been generously handed-down lots of clothes, we probably would have looked into this option, too.

  • Reply Emily June 4, 2013 at 3:51 pm

    She is sooo adorable! I do love those cheeks. And yes, people will say the weirdest/inappropriate things. That doesn’t ever stop btw!

    • Reply Joanna June 6, 2013 at 9:30 am

      Oh joy! 🙂 We’re fine with the comments now. But I could see some comments getting under mama bear’s skin after awhile.

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