Time Management: Newborn Routine

I am so excited to be a mother, but I definitely underestimated the amount of time caring for a newborn would take!  I am beginning to see that a regimented daily schedule will not work right now; however, having a simple routine will help me to be and feel more productive as I adjust to this new phase of life.

As Conner grows and his needs change, my routine will change to accommodate those needs.

A large portion of my day is filled with taking care of our newborn- feeding, changing diapers, and entertaining.  Since my day is determined by Conner's eating and sleeping, I cannot plan out an hour by hour routine. Instead, I have created a short list of things that I need to accomplish each day and each week.  Each day I will try to accomplish the daily tasks and one task for the week. 

Daily:
Take at least 1 nap
(getting enough sleep and staying healthy is at the top of my list!)
Read Scriptures
Prepare Meals
(I will be sticking to easy meals & Daniel will take his turn helping with dinners)
Do dishes
Blog
Work
(I will be doing a little drafting on the side to help out my boss as he finds a replacement for me)
Pick up Apartment

Choose 1 Activity Each Day:
Grocery Shopping
Laundry (2-3 days a week)
Cleaning Apartment (bathroom, kitchen, dust & vacuum)
Work on Craft Project

I plan to do most of my reading and blogging while feeding Conner.  Daniel has been great to help out with Conner and projects that I need help with. 

I will try this routine and see how it goes.  My goal is to stay positive and productive as I transition to being a stay at home mom.

$0.50/1 Any Size Huggies Wipes Coupon!

There is a new $0.50/1 Any Package of Huggies Wipes Printable Coupon at Coupons.com. 

The small packages are around $1.00 at Walmart.  I have not checked the prices at Albertsons or Broulims, but this could make a good deal with twice value coupons (in the Albertsons add this week) or at Broulims on Thursday when they double coupons.

20 Birth Announcements For $2.89

I have been working on Conner's birth announcements and found another deal.  You can get 20 FREE Birth Announcement Photo Cards at Kodak Gallery through this link.  You just pay shipping cost which is $2.89.

This is not as good of a deal as the 24 cards for $2.49 at SeeHere, but if you need more than 24 cards, this is a great way to get 20 more for cheap!

He is Here!

You may have noticed my blog post have been pretty scarce the last few days.  I have been a little preoccupied because we are now the proud parents of an adorable little boy!  

Conner was born Thursday, January 27.  He is an adorable, healthy little boy whose main hobbies are eating and sleeping. 

I am trying to get used to the crazy sleeping schedule that goes along with having a newborn.  The next few days I plan to come up with a daily routine.  Hopefully it will help me develop realistic goals and feel productive over the next few months.  Any suggestions?

42 Pampers Gift to Grow Points!

Add 42 Points to your Pampers Gifts to Grow account with the code: VMF776C7HMXXT4A.

New to Gifts to Grow? 
Gifts to Grow is a program that gives you points for all the pampers products you purchase.  There are often free codes available as well.  You can then use these points to "buy" rewards.  I am planning to use my Gift to Grow points to get some free birth announcements from Shutterfly.  If you are expecting a baby or have children in diapers, you can sign up here for a free account.

Thanks Saving a Bundle!

We Bought our Diapers- Aren't they Cute?!

We bought our cloth diapers, and I think that they are so adorable!  We ended up getting 22 diapers for $130, which was a great deal.  We have disposable diapers for the first month or so, but I will probably not wait that long to get a few pictures of our little guy in these cute diapers. 

Now we just need the baby to decide to make his entrance into the world....

Thank you everyone for your opinions and experience with coth diapers.

10 Pampers Gift to Grow Points

Add 10 Points to your Pampers Gifts to Grow account with the code: 4WJDHKU4RPP6PT2.

This code expires January 21.

New to Gifts to Grow? 
Gifts to Grow is a program that gives you points for all the pampers products you purchase.  There are often free codes available as well.  You can then use these points to "buy" rewards.  I am planning to use my Gift to Grow points to get some free birth announcements from Shutterfly.

Thanks Happy Clippings!

400 Count Organic wipes for $5!

Right now at Babies "R" Us  you can get 400-count boxes of BabyGanics Organic Baby Wipes for $5!  The wipes are on sale for $10 a box, but they are BOGO Free, making them $5 per box.
This offer is available in store or online.  If you are shopping online, you would have to add shipping costs unless your order comes to over $50.

Thanks The Thrifty Couple!

Preparing for Baby- Question for Readers

We are now weeks away from my due date- which means our bundle of joy could arrive any day!  As new parents, this is both exciting and terrifying.

The last few months we have tried to prepare for the transition by setting aside money for unexpected baby expenses, deciding to use cloth diapers to save money, and freezing a few meals for when I don't feel like cooking.

We have tried to stock up on a few baby essentials, but our stockpile is not very diverse.  My goal has been to have most of the essentials so that I do not have to run to the store with my new baby.  The problem we are running into is we don't know what we will need to take care of a newborn! 

So, I am asking for the advice of you experienced mothers.  What are some items that you did not realize you would need or found helpful in taking care of your new baby? 

Crafting- Baby Storage Crates

Nesting?

I have not had any weird food cravings during my pregnancy, but I have had the intense desire to make things for our baby.  I don't have a lot of tools build things, so this left me a little distressed. 

One day I decorated the small blocks (above) using letters and pages from magazines & modge podge.  I thought they turned out cute, and it was free.  I already had modge podge, the small blocks (scraps from a different project), and free copies of BABY Magazine to cut up for paper.

Over Christmas break I spent some time in my dad's wood shop to build a few projects for me to work on.

Daniel and I have been trying to organize all of our baby supplies, so I built these crates using scraps from my dad's wood shop.

I painted the inside brown and striped the outside with brown, green, and blue.

Then I made stencils.  I printed the letters & numbers I wanted to use on a piece of card stock.  Then cut out the part I wanted to paint on and used the outline as my stencil.

I thought they turned out pretty cute! 

They helped me organize my stockpile of wipes.  Now we ready for our baby. :)

Planning for Baby: We're going Cloth!

Daniel and I are very excited to be parents.  Our bundle of joy should be arriving at the end of January.  ( I am feeling huge and would be happy with mid January). 

The last few months we have tried to do a little stocking up for baby.  We have gathered a small stock pile of diapers, wipes, and baby wash using coupons and deals.  To us, as new parents, the pile of diapers we have looks like it should last forever.  In reality, it might last us a month.

After doing some research and talking to friends, we have decided to try cloth diapers.  I know, many of you probably think we are crazy, but we are excited to give it a try!  We will use disposables for the first little bit and when we travel, but we will mainly use cloth.  There are several reasons people use cloth diapers, but our main incentive is to save money.

What do you think about cloth diapers?  Have you tried them?  I would love to hear your opinions!

100 Gifts to Grow Points!

Enter the code LoveComesEarlyT in your Pampers Village account for 100 Gifts to Grow points! 

New to Pampers Village?  Sign up here.
Gifts to Grow is a part of the Pampers Village program that rewards you for purchasing Pampers products.  Each product has a code that can be redeemed for Gift to Grow points.  The points can be redeemed for prizes.

Thanks Saving a Bundle!

Huggies Wipes Shipped For Less Than $0.02 Each!

Right now on Amazon you can get Huggies wipes for less than $0.02 each shipped to your door!  Here is how:

Join the Amazon Mom program if you haven't already.  This gives you free 2-day shipping and 15% off orders of some baby items- including Huggies wipes. 

Add Huggies Natural Care Scented Baby Wipes Popup Refill, 216-Count Pack (Pack of 3)to your cart via the subscribe and save option. (this will give you an additional 15% off)

Pay $10.15 at checkout for 648 wipes to be shipped to your door!

You will continue to receive these wipes for $10.15 every 1,2, or 3 months (whichever you chose with the subscribe and save option), unless you unsubscribe.  You easily unsubscribe right after you check out.  Or log on to your Amazon account another time and unsubscribe if you decide you do not want them.

I am so excited to be able to stock up on baby essentials using the Amazon gift cards I have earned from Swagbucks!

Thanks Couponing for 4!

504 Pampers Wipes for $8.79!

I just bought 504 Pampers Thick Care wipes for $8.79 on Amazon!  I was able to use Amazon credit that I have saved up from Swagbucks.

Visit Money Saving Mom for details on how to get this deal.

Pampers Villiage & Gifts to Grow

I finally joined Pampers Villiage.  If you are a mother or pregnant you can join and start adding points to your gift to grow account.

Each package of Pampers you buy have codes that you can redeam for points.  You can then use these points to buy prizes or enter sweepstakes.

I have a new plan for diapers.  I decided that I am going to win the pampers sweepstake and get a year supply of diapers and wipes!  Wouldn't that be awesome?!  Unfortunately, I am not usually the one to win sweepstakes, but I decided it was worth a try.  Next time I will save the points for a baby toy.

Here is a list of Codes for Gifts to Grow: 

(Some of them may expire soon)

LABORDAYFB92010 10

SEPFACEBOOK2010 10

GTG5FREEPTS0810 5

GTGFIVEMONTHS10 10

GTGCOUPONPOINTS 10

CAREFORNEWBORNS 10

GTGGETREADYSOON 10

GTGTENMONTHCODE 10

WELCOME2PAMPERS 50

GIFTS2GROWBONUS 20

WELCOME2VILLAGE 10