Money Saving Tips for Back-to-School

Sending the kids back to school usually means shelling out a lot of money on school supplies, clothes, and more.  Here are some of my tips on how NOT to go broke this fall.  | This post contains affiliate links | 

Invest in a Good, Basic Backpack and Lunchbox

Question:  How many parents buy their kids new backpacks and lunchboxes every single year? 
Answer:  Wayyyy too many! 

There's really no reason to shell out money that often on items that can can stand the test of time if you pick them right. I highly suggest NOT picking a character or crazy pattern backpack or lunchbox. Kids' tastes change from year to year (and sometimes week to week), and if you pick themed or cheaply made items they will not last. Our general guideline is upgrading backpacks once every "big transition" in school - so one backpack to last kindergarten through elementary school, a new one to last through middle school, and then finally a new one for high school. We love solid-color backpacks from high-quality companies like LL Bean - you just know they're going to last and never go out of style. (Pro-tip: check out the Outlets to get great, name-brand backpacks for less!)

Consignment Shop for Back-to-School Clothes

If you've been following the blog for any amount of time now, you know I'm a big fan of consignment selling and shopping.  It's a great way to get rid of any clothes or shoes your kids might have outgrown or refuse to wear and make some money back to use on gently used, name-brand "new" items.  That way you're essentially "trading up" for new clothes, and spend a lot less out of pocket. 
{You can read more on my Consignment Selling and Shopping Tips HERE}

Buy Snacks in Bulk and/or Store Brand

If you pack your child's snacks and lunches the cost can definitely can add up over time.  One way to save is to buy in bulk whenever possible.  If you can buy prepackaged snacks in larger quantities the price-per-item is a lot lower.  Buying store brand items over name brand is another great way to save.  

Reusable Water Bottle

Juice boxes are expensive (and arguably unhealthy), so having your child take a reusable water bottle to school saves a lot of money and also helps keep their sugar intake in-check.

Reuse Last Year's School Supplies

A lot of times the school supply list will include things like a set of binders, markers, glue, a pencil case, etc.  Many times there's no reason to repurchase these things - they can often be reused from year-to-year.  Empty out the old papers from last years binders and reuse those.  And the makers, crayons, glue sticks, etc?  They likely have plenty of life left - no need to buy more just yet!  

Coupon and Rebate Apps

And of course, a great way to save if you need to buy items is to use coupons or rebates whenever you can. We really love Coupons.com for printing coupons and the rebate app Ibotta for earning money back on purchases. At the beginning of the school year, coupons and rebates on back-to-school items are usually plentiful, but make sure to only buy what you really need!

Back-to-School Amazon Picks

It's almost that time!  Are you ready for back to school yet?  
I've put together a list of some of my favorite Amazon back-to-school finds for all ages and grade levels.  | This post contains affiliate links |

Shop my Amazon Favorite Finds with Ease!

Amazon Influencers now have categories which makes browsing my Favorite Finds so much easier!  Check out my lists and let me know if you have any questions on the products - I have different lists for Home, Kitchen Favorites, DIY Supplies + Tools, Fashion + Beauty, Outdoors, and Baby + Kid Items. 
| This post contains affiliate links |

Pain-Free Childbirth: My Hypnobirthing Experience

When you're a first-time mom, the idea of childbirth can be pretty terrifying.  Of course it doesn't help that everyone is always quick to share their horror stories with you which just adds to the stress and the fear of the unknown.  The bottom line though is that everyone's labor and birth experience is different - and yours doesn't have to be stressful, painful, or scary.  It IS possible to have a pain-free natural labor and delivery.  | This post contains affiliate links | 
Disclaimer:  This post shares my personal experience and is not medical advice - please always consult with your doctors for what's best for you and know that everyone's birth experience is different.

For our first baby, I was induced (she was a week late) and through guided relaxation and trusting my body to do it's job I can honestly say I felt no pain during labor or her birth.  The whole experience was still absolutely exhausting, draining, and overwhelming at times - but I never felt anything I can describe as pain.  In fact, towards the end of my labor I stopped feeling the contractions and even dozed through some of them.  It's incredible what a woman's body is capable of, and how much you can control mind-over-matter.  

Here is how I was able to have a pain-free, natural delivery:  

Do Your Homework

During your pregnancy read up on labor and delivery techniques. Know that anything is possible and learn all your options, but really focus on learning and practicing all of the relaxation techniques. I particularly liked The Pregnancy Book and The Birth Book. Both books had overall very positive messages and covered everything from natural birth to epidurals to c-sections, but The Birth Book especially talked about natural birth coping techniques. Doing this homework really lays the groundwork to mentally prepare yourself for labor and birth, and being mentally prepared is most of the battle.

Tune out Negative, Seek out Positive Stories

When you're pregnant, everyone will give you unsolicited advice - from your friends and family to total strangers in the grocery store - and probably 95% of these stories will be negative.  It's hard not to let all the horror stories get to you after awhile but really try to tune these out because your birth experience doesn't have to be like that.  When someone has a positive story to share, pay attention - viewing the whole process with a more positive mindset will help you see that a wonderful birth story can be possible.  

Take a Hypnobirthing Class

This was something I actually did not do... I lucked out being able to hypnobirth without formal training (being mentally prepared, having wonderful support people, and a little luck allowed me to be successful without training, but I'm probably an exception).  By taking a hypnobirthing class you will learn about all the natural coping techniques and be given time to practice and visualize how you hope your birth to go.  All of this will help you be more mentally and physically prepared for delivery day.  

Hire a Doula

When you go to the hospital to deliver, you have no choice on which nurse you will get.. and for all you know you might get the one that will just rub you the wrong way.  The L&D nurses also tend to come and go throughout your labor.. they will check on you and stay with you if necessary, but otherwise you'll labor a lot on your own especially in the beginning.  A Doula is your own personal labor support person - someone who has experience and training attending births and helping the laboring mother.  A Doula is not a doctor or a nurse, and will not make medical decisions, give medical advice, or deliver the baby.  She is strictly there to be your personal cheerleader and coach you on ways to make your labor more comfortable.  By choosing your doula, you decide who will be there to support you and can pick someone you feel comfortable with and enjoy.  

Our Doula came armed with a bag of "labor tricks" - which included aromatherapy, relaxing music, spiky rubber handles for you to squeeze (the discomfort of squeezing them with your hands is supposed to help distract you from the discomfort of your contractions), tennis balls to massage your back, and LED candles to give the room a relaxing atmosphere.  She also was a certified lactation consultant and had a certificate in hypnobirthing so she knew all the relaxation techniques.  

Create a "Birth Wishes" List

I say Birth Wishes instead of Birth Plan here because nothing about your labor and delivery may go "to plan."  If you have a "plan" that tends to fall in the mindset of expecting your birth to go exactly a certain way and that's almost never the case... but by having "wishes" you set yourself up to be more flexible with the whole situation.  When you write your Birth Wishes list make sure to phrase it all as wishes too, in order to keep that flexible mindset (for example, don't write "I will not have an epidural" or "I will do skin-to-skin", but instead say "I would like to labor all naturally for as long as possible, hopefully the entire time.  I hope to have a natural birth" or "I would like to do skin-to-skin immediately after the birth").  

Definitely write out a "Birth Wishes" list as it will help you visualize how you'd like things to go, and will give your medical team an idea of what things you do/do not want to do - but keep in mind it can all change at any time, some things are just beyond your control.  

Start Relaxing from the First Contraction

In the beginning of labor your contractions can start out slow and not bothersome.  You may be able to move and talk through them at first or at least stop and easily let them pass over you.  Even if they're easy to deal with in the beginning it's important to set yourself up for success for the remainder of your labor and start relaxing now.  Relaxing when something hurts seems counterintuitive (after all, if you stub your toe you tend to tense up, right?), but by totally relaxing during contractions they will actually hurt less because you're not fighting it and you're letting your body do it's job.  The best way I can describe this total relaxation is letting yourself "melt."  When you're having a contraction just let yourself become a puddle on the bed or in your chair, etc.  And if you're standing, have your husband support you and just let yourself melt.. let your knees go soft and your arms and head drop and have him hold you.  It's so important to not hold any tension anywhere in your body during the contractions, and the more you're able to relax the easier it should be.  Having a Doula really helps here because she can help coach you through the relaxation ("relax your jaw, relax your fingers, let your shoulders drop...").  After a few hours of coached relaxation, my body went on autopilot and I honestly didn't even feel the contractions anymore and was even able to doze through some of them.  

Don't Watch the Clock

Once you're safely laboring in the hospital, put your phone away and pay no attention to the clock.  Time means nothing in labor... some women labor for minutes, some for hours, and yes.. some even labor for days.  The important thing is to take each contraction one at a time - it doesn't matter how many contractions you've had or how many more are to come, all that matters is the moment you're in now.  Taking it one contraction at a time is the easiest way not to feel discouraged or overwhelmed, just take it one step at a time.  

Save the Tub as your Last Resort

If you have access to a labor tub, it's heaven.  The warm water and being able to let yourself float during contractions is just such a huge relief.  However, you don't want to play that card early in your labor since the relaxing effects of the tub tend to wear off the longer you're in it.  Instead save the tub until you just can't take the contractions anymore (like during the Transition Phase of labor), then savor all the warm relaxation the labor tub has to offer - it'll feel like heaven.  

Realize that Sometimes Decisions are Made For You

Above all, go in with a positive mindset and ready to relax yourself through labor but understand that ultimately sometimes decisions will be made for you in the best interest of you and your baby's health.  For us, I was lucky enough to successfully hypnobirth our first baby and have the incredible all-natural birth experience I always wanted.  However, for our second pregnancy baby #2 stayed breech and just would not turn.  For us this time, I did not get the opportunity for an all-natural birth but instead had a planned c-section - and guess what?  It was still incredible!  No matter how your baby is delivered it's an amazing experience - enjoy and savor it.  

Best of luck, Mamas!!  

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Related Post:

• “Things I Wish I Knew Before my C-Section”

• Important Tips on Creating Your Baby Registry

• Our Top Baby Registry Must-Haves

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Disclaimer:  This post shares my personal experience and is not medical advice - please always consult with your doctors for what's best for you and know that everyone's birth experience is different.

Bottle Feeding Tips with Nûby

Introducing a bottle can be difficult at first, especially if your baby had been exclusively breastfed.  Here are a few quick tips on ways to make bottle feeding easier.  | This post contains affiliate links and an honest review on products provided by Nuby |

When our little one was about 3.5 months old we had no choice but to make the switch from exclusively breastfed to formula fed because she was unable to digest my breastmilk (if you'd like, you can read more about that HERE).  Going cold turkey from breast to bottle was hard on everyone and I definitely learned some lessons along the way.  

Bottle Feeding Tips

Use a "natural-shaped" bottle

In the beginning we tried a lot of different kinds of bottles to see what our baby would take. It was a lot of trial-and-error at first but we quickly found that she took best to bottles in a natural shape that mimics the shape of a breast, like Nuby's Natural Touch Bottles - rather than the traditionally-shaped narrow bottles. For her, latching on to a natural bottle was easier and more instinctive.

Use bottles with fewer pieces to clean

One of the first bottles we had tried was a specialty bottle that literally had 7 pieces to it that had to be taken apart and cleaned every time you used it.  It was such a daunting and tedious process and ain't nobody got time for that!  Thankfully using a simpler bottle system (like Nuby's Natural Touch Bottles), was a lot easier since they only have three easy-to-clean pieces - the bottle, the nipple, and the collar.  

Find a comfortable and consistent place to feed in the beginning

When we first introduced the bottle, our baby just wouldn't have it.  I initially tried bottle feeding her in the rocking chair I always nursed in but it just made her so mad because she was reminded of nursing.  I quickly realized that in our case she needed somewhere new and comfortable to be her new feeding spot so we switched to a little bouncy chair on the floor which really helped.  She sits in the chair at a comfortable, somewhat upright angle that's perfect for her and I sit on the floor facing her to feed her.  

Introduce the bottle when baby is well rested and not starving

When you first start introducing a bottle to your baby, it can be very overwhelming to them so it's best to set yourself up for the highest chance of success!  Your baby will likely get easily frustrated because it's something new, so try not to push the matter when they're overtired or starving.  A calm baby will be more likely to try to figure out the bottle rather than just melt down at the first sign of frustration.  

Be Consistent

Consistency is key.  Even if your baby hates bottle feeding, keep trying and keep offering it regularly until they get the hang of it.  It can be so hard in the beginning but hang in there!  

- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please read our full Disclosure Policy for more information - 

Nûby's Natural Touch Infant Bottle with Easy Latch Nipple can be found at Wal-Mart, Babies 'R Us, and Amazon.  

Heirloom Clothing

A week ago our youngest got Baptized.  She wore the same Baptism Dress I did and big sister did, which is so special!  ...However I did have to cut a slit in the slip to get it over her head that morning (she's a big baby!).  So now I’m hemming that, and the dress will be cleaned and put away for their own kids someday. 

Do you have any heirloom clothing in your family?  We also have my Grandmother's wedding veil/crown from the 1940's that both my sister and I wore for our First Communions - so very special.   

Bath Time Staples with Nûby + Giveaway!

As a mom, I'm always looking for ways to make the everyday must-dos a little easier and more fun.  So I was so excited when Nûby offered to let us try out some of their bath time staples - and give away a set to a lucky follower too!  
| This post contains affiliate links as well as an honest review of Nûby products |

With both a toddler and a baby, I feel like we're constantly doing baths or trimming nails and any way we can make these chores easier is a huge help. Our toddler really loves Nûby's Foam Bath Letters and Numbers set - she's really into spelling and loves putting random letters together and asking "what does that spell?", even when it doesn't make a real word. She's really starting to get the hang of it though, and can spell several short words all on her own!

The Tear-Free Rinse Pail has also been a huge help at bath time, for both our toddler and our baby. No one likes getting soap or water in their eyes - especially little ones. So it's great that we can easily rinse the shampoo away without any tears. The rinse pail is BPA-free and features a soft rubber edge so you can comfortably fit it against your little one's forehead. It also holds a generous amount of water for quick rinsing!

Finally nail cutting... ugh. Probably one of the most nerve wracking tasks a parent has to do for their baby! Thankfully Nûby's 6-Piece Nail Care Set has everything you need including scissors, nail clippers, and four emery boards sized for taking care of baby and toddler nails. Their perfect size helps make taking care of your wiggly baby's nails a little less intimidating.

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*Giveaway!*  

Make sure to enter our Giveaway over on Instagram for the chance to win this great Bath Bundle from Nûby!  The winner will receive Nûby’s Tear-Free Rinse Pail, Nail Care Set, and Foam Bath Letters and Numbers Set. 
Just look for this photo in my Instagram feed and follow the directions to enter!  Good luck!  

Giveaway ends 2/28/18 at 5PM EST.  

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- I received this item for review from Nûby but all opinions expressed are my own.  Please see our full Disclosure Policy for more information -   

Nûby's Foam Bath Letters & Numbers, Nail Care Set, and Tear-Free Rinse Pail can be found at many retailers including Amazon, Buy Baby Direct, and Babies 'R Us.  

Shop My Favorite Finds on Amazon!

We're huge Amazon fans in this house - living out in the boonies like we do means that a lot of home and grocery shopping is done online and you can't beat Amazon for their selection and Prime shipping!  | This page contains affiliate links |

I've created a page on Amazon to showcase some of our favorite Amazon finds - everything from home, to beauty, to baby and kid items.  Items with a "speech bubble" in the corner means I've added a note about that item, just give it a click to see what I have to say about it.  

Feel free to check our Favorite Amazon Finds often since I'll be continuing to add more items as they come up.