WOOHOO!!!! DISH SOAP!!
Alright, this isn't the most exciting thing to write about, but I am loving Seventh Generation products right now. I'm generally a little afraid of cleaning products and love the fact that SG is striving to make products that are safe and nontoxic for the people that use them and the environment. Thanks SG! ;) Their products generally smell pretty wonderful, considering they don't use artificial fragrances, and everything I've used from them has been very effective.
This dish liquid smells like yummy yummy clementines. It is not overpowering, but leaves a nice little hint of clean in the air while you do the dishes. I was using the fragrance-free version for a while, but am loving the smell of this one! I am very sensitive to smells... Nothing is worse than gagging through cleaning because of the fumes from the cleaner. Not here, my friend, not here...
Price: Runs around $3, sometimes more... $2.95 on drugstore.com right now
Where to buy: Your local grocery or http://www.drugstore.com/
Things to know: They often have coupons in the paper for SG products.
These onesies came in so handy when my daughter was first born! I had bought the little baby mittens to cover her little hands, but they were just too loose on her and kept on slipping off. These onesies were such a wonderful alternative to keeping her hands covered. They only have the two snaps on the bottom and are just super easy.
In Summary:
Price: $8.84 for a 3 pack on Amazon
Where you can buy them: http://www.amazon.com/
Aveeno baby lotion has turned into our go-to lotion, not just for the baby but for me as well. Most lotions I've tried have turned out to be basically worthless in healing my skin. Aveeno baby products have yet to disappoint me. I use their baby eczema therapy moisturizing cream on my face before bed. During the winter months my skin likes to start acting up. This lotion really soothes and keeps all the redness and dryness at bay. I also use their daily moisture lotion and have found that it works very well. Both are very creamy, long lasting, and easily soak into the skin.
In Summary:
Would I repurchase this? Yes
Price: $7.99 for 5 oz (Aveeno Baby Eczema Therapy Moisturizing Cream)
$5.29 for 8 oz (Aveeno Baby Daily Moisture Lotion)
Things to know: I have not been using the daily moisture lotion on my face... so I can not vouch that it will work well as a face cream. I have used it on my daughter's face and it has worked fairly well but is not as soothing as the aforementioned Mustela Hydra-stick.
I've used these as burp cloths. They aren't the prettiest things around, but they do the BEST job of any other ones I've tried. They are super absorbent and you comparatively get a lot for your money. I can not give you a review on how great they are at their original intended purpose of diapering, but they are great for lots of other things and have come in handy!
In Summary:
Price: The price of these can really vary. One of the best prices I've found for these is at Buy Buy Baby where they have the pack of 10 for $13.99.
Where you can buy them:
http://www.buybuybaby.com/
This is a purchase that I almost didn't make because of the initial price. The blankets come to $8.75 a piece but are generally sold in packs of four. So the initial purchase price is around $35. It's not a completely absurd price, but when you're comparing them to packs of flannel receiving blankets, it seems like a lot. However, if I could have a redo on things I purchased when my daughter was born, I probably would not have purchased any other blankets than these. I've used the flannel blankets once or twice, but I've used the muslin blankets more times than I could possibly count.
They are so multifunctional!
* Substantial size for swaddling (I had a tough time swaddling with other blankets)
* Easy nursing covers (just knot two of the sides together and there you go)
* Great for shielding baby from the sun while in the carseat or stroller
* Breathable for summer and great as a car blanket in the winter
* Great to lay on during "tummy time"
In Summary:
Price: $35 for a pack of 4. BUT they can be more if you are ordering them directly from the company! I've bought mine at Target and also ordered a pack off of Amazon.
Things to Know: These a great quality blankets. The directions say something along the lines of wash them gently (or maybe it's separately) in cold water... and to be honest, I've just thrown them in with whatever I'm washing at the time and they've worn so well! They look just as great as the day I bought them.
Where you can buy them:
http://www.target.com/
http://www.adenandanais.com
http://www.amazon.com/
ALDI is a discount grocery store that I've stumbled across while researching which grocery stores give you the most for your money. After reading online that you can save a lot more money at ALDI than at Costco and Walmart, I figured I'd give them a try. Upon arrival I realized there were a lot of similarities to the grocery stores in Europe: you have to use a quarter to use the grocery carts, there is a limited variety of each type of food, and you bag your own groceries. They have a limited amount of common national brand products, but carry very similar items in their own store brands. Their produce is always at a great price on top of which they often run weekly sales. There is no way I would be able to only shop at ALDI, but it has turned into my first stop when I buy groceries. I try to get as much on my grocery list as possible and then finish my shopping elsewhere, but by doing so I am able to generally save about $10-20 each trip.
I've been very happy with both of these diaper rash pastes. I started with Boudreaux's Butt Paste from the beginning, and it works very well. I had absolutely no problems with it. However, if the rash is VERY bad, I think that Triple Paste works a little better because it is SO thick and I think has a little more staying power than Boudreaux's. Both are great diaper creams. Triple Paste is a lot more expensive... so for that very fact I would not recommend it unless your child has a reoccurring issue.
In Summary:
Price: Boudreaux's Butt Paste is about $8.50 for 4 oz; Triple Paste is about $9 for 2 oz
Things to Know: Boudreaux's Butt Paste is scented. I have not noticed Triple Paste having a scent. Also, there are often Triple Paste coupons in the paper and as well as in the Triple Paste box when you purchase the product.
Where you can buy them: Almost any drugstore or online.
I've heard a lot of great reviews on the "Mustela Hydra-stick," and thought it would be a great thing to try on my daughter's face. Her cheeks were constantly chapped even though I had been putting lotion on them multiple times a day. I had kept my eyes open for the product and finally found it at "Buy Buy Baby." Before I saw it, I had already made up my mind to buy it, but was completely thrown when I discovered how SMALL it was in person. It retails for around $9.50 and comes in this itty bitty deodorant-case-looking applicator that only contains .35 oz of product. Honestly, I about walked away when my husband stopped me with the comment that if it has that many good reviews it probably is able to last a while, even if it doesn't look like it would. . . So I bit the bullet and bought it anyway.
After only using it for twenty-four hours, my daughter's face was almost completely clear. After two days, all the redness and chapped skin was healed. I still feel like they could give you a little more product for the price, but it has been the only product I've found that really heals her chapped skin. So I'm planning on buying it again whenever it runs out... hopefully that will be months and months from now!
In Summary:
Would I repurchase this? Yes
Price: $9.50 for .35 oz
Things to Know: It's in an itty-bitty-teeny-tiny container, but it seems to work extremely well and is solid enough to not be used up too quickly.
The Mustela website:
http://www.mustelausa.com/mustela/content/hydra-stick-cold-cream-nutri-protective
Where you can buy them:
http://www.drugstore.com/mustela-bebe-hydra-stick-for-lips-and-cheeks/qxp71669?catid=182484
I went to my local drugstore the other day to pick up a few things when I came across witch hazel toner right next to the astringent I normally purchase. Honestly, I've heard of witch hazel in a general sense, but had no idea what it was used for. So I blindly decided to buy it anyways because it just sounded interesting and claimed to be "100% ALL NATURAL"!
I've been using it for a few days now, and am really enjoying it. It doesn't really give you that deep down SUPER CLEAN feeling that an astringent would, but leaves your skin feeling really soft for the rest of the day. It isn't a LIFE CHANGING discovery, but I'm definitely planning on adding it as another step in my skincare routine.
In Summary:
Would I repurchase this? Yes
Price: $4-5 for 8 fl oz
Additional Things to Know: The smell of it is really natural, I don't know exactly how to explain it...since I really shouldn't describe it as witch-hazel-y. It isn't at all bad, but it took me a couple times using it to get used to it.
The Dickinson's website:
http://www.dickinsonsusa.com/
When
it comes to wipes, I have tried SO many brands in search of ones that
work well and don't cost me an arm and a leg. I've tried Walmart's
brand, Target's brand, ALDI's brand, as well as multiple kinds from
Huggies and Pampers... but finally settled on Pampers Sensitive Wipes.
Although they are a little more money than the store-brand wipes I have
tried, the quality is just so much better. Pampers Sensitive Wipes are
durable, soft, don't fall apart, and don't leave any pieces behind. I
thought Target's wipes were too thin, both Walmart's and ALDI's brands
were too harsh, and even though I enjoyed the Huggies Natural Care wipes
at first, in the end they were still very rough in comparison to the
Pampers Sensitive Wipes.
In Summary:
Price: $15.79 for box of 512 count at Target
Where you can buy them:
http://www.target.com/
