If you are a frugal parent, one of the best places to find deals is on Facebook. Get out there and “friend” all the deal-finding bloggers you can find and watch the deals just pop up on your wall. One such deal popped up on my Facebook wall this morning courtesy of  Here’s The Deal. She found a case of Pampers Easy Ups in a boys size 3/4 for just $11.29 on Amazon!

To get this great deal, you will need to sign up for Amazon Mom (if you haven’t already) to get 15% off and then choose the “subscribe and save” option to save an additional 15%. You can cancel the subscription at ANY time. Plus, there is a $1.50 off coupon right there on the product page! When you combine savings, your total is just $11.29 for 60 Easy Ups!

If you want to follow some of these deal-finders on Facebook, here is a small sampling of some of my favorites. Check ‘em out!

Here’s the Deal

Mommy’s Money Saving Obsession

Consumer Queen

Super Coupon Lady

Raining Hot Coupons

2 Kids and a Coupon

Thrifty Wifey

You have probably heard that the cost of diapers will soon be going up. Back in March, Kimberly-Clark announced that they will raise prices by as much as 7% on Huggies diapers and wipes, Pull-Ups, and GoodNites. These price increases will begin to go into effect as early as June 19, 2011. Even though only one diaper manufacturer has announced a price increase, it is a safe bet that the others will soon follow suite. When one does it, the others usually aren’t too far behind.

If you use disposable diapers or wipes, you’ve only got about three more weeks to stock up on them before the prices go up. This is a great time to take advantage of the Amazon Mom deals and save 30% (with the subscribe and save option) on all your diapering needs. Plus, there is a Pampers coupon currently available on Amazon.com to make the savings even sweeter.

So we’re potty training my two year old and things are going pretty well. She’s telling me when she needs to go potty and if she accidentally starts to dribble, she’ll stop it and run to the potty. Sounds good, right?

And it is…at least as far as number one is concerned. Number two? That’s a whole different story. When I ask her if she needs to poop, she will answer with an emphatic, “No!” When I’m pretty sure she does need to, I’ll put her on the potty anyway. And there she’ll sit. And sit. And sit. She’d sit there all day with her bottom clinched up tight because she flat out refuses to poop in the potty.

I love potty training.

Anyway, summer is coming quickly and since I don’t want my daughter pooping in a pool, it looks like I’m going to need some swimming diapers. The thing is, disposable swim diapers are expensive! They cost more than their dry-land counterparts but the diaper manufacturers can get away with it. Why? Because what choice do we have, right?

Wrong!

Did you know that there are actually cloth swim diapers? For about the cost of a package of disposable swim diapers (sometimes even less), you can get a reusable swim diaper. And for a trip to the pool or the lake, two or three diapers is probably all you’ll need. Now, if you’re only going to go swimming with your baby a handful of times this summer, you might find the disposables to be more economical. But if you plan on swimming weekly or more, cloth swim diapers may be the way to go.

If you have had experience with cloth swim diapers, leave a comment and tell us about it!

How’s the weather in your neck of the woods? Around here, it is sunny and warm. You know what that means–it’s diaper drying season!

There is no better way to dry your cloth diapers than by hanging them out in the sun to dry. Sure, it takes a little more effort than throwing them in the dryer, but the benefits are tremendous:

1. You’ll save money on your electricity bill by not running the dryer.
2. The sun will whiten and brighten your diapers, eliminating the need for harsh bleach.
3. The sun and the fresh air will deodorize your diapers.
4. Avoiding the dryer will lengthen the life of your cloth diapers.

And of course, you can dry your diapers outside at any time of the year. But there’s just nothing like a warm sunny day to get your diapers their freshest and brightest.

When I ran across the Luvs deal at Amazon yesterday and the baby wipe deal last week, I was able to immediately determine just how good those deals were.  How? Because I keep a price book.

If you coupon, you most likely know all about price books and probably even keep one. If you are not familiar with price books, it is simply a way to keep track of the good deals you find on a particular item. You can use a notebook, a spreadsheet, a Word document, or any other method that works for you.  All you need to do is make a page for each item you are tracking and then set up a chart to notate the store, brand name, price, and discounts used. You can also choose to list the date and unit price for the item. Here is a screenshot of a page from my diaper price book (using Word):

I don’t track prices on everything I buy, but I always track prices on diapers and wipes to make sure I am getting the best possible price. As you can see from the screenshot, my best price was $0.055 per Huggies diaper. I know I won’t be able to get that kind of price every time but with my price book, I at least know it’s possible. I never pay more than $0.14 per diaper and I usually try to keep it at $0.11 or less.

The real benefit to the price book is that you will no longer get lured into a deal that looks good but isn’t great when see how much better you can do. As an example, I saw a list of “diaper deals” on another website and they were promoting diapers that were as much as $0.24 each! That’s no deal at all and with a price book, you can easily see that you could do much, much better.

With so many Amazon discount codes out there, it is a great time to stock up on diapers at Amazon.com. While there have been a lot of good deals recently, this is one that is definitely worth mentioning (thanks, MomOf3Point5!)

• Okay, Amazon.com has a case of Luvs on sale for $34.54 – 264 to 120 count, depending upon size.
• If you are an Amazon Mom member (and if you’re not, why not??), you’ll automatically save 15% off your purchase.
• Then, if you choose “Subscribe and Save” at check out, you’ll save an additional 15%. The catch here is that you are subscribing to automatic delivery of this product. However, you can cancel your subscription right after ordering without penalty.
• This brings your total down to $24.88 — $0.09 to $0.21 depending upon size.
• Now, if you have one of the Parent Magazine 20% off coupon codes, your total for a case of Luvs will be $17.27 – $0.07 to $0.14, depending upon size.

That’s a pretty good deal for name brand disposable diapers. Oh, and if you happen to have scored one of the $10 off Amazon coupons, your total will be even lower.

I have written before about making your own baby wipes and at the time, I only included one very basic recipe for the wipe solution. So today, I’m going to give you several other recipes and you can choose the one that best fits your needs.

If you’re going to make your own wipes, you have several options when it comes to using the solution. You can simply pour the solution over the cloth wipes or paper towels (wash cloths, cut up receiving blankets, and paper towels are popular choices for homemade wipes). Alternatively, you can use a squirt or spray bottle to apply the solution directly to your baby’s bottom and then wipe with a dry cloth. You can also use a bottle to apply the solution to the dry cloth first. Personally, I prefer this method. I don’t like the idea of my wipes (particularly cloth wipes) just sitting in the liquid solution and I would rather control how much I use.

Now the only question is, which solution to use. Some of these are designed for particular needs–diaper rash, fungal rash, sensitive skin, etc. The rest are suitable for every day use. Try a few and see which ones you like best.

Very Basic Solution
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baby bath/wash/shampoo
2 tablespoons baby oil

Herbal Solution
2 cups warm brewed herbal tea (chamomille works well)
3 tablespoons olive oil or mineral oil
2-3 drops lavender oil (optional)

Soft Solution
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baby bath/wash/shampoo
2 tablespoons baby lotion

Apricot Solution
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon baby bath/wash/shampoo
2 tablespoons apricot oil

Lavender Solution
2 cups warm water
1 tablespoon baby bath/wash/shampoo
1 tablespoon olive oil
5 drops lavender oil

Calendula Oil Solution (soothing for dry or irritated skin)
2 cups very warm water
1/4 cup calendula baby oil
2 tablespoons gentle baby bath/wash/shampoo

Fungal Rash Solution (this recipe works very well on a yeast diaper rash)
1 cup cool water
1 tablespoon white vinegar
4-5 drops tea tree oil
2 tablespoons aloe vera gel (fresh from the plant works best)

Diaper Rash Solution (this is gentle and effective on a basic non-fungal diaper rash)
1 cup cool water
1/4 cup fresh aloe vera gel
Use a blender to mix ingredients together and keep solution refrigerated

Diaper Rash Solution 2 (also effective on non-fungal rashes)
2 cups warm water
2 tablespoons baby bath/wash/shampoo
2 tablespoons olive oil or mineral oil
2 tablespoons baking soda

Sensitive Solution (ideal for babies with very sensitive skin)
2 cups warm water
4 tablespoons mineral oil

I received an email this morning from Kristen letting me know about the latest baby wipe deal at Amazon. She also wanted to know if I thought it was really a good deal or if she could do better. Well, Kristen, the answer is yes, it’s a good deal but yes, you could do better I’ll explain why but first, here are the details of the baby wipe deal at Amazon.

• Amazon has a case of 720 Pampers wipes for $19.19.
• If you are an Amazon Mom member (and if you’re not, why not??), you’ll automatically save 15% off your purchase.
• Then, if you choose “Subscribe and Save” at check out, you’ll save an additional 15%. The catch here is that you are subscribing to automatic delivery of this product. However, you can cancel your subscription right after ordering without penalty.
• Finally, use the coupon code, MOMWIPES, to save an additional 10%. This brings your final total to $11.51 or about 1.5 cents per wipe.
• This is a really good price for disposable baby wipes. Generic wipes aren’t that cheap and homemade disposable wipes aren’t any cheaper. So yes, this is a good deal.

Now, can you do better? Yes! First of all, you can, of course, make your own reusable wipes for much less.  I realize this is not a practical solution for everyone but it’s worth a mention. Secondly, if you wait for the right coupon deals, you can get your wipes for much less–sometimes even free. Just a few months ago, both Huggies and Pampers put out coupons for $2.00 off one box of wipes. At Walmart, these wipes are generally around $2.00 anyway. I bought 20 of these coupons from a coupon clipping service for $3.00. I thereby spent $3.00 for 1,440 wipes–or about .002 cents per wipe!

Admittedly, these coupons don’t come along every day. So if you need wipes now, by all means, take advantage of the Amazon deal. Then, the next time a great coupon comes along, be sure to stock up on free or nearly free baby wipes.

My husband was putting something away in our storage closet the other day and he said, “Honey, do you know we have diapers in here?” The reason this seemed odd to him is because we are currently potty training our youngest. I think he thought I had bought them months (or even years) ago and had simply forgotten about them.

Silly man. He should know me well enough by now to realize that I am stockpiling for our future baby(ies). No, we are not pregnant but we plan to have at least one more baby in the relatively near future. So if I can get diapers dirt cheap now, why would I wait? Here’s an example:

A couple of months ago, I found a case of Huggies diapers (144 count in a size 3) on the clearance rack of my local Kroger. They were marked down to $7.99. Why? Because the box was pretty beat up. The diapers inside were still wrapped in plastic and seemed unscathed by the damage done to the box. To make the deal even sweeter, I had a coupon for $3.00 off Huggies bringing my grand total to $4.99 for a case of 144 diapers. How could I pass that up?

Then there are the wipes. Periodically, Huggies and Pampers will each put out coupons for $2.00 off a box of wipes. At Walmart, those wipes can usually be purchased for right around $2.00 making them FREE! I won’t stock up on wipes until I am pregnant because wipes will eventually dry out or even get moldy (yuck!). But if you already are pregnant, this is a great item to stock up on.

Here is a list of items that are great for stockpiling, even before your baby is born!

• Diapers — Buy them when you find great deals on them, particularly in a size 2, 3, or 4 (people will probably give you a lot of size 1 diapers when your baby is born). Also, be sure to request diaper samples and add them to the stockpile.
• Formula — If you plan to formula feed or even just supplement with formula, now is the time to start looking for deals. Recently, Ready-to-Feed Similac was going for less than a dollar because of a high dollar coupon put out by the manufacturer. That is too good to pass up, just watch the expiration dates. Also, samples will start arriving in the mail (with little to no effort on your part). These samples are usually full size cans of formula and can be added to your stockpile.
• Wipes — Again, watch for free or almost free wipes and stock up at least six months worth.
• Baby Bottles — I frequently see baby bottles in the clearance section of stores like Target and Walmart. Request manufacturer coupons for bottles and keep them on hand for those clearance sales. You will find that you can get your baby bottles (even brands like Avent) for pennies sometimes!
• Clothes — Clothing can be tricky because of sizes and genders. However, I always watch for clearance sales on gender-neutral clothing basics like onesies, t-shirts, and pajamas. At the end of the season, you can find amazing prices on these items. If you are already pregnant, you can pretty safely estimate what size your baby will be during his first year of life and buy appropriate clothing at the end of the season.
• Baby Gear — Every now and then a manufacturer will discontinue an item. This is NOT the same as a recall. They simply quit making a particular style of an item. When this happens, you can sometimes find closeout prices on the item. Such finds are rare but they do happen. When I was pregnant with my son I found a purple bouncer for $14 (it was originally $49). I knew I was having a boy but who cares? He didn’t mind having a purple bouncer!

Diapering is one baby expense that can be as cheap or as expensive as you want to make it. Some parents choose to diaper their baby only in Seventh Generation or Pampers while other parents make their own cloth diapers out of old t-shirts and dish towels. No matter which end of the spectrum you fall on, my guess is you wouldn’t mind saving a little money. So here are some diapering deals for your penny-pinching pleasure:

216 Huggies Wipes for $6.99 at toysrus.com

Bum Genius All-In-One Diapers $9.95 each! at cottonbabies.com

Huggies Diapers and Pull-Ups $6.99 at Walgreens (use a manufacturer’s coupon for even more savings!)