How Much It Costs To Have a Baby -In Progress-

When I found out I was pregnant it was a huge surprise! I was told that I wouldn't be able to have kids with out medical help so, my plan was to adopt once I finished my Masters in Architecture. Welp, low and behold: February 2013 I found out there was a bun in the oven!
Mind you, I am completely Pro-Choice. I stand by that. And my choice had always been that if by some miracle I could conceive on my own I would do everything in my power to make sure that I could raise the munchkin to be an amazing person.
Granted I know there are different circumstances for every situation but when I found out I was pregnant there was nothing I could justify to myself to do anything but give this little leech the best home possible. I decided to switch jobs in the middle of my pregnancy to a higher-paying but also higher-stress just to make sure I could afford to stay out of work as long as possible after the baby was born.
So for all the single moms, stay-at-home moms, single dads or hey, even to the 2 parent households who are just curious to see how much a kid costs, here is my break down.

Initial Purchases

Purchase	Location	Cost
Crib	Target	159.99
Stroller	Gift	0
Car Seat	Gift	0
Crib Mattress	Target	79.99
Rocker and Ottoman	Goodwill	10
Crib Sheet	Target	16.99

Maternity Purchases

Purchase	Location	Cost
Clothes	Target	65
Maternity Belt	Target	32.99

DIY Baby Wipes

In my attempt to be a DIY mommy I decided to make my own baby wipes. I found by researching online there are a lot of DIY products that can be made with coconut oil. So, I am basing my baby wipes off of this product. I have read a lot of comments on different sites asking when the wipes "expire". It is currently the beginning of July and I am due at the end of September. I guess I can find out and update this blog then.

The cost to start up this batch was $36.28. Just remember though, each batch after will be the cost of the paper towels that are used. And... you know what is in the product you are using!

What I purchased:

Organic Virgin Coconut Oil 16 fl oz (1 pint)- Trader Joes- $5.99 

Burts Bees: Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash 21 fl oz- Target- $16.49

Glass Jar - Target- 2 @ 5.99 each- $11.98

Viva (80 1-ply sheets)- WinCo- $1.82

Ingredients:

• 1 roll Viva Paper Towels
• 1 1/2 tablespoons Burts Bees: Baby Bee Shampoo and Wash
• 1 tablespoon Organic Virgin Coconut Oil
• 2 cups water

Steps:

1. Cut roll of paper towels directly in half 
   
   Note: Good idea to use a sharp knife...
2. Mix: Soap, Oil and Water together
3. Put half of roll inside jar. I put jagged side down.
4. Pour mixture over paper towels.
5. Pullout cardboard roll from inside. 
   
6. Pull wipe from center.

Follow-Up

I find the smell to be similar to and off brand honey and oat type cereal. I also found that it took a while for all of the paper towels to soak up the liquid. Next time I think I will purchase some essential oil of a fantastic smelling type. 

Welp, let me know what you think!

DIY Garden Fence (using curly willows) -In Progress-

Well, my furry children keep trampling through my garden and I am pretty sure that is why I have dwarf plants... Or it could be my lack of a green thumb. But hey, if you have dogs, why not blame them? They don't mind! So, I decided to build a fence around my small attempt-of-a-garden. I planted lettuce, cucumbers for pickling, watermelon and okra. (Can you tell I'm pregnant?)

I got the idea from the place I currently work. They have a kitchen garden (a garden of food they can use in the kitchen). The fence they have they made themselves. I have curly willow trees and a lot of left over branches that were not sold last year that I found in my backyard after mowing down 3' grass and weeds (not exaggerating, some weeds were probable 4+ feet tall).

Curly Willow

Young Curly Willow branch. What I will be using to tie the branches together.

Close up of the Curly Willow.

These are what the dried out branches look like.

These are what the young branches look like without the leaves.

Tied

I used my shovel to move the dirt just enough to hold the dried branches in place while a tied another dried branch perpendicular to the first. I used the young flimsy branch to tie the two. The plan is that the green branch will dry out in that shape so it will not come undone.

Small garden section.

The area from the sticks across to the wheel barrow is where my garden is. I tried to 'ghetto rig' (for lack of a better phrase) the area to make do while I figured out what other material I could use.

Close up of the second level of sticks.

Behind that are garlic ( I think) that were already growing there from the previous homeowners. Completely trampled on from my pups but still alive and kicking...

A better 'Ghetto Rigged' garden fence. It will look better once I clean it up... I promise. 

DIY Nursery and other crafts

I was definitely inspired by Pinterest to DIY as many baby things as possible. Okay, so it is not completely DIY as a did purchase items as made. But in my defense I did put it together myself! Below are items that were made by me. :)

I have already made the curtains for her room:

I completely dismissed the fact that cotton shrinks... They are actually about 9" shorter than pictured here. I had to wash them after they were made because this creature peed on the material!

Willoh, how could you stay mad at that face?

Also I refurbished the chandelier in the picture as well. It used to be rusted brass which I took off the crystals and spray painted it a matte white with Rustoleum I purchased at HomeDepot.

The rocker as posted now is not finished. I purchased this at Goodwill and spray painted (using the same brand and color as chandelier). I still want to reupholster it as well.

I painted this picture, a dahlia flower, for over the crib. First time whipping out the canvass and paints in over a year!

Then I made a beanie and booties. I bought the yarn at Wal-Mart months ago. I tried to return it the other day but I didn't realize it was past the 'returnable' date. So, I had to make do. And if I dare say, I did! And sorry, I didn't use a pattern for either items. I really don't even know if they are the appropriate size head and feet! They were just fun to make...

Welp, that was an update of my June 2013 projects! Hopefully I get more done in July and hopefully I can post my step-by-step progress!

Let me know if there is anything out there I should try!

Frugality Preparation

So, I decided that I want to stay at home as long as possible after baby Dahlia is born. I am my only source of income so I am going to try to be as frugal as possible.

• Home-made baby wipes
• Washable diapers
• Putting up a clothes line instead of using the dryer
• Growing my own veggies
• Cooking at home
• Making clothes
• Selling any crafts or art that I make

If anyone has any ideas on how to be more frugal let me know!