Costco - The Gift That Keeps On Giving

One restless evening soon after I got my ultra comfy bed, I flipped through the pages of Costco Connection magazine.  About a third way through I discovered a full page ad on a product that I was very familiar with. It was my ultra comfy bed. $100 off the price I had paid.

Apparently my bed when on sale 48 hours after I purchased it. The kicker was the sale period ended one day prior to me reading the ad. After a brief moment of shock, I tore the ad out of the maggy for future reference -  when I would be more coherent (as it was the middle of the night).

The next day I called Costco and spoke with a manager. In the end the manager left a costco gift card in the amount of $100 for me to pick up. Since the promo came from the product manufacturer and the sale was over, Costco did me a favor and absorbed the cost. I'm sure this was an isolated event and I am so thankful.

When I picked up the gift card I thought it only fitting to buy some things for Rudy. I got some perfume free detergent, a big box of 900 diaper wipes (these should last a month), some thank you candy gifts for people coming to my next shower, and a few pairs of baby clothes for Rudy.

Costco really is the gift that keeps on giving. I love Costco.

Pregnancy is so Comfortable - Or Is It?

With Rudy's birth date near approaching changes have been made to make life more comfortable. My Water consumption is out of control so we invested in an office-type hot/cold cooler that hold 5 gallon bottles. It's really nice when you wake up mid-night for a quick glass of cold water.

For additional comfort  I added a foam mattress topper on top of the built in one on the posturepedic mattress. The bed feels like laying on a fluffy cloud. In preparation for the bed ridden times of pregnancy we've added a full entertainment system to the sleeping quarters. It's heavenly. Adding a mini-fridge would be excessive, but the thought did cross my comfortable mind.

Speaking of excess I persuaded Daddy to allow me one small item that I couldn't justify purchasing, Lysol's Healthy Touch no touch soap dispenser (I had 2 coupon). If I can find a way to reduce the cost of soap refills the Healthy Touch may be practical and sustainable. But for now it's all about comfort.

With all of these comfortable stress reducing amenities I still have trouble sleeping at night. Well, at least I'm comfortable when I'm not sleeping.

Baby's Aren't Cheap

A really good thing about doing a baby registry online is you can pick out all of  your baby's needs and see how much everything costs. The old fashion way is to write a list and go price hunting, physically price hunting. I saved $$$ on gas and saved my precious time by doing my comparative shopping online. Thanks Al Gore (who claims to have invented the Internet).

Target has the best rep. for baby products but Walmart, or Wally World, as grandpa G. calls it, has the best online prices for the same items. Speaking of online prices, they are better than the in store prices for almost all (corporate) stores. Walmart let's you ship to store for FREE. But be prepared to wait 2 weeks to get your order. You have to be ahead of the game to save more $$.

Now that I'm in shopping mode I did a tally for Rudy's Walmart registry and all the needs - for the first year - are a little over $1000. That's right, 10 Benjamin's not including diapers, food & clothes. How can a hungry naked baby cost so much?

The fact is baby's aren't cheap. So take advantage of all of the free promotional items that come your way. Enfamil, Similac, and Gerber all have promos for free diaper bags filled with coupons & goodies.
Also ask the doctor's assistant for freebies. I found out that they have promo items but only give them to you when you ask.

Free Baby Stuff

Gone are the days where raising your baby is by trial and error and word of mouth. With the Internet there is so much free information right at your finger tips. You can download PDFs or if you're a paper person but don't want to use up all of your printer ink, they'll mail you the stuff for free! Sometimes even CDs.

Both corporations and the government agencies - CDC, FDA, EPA - are giving their two cents.

Lysol's Looking After You and Your Baby Booklet gives free items like an emergency contact sheet to keep by the phone and take with you on travel. The CDC's Learn the Signs gives free fact sheets, resource kits,  and a growth chart. There is information on laundry care, oral care, even food care. With all of this information Rudy should have a very safe & healthy life.

Tip: All disinfectant sprays should be EPA registered. Look for the reg. # on products.