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June Challenge Update

In June I challenged myself to spend money only on food and entertaining. I learned a lot from the challenge and am excited to share it was a success in that I learned a lot about my buying habits.

Here are my thoughts:

1. I buy a LOT almost mindlessly on Amazon.

At least 4 or 5 times I thought about something I “needed” and almost went on Amazon to buy it right then and there. I’m going to continue to challenge myself in the future by allowing myself to add items to my Amazon cart but making myself wait before buying. My standard wait time is a day but I’m pushing myself to wait a week. If I still want to buy the item the next week and it’s in our budget I will.

2. I didn’t stick to the challenge completely.

I bought Raffi, Alessandra and some friends FIFA World Cup player stickers. I bought a boy and girl Surfer Dude (affiliate link) for my kids to enjoy at the beach. I bought a few gifts. I also bought my kids each a book from our favorite local bookstore in Rhode Island, and I have no regrets about any of those purchases.

The World Cup happens only every four years. The Surfer Dude toys are something we will use for years, and it’s a really cool toy. And the gifts were for cousins we see rarely. I also bought 11 spray bottles from the dollar store in July for all the kids to play with on July 4th!

3. Our food costs a LOT.

It was eye-opening to check my Amex statement and find charge after charge for food. We shop mostly at Whole Foods because I like the quality, the experience, and convenience as it’s only a mile away. And I buy a lot of organic food and expensive meats. It’s super expensive! In the fall I’m going to challenge myself to lower our grocery and food bill by a lot, but I can only handle one challenge at a time. For now I will focus on making sure we use up every single food we buy. I’ve gotten a little lazy about making sure the kids don’t over serve themselves and it’s frustrating to throw away uneaten food.

4. Kids are expensive.

For several years I didn’t think they were, but now that we have two school-aged kids I understand why people say they are expensive. Babies are cheap in my opinion because they only need diapers and wipes, possibly formula depending on the situation. School-age kids need so much more though, especially if they are privileged enough to play sports. And they keep outgrowing their shoes and clothing. Shoes are so expensive, and when you are buying sneakers, sandals, and boots for a million kids it definitely adds up.

A lot of our friends have their kids in camps over the summer. While I would love to send our kids to some day camps and my husband would be supportive of it, it just seems like a waste of money. Camp for 3 is $$$. Instead they are in mommy camp. We pick one different place to visit each week and check off another item off our list each week. Every morning each child gets 15 minutes with me doing different sorts of personal development activities, from learning to tie shoes to learning to write a full name to practicing self soothing without thumb sucking. Then they make a mess while I get my housework done before we head out on our adventure for the day. It’s been lovely actually, although overwhelming at times. I am trying to really soak up this last summer before I have two children in all day school.

In short, the challenge was a success and I learned a lot about myself and my buying activities from it. I’m going to continue to delay my Amazon purchases and continue to go through each child’s things with them to pare down their room stuff to a manageable, maintainable level for each of them. And I will continue to focus on buying less, consuming less, spending less, using less.

Nuna Leaf vs. BabyBjorn Bouncer vs. Fisher Price Bouncer

Originally published on the BabyCenter Blog *March 30, 2018*
With about a million choices, it can be hard to pick a baby chair or baby bouncer. I now own the Nuna Leaf, BabyBjorn Bouncer Bliss (previously called Babysitter Balance), and the Fisher Price Bouncer.

Here’s what I think about all three.

Nuna Leaf Curv vs. BabyBjorn Bouncer Bliss vs. Fisher Price Bouncer

Nuna Leaf Curv: (Nuna, $229.95)

Pros: This baby chair is absolutely beautiful. It doesn’t use batteries but has a nice gentle motion that lasts over two minutes with a gentle push. I have found that with just a little hand movement or leg kick my baby makes the movement continue, which is nice. With all neutral colors, it doesn’t stick out in my home. The chair can be locked so you can use it for feeding or playing without motion. There are no batteries needed, so no frantic hunts for a screwdriver to change batteries. It has a mesh back so you don’t have to worry about your baby overheating in the hot summer weather. The harness doesn’t click when you open or close it, and is really easy to loosen and tighten. This is useful if baby falls asleep and you want to transport her from the Nuna Leaf to her crib without a clicking sound waking her up. It can be used up to 130 pounds so you don’t have to worry about older children testing it out.

Cons: It doesn’t fold down for transportation. The base is attractive but it’s fairly large. If it’s in a small space like my kitchen I tend to trip over the base. It’s also pretty expensive.

BabyBjorn Bouncer Bliss (Amazon, $203.95)

Pros: I have had the BabyBjorn Bouncer since my first was born in 2011. I tell everyone that it’s one of the few pieces of baby gear that I will never, ever, give away (along with my Nuna travel crib and Sakura Bloom sling baby carrier).

The BabyBjorn Bouncer also doesn’t require batteries, which is a huge bonus in my eyes. All of my babies have loved hanging out in it to watch me prepare dinner or shower. They’ve even napped in it.

My absolute favorite feature is that it folds flat. That makes it a breeze to stick it on the car to bring with us to a friend’s house or on vacation. I love having a safe place to put baby that is so portable and takes up very little space. Even when it’s all set up it fits comfortably in my small kitchen.

Cons: While it rocks naturally with baby’s motion or a little push of your hand, the motion doesn’t last the way it does with the Nuna Leaf. I can’t say anything else negative about it as it is one of my absolute favorite pieces of baby gear.

Fisher Price Bouncer (Amazon, $64.99)

Pros: I have an older Fisher-Price bouncer model but they all seem quite similar. I love how cozy this seat is. It is definitely plush and soft and exactly what one would imagine a baby would want to snuggle in. It costs a lot less than the other two bouncers. It has music, nature sounds, and can vibrate, which are nice features if you have a baby that has a hard time settling down. My favorite feature is the mobile, which my baby enjoys looking at as she hangs out in this bouncer.

Cons: I really prefer not to have baby products with batteries when I can avoid it. For one, I hate changing the batteries, but I also hate worrying that one of the kids will turn the music on or off when the baby has finally calmed down. I also wish it could fold flat as it is awkward to store between children.

I like all three bouncers for different reasons, but if I had to choose one to keep forever and ever it would be the BabyBjorn Bouncer. It folds flat for storage, is really easy to take apart and clean, babies love it, and there’s no maintenance (like changing batteries) required.

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