Baby — Page 22

{Rafflecopter Giveaway} Win a Pink Poodle Bows Design!

Win an ADORABLE Free Pattern from Pink Poodle Bows!

The cute-ness level of the designs in her shop are off the charts, seriously. I have a sewing machine, and loads of pretty fabrics, buttons and trims… Gathering dust in the closet because I still haven’t learned to use it! But the patterns in the Pink Poodle Bows Etsy shop have motivated me to get started, like, right away. I have to order a few of these patterns!!

And… Her Blog Rocks Too!

Not only does she sell super amazing patterns in her Pink Poodle Bows shop, but she also shares FREE ideas and tutorials on her fun Pink Poodle Bows Blog too! How adorable are these matching mommy, dolly, and me aprons?? I’m dying to get started!!

WIN A FREE PINK POODLE BOWS PATTERN!

The lovely lady that runs the Pink Poodle bows shop and blog is not only super talented; she is also super generous! She is providing one lucky Sunshine and Sippy Cups fan with a FREE pattern of THEIR choice from her Etsy shop!

{Disclaimer: I was not provided with any free product or service for this review. All opinions, exclamation points, and uses of “adorable”, are 100% my own opinions!}

Rafflecopter Giveaway:

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 3, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies, Contests | 2 Comments

{8/3} Daily Bit of Sunshine…

Today’s Daily Bit of Sunshine….

“There are those whose lives affect all others around them. Quietly touching one heart, who in turn, touches another. Reaching out to ends further than they would ever know.”
~William Bradfield

My Thoughts:

I love this quote. This is the type of person that I want to be, and the kind of mother I hope to be. Becoming a mother is such an intensely beautiful experience, yet filled with so much worry and stress.

I want to raise my daughter to be a happy, healthy, balanced young lady… And my actions have such a huge impact on who she will become. Such a great responsibility, and I think it’s why we examine our lives, and make so many changes, once a baby arrives. We all want to make sure that we are a person that our children can be proud of.

So, this quote is going on my wall, to remind me that my actions each day have far reaching consequences… And that is a good thing! I can spread some happiness to others every day, and be a positive influence not just to my baby girl, but to every person in my day….

Posted by Meagan Paullin on August 3, 2011 Filed Under: Fun Stuff, Mommy Thoughts | 1 Comment

How to Save money on Formula + Rafflecopter Giveaway!

Babies = Expensive!

I’ve said it before… Babies are darn cute, but they’re also darn expensive. I was on a very tight budget while I was pregnant, and was really careful about what baby items I bought. There is SO much stuff, it’s all SO cute, and it’s all marketed as MUST HAVE items, it can be hard to know what you really need and what you can skip! I asked around to friends- What 3 items did you totally rely on, and what do you wish you’d skipped? That helped me prepare a nursery without overspending. {FYI- Boppy Pillow, extra baby sheets, a baby swing, baby medicine/first aid kit were the top must-haves, bottle warmer was the one I heard from EVERYONE that I could skip.}

Baby Arrives, Along with MORE Expenses!

Then, when baby gets here, there are even more unplanned expenses. A big one for me was formula. I had planned to breastfeed for at least 6 months, and was really committed to reaching that goal.

Unfortunately, things {as so often happens with a new baby in your life} did not go as planned. My little one arrived 3 weeks early, and had a lot of trauma during delivery. She spent a few days in NICU, then more time in the Pediatrics wing…And in all of the stress and confusion, no one ever brought me a pump or allowed me to feed her {I couldn’t even pick her up until the second night}, so we had a rough start. More complications followed, and after a month and a half of tears and frustration from both me and baby, we finally switched to formula.

The Switch to Formula

While I was really disappointed in switching to formula, baby was much happier with the change. But I could not believe how expensive formula was, or how fast we went through it! My oh my. We started out on Similac, and that worked great for her… Until she got sick for a week, and we found out about the Similac recall. They insisted that it probably wasn’t related, but many other moms were reporting the same symptoms! So we looked for an alternative.

Check out Parents Choice–

A wonderful choice for us, and your baby too, is Parents Choice formula. We switched to this line, and I was worried about how she would react to a new formula, but there was no change at all, and she loved it. But the big change for ME was that it was SO much more affordable. They have a really cool tool to help you discover how much you can save… Our savings switching from Similac Advance to Parents Choice is $634.91 per year. Wow, right? Try it yourself, Parents Choice $avings Calculator.

Great Quality at a Great Price

There are tons of other items for your baby in the Parents Choice line… My little girl is a HUGE fan of the banana puffs :) And, Parents Choice is generously offering a $10,000 Scholarship to one lucky winner in their new sweepstakes!

Win Your OWN set of Parents Choice Products!

Parents Choice Formula

One lucky winner will win this whole set of products:

12.9 oz can of Parent´s Choice Premium to try.
12.4 oz can of Parent´s Choice Advantage to try.
Two $3.00 off coupons for Parent´s Choice Infant Formula (redeemable at all Walmart stores).
Parent´s Choice Starter Set – a complete nurser system that includes a variety of bottles, nipples, liners, leak proof caps and retainer rings.

Rafflecopter Giveaway

{Disclosure: The Parent´s Choice Infant Formula product sample, information, and giveaway have been provided by Parent´s Choice through MyBlogSpark.}

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Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 31, 2011 Filed Under: Contests | 4 Comments

FAN-tastic Freebie Friday! {20+ New Freebies!}

I love freebies...

Today is a round up of new samples, plus some of the most popular of the week, in case you missed them!

FAN-tastic Freebie Friday:

Has anyone ever tried this “Cash for Gold” deal? If so, I’d love to hear some feedback on whether you think it’s worth it. Leave me a comment if you’ve got any info! Thanks.

$20 Free Gift Certificate: Enter the Peeled Snacks Recipe Contest, and you’ll get a $20 Gift Certificate! Every one who enters gets one.
Free Cat Products: Sign up for a new branch of my FAVORITE SURVEY SITE EVER- Synovate Cat Lovers Panel, and have the chance to try out new cat products and be rewarded for your opinions. Love it.
MySavings: Get todays new Free Samples- Coffee, magazines, haircare, salad dressing, and more! Free Samples.
Stakkd: Get a FREE sample of this new caffeine mixer. Sample Request.
LearnVest: Sign up for FREE! You’ll love their daily tips to live frugal and fashionable. Today you can learn 10 things to do with $10 bucks! LearnVest Free Membership.
Pampers: Join Gifts to Grow, get 100 FREE points, and redeem them for kids toys, free diapers, and more. Join Here.
Free Allergy Med’s: See if you qualify here- Allergy Study, and be eligible to get FREE allergy medications, FREE doctor visits, and even be paid for participation.
Depends Sample Pack: Get a sample pack by requesting it with a quick form. Click Here.
Free Samples with sign up: Get Free Nestle Nido Milk samples. Join the community here- Click Here.
Free Food at Chili’s: Print a coupon to bring with you on your next visit to Chili’s and get FREE Chips and Queso with your order!
Free ProForce Cleaner: Hover over the images of the bottles on the Sams Club site, and it’ll bring up a little box to request a sample! Don’t need to be a member.
Prescription Discounts: Sign up for this card to get up to 75% off meds- Click Here, or – Click Here to find printable med’s coupons.
Freebies for Women: Some great daily coupons, giveaways, and samples. Sign up for their daily update or just check out what’s available now- Click Here.
Free The Google Story Book Summary: Click Here to get it.
Make your own FREE tshirt: Great for the kids. The T-Shirts are made of 100% Pre-Shrunk cotton and are available in sizes from S to XXL The T-Shirt is FREE, just pay for Shipping and Processing! Click Here.
Vindale: Get FREE products to try out at home, just like I do. Sign up give your opinion and win! Click Here.
Free Gift Cards + More: Start earning bucks today and you’ll soon be cashing out for Free Prizes. I redeem all points for Amazon Gift Cards. Start today! Click Here to join me!
Free $3 Credit: Introducing the Animated Photo card! Move your hand to reveal as one image blends into the next. Get an instead Free $3 credit. Click Here to get one. These are SUPER cool.
Daily Freebies: Check out That Freebie Site for each days new updates. They’re new, but have some good stuff.
Freeflys: Most of you are already using this, but did you know you can search by category too? Search for your favorites on Freeflys.com today.

Free Laser Hair Removal: LAST chance! Get this months entry in to win a FREE treatment! Enter here to win!

If you have some freebie lovin’ friends, feel free to use the social buttons to share this! Everyone loves free stuff, right? Have a great weekend… And watch for a couple of BRAND NEW Rafflecopter Giveaways starting later today! :)

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 29, 2011 Filed Under: Product Testing, Freebies, Shopping, Contests | No Comments

11 Free Things that New Moms Need Today

Babies are super cute… But they can be super expensive too!

I was already a freebie junkie before I got pregnant, but I really jumped into it more when I knew I had a baby on the way. There are SO many great free samples and coupons to be found for things like diapers, formula, wipes, food, toys… Really, everything you need to get ready for a little one. This is one of the best ways to try things out before investing in full-size products, so you learn what you and your baby like best. And you can rack up some major savings by stocking up on this stuff while you’re expecting – and it’s also an awesome way to build a frugal baby shower gift too, by filling a diaper bag with great samples, coupons, and trial sizes of baby stuff for the new mom to try out. Love it.

Samples, Coupons, Giveaways:

These are all resources that I have used myself to get great coupons, freebies, samples, and savings. The more mailing lists you get on – the more free stuff you’ll start to see show up in your mail too – Love it!

Formula: Free sample of Simply Right baby formula- Sample Here. And then sign up to have a free sample of Members Mark baby formula shipped to you too. If you plan to use formula, trying a few samples first is a great way to figure out how your baby will tolerate them. They’re all very similar, but there were a couple that Abby just couldn’t handle well at all. They’re so expensive, you definitely don’t want to purchase a brand that you’ll end up throwing away!
Baby Magazines: These are SO awesome – they have fun articles and helpful tips, but they also have loads of high-value coupons! Some of my favorites are KIWI, Parents, & Family Fun – but here are two totally free options – American Baby Magazine and Baby Talk. Or, get one for you – Free subscription to Ladies Home Journal.
Walmart: Find new updated samples a couple of times a week, with lots of great baby options like diapers or lotions.
Travel Mug with Photo: Ok, this one is almost free. Get a super cute travel mug customized with a picture of your new baby. Perfect when you’re away from them during the day, or as an awesome gift for grandparents.
Free Baby Book: Create a free online baby book to privately share photos, movies, and more with friends and family.
Free Photo Canvas: I’m sure you’ve seen this Canvas People free offer before… But if you haven’t used it yet, check it out today. I promise you, you will LOVE the print when you get it. The quality is amazing, and it is such a beautiful way to remember your favorite baby moment…
New Printable Diaper Coupons: Check out Planning Family for tons of fun freebies, advice, and a great community to chat with other new moms. But my favorite part is the printable diaper coupons section!
Amazon Mom: Sign up for Amazon Mom to get FREE 2 day shipping on almost everything, plus big discounts on diapers and wipes! And, to earn FREE Amazon gift cards get a FREE account at Swagbucks!
MySurvey: I’ve had really good luck with product tests from MySurvey, and have gotten diapers to try out two times now. They seem to have a lot of great opportunities for moms to sample new products for name brands.
Free baby tshirt: There are so many great baby tees with funny sayings on them – think up one of your own, and put it on a tshirt you customize yourself, for only $2 bucks. Or make a super cute big brother or sister tshirt, to wear when you bring baby home for the first time. Love it.
Zulily: Sign up for a FREE account at Zulily to get access to deals of up to 80% off designer baby, kids, and mom items.

If you have a little one on the way, already have a kiddo or two, or are an auntie or grandma, then these goodies will help you a ton. If you know other momma’s looking to save some money, feel free to use the social buttons to share this to your Facebook or Twitter – everyone loves a freebie.

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 26, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | 2 Comments

Free Window Covering Retrofit Safety Kits

Free Window Covering Retrofit Kit

Get FREE retrofit kits for your window blinds, to keep your little ones safe. You can order any of the different kits available… Mini Blinds, Roman Shades, etc.

Check it out and start your order here: WindowCoverings.org, and click the link on the left hand side that says “Request Kit”. Then, choose the options that you need, and check out. It’ll be totally free, no shipping charge.

{For more great free offers like this, check out MySavings: Free Samples}

Posted by Meagan Paullin on July 20, 2011 Filed Under: Freebies | No Comments

Win a $50 Walmart Gift Card!

Hey Planning Family Fans!

Planning Family is expanding it’s {already amazing} site to provide more great tips, freebies, and more to help you raise a happy, healthy baby on a budget! And they want to hear from YOU!

Win a $50 Gift Card

All you have to do to enter to win the $50 Walmart Gift Card is visit their Facebook page and fill out a quick survey. Easy peasy! Plus, read some of the great comment from fans. If you haven’t joined yet, now is a great time! You can get a FREE Planning Family membership by joining here!