Christmas Tip: Rewards Points

I know! I know! Some of you are rolling your eyes at me for posting stuff about Christmas in October. Some tips for saving money at Christmas are best utilized well before Christmas, like this tip regarding rewards points. Reward redemption programs work. You get free things for entering codes from the products you already buy. The only downside to them is that you have to actually save your codes and take the time to enter them, and getting your reward can take 6 to 8 weeks.

It's a small inconvenience, but start participating in reward programs. Pampers, Huggies, and Disney all have rewards programs. Even the YoBaby yogurt that I buy my kids has a rewards program! I attached links to all of those rewards programs. Enter your points, and every year before Christmas, cash them in for toys to put under the tree.

In my house, we alternate using cloth diapers and disposable, but we still have had enough points to get free rewards from Pampers and Huggies. We've gotten free potty seats from Huggies. I've used my Pampers codes to make free photo books and calendars on Shutterfly. All you do is enter in the codes onto their rewards website. If you follow them on Facebook, they also regularly post free rewards codes there.

As a Christmas gift for Joanna, I just ordered these bath tub crayons (with a rubber ducky eraser!) from Pampers. Redeeming points is entirely free!

I haven't ordered anything this year with my Huggies points yet, but I'm close to being able to afford this cute little bumble bee flashlight. Oliver and Jo both play with a little plastic flashlight that we have at home. I think this kids' one will be a hit.

I love Disney movies, but it's not in our budget to purchase movies at this stage in our life. I'm fortunate to have a dad who loves movies and buys DVDs a few times a month. So, I use his reward codes (He probably just found out as he read that. I love you, Dad!). I also use the free codes they post occasionally on their Facebook page. I once got a children's songs DVD with my rewards points. This year, for Christmas, I just ordered this 48-piece jigsaw puzzle for Oliver. Cashing in the rewards points is absolutely free (no shipping charges or fees). 

I just opened a rewards account with YoBaby yogurt today, so I won't be able to redeem our points for anything this year. It looks like a great program, though. They have some sing-a-long CDs and some kids' crafts.

If you're buying these products anyway, you might as well get some freebies for doing so! If you already participate in any of these rewards programs, start browsing and ordering items now to make sure to get them before Christmas.

Cloth Vs. Disposable Diapers

Andrew and I took an infant care class a couple of weeks before Oliver was born. Our instructor was discussing diapers and asked if any couple was planning on using cloth diapers. We raised our hands because we were planning on using cloth for most of our needs. We were the only couple of the group with plans to use cloth. That made me nervous; I thought maybe they all knew something I didn't, and that it was going to be difficult to do.

Our instructor explained we'd save a substantial amount of money by using cloth (and we do!). However, she warned us that it would be tricky to do things like bring cloth diapers to the hospital ("If you're dedicated, you can make it work," I remember her saying.). I responded that we'd simply use disposable diapers during those inconvienent times, and she looked at me like I was crazy.

Indeed, that's exactly what we did. We used disposable diapers at the hospital, and we continued using them at night at home because, frankly, Oliver sleeps longer in disposable diapers than cloth diapers. He doesn't feel the wetness of the disposable as much as he does with the cloth.

When people find out we use cloth diapers during the day, they seem to think it must be challenging and gross. That's not the case at all. I was pleasantly surprised to find that his cloth diapers aren't gross. In fact, I don't even have to rinse them (that might change once he starts eating solids).

We use both Bum Genius and Bumpkins cloth diapers. Basically, they're cloth diapers with an outer, waterproof layer. It's not separate like old cloth diapers. Then, there's a cloth liner you can put in for extra absorbancy. When I change Oliver's cloth diaper, I simply remove the cloth liner from the cloth diaper and toss both pieces in the hamper. When we change his disposable diapers, we toss them into a garbage bag. The garbage bag always has a slight odor to it, but the hamper never does (most likely because I do laundry daily, but the garbage bag lasts multiple days).

In addition the fact that they're environmentally and budget friendly, there are other advantages to cloth diapers. First, I feel better that there's not chemicals pressed against his skin all day. Second, he feels the wetness in the cloth diapers quickly, so we know right away when he's wet himself. He doesn't sit in it, so he doesn't get as many diaper rashes. I read that babies who wear cloth diapers are also much easier to potty train for this reason.

I don't shun disposable diapers, though. Some people are completely against them because of their impact on the environment. While I acknowledge that, I think it's fair to compromise and not hold oneself to difficult standards. We use disposable diapers regularly. Oliver wears them at night to help him sleep for longer stretches, and we wears them if I've been slacking on the laundry and don't have a cloth one available. Any time we travel (including going across town to visit a grandparent), we also use them. To me, it would be very inconienent to pack cloth diapers, ask his grandparents to use them, and then drive a pile of dirty diapers home.

I feel better about using the cloth diapers and am glad we made it work. In fact, I've encouraged other moms to use them as well. Still, in our personal experience, what's worked best is compromising and using them along with disposable diapers.