The Itsabelly Blog

How Not to Break the Bank When Budgeting for a New Baby

As seen on AM Northwest's Television Program

See Video Link: AM Northwest TV (Budgeting for Baby, 1/31/08)

You're excited about the bundle of joy that's going to join you in nine months.  Now, you want to make sure you don't break the bank by doing all of the right things to budget for baby's arrival.  Based on an exclusive survey of 1,000 new moms from Babycenter.com in 2007 they estimated it would cost $7,542 on average for baby's first year.  This amount does not include medical costs which is another $7,600 on average according to the Federal Agency of Healthcare Research and Quality.  No doubt that you want to spend your dollars wisely once baby's here!

TIPS ON HOW TO MAINTAIN YOUR FINANCES:

• Build your budget, track expenses & revise as needed - make sure you know what funds are coming in and what is being spent so you can budget for baby accordingly
• Find out what your health insurance covers - review your health coverage including deductible and determine what your hospital bills will be when baby is born
• Get out of debt (credit cards first) - credit cards with a high interest rate are worst at draining your funds so pay them off!
• Determine if a stay at home parent vs. daycare is feasible - sometimes staying at home with baby verses paying for daycare is less expensive
• Check to see if your employer offers a healthcare or dependent care flexible spending account - you can save money on a pre-tax basis and reduce your taxable income
  
• Start a college savings plan - 529 plans allow you to save money now toward college costs and the earnings will not be taxed as long as it's spent on college related expenses.  Check out College Savings Plans  for more information.
  
• Meet with your accountant to see if you qualify for child & dependent-care tax credits.  Adjust your tax withholding to show a dependent child which will give you a larger paycheck
• Draw up a will (name your baby as the beneficiary and also name a guardian) and make sure your life insurance coverage is adequate (two-three times your family's annual gross income)
• Make sure you have an emergency fund set aside - financial experts say you should have at least three to six months in cash incase you lose your job or the unexpected happens
• Don't overspend your budget on "nice-to-have" baby gear - be wise and don't waste money on the extras but focus on the necessities like diapers and a car seat
• Buy consignment or recycled baby items & use coupons - save money & recycle by purchasing second hand baby items like a stroller or baby clothing. Use coupons to save money on diapers or baby's toiletries.  

Great Budgeting Website Resources:

Baby Center
Practical Money Skills
College Savings Plan

Health Insurance Consumer Assistance:

• National Insurance Consumer Helpline (800) 942-4242
• National Insurance Consumer Organization (703) 549-8050

Itsabelly Baby Concierge Headquarters is in THE Best US City to Have a Baby, Portland!

Itsabelly is so excited to hear that the Pacific Northwest ranks in the top 5 best cities to have a baby in the country as seen in Fit Pregnancy magazine!  We're especially excited that Itsabelly Baby Concierge company headquarters are based in Portland because it was THE #1 best city to have a baby.  Seattle took the #4 spot!  How cool is that?

We have to mention that Portland along with tons of pregnancy and baby related resources has its own premier baby concierge/baby planning agency, Itsabelly Baby Concierge with a focus on green family living to add to the list of why having your bundle of joy in this city is so great!  Itsabelly is one of the first baby consulting agencies pioneering the new niche of baby planning.

Here are the reasons Portland ranks top on the list as seen in Fit Pregnancy:

•According to data from the CDC, maternal mortality in Oregon is especially low. 

•The CDC also reports very low infant mortality rates for Oregon.

•Portland babies are 24 percent less likely than average to be born with low birth weight.

•Babies here are 21 percent less likely than average to be born prematurely.

•Relative to population, Portland has more specialty retailers of healthy/organic foods and vitamins than most places in our survey.

•88 percent of Portland mothers attempt breastfeeding. That's the 3rd highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 75 percent.

•By six months of age, 56 percent of Portland babies are still being breastfed. That's the 6th highest percentage of any city in our report. The average for cities in our survey is 43 percent.

•19.9 percent of Portland mothers breastfeed their babies exclusively (meaning no solids, formula or other liquids) for 6 months or longer as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics, making it the 2nd highest scoring city in this category. The average for cities in our survey is 12 percent.

•Once Portland mothers begin breastfeeding, they are 14 percent more likely than average to continue through 6 months. That's the 8th highest level of follow-through of any city in our report.

•Oregon has particularly progressive laws guaranteeing a nursing mother the right to breastfeed in public. 

•14.3 percent of births statewide are attended by midwives, compared to a national average of 7.3 percent.

•Portland has one doula for every 146 live births, the 4th highest ratio in our survey. The national average is one doula per 649 live births.

•Portland has 116 midwives for every 1,000 births, the highest in our survey. The national average is 37 midwives for every 1,000 births.

•According to our survey of park departments, for every 10,000 residents, Portland has 150 miles of public trails and pathways for hiking and stroller use, the 4th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 79 trail miles for every 10,000 residents.

•Portland has 61 lactation consultants for every 10,000 live births, the 2nd highest ratio in our survey. The average city in our survey has 23 lactation consultants per 10,000 live births.

•Expecting and new moms have plenty of parks: Portland's ratio of parks to residents is 1 : 1,827. The average in our survey is 1 : 3,790.

•Portland has plenty of high-risk pediatricians, 69 percent more than average per capita and the 9th highest in our survey.

•Portland has more OB-GYNs than average, the 5th highest in our survey.

•State laws require stringent background checks for day-care workers.

•Portland has 21 licensed home day cares for every 1,000 children under 4 years, the 6th highest in our survey. The average city in our survey has 13.

•In a comparison of inspection schedules for day-care centers, Oregon requires more frequent visits than average. 

•Pedestrians have a 63 percent lower than average risk of being killed by a motor vehicle here-among the safest in our survey.

Bisphenol-A Free Sampler Baby Bottle Kits Available at The Soft Landing

The Soft Landing has done a great job at meeting the needs of parents wanting to go BPA free with baby feeding gear.  Their new baby bottle sampler kit is such a great idea!  It gives parents a chance to try out the best brands of non-toxic baby bottles out in the market so they can figure out what works best for their baby's needs.

Personally, when I had my baby I was stuck with 12 of the same bottles from a gift set I received at our baby shower.  I didn't even know if I liked the bottles because I hadn't tried them with our baby yet but I was stuck with them anyways.  The Soft Landing's kit allows you to try each brand of bottle and makes it so easy because it's in ONE kit.  No wasteful packaging, no separate shipments (if you're buying from various vendors) and no driving from store to store (wasting expensive gas) trying to find a specific bottle brand!  How smart is that?!

Here's what The Soft Landing has to say about their cool, new kit!

"We’ve gathered the best in BPA free bottles so you can try before buying your full stash of bottles. It also makes the perfect baby shower gift with its gender neutral colors!

The Sampler Kit includes a variety of non-toxic plastic and glass bottles, regular neck and wide neck, as well as vented and non-vented bottles:

• One 4oz Siliskin Glass baby bottle with silicone cover
• One 5oz Regular Neck Green to Grow bottle
• One 5oz Think Baby wide neck bottle with anti-colic nipple
• One 5oz Born Free wide neck bottle with air vent

You won’t find this combination of bottles anywhere else. All bottles in the kit have been confirmed with each manufacturer to be Bisphenol-a, Phthalate, and PVC free."

Baby Concierge/Baby Planner in a Box Now Available (the start-up kit to launching a successful baby concierge business) TM

I've been working diligently on creating a Baby Concierge/Baby Planner in a Box (start-up kit) TM to help future entrepreneurs interested in launching their own baby concierge/baby planning business.  I'm happy and excited to say I'm ready to share it with the world! 

The kit is full of extremely invaluable information, tips and guidance on how to break into this new niche of baby planning.  The kit is based on my personal and entrepreneurial endeavor in launching Itsabelly Baby Concierge since March of 2007.  Baby Concierge/Baby Planner in a Box TM will help you understand the do's and don'ts of trying to break into a new niche and how to gain credibility in a relatively unknown field.  The kit will definitely give you a significant jump start at launching your business and I'm offering 1 hour of my consulting time with purchase of the kit.

Here is a peek at the table of contents in my kit:

Writing Your Business Plan
Resources
Creating a Business Plan You Love
Business Action Plan Template   

Market Research
Baby & Mama Industry Facts
Factual and Data Market Research Resources   

Marketing
Marketing 101
Effective Marketing Tools
Expand Your Internet Marketing Skills
Target Your Marketing Efforts

Earning Media Attention and Expert Status
Media Relations Tips

Developing Your Pricing Model
How to Set Your Price
Itsabelly Package Example

Researching Baby Gear
Itsabelly Product Research Guide

Building Partnerships
Sample Pitch Letter

Engaging Your Customer
Building Customer Relationships

FAQs   

Below is a description of what a future Baby Concierge or Baby Planner's background should look like.  Are you this person?  If so, contact Itsabelly for more details on how get your Baby Concierge/Baby Planner in a Box (start-up kit) TM to help you launch your dream business!  Contact: 503-799-5719 or email at info@itsa-belly.com

• Wants to work from a home based office
• Needs flexible hours to take care of children
• Is VERY resourceful and LOVES to do research
• LOVES to help others (particularly moms, dads and families)
• Has a strong drive to succeed
• Excellent at multi-tasking
• Well organized (or at least knows where their car keys are hiding half of the time)
• Great Follow-through
• Strong Customer Service and Interpersonal Relationship Skills
• Has good marketing & sales experience (or has the drive to learn)
• Has a supportive significant other and family for the late night hours of work you'll be putting in

2008 Copyright & Trademark Protected
Baby Concierge/Baby Planner in a Box (start up kit) TM is copyright protected. Please do not copy or use any images and content from this blog without written permission.

 

What would you do with $25,000?

Did you know that Kimberly-Clark (brands such as Kleenex®, Scott®, Huggies®, Pull-ups® etc) is sponsoring a fabulous contest where you can win $25,000 to renovate ANY room in your home that you desire!  They will award 16 lucky winners from January 28 to February 15, one person per weekday will be announced on The View and will win $25,000 to renovate any room in their house. The final contestant winner will be announced March 21st on the “Room-a-Day Giveaway” website.

If I won that much money I would probably faint initially.  Then I would scream happily at the top of my lungs!  I would re-do our master bathroom (totally gut it) and build a nice, huge tub & shower, dual bathroom sinks including beautiful counter tops, mirrors and tile.  I would also build a very LARGE size walk-in closet with special organizers for my shoes, purses, scarves and accessories.  My husband would probably only get 1/4 of this brand new walk-in closet space, poor thing!

So, what room would you make-over if you won $25k?  Why not enter and find out, you may be the WINNER!

ABOUT THE CONTEST:
The idea of the sweepstakes is to give very deserving Moms a great opportunity to “relax, restore and renew” through creating a fresh, new space in their homes for them and their families. Kimberly-Clark will award 16 lucky winners and from January 28 to February 15, one person per weekday will be announced on The View and win $25,000 to renovate any room in their house. The final contestant winner will be announced March 21st on the “Room-a-Day Giveaway” website.

Contestants can enter the sweepstakes daily by going to http://www.roomadaygiveaway.com/.

Cranium Creates a New Line of Preschool Games & Toys

Cranium Bloom is a new line of preschool games, books, puzzles and toys.  I recently reviewed two games called "Let's Play Count & Cook Game" and "Let's go to the Zoo, Seek & Find Puzzle" via Mom Central. 

I thought the puzzle was unique in that once it's assembled your pre-schooler picks a card with an animal on it, finds it and circles it with an erasable pen directly on the puzzle.  The game has whimsical characters, happy colors and is easy to follow (you can play it in 10 minutes which is perfect for your little one's SHORT attention span).  The Seek & Find Puzzle is a nice way to spend time with your pre-schooler when you're stuck inside the house during these cold, wintery months.

The "Let's Play Count & Cook Game" is a great way to introduce your pre-schooler to the kitchen and cooking.  He just might end up being a great chef one day!  The game allows your child to pick a recipe, roll the die, move your chef the number of spaces shown on the die and determine if you landed on an ingredient that is needed for the recipe.  The player who adds the last ingredient is top chef and opens the secret window on the game board for a surprise!  You can also use the actual recipes provided with the game to cook something up with your child.  It's a creative, fun and great way to introduce your child to the joy of cooking (or joy of messing up your kitchen, wink)...look out Rachel Ray!

You can find all 14 Cranium Bloom games exclusively at Target.  You can also shop on-line at Cranium.  The Count & Cook game is priced at $12.95 and the Seek and Find Puzzle is $9.95.

The Feeling of Alone...

I told my husband I wanted to take some time to be "alone" this afternoon.  He looked at me surprised.  I proceeded to tell him I wanted some alone time and needed him to take care of Isabella for the afternoon.  It was spur of the moment but I didn't care.  I basically wanted to get in my car without having to be worried about my baby in the backseat needing her sippy cup or a snack.  I wanted to go shopping without having to push Isabella in the cart and worry that she would suddenly scream out for no obvious reason.  I just wanted all the noise around me to be gone so I could be alone in my head.

So, I left from 12:30-4:00 pm and went to Target (every mom's favorite place to "hang out" and buy that cotton v-neck tshirt for 8.99 or kitchen gadget that you don't need), then I spent a whole HOUR at Starbucks with my tall, skinny mocha (they now have sugar free mocha syrup, yahoo!) and book in hand, then off to Trader Joe's to get groceries for dinner!  Ah, it was SO NICE to be ALONE.  I loved every minute!!  It felt so freeing to be in my head alone...to be in my car alone.  I never thought that being a mom would make me crave wanting to be in Target alone, sheez!  As if Target was my salvation, too funny.  I know there's a mom out there reading this who knows exactly what I mean (feel free to comment on my blog if you're one of those women).

I wrote this post because I believe that we as women need our "alone time" to rejuvenate, re-energize and re-focus because we do so much for everyone else that we often forget about ourselves or we always come last.  So, give yourself that time you need to re-fuel so you can be the best mom, wife and friend that you can be.  It's ok to ask for extra help from your hubby and believe me I'm going to keep asking.  Because at the end of the day, I came home with a smile on my face, ready to play another round of blocks with my baby and ready to whip up another meal!

The Non-toxic Feeding Series Review - Part 2 - Bumkins Bibs Keep Baby Clean and Chemicals Off

Note:  This is not a sponsored review.  The feedback below is purely based on my personal review and sticky hands from a curious toddler.

I wouldn't call myself totally anal retentive but my husband would probably beg to differ.  I'm fairly anal about keeping Isabella clean especially during feedings so I don't have to worry about scrubbing spaghetti stains out of her clothing.  Toddlers love to throw toys around and food isn't an exception!

So, I purchased a few Bumkins Waterproof SuperBibs ($7.95) from The Soft Landing and love them.  I love the happy color palette with Dr. Seuss Designs (they offer various patterns), I love that their waterproof, I love that they have a pouch that catches run away food particles and I LOVE the fact they have always been FREE OF PVC AND PHTHALATES and made in the good old USA.

The cool thing is I can hand wash them right after each feeding and they air dry quickly or I can wipe them off clean.  And if we're on the road I just fold it up and slip it into our backpack of goodies.  There are 6 different sizes and styles to choose from.  Next on my list is an art smock also made of the same non-toxic material, paint stains - be gone!  From Itsabelly's review based on form, functionality and frugal-ness (is it worth the money I spent).  Itsabelly gives Bumkins Bibs 4 out of 5 bellies (5 being excellent).

BabyGanics - A Non-toxic All Purpose Cleaner that's Safe for Baby & Fido too!

NOTE:  This product review is not sponsored and is purely based on feedback from a concerned mom's perspective.

When Isabella started to crawl on our tile and hardwood floors I was really concerned with how toxic chemicals from the conventional cleaners would affect her.  So, I started to use my own homemade potion of water and vinegar but the smell was pretty potent for about a 1/2 hour after cleaning.  It smelled like a salad dressing gone bad but I was happy with how it cleaned and it was safe for my baby.

As for a store bought household cleaner, I formerly used the standard 409 bottle but recently I was introduced to Babyganics All Purpose Cleaner in lavender scent. I use it on my counter tops, tile and kitchen appliances.  Grimey food stains and sticky handprints wipe off clean.  The scent is also pleasant if you like lavender and they have an unscented version.  Most of all, it's made of all natural/organic ingredients.  The cleaner is made of a natural soybean and palm kernel oils base. So you're not using a product that contains hazardous ingredients like ammonia, phosphates, petroleum distillates, chlorine, limonene, terpene products and animal by-products.  Additionally, it's safe for children and pets.  You can purchase BabyGanics at Babies R Us, Wal Mart and Bed, Bath & Beyond as well as other stores.

There are definitely many different types of all natural, non-toxic products out there in the household cleaning category but if you're interested in trying BabyGanics I would definitely recommend it. I'm glad we're seeing more and more companies like BabyGanics developing non-toxic products that keep families in the forefront.  Check out their website and free cleaning tips. 

How to Build a Strong Dad & Baby Bond

With a newborn it's perfectly natural to see that mom and baby are attached at the hip due to regular feedings and diaper changes every few hours.  Baby was in mommy's tummy for 9 months so their bond is sealed from day one!  It's easy for dad to feel left out during the pregnancy and newborn phase.  So, how does dad get involved and bond with baby too?

Here are some easy tips for dad so that bonding with baby starts early:

• If combo feeding, dad can feed baby a bottle or have him help with burping
• Develop a schedule where dad takes the night or weekend shift to take care of baby
• Have dad do some diaper changing - talking to baby and making eye contact during this time is a good way to bond
  
• Give dad his alone time with baby to develop his own method of bonding while also giving mom a break
• Allow dad to develop his own bonding ritual (dad can take baby for walks, sing to baby or go for soothing car rides)
• Dad can read a bedtime story to baby and put her to sleep for the evening
• Dad can be involved with helping bathe baby
• Dad can use a baby sling and hold her close during an easy hike for some exercise
• Don't hover over dad when he's taking care of baby - give him some space
• Try not to just hand a crying baby over to dad after he gets home from a long day at work - give him a little time to un-wind