Then one day the double pink lines show up again and you find yourself the mother of two. Suddenly your whole philosophy changes. What once seemed to mean so much, you now realize was oh so frivolous. You realize that posh is not a necessity. You go from top of the line to practical and affordable. You gleefully accept those hand-me-downs from your friend, but mourn the day your daughter catches up to theirs, rendering your freebie exchange out of business. So you find yourself one day at Walmart picking out some really cute mix and match outifts (and wondering why they can't clothes in your size this comfortable). So what if the pants you bought for $3 a pop fall apart after about four months because she's grown out of them anyway. Oh yeah, and that car seat you need because your son isn't the requred 40lbs. and 4 years for a booster but your daughter, the chunky butt she is, has outgrown her carrier; your friend steps in and offers theirs because really it's just collecting dust anyway. OK, so the buckle mechanism is downright frustrating and REALLY annoying at times to put together. Enough to bring out the expletive spewing psycho inside of you, but hey, it works (and it's FREE). You recycle the sheets and sippy cups from your first child. Girls can like cars and trains too. Heck, my son eats off of pink plates and chooses the Disney Princess vitamins over Toy Story on occasion.
Throughout it all, you one hold out though. Your trusty Pampers diapers you've used for years, that have NEVER failed you. Even after your friends try to convince you generic is just as good. You have flashbacks to the brand you bought at the grocery store on a whim. Thinking it would save you a few bucks, but instead it increased your water bill with all the clean up you had due to your son pissing through, each and every one. No thanks, you tell them. I've been there done that and my pampers work just fine. Not going through that mistake again. They insist that Costco diapers are different and actually work. They aren't the first to insist this to you, but you are still skeptical. Then one day to prove it, one of your friends hands over a Costco brand diaper and says, TRY IT. It sits there, in your diaper bag for a few days. You stare at it wondering. Then a week goes by and finally you pull it out, thinking the blueberries you just fed your daughter that morning should really put this diaper to the test. Despite the fact that no exploding blueberry poo happened it did successfully hold in her pee. So it makes you wonder.
You grab the latest receipt from Target and calculate how much Pampers is worth per diaper. Including the $2 off coupons you get in the mail frequently. Needing to run some errands you decide to stop off at Costco on the way and price out their diapers. Your initial find is that it is only .20 cents difference. Thinking it would be more, you decide to stick to your brand. It's not a significant savings. Then your brilliant husband opens your eyes to the fact that .20 cents added up over a month, and even a year saves you a whopping $120.00! Really? OK. I'm sold.
In all your new, saving money is way more important than labels philosophy, you head back to Costco and pick up a box. While you're there you notice the box of wipes that are 900 count for only $20. What a steal, and yeah remember these puppies are even better than Pampers at getting out wine stains from your carpet. See here for that story.
And there you have it my friends. The simple evolution of motherhood. You live, you learn, and then you get realistic. Quite honestly, at the end of the day my kids don't care whether they are pooping in designer diapers (as a side note, can I just say, how ridiculous are those Huggies jeans diapers? I poo in blue. Seriously?), or that Mom uses a cheaper version of a designer diaper bag.
Update: as I am writing this post, my daughter has been dealing with a rash on her legs (well the back of her thighs near her butt). What I thought was probably just dry skin from going to the pool frequently or possibly eczema, cause she has it other places already, turns out to be a contact reaction (allergy). The doctors diagnosis? Must be the new diapers and wipes we've been using (cause that is the only change I can think of recently). Really? Seriously? Did he just tell me that my daughter is allergic to the way cheaper, generic diapers and I HAVE to go back to overpriced designer labels? *picture me banging my head against the table and weeping*
Update, update: I've said screw that. I'll just use the topical steroid medication we already use on her eczema and stick to my cheapo diapers. Thank you very much. I mean, they aren't scented or anything. So far it has seemed to clear up the rash pretty good. And I am crossing my fingers and hopeful. But seriously, leave it to my kids to be allergic to saving money.
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I have evolved quite a bit, myself. I've never been one to really give a crap about the other moms and how cool they are, but I did believe that more expensive = better. ONLY when it came to the kid, though, for some reason. I think I felt like I was cheating him if I bought less expensive things.
ReplyDeleteI'm over that now. I have evolved into a mom who still lets him pick a toy just about every time we go to the store, but now it's from the $1 aisle. lol
On a side note, have you found anything to be especially helpful with the eczema? My son has had it since birth and he insists all topical everything burns. I'm beginning to think it's all in his mind, though.