A Tree in Brooklyn

We got our Christmas tree this past weekend from Home Depot. (Go early in the morning if you haven't gotten yourself one yet.) They start at $25 for a 5-6 footer, and prices go up to $45. They also had some they sold by the foot, but since Baby would only be looking up at it from the floor, he wouldn't care if the tree was shorter than Mommy or taller than Daddy.

As I lugged the tree up to my floor, coating the door knobs in tree sap and leaving a trail of pine needles, I realized that this will have to be another item in the home to babyproof.

Luckily, Baby is maybe another couple of weeks from crawling, so we don't worry too much about him getting into holiday mischief. But he can still roll and reach, so we still have to be careful of where we put him down and where he ends up. So I've observed the following essentials to make sure Baby won't pull down or eat the tree, and the tree doesn't fall on or give indigestion to Baby.

• Get a tree skirt: Decorative and functional, a snug tree skirt will keep the water in the tree stand out-of-reach, and act as a visible no-roam zone for baby. Once the baby gets too close to that skirt, snap your Baby-Be-Good whip and pull him away.
• Keep a charged Dustbusternearby: Those pine needles are going to fall like snow around that tree. You're going to walk around that tree and track pine needles all over the house. Baby will find pine needles and want to taste them. The next day, you will find pine needles in his diaper. Don't let your baby poop pine - vacuum any needles up as soon as you see them, especially the ones that fall out of range of the tree skirt.
• Watch those lights: for some reason, babies love stringy things, like electrical cords. After you untangle that jumble of Christmas lights, mind where you plug them in. Choose an outlet that's higher off the ground, or block off a circuit breaker to make it inaccessible to anyone under two feet tall.

I'm sure the rules will be re-written when he starts crawling, and definitely by next Christmas, when he's trying to eat the ornaments.

We all have fond memories of our holidays and Christmas mornings growing up. What we do with our young 'uns now will become their own holiday traditions and memories. Tree or no tree, make the best of what you got, start your own traditions for them, and make these holidays something they'll remember when they get as old as you or me.

Making Cents of Diapers

I was setting this up for my baby bargains sidebar, but as I was writing it, I realized that this is probably good info to keep on here permanently, so I'm adding it as a post. This one is strictly informational for the new parents out there; if you're looking for pictures of Baby, please move along.

As a parent, the one thing you'll constantly be buying are diapers (unless you're one of those rare few who are conscious and brave enough to use washable diapers). You'll quickly learn the value of a good diaper, both in its ability to hold stuff in, and how much it costs in bulk. We just began purchasing diapers in bulk from Costco, and it breaks down to this (using size 4 as an example; different sizes will vary in price, but should fluctuate at about the same rate):

• At Costco: Kirkland (Costco exclusive brand) box of 186 diapers: $50.00 = 26.8 cents a diaper
  
• At Costco: Huggies box of 200 diapers: $51.99 = 25.6 cents a diaper
• At Babies R Us: Huggies box of 126 diapers, $33.99 = 27 cents a diaper
• At Babies R Us: Pampers box of 176 diapers, $40.69 = 23 cents a diaper

And finally, the offer that prompted me to put all this info in writing:

• Amazon.com: Pampers box of 126 diapers, $35.29 + limited time 30% off = 19.6 cents a diaper

The link above will take you to the page with the coupon code PMPRSDO8 to get 15% off, and just sign up for the subscription link in the right hand sidebar for another 15% off. (But remember to cancel the subscription, unless you want diapers being sent to your house with free shipping every month. And if you do, realize you're paying for the full price as stated above, and you'll have to adjust the diaper sizes as necessary, since your baby, just like his parents, can't stay the same size forever.) This offer is only good through December 7th.

And I did say no pics of Baby for this post, but I would like to acknowledge a few other new babes out there, who can now sleep soundly knowing their parents are saving even more money on their diapers:

11/15/08: L. E. C. in Key West, weighing in at 6 lbs and 8 oz.

11/16/08: N. Y. in Boston, weighing in at 7 pounds

11/30: J. S. W. in NY, weighing in at 6 lbs, 10 oz.