On Writing and Babies and Diaper Prices

Writing a book is a labor of love—you do it even if you don’t feel inspired that day as well as on days when you have lots to say.  Sort of like getting up and going to work, but requiring a lot more self-discipline, because there is no boss waiting for you to show up. 

Throw a baby into the mix and well, sometimes all bets are off.  Now that Nicolas is taking regular naps, I can schedule a little better.  But as you moms know, sometimes that 2 hour nap becomes 45 minutes and then you are scrambling! 

Sometimes I write with him on my lap, since he is at the age that I can turn him so that he can’t reach the keyboard but is still entertained.  This works well until calculators go flying and as of yesterday, I lost a page of work somehow while he was sitting with me!  Thankfully I was able to retype it, but now he is relegated to the playpen while Mommy writes.

We’re also getting close to moving into a large size of diapers…which means they get more expensive, as many of you know.  In my studies of diaper prices (as you will find in the coming months, I study a lot of random topics!), conventional wisdom does not always ring true.  Target and Costco are not always the cheapest for diapers and our Walmart curiously does not stock sizes smaller than 3 in large boxes. 

Interestingly, when you combine store issued coupons with manufacturer coupons, I tend to come out cheaper at Babies ‘R Us/Toys ‘R Us.  Strange, isn’t it?  The only other place I have found to be consistently less expensive is Sam’s Club (yes, even better than Costco!).  But since we don’t have a Sam’s Club anywhere near us, it doesn’t help as much. 

By the way, if you have a formula fed baby, I highly encourage you to sign up for both the Similac & Enfamil clubs.  They’ll send you coupons ranging from $4-$7 per container, which is not a lot considering a jug of the stuff costs around $26 in the Northeast, but it helps.  Sign up for both and if you have friends using the brand that you aren’t, trade coupons.  The savings do add up.  Heck, I even signed up my mom who lives in a 55+ community.  She figured the postman got a chuckle delivering a “Welcome to Your New Addition!” package to her house.  Every little bit helps!