Today I was searching the internet for deals on formula and diapers. Cora is dropping weight (now she is under 5 pounds) and swims in the newborn diapers. The cloth diapers probably won’t fit her for a month or two. Until then we have her in the preemie Pampers Swaddlers (I love these diapers) and the pediatrician put her on preemie formula in hopes that she can boost her weight gain and she won’t end up back in the hospital.
All this to say that my searching for the special formula led me to diapers.com. They are currently having a diaper sale, plus internet coupons as well as free shipping for orders over $49. They seem to have a good selection and competitive prices when you factor in the sale, discount code and free shipping. The free shipping is next day shipping which is great for those of us who can’t drive for a few weeks.
The discount code for new customers is HAPPYSAVES, you will receive $10 off your first diaper purchase. On the homepage of their site you can also find several other discount codes for non diaper purchases.
Now I am off to find some preemie clothes, she is so tiny she gets tangled in the newborn clothes.
See, I almost wrote a post that wasn’t about Cora, sort of…
Hee hee!! I love diapers.com I have gotten a few good deals from them in the past.
Amazon has good deals sometimes, too. That’s where we order our Organic formula. I wait until they have a sale and when you use the “subscribe and save” program, you save even more. Plus, you can cancel the subscription right after your first shipment arrives. It’s great!
diapers.com is where we would buy soy formula a lot of the time. They would often take the “manufacturer’s checks” that Similac would send out, which would really help (we were feeding three kids at once for a while there).
I vividly remember those preemie diapers and LOVED Swaddlers. They are awesome diapers. They actually have a size smaller than the preemie at the hospital we were at for a while. I don’t think you can get them anywhere else though. Amazing how small they are!
She is just precious and good luck with your shopping adventure for preemie clothes. Hope she puts on some weight soon!
She is little bitty! My girls weighed 4.10 and 4.11 when born!
We have 2 in diapers & the “Subscribe & Save” deal at Amazon is well worth it! Their shipping is fast, too. Good luck finding stuff to fit your beautiful little girl!
I got a bunch of free sample cans from the pedi’s office when my daughter was on Neosure. Later we got several free cans of hypoallergenic formula from the GI doc. Another way to save $$ is to ask for coupons on Craigslist or freecycle. Most people have no need for the specialty formula coupons (neosure, allimentum, etc) and are happy to send them to you.
Sending chunky baby vibes your way! Weight gain is something we still struggle with here.
I always wanted a small baby. My smallest babied weighed more than double of Cora’s birth weight! She is so precious. Almost makes me want to have another one…almost.
Did you already make your purchase from Diapers.com???
I love diapers.com! especially for the Preemie Swaddlers! Their shipping is SUPER-fast too!
However, I did end up with about 40 preemie diapers leftover, since I was buying in bulk. When my preemie was first born, he was too small for preemie-size diapers, but the nurses would fold them down in front & in back–it’s hard to explain, but thankfully it does work since “preemie” is the smallest size! LOL! All that to say, you can use the newborn size and just fold them down in front, once she’s getting close to outgrowing the preemie diapers, to avoid buying too many preemie diapers.
A couple weeks back, our Carters store had long-sleeved preemie onesies on clearance 2/$1.99 and preemie sleepers for $1.99!! Maybe you could call a Carter store near you to see if they still have some.
For my little guy, I found some gently-used preemie clothes on eBay.
Gymboree has AWESOME preemie clothes!! My favorite! The arms and the “body” fit so well, because they are skinny like the baby. LOL! But it is harder to find Gymboree clothes on sale.
My son never grew into the arms on The Childrens Place preemie clothes.
Sorry my comments are so long. . .
My heart goes out to you!! I am re-living similar moments from last summer.
Thanks for sharing with us!
When my Olivia was born, 16 years ago, she was also a preemie, born 6 weeks early. There was hardly anything out there! I’m so glad you have options. SHe is beautiful and I’m hoping you’re feeling better!!!
Both of my kids were tiny when they were born, and had to wear premie clothes for awhile. My husband found some by Gerber at Super Target. They were mostly onesies, but worked!
For preemie clothes Walmart surprisingly has a decent selection. Since they fit for just a few weeks I try not to spend much on them. I like Carter’s preemie stuff too but back when I had my last preemie I could only find preemie sizes at the retail store, not Target or other places but maybe that’s changed.
It can be hard to find preemie formula instock. My poor dh went like 5 places the day we brought our 29 weeker home trying to find a place with Neosure instock. She was able to switch to regular formula after only 2 canisters fortunately. I was pumping at the time too and we’d add a small amount of Neosure to the pumped milk to make it 22 cal/oz
Drugstore.com has good deals sometimes on baby diapers. Plus you earn durgstore.com dollars that can be used for your next purchase. I have found that some items are more expensive though, so its really hit or miss depending on the sale they are having.
Your little girl is beautfiul! I hope you will sleep when she sleeps. Even if you’ve never done it before! It looks like you’re blood levels are still low. Are they?
I’m so glad yall are able to be home! What a joy to introduce your newest to her sibs.
With triplets and the closest stores 15 miles away (high pricing and little selection there) we’ve always relied on diapers.com. They almost always offer free shipping on orders of $49 or more, they are fast, and make it super easy! You can mail in manufacturers’ coupons and they will honor them… they just go into your account for use before they expire.
One word of caution, the change from premie to newborn can happen in the blink of an eye, so keep that in mind when ordering big boxes.
If I wouldn’t have normally breastfed, I would have never been able to afford the kid! Now that he’s partially on formula so I can work and go to school, I just get the store brand formula. He seems to like it more and sometimes they’ll have coupons in the containers!!
Just wanted to chime in. Breastfeeding doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. If Cora is losing weight and you are concerned, I’m happy to write with you and help you increase your milk supply. You can still formula-feed part time if you wish. Premies need breastmilk more than anyone else and if I can help you give that gift to Cora I’d be glad to.
My Twins were both 3 lbs 8 oz when born and we got pretty much all of their preemie clothes at walmart. They are really inexpensive there.
One thing that helped me with my littlest 5 pounder, was as soon as he could be in the bath, I would take him in with me. It would give him the suckling reflex like in utero. I was trying to get him to nurse, but he was so sleepy he wouldn’t do it, until we were in the water. I wondered if the same thing would help Cora. It was kinda fun to cuddle in the warm water too. Just have your dh or mom take her from you into a warm towel while you get out. It just might work…………..Once I got my little guy eating well, his appetite took off and he did fine. It was a battle. Good Luck!!!
Shelly
she is so little!!!!
Congrats! to you and your family on Cora Jane! She is beautiful… and so sweet and tiny!
Kind of sorta not about Cora – but we love to hear about her, so its ok. She is such a dolly and I am thrilled that she is doing better. You look GREAT – like you haven’t even had baby – sheesh.
Thanks for your kind words about the Fox segment.
She is absolutely adorable. Praying for some weight gain!
Blessings to your entire family this Easter week,
Kaye
Matthew 21:22
If you haven’t started reading it, you might find this site helpful: http://babycheapskate.blogspot.com/
She does a weekly report (usually Sunday) on who has the cheapest diapers and formula deals. She also has a cost breakdown to help you compare cost per diaper for a lot of different brands.
Walmart has some cute premie clothes…both my girls were full term w/ the youngest overdue by a week & both still wore preemies…lol. Sad I know they are just tiny little things. At 10 my oldest weighs 42lbs on a good day & wears a size 7. As for formula have you tried applying for WIC? If you qualify the formula is free. My youngest got powdered (my choice you can pick canned) and recieved 11 cans a month. You can email me direst if I can answer any questions about WIC.
Congratulations! She’s absolutely beautiful. I know the post wasn’t about her, but I’m catching up.
I was a preemie! 3lbs, 9 oz at two months early. There wasn’t much selection for preemies 30 years ago, so my mom used doll clothes, lol. Good luck with the baby!
I LOVE the Cora update! and what a great deal on diapers! Our first was full-term, but only 5 1/2 pounds… the preemie clothes are sooo cute! My mom and sister went out and found them for us, as we were in the hospital and needed something to take her home in! I hope your Mom or DH can find some things for your, or online! Congrats!
awww, so tiny and sweet!
I have a list of resources for preemie clothes (online shopping sites, free sewing patterns, size charts) on a prior post. You can find it at http://www.kidsmealcrowd.com/2008/11/preemie-clothing-collection-only-one.html
Good luck!
I see some others have also commented on breastmilk being best for preemies. You also might be able to find a milk bank if your milk hasn’t come in yet. The kellymom website should have a link. You could also pump to get your supply going.
my first baby, who was not a preemie, was less than 5 lbs.
The second, preemie as Cora (same weeks pregnancy) was over 9 lbs.
That’s just to say how Nature can be funny at times.
The less you dress her and the better. Use blankets and nice tops, because the bottoms will be always tangled up. I remember putting a lovely all-in-one on my Amber, just to find her 10 minutes after with it back to front. How she did I don’t know, I only know that those small little arms and legs can move like lightning.
God bless you both and remeber to take it easy Toni. You look really tired in the pics.
may I?
I am a LLL counsellor here in Italy. I breastfed my kids for nearly 7 years. There are no problems in breastfeeding a preemie. What bothers me, as a doctor, is Toni’s health. She has lost a lot of blood. She is taking iron. She looks very tired in the pictures.
Although I usually only sponsor mother’s milk, I may understand why the doctors have arranged for formula. It’s more of a mother’s issue. Breastfeeding is usually the beast, but if the mother is in a health condition, a bottle is a good way too. What Cora needs most is Love and Care.
Toni – my daughter was 8 weeks premature and weighed 4 lbs. 7 oz. just this past January 27th. We also used the Pampers Swaddlers sensitive but used the newborn size, there isn’t much difference in the size and I think you get a little more in the packages. Also, we have tons of preemie outfits that she has already outgrown!!! If you would like I can send them to you for just the cost of shipping. Some still even have the tags on them! They just grow out of them so quickly that it’s silly to spend money on them. Let me know if you would like them, my e-mail is luvusborne@yahoo.com. I did one of your guest posts while you were at Disney.
Ohhh… She is itty bitty and oh so darling. I had the opposite problem with my son. I bought newborn clothes and diapers. He never could wear them, because he was 9lbs. 11oz. Even after having a baby I feel clumsy and akward when I hold someone else’s little newborn.
I would put a post onto Freecycle asking for preemie clothes. We have a pretty active Freecycle group in my town and we have got quite a few things off of there
I actually found the best deals on Enfacare preemie formula from enfamil on Ebay—just pay close attention that you are getting sealed cans AND that they tell you the exp. date. When we first brought our 29 weeker home we made each 4 oz bottle with an additional 3/4 teaspoon of formula powder for an additional calorie boost. We also added MCT oil (prescription) that added calories and some specific nutrients, but your doc would certainly tell you if Cora needed it. Keep in mind—she missed those last few weeks of packing on the pounds so don’t freak out that she is so much smaller than what you are used to—it’s probably harder for an experienced mom like you than it was for a first timer like me.
Walmart and Babies R Us seem to have the most preemie clothes, but don’t go overboard because they really do grow out of them faster than you’d expect. My son came home at 5 pound even and only wore the preemie size for about 8 weeks. The real Carter’s is so much softer on their skin than the Walmart version though. However at 36 weeks she may have totally normal skin so you maybe don’t need to worry about that.
Sorry to clog your comments but I just went back to read everyone else’s comments and wanted to add about breast feeding—If your daughter can afford to expend the calories to actually do it great (people in “normal” situations probably don’t realize how many calories a baby burns to coordinate the suck, swallow, breathe action)–my son never could so I pumped and used preemie nipples that basically do all the work for him and there is actually a calorie fortifier you add to your breast milk–it was made by enfamil, but I forget the name. A negative to this is that my son NEVER could make the switch to a normal nipple: We could work on a bottle for 45 minutes and literally NONE of the liquid was missing from the bottle. So talk to your doc to decide what’s best for your personal situation. She does NOT have to be on the typical growth charts and don’t compare her to your full term children. As long as her RATE of growth is steady she’s good. My son is still -3% for weight 2 years later but is very active, healthy and doing great. And don’t think I’m poo pooing any of your perfectly valid worries, but I know anything less than typical is overwhelming and we moms sometimes get a little freaked out when we should take a deep breath and see the forest not just the trees. You are experienced enough to trust your instincts even if Cora’s situation never resembles your previous newborn experiences.