If you caught my recent segment on Hallmark Channel’s “Home & Family” show… you saw me upcycling some of my basic leftover baby products into things that I can actually use today. I will admit to even impressing my (non-DIY) self with succeeding at Baby Gizmo‘s brilliant idea for turning old baby bottles into no-spill paint containers. (Check out Baby Gizmo for more fabulous info about all things gear-related!) And thanks to mommy-friend and stylist Anya Sarre, making pencil-boxes out of baby wipe containers turned very very sweet… using UberMom’s designer Wipebox.
But the goods that really got me going were the super-soft swaddling blankets.
All mine. All Aden+Anais.
Let’s face it: Nobody knows what the heck to do with those after your newborn baby is past 4 months and doesn’t want to be wrapped like a skintight burrito anymore! So I busted out my own, well-loved Aden+Anais swaddlers from years past and got creative (with Rebecca of Girls Gone Child lending me the most brilliant idea of all, involving a chic Liz-Taylor-turban look). With all the non-baby-esque designs that exist these days, these things really do look like they’re made for grownups. (Check out the Bamboo designs… they’re my personal fave.)
In the spirit of using these soft and light blankets for yourself (after your baby is done with them, that is), TheFabMom is giving away a 3-pack of luxurious Aden+Anais swaddlers to ONE lucky winner ($45 value). TO ENTER: Leave a comment and let me know how YOU reuse or upcycle your baby’s old gear. Contest ends Friday November 8, 11:59pmPST.
Good luck! And happy swaddling (yourself).
DISCLOSURE: Aden+Anais provided 3 boxes of swaddling blankets for use on-air for “Home & Family” and for giveaway on this blog. TheFabMom was not compensated for this post.
Thanks for all the fun and fabulous comments, ladies! Wow… some of you have some really great ideas! Thank you for writing in! The winner of this contest is…..
Malisa Price! Congrats on your pregnancy… you will put these new swaddlers to good use, we can all guarantee it!
I try to save ones that still look decent for our next child, but ones that have stains I turn into cleaning rags! I also donate extras that I don’t have room to store.
My baby wont be here for a few months so I haven’t been able to upcycle or reuse any of his gear yet. However, I’m loving a lot of the ideas from those who commented before me!
Our daughter is still little so we haven’t had to find a lot of new purposes for her old stuff yet, but we did intentionally get a modular changing table that we plan on using for books and toy storage when she is done with the diaper stage, and I saved all of her cute little dresses from this summer to use as babydoll style shirts next summer.
My son is only 7 months old so I haven’t had many opportunities to re-use or upcycle. But I have been known to wear Aden + Anais swaddle blankets as scarves! And I always pass on the things my son has outgrown to friends with younger babies. 🙂
I haven’t started up cycling baby stuff, because I’m still pregnant with our first. However my friends gave up cycled by giving me their used baby clothes! Yeah for older babies!!
I have passed down my cabbage patch doll and doll high chair to my daughter. I have my special baby blanket from when I was a kid but I think it’s too soon to give that to her. We also reuse the wipe boxes for crayon holders 🙂
We still use our old A+A swaddles, they’re so big and soft. We use to put down on the floor for play time and as burp cloths. We literally use them everyday, we could really use more. My baby won’t go to sleep without them. When I’m done with them I plan to pass them along to someone who can use them with their little one. You can never have enough of them!
I’m always on the look out for goodies. Someone will tell me that they are needing 18 month old baby boy clothes and I will find someone with a two year old and ask them to save there items. Recycling your baby clothes is not cheap, it is the smart thing to do. I even found a half way house that helps teen moms. They clothe the moms and kids. I go to rummage sales on weekends and find kids clothes and let the people know that I’m going to donate the clothes and they give me a better price or one time the items were free.
We always gave away as much as we could afford to needy friends and family members.
i upcycle by giving stuff to friends and also by reusing it for different things!
So far I’ve just been saving things for more babies…But when I decide I’m done having babies, I’ll probably give my reusable things to new moms who need them. I will probably save extra special outfits and things for my way far in the future grandbabies though, like my parents did!
When the oneies get to tight to do-up for the girls, just cut off the a section on the bottom (you decide how much) and just add gathered strips of fabric, machine stitch them to the lower part, (either one layer or two) and turn the whole thing into a dress.
I dye them with fabric dye and make superhero cape for my son each time he changes his mind on which superhero he wants to be!!
Being a new mom and laid off from my job I am very fortunate to have friends who had babies before me because they gave me tons of hand me down baby stuff. One of the things I love so very much is my baby’s swaddled blankets. It made me so happy to see on “home and family” what I can do with Heidi’s swaddle blankets after she stops letting me swaddle her. Again, I am very happy that I happen to catch the segment on the show on recycling Heidi’s baby stuff. Thank You!
I have donated some and also made huge pillow cases too- sew two togethether
I liked the ideas you had on the home & family show.
We use empty baby wipe containers for storage of crayons, legos, stickers, and other art items.
I upcycle all of my daughter’s baby clothes in multiple ways. But my favorite by far is taking my favorite outfits that she has outgrown and make them into baby dolls that she can play with. I hope the many memories that I have with the clothes will carry on and make new ones for my daughter!
I either pass along old clothes and gear to other mom friends or I take it to consign because then I can use my credit to buy bigger clothes for my kids!
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