Babies are expensive. This is something that I’ve known all along, but it has become even more real now that we’re about to have a baby of our own. Even the most basic of car seats or strollers can be several hundred dollars and let’s not forget about the expense of going through hundreds of diapers. The good news is that you can get some free stuff via the Nestle Baby Program.
The free starter kit is a total gateway drug, of course, because they want you to buy into the Nestle brand and become a loyal customer. And while breast milk is widely accepted as the best option for infants, there are going to be circumstances when you may need to supplement or even replace breast milk with baby formula… and Nestle totally understands how important it is to get the baby hooked on Nestle formula so he or she will refuse other brands. Nestle Baby is very clever (and very sneaky).
This really isn’t all that dissimilar from the offers you see about free diabetes testing kits. The reader is free, but the real money is in selling you the testing strips. With the Nestle Baby program, they don’t want you to shop around. They want to you know, trust and grow accustomed to only their line of baby products. Shoppers Drug Mart has something similar, called the v.i.b. program, which sets you up with some samples and such too.
All this being said, it’s hard to say no to a big box of free stuff. We went through the quick registration process on the Nestle Baby website a few weeks ago and the care package arrived late last week. This is for Canadian babies (and their parents), but I believe the Gerber Baby program in the United States is fundamentally the same thing. After all, Gerber is a subsidiary of Nestle Group.
Embedded below is an unboxing video that I shot of the Nestle Baby starter kit and its contents. They say it’s supposed to contain “up to $130 in free mommy perks,” but I’d say it’s shy of $100 in total value. Also, have a look at my Graco Travel Lite Crib video, in case you missed that from a couple weeks ago.
While I don’t have a child to call my own quite yet, I’ve known a few co-workers who were expecting that discovered the company’s wellness plan (here we use Sheppell FGI) will not only provide resources to new or expectant parents, but a host of goodies too (diapers, toys, books, coupons, etc.).
I would gather this is an under-utilized and not very well known peice of many people’s extended benefits plans they have through work (obviously not really geared towards those who are self-employed).
I don’t think we saw anything for ourselves (my wife is through Blue Cross), but that’s definitely something to look into. Thanks!
You should also look into the local Grocery store Michael. We did with all three kids with Publix in Florida they have a baby club that they send you things and a coupon book monthly that has some really great deals in it.