No-Spend Experiment: Day 9; Failed?

Well, as of today, my experiment failed. I went to the store and spent $44.xx.

Why?

For my baby. See, he had his 9 month well-baby check today (he's 10.5 months; we're a little late). He weighed in at 2 ounces LESS than what he was at his 6 month appt. He hasn't gained any weight in 3 months.

I exclusively breast-feed. I also offer solids, but for the most part, he's not interested. He did go through a one week phase about two weeks ago where he was starting to eat more. but for the last week or so, he doesn't want anything to do with solids. So, he's pretty much just on breastmilk.

The doctor said that what is happening is that the breastmilk isn't meeting all of the kid's caloric and iron needs. He told me to continue offering solids and said that I can start giving him cottage cheese and yogurt, too. He also advised me to give him one bottle of formula every day to try to boost up his caloric intake. I trust this doctor as he has always been a strong advocate of my breastfeeding, so I don't feel like he's just trying to push the formula

So, I went to the store and bought a can of formula. I also bought the little puff cereals that he likes to snack on, some fruit that I can cut up for him, some cottage cheese, and some yogurt. We also needed bread and corn dogs (yo-yo-ing)

While there, I found a clearance rack with party favors marked down to 40 cents a pack. I picked up two different types of favors for my son's party this Saturday. I was going to get this at the dollar store, so I saved .60 each there.

So, I'm at about $48 spent for the month and I had given myself a goal of $50. I know that I can't limit the spending to $2 for the rest of the month because we will need bread and produce.

But, I will continue to do my best not to overspend. And I continue to make meals from my overstuffed stockpile.

Today I made oven-fried chicken (recipe here) using some of the chicken leg quarters that I purchased for 38 cents a pound. These are not my favorite because they usually have a lot of skin and fat, and blood vessels. So, I took my kitchen shears and pruned those things to death. I cut off most all of the skin and fat and cut out any blood vessels. They turned out great! I will definitely take the time to do this every time that I make these leg quarters now. It was worth it not to have to deal with trying to eat around the less desirable parts.

On the side I made a box of Pasta Roni that I got for free a while back. I also cut up the last zucchini for our vegetable.

I still have quite a bit of apples, so I made this Apple Pie for dessert. It's delicious. More like an apple cake.

I'm babysitting two other small ones tomorrow, so I'll have my hands full. I'm planning on just doing a Hamburger Helper for dinner.