Are you brand loyal?

Something a little lighter this week.

First of all, I do NOT get paid for promoting any companies. Maybe one day this blog will be super famous and income-generating, but right now it’s just a creative, sometimes helpful way for me to get some things out of my head. I personally grew up on generic EVERYTHING. The only item my mother ever bought consistently brand-name I can remember was Kraft mac & cheese. As a mom now, I am also inclined to go generic most of the time. It usually is more cost-effective and honestly, is usually just as good as its brand-name equivalent. My husband, however, was not as easy to transition into this way of frugal shopping. When we met, he bought name-brand everything, and I could not send him to the store without him bringing back all of the easy to recognize brands that cost a small fortune. I slowly weaned him off of most of these splurge items, often by just secretly swapping them for generic and waiting to see if he could tell to make my point. The hardest sell was the toilet paper, he still argues to this day that Charmin is better but we buy Great Value. It may be the biggest compromise of our marriage. That being said, even I have some brands that I would rather go without than to buy the generic equivalent based on my experiences. My husband just pointed out as I type that I may even be loyal to the Walmart generic brand Great Value.

For food items, I only buy name brand on a few things. I have inherited my mother’s fondness for Kraft mac & cheese. For a while I would only buy Borden cheese slices, but our local stores quit carrying it and I adjusted to the generic. Unfortunately, a pantry staple that the substitution just doesn’t cut it for is Lipton Onion Soup Mix. We put that stuff in almost every meal. I am very grateful that those boxes can be purchased in bulk at Sam’s Club to save on the cost a bit. The only other grocery item that I can think of that has to be name-brand for me is Daisy sour cream. I can use the generic if I have to, but Daisy is just better in my opinion and doesn’t do that gross separating thing as fast.

Now, what many of you may actually be looking for opinions on are baby or kid supplies, this is a ‘mom blog’ after all. I personally have used every brand of diaper I think there is in the U.S. I have had babies that have used diapers that worked really well for each of them, and some that consistently blew out of the same brand for one kid but worked for another. I will not tell which beloved brand has never kept bodily fluids in for us, but I will tell you for two kids Pampers was the way to go and Huggies has been best for the two currently in diapers. With my first child, I exclusively used Huggies Natural Care Wipes, but they added aloe to them, which I am allergic to. I have used Pampers Sensitive wipes ever since. To help with the cost, I Subscribe-and-Save on Amazon with the big boxes every two months. Both of these wipes being my preference stemmed from the generic wipes having aloe in them from the start.

I believe that purple Desitin will fix any diaper rash. Laundry detergent is often a topic of discussion for baby clothes, and I have an unpopular opinion. Dreft or any other baby-themed detergent is not necessary at all, though they may be good, they tend to cost more for less and don’t clean any better. I have used both Arm & Hammer Free & Clear and All Free and Clear Detergent. Both often went on sale, and I was able to stock up. I now exclusively use the All, just because it works and is easiest to get in my town. I do not buy different detergents for baby clothes, we all use the Free & Clear stuff, even though baby clothes do still get washed on their own in my house.

Baby food… I know that baby led weaning is all the rage right now, but we still do this the old fashioned puree way here. George asked me if I have ever used anything but Gerber, and I honestly have. He looked at me skeptically, because we haven’t used anything else with this baby. I have in the past, fed my babies Beech Nut baby food when I couldn’t get a flavor of Gerber I wanted, he said that’s fair, but asked if I had ever or would ever use the generic. The answer is no. I don’t know why, I just won’t.

As far as formula and bottles go, it’s been a long time, because Ethan will not take a bottle even of breastmilk. We have tried three different types and they were all a fail for us. I breastfed all three of my natural babies as long as I could and Aiden is the only one that ended up on a soy formula that WIC paid for and I can’t remember. George says the only right answer to formula is Enfamil. He also does not have an answer to this, he said it’s just right.

Again, I am not getting anything for giving my opinion on any of these brands. I just know that getting an opinion based on experience is more valuable than the Google results that are often paid for by those companies. I have to, of course, make the point that every child is different, every child has different sensitivities, and one brand may not work for each of your children. My oldest daughter used Pampers for a long time then suddenly they did not keep the pee in, so we switched to Huggies. My first baby peed out of every Huggies diaper I ever put him in. My baby sister could not use name-brand diapers at all, they caused a rash for her, only the generic worked. Some kids you can diaper with anything at all, and that is a blessing for you, but it is all trial and error as a parent. Most things are. Are you brand loyal to any company? I would love to know!