Stella McCartney Cashmere Cardigan; $58

Cafe MicheleZ was just swooning a few feet away from me over something online, and then I heard her mention "a leopard print shirt and skinny jeans." At first I was thinking, Wow, how dramatic will that twin prego belly of hers look dressed in all those spots!

But since most of Michele's thoughts are on her forthcoming babies these days, I wasn't surprised when she told me she was talking about the new clothing line designed by Stella McCartney for Baby Gap and Gap Kids.

I clicked straight to the site and this is what I found:

Photo by alimom

Need some inspiration for Halloween costumes for your baby? Little Tinkerbell above is just scrumptious! These CafeMom photos from Halloweens past may help in the idea department ... and they are just so fun to look at ...

Photo by Jeanmarie1975

When mommy blogger Kim Julian of St. Louis, Missouri became a stay at home mom after the birth of her second son, the loss of a second income hit hard. So she did what a lot of moms who want to continue staying home with their kids do -- she became a self-taught expert at saving money through coupons, free samples, free events and discounts.

And she created a couple of websites to share what she learned with other moms, STL Mommy in November of 2008, and My City Mommy in June of 2009. My City Mommy and the My City Mommy team offer national and local grocery and drug store coupon match ups along with free samples, free events, restaurant deals, kids eat free locations, discounts and more.  

I thought it was worth an individual chat with Kim to glean some of her personal at-home tips:

myBibzy; $23

If Jana and Chris had invented the myBibzy when my little water hoses were infants, I would own stock in this company by now. But their little girl hadn't been born yet, and they didn't know the first thing about drool.

Now these two entrepreneurs are experts in baby saliva, and they think this idea will make moms' lives easier.

But maybe you think the idea of a onesie with a built-in bib is a little ... weird? Unnecessary?

Tell me below, but let me give you the details about the product first:

CK147

CafeMom ReesesPieces (Clarisse) is one of my favorite go-to people for money saving advice. She has an incredible track record for busting debt and for spending only $200 a month on groceries, diapers and other necessities for her family of five. That still baffles my mind.

Babies are so expensive, costing on average $11,000 in the first year of life, but Clarisse spends nearly nothing on her one-year old daughter by clipping coupons and buying clothes on clearance.

Here she is sharing her best super-saving secrets:

Are you as cuted out about this crochet owl hat as I am?

Photo by KerriAndAustin

Cafe Suzanne shared a great idea recently on how to save money on baby clothes -- Snap N Grow Garment Extenders. They snap onto the bottom of onsies, shirts and any top that fastens at the bottom to give a little extra "crotch" room. Brilliant.

In general, baby clothes are not something many moms want to spend tons of money on because before you know it, they've already grown out of it. My personal tip is to extend the invitation for as many hand-me-downs as possible. Sometimes people won't want to impose the offer unless you bring it up first. My neighbor's daughter is a year older than mine, and I don't think I've spent a penny on her clothes in four years.

Shopping the clearance racks at Target, Walmart, Kmart, and other big stores is another popular way to save big on baby attire, but here are some others:

Photo from Little Maven

I'm not sure why, but for some reason I didn't expect to like Little Maven, Tori Spelling's new line of baby and kids clothes. Unfortunately, I do. A lot. The clothes are adorable—like this Missoni-esque infant sweater dress. Love it. Alas, it's a bit too expensive ($78)—as are all the other clothes in the line—for those of us living outside of Hollywood. I'm putting Little Maven on my "if I win the lottery" list. In the meantime, I'll stick to window shopping. And I do wish Tori every success on the line!

Baby, there's a chill in the air. Indeed, it's becoming fall, and we are moving away from the heat of summer. So baby, let's celebrate by busting out the baby leg warmers. Good with a onesie (makes diaper changes a breeze) or under baby skirts too.

Photo from H&M

Maybe I should be thankful that H&M doesn't offer online shopping. But why, H&M, for I want to shop online at H&M?