This post about how to get a free baby box is sponsored by Baby Box University but all opinions are my own.
When we found out we were having twins, a lot of our stress and worry were financial ones. How would we pay for double everything?
Double the amount of clothes, diapers, wipes, burp cloths, bottles, pacifiers, car seats, strollers, high chairs, beds, and so on.
We were poor married college students who now saw lots of dollar signs in our very near future. Which ultimately meant we saw a lot of debt in our future.
Thankfully we received many items for free via multiple baby showers, friends, and family. But many items we still wanted to buy new in part to make sure they were safe, like our car seats.
We know how hard it is though to be financially disadvantaged and having children. Every little gift is a blessing. And that’s why I love the idea behind the Finland baby box.
Finland Baby Box
The BBC wrote an awesome article about Finland’s baby box program which started way back in 1938. They at the time were a poor country with a high infant mortality rate. In order to combat this, these baby boxes were given to all mothers as a gift from the government.
Inside was a maternity starter kit containing bodysuits, diapers, bathing products, as well as a small mattress that would fit inside the box itself to form a safe sleeping space. Later, the legislature required that new moms had to visit a doctor for prenatal care in order to receive the boxes. “Encouraging good parenting has been part of the maternity box policy all along.”
These boxes have famously been used (in conjunction with education) to reduce the infant death rate in Finland to less than half of that in the U.S. Now Finland has one of the world’s lowest infant mortality rates. This baby box was definitely one aspect of achieving that status!
Baby Box USA
The good news is that baby boxes are being introduced in the USA.
While hospitals have always been a great resource for supplying some basic baby needs like diapers, wipes, baby clothes, hats, breastfeeding supplies, and formula to new moms as they leave the hospital, as well as giving newborn care education via the nurses, pediatricians, and lactation consultants during a mother’s hospital stay, not all prenatal care and education is the same. There isn’t a national program that supplies new moms with the same care package like the Finland baby boxes.
Despite that, women in the USA can receive a baby box thanks to Baby Box University and The Baby Box Company.
Currently, the baby boxes are available in the following states:
- CA – California
- CO – Colorado
- TX – Texas
- OH – Ohio
- NJ – New Jersey
- IA – Iowa
- AL – Alabama
- MN – Minnesota
- WI – Wisconsin
They are also available in all Canadian provinces except Quebec.
How to Get a Free Baby Box
The Baby Box Company has created Baby Box University with the aim of educating new mothers on safe sleep practices, breastfeeding, nutrition, and infant care and providing them some tools to do those things.
Baby Boxes are sustainably designed safe sleeping spaces, something that some mothers in America still lack! They also come with free samples!
If you’d like to receive a free baby box then here is how you do it:
- Go to BabyBoxUniversity.com and sign-up for a free account.
- Click on “Find Your Course” and select the location closest to you.
- Watch your video course (about 15-20 minutes) full of information about safe sleep and newborn care.
- Take a short quiz.
- Select how you wish to receive your Baby Box. Depending on your location, you will be able to ship it to your home or pick it up at a nearby location.
- Put your baby in the box after it arrives and enjoy the samples!
As I recently had my fifth baby, I requested a free baby box for myself!
While we have a pack n’ play and cribs that our baby can sleep in already, I was curious about having a box as a bed. I like having a safe place to lay our baby down downstairs where my other, older, bigger children play. It also came in super handy when we were moving and packing recently.
Because it has walls, my children won’t accidentally step on her as the play and run around downstairs, like they might if she was laid down in a play mat, yet our baby is close to us all.
While my baby seems enormous in this relatively small box (she was born at 11 lbs!) and likely won’t fit in it too much longer, I can see where this may have been useful to us even more when we were first-time parents.
While it’s not ideal to reach down all the way to the floor to pick up a baby (unlike a crib where the baby is elevated higher) the box is super easy to move from one room to the next as it is very lightweight and easy to carry (though don’t use it to transport the baby).
It would be easy to take with you on trips (where it can again double as a box to hold stuff).
I also know that the box is safe for sleep. The baby should by lying on their back in it, with nothing else in the box with them and it should always remain on the floor.
I enjoyed watching the videos on Baby Box University that were required to receive a free baby box. More education is always a good thing, even if I’ve already had four other children!
And of course, I enjoyed the free baby samples that came with our free baby box!
Free Baby Box Samples
Inside our box we received the following free baby-related products:
- Zippered bag that the samples came in
- $50 off a Picaboo custom photo product
- Information about The Gerber Life Grow-Up Plan
- 2 Seventh Generation Free & Clear laundry detergent packs
- 5 Seventh Generation product coupons
- Lansinoh HPA lanolin .05 oz sample, latch-on tips, and $1 off coupon for Lansinoh HPA Lanolin
- 2 Lansinoh breastmilk storage bags
- 2 Lansinoh disposable breast pads
- 30 Dove Baby wipes
- Dove Baby body wash (1.8 oz)
- Dove body wash (1.8 oz)
- Dove Men+Care Body and Face Wash (1.8oz)
- Dove Men+Care Shampoo and Conditioner (1.8oz)
- 3 0.07 oz Super Duper Diaper Doo Gel packets (for diaper rash)
There is also an instruction sheet on how to properly assemble and use the baby box as a sleeping space. And there is a poster that they encourage you to take a picture with, along with your baby practicing safe sleep in their #BabyBox, and share on social media. If you do they will send you a gift!
Remember too that Baby Box University is a free education and community platform for all parents and all members are eligible for free product offers, giveaways, local events, and more! So be sure to sign up and get learning and get a free baby box too! Even I learned a few new things from these videos.
Stella says
One of my friends has twins. And the Baby Box is available in her state. I will recommend it to her. Thanks for this wonderful, valuable post as it could help a lot of parents who are on budget.
Kate | Freebies-For-Baby.com says
What a great baby freebie! What age do you think it’s recommended for? The actual box looks kind of small as far as space to lie down in it. Love all the freebies included in the box though. Thanks for sharing.
Katelyn Fagan says
I think it said it’s recommended for babies up to like 4 months? Basically only until they can sit up, though most babies aren’t’ doing that until closer to 6 months. My baby is just extra long (seriously off the growth charts) so most should last longer than she will. They are not very big boxes though.
Liara says
What’s the gift that they send you? More samples?
Barbara says
I recently went on the website and completed the required training to receive the free Baby Box only to discover that for free is just a few samples not the box. I would have to pay to receive the box.
Katelyn Fagan says
oh no!! Really?? Are you sure? You assemble the box after they ship it to you (or I did).
Michelle d says
They make u pay for the box now.. but still give u samples for free at least..
Erin M Forton says
unfortunately it looks like the baby box is no longer free. you can get a free onsie but the box it self with the matress and sheet is still $24 even after completing the course. Did I do something wrong?
Aaron D says
I found this article one of the best when it comes to free stuff and for sure I am going to try some of their things for sure. But I found this other website which I got a box from Medela for free. If you want you can check it out and maybe you get a box too: https://www.hotfreebees.com/free-baby-box-from-medela-blog
They even paid for the shipping.
M Joiner says
I think this is an AWESOME program. My son & DIL are expecting their 1st baby.
I’ve always been upset at the HIGH infant mortality rates in the USA. We are BEHIND many 3rd world countries in our maternal/fetal/infant mortality & morbidity rates.
I wish this program were more widely available, luckily my State is 1 of the participating States so my son & DIL will be signing up.
Thank you so MUCH for info on this vital program.
Katelyn Fagan says
Absolutely!! And Yes, it’s very upsetting that our mortality rates are so high! It’s unacceptable!!