A Minimalist Baby Shower List
I have put together a fairly minimalist baby registry, I have put a lot of thought into what we need and also what we DON’T need but the fact is I have never done this before, if I am missing something critical please feel free to let me know.
First to talk about what I don’t need/want. I won’t be getting crib, a stroller, a playpen, a high chair or a changing table. I have actually heard a lot of criticism over this, or just the comment ‘she has no idea what it takes to be a parent’, which is amazing to me. Some people seem to think it is impossible to raise a child without these items, to them I say, how did we ever make it this far then!? Fact is these items take up a lot of space and are short lived and quickly outgrown (and as a LOT of parents have told me, they don’t even end up getting used!), there ARE others ways. I don’t think it will be difficult in the least without these items, sure they may be convenient at times but that small convenience is not worth the cost of the item, the space they take up or the embodied energy it takes to manufacture these items.
1) She needs a place to sleep: The first thing to figure out is where she is going to sleep. Rather than going with the crib route I opted for a co-sleeper. This decision came out of several conversations with other parents who either did the same or wished that they had since having the baby in a separate monitored crib contributes to poor sleep on both the baby and the mothers part, particularly early on while breastfeeding. Getting up to check on/feed the baby every couple hours is taxing compared with waking up and doing the same thing in place. Rather than buying a co-sleeper I opted to build one which is full crib-sized so it can grow with her as needed.
2) She needs some blankets: Family heirlooms aren’t a bad idea either. My mom is building this very custom jungle animal quilt. It also doubles as a play pad, all the ears and tails are tags so she can play with them and all the animals are done in different textures. It’s going to be pretty awesome :). My grandma is also making her a little rocking horse quilt. Not only that but my friend Greg gave us some really awesome hand crocheted blankies that his mother made for him, she did an AMAZING job on them and they are a great size! I think blankies are one of those things that it’s a good idea to have some extra of.
3) A Car Seat: I had no idea how much went into car seats, man! I was just thinking that I wanted one that didn’t look too ‘mom’, pretty impossible, right, I mean its a car seat… I didn’t want something pink and ‘princessy’. After looking around I see a bunch of other factors that play a hand. First of all, there is a huge difference in the weight both of the actual car seat and of how much it will carry. Most of the ones I looked at go up to about when the kid is 22 pounds. they can’t sit in the next size up car seat until they are 35 pounds so there would be this middle ground where I would have to buy another seat, it would be a while away but still, seemed like if I could do it in one shot it would be better. Second there are ones with handles ones without, ones that stay put and ones that are transportable. I am going to use the car seat as the indoor rocker as well so I wanted one that was removable and, with a recently broken back, fairly light weight without compromising safety. The one pictured above fit the bill on most/all categories, it goes up to 35 pounds, will look good in the back of my car (not too ‘mom’) and has better reviews than other based on the fabric used and baby comfort (many said it is softer than others and easier for the baby to get to sleep in), also, it’s only about 9 pounds plus the baby. We ordered this and an extra base so she can swap between James’s and my car as needed.
4) A Baby Rocker: These come in all sorts of varieties also, most separate units but I found this one that I like that uses the car seat. I have heard from EVERY parent I have asked that this is a NEED, not a want, if I ever want to just sit on my rear which I think will be a want :). This is handy because it is power or battery operated so I can take it places as needed. It is also pretty small so when she is not using it I can tuck it away. I like that it is low to the ground as well, falling or tipping is less of a concern. Seems to fit perfectly.
5) Glass Bottles: This is for sanity as well and so dad can have some bonding time with baby M also. I have issues with the fact it is kind of tough to find non-plastic bottles. The fact is that plastics are bad, especially when being re-warmed. Even if they say BPB free it makes me wonder what they used instead and how much longer until we find out that has bad side effects too? Glass has worked for years, glas doesn’t leach into foods. Sure it is breakable but if you can expect that you can anticipate that. It is critical to me that I use glass bottles over plastic ones.
6) Milk Trays: each cube works out to about serving size for a baby and is a convenient way to save milk, or so I hear. I would just use ice trays but I don’t have any :). These are nice because they come with a cover too so no debris will find their way in from other freezer stuff.
7) A Compact Baby Bath: This is handy to have I think so long as it doesn’t take up too much space, I think there are alternates to bathing so I wouldn’t put it in the ‘critical’ category but definitely nice. I like this because it folds down, I can hang it on a hook in my shower when not in use with no issues.
8) Wash Cloths: This one is semi obvious (for clean-up) but also takes the place of pacifiers, which I won’t be using. I was not raised with pacifiers and I have heard horror stories from other mothers who wish they had never used them. The biggest reason against them that resonated with me was creating a dependence on something that is not always going to be around. Say the pacifier drops on the floor and I don’t have a back-up, I now have a screaming baby with no way to comfort her unless I stick a dirty piece of plastic in her face. We grew up having washcloths to suck on/play with and they doubled for face wiping. I think it’s far more likely that I will have some washcloths or some substitute around if needed that is the route I’m taking, and they are washable and multifuncional. Win win!
9) Diapers! The poopy part! 🙂 I will be using cloth diapers on MiniM, for environmental reasons but not ONLY that, they are cheaper! There are all sorts of wonderfully absorbent things (chemicals) in disposable diapers that make them last so much longer between changes (but those chemicals have big ramifications in landfills too). I really want to limit the amount of chemicals that I put next to MiniM at least while I can, when she is so little and still working on building her body. It may be a small inconvenience to have to change her slightly more and to wash diapers but I think it is more than worth it. Not to mention the cost savings. Babies tend to potty train faster with cloth diapers too, another perk :). Mom is actually making a bunch of diapers. The up-front cost is higher with cloth diapers but overall they are cheaper. I am going to look into how this works into my composting toilet too…
10) Disposable diapers: All that being said about diapers I have heard from a few people that those first couple weeks I am going to want to use some disposable diapers, there is some grossness that happens. Also for any traveling that we will be doing disposable are the way to go, with the trip to North Carolina shortly after she’s born there will be a little disposable action, I can still do the best I can to get more environmentally friendly versions.
11) Baby Wipes: This is another area that, when looking at the ingredients on store bought baby wipes I am shocked at just how many words I can’t pronounce. As a rule of thumb I try to avoid eating/using those things because if I can’t pronounce it I sure don’t know what it is. If I don’t know what it is I would also like to keep away from the skin to skin contact with such a small and developing person, I set out to find some alternative methods for baby wipes and there are a lot of options out there. The link above sends you to one of my favorites, I like the simplicity of the recipe. It looks super easy and seems that it can save money as well as chemicals! Another win win! Again, I may need to tweak this to work with my composting toilet.
12) A Baby Carrier: I can’t see coughing up the money they ask for these when it is some really simple fabric, there are several different versions of babies carriers and methods of baby wearing but the Maya wrap is what I hear works well for new borns so I am going to make my own version of that. I haven’t found a great tutorial yet but I bought the stuff, I may just wing it :). I think this seems a lot more convenient than a stroller, I watch people try to push those through a door and I feel bad. It’s probably much better for bonding with your baby too, this is one of my next projects :).
13) A Night Light: Another one I have heard, more for me to be able to check on the weird sounds in the middle of the night without flipping the light on. Another thought to consider in the tiny house is energy to use AND if it gets too hot to the touch.
14) A Bumbo Seat: This is in lieu of a high chair and has some other uses, it won’t get used right away but a good thing to have for a little down the line, I hear 🙂
15) A Humidifier: I think this will be important for my climate, I also am going to get some essential oils to use in there. Any suggested ‘flavors’ for me and a newborn are appreciated, I have never really dove into the whole essential oils thing but I have heard some really good things about using them.
16) Misc. Towels, Sheets, Baby Soaps, Diaper Bag, Food Blender, Swaddle Blankets: These are some miscellaneous things that I will need to pick up/make but with no particular urgency on specific ‘type’. Well other than the soaps, those will have to be natural and gentle, more as I find out more there. Does anyone have a great suggestion on baby soaps?
17) Clothes: Last but not least, clothing! I vow to never buy these new :). There are some great second hand clothes stores for babies around here and this is something that people seem to like buying but the kiddo will grow out of them SO fast! I am not even planning on buying any clothes until after she is here because I have a whole bunch already!
18) College Savings Contributions: The last thing I am trying to get together is a college savings account for anyone who wants to gift to Baby M but isn’t sure what exactly to get. I am looking at some plans such as the 529 plan here, www.idsaves.org but I have a little more research to do for that. I would be very curious to know what savings plans others have used for their kids? I may end up going with just a savings account which I can manage and invest in CDs/mutual funds for her until she is at that point in her life, I have been pretty successful at that and there are no termination fees or penalties based on whatever school she would choose. I like this because it can be a part of every birthday/Christmas as well. My parents had us all taught about saving when we were old enough to clean cupboards for our allowance. It came in REALLY handy when I went off to college, I want to make sure she has the same opportunities and responsibilities.
If anyone wanted to see the updates that come from this post to MiniMiller’s baby registry feel free to click HERE. I will be looking forward to any input others may have! 🙂 Hope everyone is well!
My kids are nearly grown now, so I am speaking from experience. I would agree with everything except the stroller. 🙂 I used glass bottles when we needed bottles, far superior to plastic and last much longer AND through successive children. I bought bottles once, they were used by three kids.
I used a combo of disposable and cloth diapers….depended on where we were going and if I wanted to tote around poopy cloth diapers until we got home.
The stroller, I think you will find, would be a necessity. I always got a sturdy one with a ginormous bucket for storage so I didn’t have to carry anything at all. Then again, I don’t drive, never did, so the stroller was much like a car for me.
I am realizing quite a bit of people think stroller ought to make the list, I may have to look into hooking something up to Denny 🙂
I got a snap n go stroller which you can set the car seat infant carrier in. It is compact and lightweight. When my daughter outgrew it, I got the Ignite stroller from First Years which I am happy with. I never used the awning.
this is such a fun pos! My baby wearing friends talk a lot of good things about the “moby”. And I was a wash cloth sucker too.
While I totally understand that you try to avoid things you can’t pronounce, you should know I thought “Gushers” were pronounced “gewshers” for the longest time… so don’t let that be too strong of a gauge, some words can just be tough. hehe
hahahaha! If they end with ‘atone’ like acetone I’m not wiping her girl parts with it! 🙂
Nose Freda Snot Sucker. My daughter-in-law received one at the baby shower when she was pregnant with my granddaughter. It is much safer and easier to use than those bulb type ones should the baby become congested. Their little button noses do occasionally get clogged. Janine says it is wonderful and all her friends think so because they use it too. I would buy one for you but unfortunately cannot offer anything at this time other than prayers.
I seriously typed out like three paragraphs worth of stuff and the silly site would not save it! shoot. I’ll email you
I got your email, thank you SO much, that is a lot of really great info! I can’t believe you sent that from your phone, I have SUCH a hard time writing three words! 🙂 Thank you for taking the time!
Awesome list! Best wishes as you build your little nest. 🙂
Thank you!
I recommend doing elimination communication instead of diapers or with part time diapers. My first was diaper free at night at 18 months and 24 hours at 26 months. My second was fully diaper free at 18 months with almost no accidents.
That is actually in the plans, James and I have been looking into it, I haven’t mentioned it yet because there seems to be only so much that strangers can handle hearing about parenting without criticizing the heck out of it if it’s different than what they did, I thought I’d bypass those comments and talk more about that in hindsight. There will be diapers but we are going to work on EC too. Thank you for bringing it up, if I hadn’t already heard about it I would definitely have looked further into it! It seems completely logical to us!
Great list! I love the http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/ products. I also had a Moby and it was great for both Dad and I. If you get one be sure to demystify it with a youtube tutorial. I think it holds a child up to 80 lbs or something. I LOVE (and still at 43 lbs) still sometimes use my ERGO carrier. I can not say enough! It distributes the weight in an incredible way that made for no pressure on my back. Also, I do love a stroller. I was really into walking and my son enjoyed looking around and for a while it was the only way to get him to nap. Not essential but I also never planned to get on. But even with an awesome carrier, my son would get really heavy and I love walking in nature. Totally agree with Nose Freda- a must. I’ve heard these are awesome http://sophiegiraffeusa.com. And don’t forget a Push Present for you!
CONGRATULATIONS!!!!
I have heard that Mobys are good once the baby can move her head on her own but before that a different style is better, I do plan on trying out the Moby eventually… and I will need the tutorial! 🙂
The milk cube trays will also work great for solid foods. I know moms who make bulk mashed veg+fruit, pop it into cubes, freeze it, then they can reheat a few cubes when it’s time for the baby to heat (or pop out a few into the fridge overnight to thaw). Cheaper than jars of baby-food and doesn’t require little tiny containers.
Fantastic idea! I like it!
For baby soaps I just used a tiny bit of their shampoo. Works great, it’s gentle and it’s one less thing to buy. Also gets some lansinoh for breast feeding! It’s the best and totally saves sore breasts! Have a lactation consultant lined up if it’s painful. I learned the hard way. All it took was adjusting my daughter a bit and beast feeding was much better. Cosleeper is the way to go! Those that tell you otherwise probably didn’t breast feed! There are some good patterns for diaper bags. Also on YouTube there is a video on making a baby sling out of t-shirts or check out “ellaroo” wrap…look easy to make. Remember not to microwave your breast milk…it chemically changes it. I breast fed my twins and my daughter.. You can do it! And you will both bond. A baby bath is worth the purchase. waaaaay easier to bath them in one and keeps their head up. This is your first baby…get yourself a doughnut cushion. First time you give birth it feels like you pooped out a basketball! Something no one ever tells you about the couple of days that follow. Hugs! You’ll be a great Mom!
Great comments, thank you for all of them!
Oh yeah! And if you do decide to buy baby soap, “sweet pea” makes a nice and super sensitive one. Balmex great stuff! Will probably want some with cloth diapers. Also there are patterns for cloth diapers! Sorry…i get excited about babies!
Sorry…one more thing a “travel” breast pump; battery powered was awesome and worth every penny!!! Waaaaaaay better than a hand pump!
I totally forgot to put that on there, it IS on the list!
You are going to want a good breast pump. Breastfeeding may be a breeze or it may not. But in either case pumping will probably be in your future. I never bought one but I was able to barrow one for free from the local le leche league. That thing was awesome. You might look into it.
Yes! That should be on the list! Thanks!
The biggest mistake IMO? OVERTHINKING what THINGS you might need!
What we actually needed to bring baby home from hospital? A car seat. This is the ONE thing you need to get, read book, and fasten properly in car before labor.
Everything else can be improvised. Nearly everything we needed as our baby came along, we got WHEN we NEEDED it. And usually from asking friends, and they gave it to us. There are OCEANS of barely-used baby stuff cluttering your friends garages and basements they are glad to be rid of.
We changed our DS on a pad on the coffee table for the first month or two, only moving to an old computer table later on. Things like Ergo and stroller we would borrow friends and try them out, if they worked great we’d borrow them for longer.
Co-sleeper is a definite big win for breastfeeding in my book, feed ’em and slide them back into their crib area minimal disruption for everyone!
Enjoy the kid and don’t sweat the small stuff.
I am just thinking that the two weeks after she is born is not the time for me to pack up and go shopping, I’m not going to be feeling great, I’m going to be exhausted and gross, aside from that the more I can get prepared up front the more relaxed I’ll be going into it. I don’t have any friends with kids so the borrowing thing is not really an option, I am the first in my family having a kid. I don’t mean this to sound like I am stressing out about things, I’m not doing that nearly enough in some people’s opinions, I am just trying to be prepared.
You have a wonderful list going! Here are some of my thoughts and suggestions:
– Your co-sleeper is fantastic and I love how it will grow with Mini even into her toddler years. As a breastfeeding mom, I completely agree with the desire to have baby close for those middle-of-the-night feedings.
– For the carseat, may I suggest getting some of the soft strap covers that cover the section that will sit right next to her neck? We found these to be a must-have for our kiddos as one had very sensitive skin and the other tended to rub his neck on the strap. As a bonus, they don’t take up any additional space, but can be easily removed to be washed.
– That baby rocker is so neat, I have never seen that before. We had a swing for both of our young’uns and they both loved it. I can’t iamgine not having something like this for my kiddos. While it isn’t strictly a neccessity, I can’t recommend this little luxury enough.
– Washcloths are a great idea! We actually used them as baby wipes as well and simply ran them under warm water before using them on our kiddos. We made sure to have a separate color that we used only as wipes and they went into the washing machine with the diapers.
– Cloth diapers are the best! We used gDiapers which actually have disposable (and I believe compostable) inserts for while you are traveling and such, but they have wonderfully soft fabric inserts as well for when you’d rather use the cloth. They are more expensive upfront than some of the other brands we found, but for us, they were the right fit for our little ones’ bums.
– We used a Moby Wrap and loved it! As our youngest has grown into his toddler years, we have gone to using a Kelty Kids pack so that he can be up and see everything around him.
– As a fellow chronic back pain sufferer, I wholeheartedly recommend rethinking the no-stroller plan. I’ve had many days when my back simply was not going to let me carry my kiddos around. I would recommend looking into a foldable stroller frame that fits the car seat you plan on using. That way, you don’t have to have a separate stroller system, but you have it available should your back act up or you’d like to go for a longer day trip. When our kiddos were still in the “wearing” stage, I found it a nice break to be able to lay them down in the stroller as a portable change table, or so that I could eat without dropping food on their heads. 😀
– We found that, for us, the Bumbo seat wasn’t really worth the investment for us. Our son could only use it for about a month or two before his legs started getting stuck when we tried to take him out. My nephew couldn’t even use it that long. He wasn’t a chunky baby by any means, but with a 6’2″ daddy, he was definitely not a tiny mite. We have met other famlies who swear by the Bumbo though, so I would say give it a shot, Mini might love it. 🙂
– For our diaper bag, we wanted to make sure we didn’t have anything too frou-frou so we found a nice brown canvas messenger bag that worked perfectly for us. We used a change pad that could fold up into one of the pockets of the messenger bag. As a bonus, when our son doesn’t need a diaper bag anymore, we will still have a bag that anyone in our family can use, instead of something that looks strictly like a diaper bag.
– For sheets, we found that two sets of sheets, with two absorbent mattress pads were all we ever needed. That way, if the youngster leaked through onto the sheet, we could just scoop up the sheet and pad (which kept the mattress from getting wet) to be washed and lay down the other set real quick without having to scrub the mattress at 2am. If it’s really cold where you live, flannel sheets might be a cozy choice.
– Having a hooded baby towel is great for getting the babe dried off as quickly as possible. We totally fell for having a couple, since they were so cute, but you can definitely get by with just one.
– Our son wasn’t the biggest fan of being swaddled, as he always wanted at least one of his arms free to move around. So, we chose to go with the sleeveless blanket sleepers. That way he had the warmth of the blanket, but had his hands free. These were especially great during the phase where he was able to roll around, but didn’t know how to get a blanket off his face, if he rolled and pulled it up over himself somehow.
– Buying secondhand is a great option for getting kid’s clothes. Clearance racks are also a good place to look if the secondhand stores don’t have what you’re looking for. We regularly buy our kiddos’ next size up when we see them on clearance and store them in a small plastic bin or basket until they fit into them.
Congratulations on making such a wonderful and thoughtful list!
Great comments, thank you for taking the time to write that!
Great list! As for the stroller. We got a MacLaren and it’s great. It’s just an umbrella stroller so it folds up small, we couldn’t use it until he was about 5 or 6 months old, but he was born in the fall so we didn’t really need it until then. I believe it can hold up to 50 lbs, so he will be able to use it for a long time. That may be a good option. People pressured us to get one of those huge stroller contraptions, and I am so glad we didn’t. Like you said some things they use for such a short time. Also you could use the stroller to feed the baby as well. We do that on vacation if we don’t have a highchair. But honestly he can sit on your lap and eat too! I am so excited to follow your journey on motherhood!
Great advice, we may end up getting a pretty basic stroller at some point for sure! Thanks for your input!
I just had my first little one about 5 months ago and I suggest ditching the baby rocker (mine used to it for such a short time it wasn’t really worth it), the baby bath (that’s what a sink is for), and the Bumbo (he/she will sit up on schedule whether or not you use one.) And I totally agree with the other things you chose not to get. Keep it simple! And I love your site!!!
I was thinking the bumbo would work as a ‘high chair’ but I have heard some comments about their legs getting too chubby to fast to really use them too long… Other than that I agree that the others aren’t all that necessary, I had to have SOMETHING on there for others to get, probably wouldn’t make my cut though :).
My daughter learned to get out of the bumbo and I have read about recalls on it as well. I saw a child tip it over and fall to the ground once when the seat was placed on a chair. They have high chair things with a tray that strap to a chair and then convert to a booster seat which are pretty nice.
Good advice, I’ve heard a couple people say this now!
Check out Aunt Kaycees new line at mommysclub.com -Organic non-toxic baby products
Will do, thanks for sharing! I didn’t realize she was into all that :).
Excellent baby list!
here are my 2 cents as the father of two.
bottles
My wife stayed home with both are kids and breast fed for the first two years so we purchased Tommy Tippy bottles that were never used i tried a couple times after our first was 3 months old (waited that long to avoid nursing strikes and lazy latches) she was not having it all, both of our kids were anti bottle.
baby wearing
Moby wraps are the DEVIL! they are hot, they are long and t hey are annoying. they also for some reason attract a freakish amount of pet hair so you end up with a fuzzy baby/midsection.
the ring sling is awesome though i much preferred what i called my baby carrier the Byorn and later the ergo. I liked the backpack like straps
car seats:
baby buckets suck, they are large and annoying i always felt so disconnected from the kids when i had them in one of those, if you go that route make sure it has a z shaped handle much easier to navigate with. we instead went with diono car seats that are rear facing then forward facing then some models can turn into a booster seat they are highly rated and one of the best car seats out there.
diapers:
i love cloth daipers seriously they saved me so much money, we have used all kinds. G diapers did not last 2 years the covers well apart and the liners became stretched, the pads are awesomely absorbent. Blueberry diapers are awesome if you have a bigger kid (kid #2 at our house is a big old kiddo) or a kid that heavy saturates @ night. During the day however fuzzibunz are the way to go. we have had no problems with them. well on we got one with a defective shell used from a garage sale of all places and the company fully informed of the circumstances where we got it sent us a new one with an apology.
my kids hated the bumbo and wanted nothing to do with it, our high chair straps onto a chair so it puts them @ the same level at the table they really get jazzed about being at the table.
as far as the other stuff looks cool!
best of luck to you!
i’ve enjoyed reading your blog though have never commented before.
I want to avoid the same breast feeding hiccups, I will be breast feeding but in case there are issue I want a back up so she doesn’t starve! Dad wants some bonding time too so eventually we will work in some daddy feeding time and need the bottles for that :). The mobys do look hot as heck, and I’ve heard bad things about them cutting the air supply off or making it harder for the kid to breath, they are suggested for much older kids than newborns. The car seat is needed, can’t get around that, they won’t let me leave the hospital without one… She will most likely be carried a lot for the reasons you stated though 🙂 Thanks for the info on the diapers, i think I’m just going to have to try some things out, everyone seems to have a different take on each kind. Starting with the old school version! 🙂 Thank you so much for all the kind advice!
secondary,
earth mama angle baby products and california baby products are the best as far as non toxic awesomeness.
also consider cloth wipes and a couple of wet bags if you are already into the cloth diapers go all out. saves more money and doesn’t add any more work since you are already doing the wash anyway.
I would swap out the bottles for a copy of The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding, and a La Leche League membership. A bonus of that would be that you would quickly get to know other moms (and dads) with whom to swap ideas, baby supplies, and of course, support when things seem hard. I’d have to say, thirty some years after having the first of my 4 kids, LLL was the one most influential entity on all of our lives, supporting not just breastfeeding but also the attitude that so much baby gear, as you noted, is simply unnecessary, and that how we live is vitally important to our families and the world.
I have heard this too, I need to look into that! I still feel like I want a back up in case things don’t work super great and so dad can have his feeding/bonding time too 🙂
I love your list!
After two little ones in the last four years, I agree with most of what you’ve written. A couple of suggestions:
1. carrier – check out the ergo (with infant insert) as an alternative to the sling you’ve selected. It is super comfortable from the moment when they’re born to when they’re big and heavy – and especially since you plan on not using a stroller, your carrier needs to make things as easy as possible.
2. Bumbo – i found that this worked with both my kids for only 1-2 months before they figured out how to pop themselves out of it. They’re ugly as all get-out, but I’d recommend a portable high-chair like this: http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Deluxe-Booster-Seat-Brown/dp/B00CSAWJPO/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1391192459&sr=8-4&keywords=booster+seat; it will last much longer.
3. Baby shampoo – we’ve loved the Weleda Calendula baby line – smells beautiful and good results.
Good luck – fighting the onslaught of stuff with a baby is a worthy challenge!
A
I have heard great things about the ergo from a few people! And similar things about the bumbo too! I love getting the feedback before wasting my money, thanks! I have swapped them out! Love the shampoo too, thanks for all the great advice!
Glass bottles are great, but you’ll want to switch to plastic before baby is holding her own bottle (because glass is heavy & babies like to see what happens when things are dropped.) Milk trays are made of plastic, so if you don’t want the plastic coming in contact with the milk…?
The Bumbo and the baby bath are the things I regret purchasing. Such a short window of time they can be used.
I love love love my Baby Bjorn carrier. (Tiny babies can be carried facing mom, and older babies can be carried facing out – to see the world.) The sling type carriers don’t keep baby’s chin off her chest while being carried and a baby can suffocate that way. I tried three other carriers before finding the Baby Bjorn.
Your baby’s car seat will rock without buying a rocker for it, and your baby will nap in that seat, so you are right to find a comfortable one.
A Boppy newborn lounger is another item that is worth it’s space in gold. My youngest would sleep no more than two hours at a time until I got one. You may think that four hours of sleep may not be much more than two hours of sleep, but it really is. My baby is 16 months old now, and she still uses the boppy as a place to sit & look at books.
You can never have too many blankets.
Good luck with your new baby, it’s such an exciting time!
I have thrown many of bottles in my time, they are actually pretty durable and by the food throwing phase I hope she will be learning manners and to drink from cups too! The no plastic part comes into play with warm foods, when plastic is warmed is when the toxins are released into food, for freezing there are no issues. BUt to warm milk in a plastic bottle is something I’m not willing to do. I have heard terrible things about the bumbo, it’s off the list! 🙂 Thank you SO much for all the input!
I see you’ve already had your party but just thought I’d put in my 2 cents… We are a minimalist family and just had our first baby who is now 4 months old. The only things we acquired prior to her birth were:
*A car seat – we picked out the Chicco Nextfit which is a convertible (front and rear facing) and fits kids from 5 – 65 pounds. ONE car seat which fits in our small car and will last pretty much her entire car seat life.
*Cloth diapers and wipes – we went with the GroVia hybrids and prefolds but did need smaller ones for when she was first born. The GroVia selection has covers with reusable snap-in or disposable biodegradable inserts for traveling which is a nice feature. Also check out Elimination Communication / Diaper Free baby as this will save on laundry. It really isn’t as scary as it sounds and you don’t have to do it all the time!
*A Lillebaby carrier as it is good for 7 – 45 pounds with excellent lumbar support and they had an ‘airflow’ model so the thinking was ONE carrier, no stroller….
*Some clothes and blankets and a Boppy nursing pillow (from Goodwill and consignment baby stores).
That’s it. For those first few weeks you will not be going anywhere and all your baby needs is your breast. Our baby would not sleep anywhere other than on me or next to me. (we tried putting her in a large drawer we had made up as her bed next to ours but she wasn’t having it).
We acquire things as we needed them – and that’s what hubby is there for – to run to the store to get things you need when you need them 🙂
Things that we have found really useful so far:
– Lansinoh nipple cream – this would be on a pre-birth list. Breastfeeding is not always easy – I totally second getting support from La Leche League and/or a lactation consultant, also check out the Breast is Best page on FB, heaps of useful info.
– Nursing pads
– Baby nail scissors (not clippers) way easier to use and those nails grow like crazy
– a simple bouncy chair
– an exercise ball – can be helpful during labor and great for bouncing an upset baby (Daddy was really good at this, better than putting her in a plastic contraption to soothe her)
– Stroller – seriously. I didn’t want one but when your baby screams when you put her in a carrier and your back is aching because you are carrying her everywhere and you’re dying to take a walk… Our baby LOVES being outside and going for walks
– Infant probiotics – helps with colic if this is an issue which it was for us
We don’t own a crib, or any form of baby bed – she sleeps in our bed and will transition to a regular mattress on the floor eventually before she’s old enough for a regular bed.
I shower or take a bath with the baby (2 birds one stone 😉 Babies don’t need to bathe every day and washing them a lot can strip their skin of protective oils. I use plain saponified olive oil soap which has 2 ingredients, is cheaper than organic baby wash and excellent for sensitive skin. Coconut oil makes a great lotion.
No bottles – she won’t take a pacifier, who knows if she’ll take a bottle – there are other ways for Daddy to bond with baby. Also with regard to food – check out baby-led weaning – it sounds awesome, the kid learns to feed them self real food instead of having to puree stuff all the time.
Anyway, our minimalist baby adventure is still going on, we’ll see how it goes. But in truth, babes don’t need much! Just think how babies were raised before all these products existed…
Those are a lot of really great comments! Thanks so much for taking the time to write it out, I will definitely reference back to it, so glad to hear from other supportive parents! 🙂
The problem with lists in advance is you never quite know what you need until you meet your little darling and discover all their quirks. For instance, my son was so skinny all diapers leaked on him, cloth or disposable, but some were better than others (I wish I had had confidence to use terries the first time round – lots of versatility in different folds and quicker to dry but they’re not marketed the same way as the shaped ones are! Now adays where I live there is someone who will hire a kit for you to try out and see which nappies work best for you). And he screamed whenever he was put down in the house, no rocker/chair/babybouncer would do – I’m so glad I didn’t pay money on one. And my daughter would not take any milk from any bottle, ever, under any cicumstance.
Yours will be different again. So whilst you don’t want to store up a huge shopping trip for when you’ve just had a baby, my advice is don’t shell out too much on stuff in advance that might not get used – eg get a couple of bottles to try, rather than 12. Plus you may think you have no friends with babies, that may well change once you have a baby. We got stuff from work colleagues, people who had grown up kids and had stuff in their attic, people we didn’t know that well, and our new friends we had met through having a baby.
There are some great websites out there on babywearing and how to make carriers. You can do it without a stroller. You might find as the baby gets bigger it’s hard on your back or you want to change the carrier you have. Or you may just want the extra storage space a stroller offers.
I wish I had bought a babywearing coat when I was pregnant the first time, it had a secition that zipped into the middle to go around a bump, with a hood for a little head in a carrier to use. Plus an extra vent with hood at the back for when they’re big enough to wear on your back. Wearing the coat over both of us meant that if I got hot in a shop I could cool both of us down by taking it off, rather than taking the baby out of the carrier to take their coat off. But maybe we have a different climate over here and that isn’t such an issue for you.
What you will appreciate is a stock of food you can eat onehanded. I’m guessing you don’t have a large freezer to put stuff in in advance, but you could copy our idea and when someone arranges to come round and meet the new addition, ask them to bring lunch or dinner at the same time.
I had never heard of a baby wearing coat, what a great idea! I DO actually have a deep freezer which my brothers got me for Christmas, I will be working on filling it over the next few weekends! Thank you for all the great advice! I appreciate it!
Hi Macy,
I stumbled across your post and can relate. We are having a baby in a one bedroom apartment. It will be my husband, new baby, me, and our two cats in ~750 sf.
Now that you are some time out from having your baby, I was just wondering if you would tweak your original list and if so, how?
Thank you so much!
~Caroline
Here is my updated list! http://minimotives.com/2014/08/21/the-actual-minimalist-baby-shower-list/ There is not a whole lot I need 🙂 I still get funny looks that I don’t have a highchair… she eats just fine sitting down with us though 🙂
I have to mention here under car seat, a car seat does not do any good if the children will not stay in it. That being said the comfort of the car seat is very important to the safety of the child. Most car seats are designed out of hard plastic that adults would be reticent to sit on especially for a long, long car ride. Considering that children cannot shift in their seats and readjust themselves as adults can because of the straps holding children I advise finding a car seat that has some soft cushioning under the butt. When I asked my then 5 year old daughter how I could make the next vacation better for our family she said that she needed a pillow under her butt. Finding the right balance between safety and the comfort that will keep your child from trying to wriggle out of a car seat is very important and is worth the investment made. My children turned a 15 hour car ride into 30 hours by claiming that they had to pee every 30 minutes when in actuality they just wanted off the hard plastic.
true to all of that, and comfort to mom, I don’t carry her around it it much but lots of moms doo, when the carrier weighs 20# and the baby weighs 15 its a lot! Some are considerably lighter than others!
I have the evenflo glass bottles along with the Dr. Brown’s Glass bottles. I would have to say that the Dr. Brown’s Glass Bottles are better, because they do not flow as fast out of the nipple and they prevent gas and colic. They are worth the price as my son is not so gassy. I second the getting a stroller. I thought I wouldn’t need a stroller however I ended up buying one after my son was born because I wanted to push him around without wearing out my back.
I like your style! We didn’t use a crib, stroller, playpen, high chair or a changing table either. For washing Baby, water works fine. Otherwise, a little bit of Earth Mama Angel Baby body wash/shampoo. Instead of the Bumbo, the Chicco Pocket Snack is a great compact booster seat. I hope everything worked out for you!
So far so good! 🙂