Things I'm Buying For Baby

With baby number 3, I'm trying to be as minimalist as possible. Both for frugal reasons and just plain common sense reasons. Here's a list of my basic baby needs/wants.  If you're interested, then read. If you're not, then don't.


1. We will not be purchasing a crib. At least not right away. Since I'm a breastfeeding mama, it'll be easier to keep him close to me. Plus I want him close to me. So a co-sleeper it is. As he outgrows his co-sleeper, we will probably get a crib. But we'll purchase one of those mini-cribs, or a low-cost (I hate saying cheap because that implies that the quality is bad) Ikea cribs.


2. Slings. Two or three of them. Strollers are annoying and they get in the way of everything. So I want to avoid them as much as possible. Plus a baby close to the heart is a happy baby.


3. I'm not stupid. I realize I will need a Stroller. A lightweight non-bulky one. Because the reality is, it will be hard to aways carry baby. So to make life a little easier, a stroller will be needed.  


4. Vibrating bouncy chair thingy. There's a whole baby wearing movement (of which I am all for!) that says people should just wear their babies when they're cleaning, cooking or doing things around the house. Good idea.  I will do that some of the time.  But ALL the fucking time? Sorry baby wearing community, but you are completely nuts sometimes. For my sanity, I will need to put baby down. Let him sit and doze in his vibrating chair so I can get shit done, thank you very much.


5. A baby bathtub. I'm stuck between getting him one of those super cool bucket baths or one of those rubbery bath thingys that conform to your sink. Bucket baths. You know, it's a bucket especially made for babies. You fill it with a little bit of warm water, put baby in, and he curls up in the fetal position. It's supposed to be really soothing. It's very European, okay? Or there's those cool rubbery kinda baths that mold to your sink. Those are kinda cool. Not sure yet. I'm leaning toward the bucket though.


6. Diapers. Ah yes. The diaper debate. Cloth vs. Disposable. I've struggled with this one. I really wanted to go the cloth route. Simply because I've already contributed thousands of diapers to the landfills. And apparently all the diapers I've contributed to the landfills will take a good 300 to 500 years to break down. This makes me feel like a horrible person. And guilty as hell. But you know what? I don't have the money to buy two to three dozen cloth diapers. Okay that's just an excuse. I just don't feel like using cloth diapers, okay? You know how many loads of laundry I have to do a day already? Fuck that, my friends. Call me selfish, but I don't want to add another load of laundry to my list, thank you very much. If you use cloth, I think you're awesome. If you use disposables, I still think you're awesome. Therefore, I'm awesome too. Bring on the Huggies!


7. Clothing. Basic clothing. Do newborns need a shit ton of little cute outfits? No. It's a waste of space and a waste of money. Baby doesn't care what he wears. Don't get me wrong, I'll get a few cute things. I want him to look cool of course. But newborns sleep a lot. Or they just lie around a lot. So onsies and sleepers it is. Throw in some sweaters, a few jackets, hats and booties. He'll be a fall/winter baby.


8. Other stuff. Other stuff includes blankets, bedding and a floor mat with a few old fashioned baby toys.   Babies don't need a ton of stuff. I will get more things as I need it...if I need it. When I was a first time mom I received and bought too much shit. Half of it I never used and it ended up being a waste of space and money.


9. Oh yes. Almost forgot. Breastfeeding bras. I don't buy actual breastfeeding bras. I just get the ones that are really elastic that you can pull down easily so the baby can latch on.  


10. Oh and things like shampoo, baby oils (great for cradle cap), fever reducers and thermometers etc. A rectal thermometer is the most accurate for newborns. Underarm (axillary) temperatures are also used a lot. Axillary is how I took baby temps in the hospital. It's not as accurate as rectal because it can be up to two degrees off the actual temperature. For axillary temps, always add one degree (or is it two?). Ear thermometers are inaccurate on newborns, so I'll purchase that when he's a toddler.


11. Yes, and a car seat. But we already bought that. It's a convertible one. Because I hate those heavy baby carrier infant car seat thingys.  


Yay. I made my list. I feel better. I'm probably missing a few things, but that's the basics.