Oh how hindsight is always 20/20 am I right? Here is a curated list of things I would have ACTUALLY used as a kinda crunchy, kinda minimal mom who realized babies don’t need as much stuff as we think (but some things are just nice to have).
Topponcino
I found out about these once my baby was already out of the newborn stage and I was looking into Montessori parenting. These pad/blanket hybrids are common in the Montessori world and for good reason – they make a lot of sense! If you’ve ever had a baby (or a very colicky baby like me) you know they DO NOT want to be put down, especially when they are napping. A topponcino makes transfers so much easier as it acts as a consistent surface with no drastic temperature changes as baby moves from your arms to wherever you need to place them. It also acts as a barrier for germs when visitors come and hold your baby. It’s like a baby taco and it sounds magical.
Sheepskin
I found out, you don’t really need a changing pad at all! And quickly donated mine once I found myself doing all the diaper changes on my bed or on the floor with one of these little cloth pads. HOWEVER I would have rather put the money into a sheepskin, babies love the feeling of the soft fur on their skin, and wool is naturally temperature and moisture regulating to boot. Not to mention the great frequencies it has too if you believe in that sort of thing 😉
WiFi free white noise machine
I talked about this in my cozy bedroom post, you can view that here. I first opted for the Hatch as I wasn’t thinking along the lines of emfs when I created my registry, but the emfs on the Hatch are off the charts! They’re also super expensive. I like this one because it has a red light option (great for middle of the night wake ups) and a white noise option. I later replaced our hatch with it.
WiFi free baby monitor
In the same vein as the sound machine… however this one I was wise to when I first bought it because I knew the WiFi ones could be hacked, but it’s just a bonus your baby isn’t being hit with emfs all night too. This hello baby one worked great for me for 16 months until one night I accidentally dunked the whole monitor in dish water, and promptly replaced it with the same one. It’s one of the most affordable monitors on the market too.
Dr.Bronners baby soap
Not much to say here, just any unscented castile soap will work best and my baby NEVER had a rash of any kind when using it. I also use it as my body wash, and mix it with baking soda to clean my tub and it does an amazing job! Less bottles in my bathroom = win.
100% cotton dry wipes
The great thing about these (outside of them having literally zero ingredients) is that you can control the moisture by wetting them with a spray bottle each time you use them, and also use them to dry your baby before re-diapering or applying creams which is the #1 way to prevent diaper rash. Dry those butts! Also my daughter loved to play with the spray bottle so that’s an added benefit.
A cloth wrap for newborns and a soft but structured cotton carrier for bigger babes
I do believe if my daughter wasn’t so colicky the wrap would have been a game changer like so many moms claim, but she just hated everything those first few months. Once she got older and was her happy self we used the crap out of our ergobaby organic I got used off of marketplace. She was in that thing most days until she was 15 months old. They don’t make them anymore but this one is very similar but way cuter and WAY more affordable than ergo baby.
Cloth diapers
everyone told me this would be too hard to do, but they make these so user friendly now I’m determined to try next time! They end up being way cheaper in the long run too, because they are fully adjustable to fit your baby from 10 to 35 lbs. An added bonus is that they can help your babe potty train easier since they allow them to feel the wetness more than disposable diapers, fostering a greater sense of bodily awareness.
Kudos disposable diapers
I tried every “clean” diaper brand and ended up sticking with these. They are so much more affordable than Coterie, and the only disposable diaper to be 100% cotton lined. Polyester directly touching genitals has been linked to all sorts of bad things, including infertility. Enough said.
Newton breathe-thru mattress
And that brings us to our next topic- bedding. I got this newton mattress to give me peace of mind as it’s OEKO-TEX certified and breathable. It’s pricier but worth is to avoid your baby sleeping in a cloud of toxic off gassing every night. You will also use it for years as one firmer side is for infants and the other softer side is for toddlers. They also make a non-toxic mattress protector which I loved. Slap some cute cotton muslin sheets on it and call it a day!
Stainless steel baby feeding set
If you haven’t heard, silicone eventually starts to absorb the taste of the soap you use, and this can cause food aversions for your child. You have to boil it to get rid of the taste, so one more thing on your literal plate? No thanks. I initially had a wooden set that was stained pretty bad by berries, so opted to replace it with this and was left wondering why I didn’t have this all along! The suction is great, and all parts are dishwasher safe for easy clean up! Side note: Silicone bibs are the absolute best! You only really need one for all the partial minimalists out there like me. Cloth bibs are cute but these catch the food and wash clean in 2 seconds. Less laundry for you! The silverware it comes with is super ergonomic for babies hands as well, so you can teach them early.
Medical grade breast pump
If you have to use one – which I did briefly but couldn’t sustain – get the cordless spectra. It’s a godsend to move it around the house, and it actually effectively extracts milk, which many don’t.
A mirror for bodily awareness
I found out too late how much you can actually do with a newborn to stimulate their brain. Montessori advises you set your baby on the ground, as much as possible, ideally in front of a full body mirror to foster bodily awareness. This one is great because it has a bar for them to practice pulling up on as they grow as well – and it extends all the way to the ground which is crucial for newborn tummy time.
Pikler
The ramps these include are great for newborns to practice crawling on, and also just to experience different inclines and use different muscles! They’ll be loved and used for years as your child grows too. My daughter was climbing up the arch at 9 months old, before she was even close to walking!
Lanolin
Use it on your nipples, use it on babies diaper rash, your dehydrated lips if you’re breastfeeding. Just use it.
The Lovevery play gym
Others just can’t compete. I had a different cheap one and could tell my daughter wasn’t interested in interacting with it at all, so I wish I has got this one instead! It’s especially nice that you can prop the contrast cards up on it to be hands free. This is also another thing that grows with your child. They could play with this wellinto toddlerhood! There’s honestly not a single feature this play gym is missing, and it might even allow you to enjoy your coffee while it’s still hot!
The coveted baby bouncer
I’m not sure why while I was pregnant I insisted I wouldn’t need one of these. Everyone talks about how necessary they are – I just didn’t believe them. I ended up panic buying this one myself. There are TONS of super expensive pretty ones on the market, but this one is affordable and looks nice! As essential as this is, you only use these for the first ~6 months of your baby’s life, so spending major money on one seems like a waste. Most of the other expensive ones don’t include the sounds or vibrations this one does either. These were actually really effective for calming my colicky girl. This thing is amazing.
A good baby bath
Same thing here, I initially thought I could get by with that flimsy foam flower bath thing – spoiler alert – I couldn’t. You need a bath tub especially one specifically for newborns. First – newborns are so slippery and fragile and it’s so hard to hold them and bathe them at the same time unless you literally get in the bath with them, which is fun but I wasn’t about to do that every time. Second – this prevents you from having to clean the tub every time you give your baby a bath (one less thing to do? yes please) I would get this one now because it comes with a tub spout cover and cup and is just so beautiful! Plus when your baby outgrows it in a year, it doubles as storage for all the bath toys you’re sure to accumulate.
A sidecar sleeper
I was trying to be cute and use a vintage swinging bassinet I got secondhand. It wasn’t cute on my 9th wakeup of the night because my daughter just WOULD NOT sleep in it! I’ve heard great things about these sidecars and definitely would opt for one of these next time. You just set the height to match your bed and voila. You can also just use it as a regular bassinet too! I also love that it’s non toxic and green guard certified with the classic newton breath-through mattress to reduce SIDs risk. This is one of those things I wouldn’t skimp on since your baby will be spending so much time in it and safety is the priority.
Non-Toxic car seat
Another splurge I regret not making. Your baby is probably going to spend a lot of time in their car seat/carrier- especially as a newborn because it’s so convenient to keep them in there for shopping trips etc. So it’s important to think about what their skin is touching all those times! This one looks so incredible and is also incredibly lightweight – the lightest I could find on the market actually. And it’s flame retardant free. Not messing around when it comes to car seat safety!
The branch basics premium starter kit
Ok so technically this one was never on my baby registry because I had already been using it over a year before I gave birth, BUT- if you are about to have a baby or know someone who is- this is a top notch gift. The branch basics concentrate is totally non-toxic, plant and mineral based, and won’t harm you if you consume it. This kit is soooo nice and makes cleaning so much safer and more manageable for everyone in the house to do because the glass bottles have measurement lines for the soap/water. I washed all of my daughter’s clothes in this even before she was born, but don’t use it for my own because the laundry soap does use up the most concentrate. However it’s extremely affordable and one bottle lasts us so long this way and covers all of our cleaning needs! One bottle of the concentrate makes 3 hand soap refills, 3 all purpose refills, 3 bathroom cleaner refills, 3 glass cleaners and 1 laundry refill (64 loads of laundry). At $55 a bottle you can’t beat it!
And that’s it! Kinda boring but I’m of the persuasion that the more stuff you have, the more stressed you’ll be. Anything else I had that wasn’t working for me, I immediately donated. I think we can all agree that less higher quality items is better than more junk- especially if you’re planning on having multiple children and can use the good stuff for years to come. There’s some random little things added in here on my list on Amazon that I found nice to have or want for the next baby, but all in all this was what I personally used.
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