Oh, life without a little baby - I am so enjoying you. It is crazy how a 15 month old just doesn't seem like a little baby at all and when I see a newborn out and about I just marvel. Did I really ever have a baby that small? Yes and it was crazy and it was also a little magical and a special kind of sweet and precious and fairy dusted.
I know (and hope!) it won't be long until the next squishy, tiny little babe descends upon my tribe. Due to the size of my house, my budget and my inability to keep up with things, I've developed a bit of a reputation as the "minimal" mom when it comes to making the supplies list for tiny baby raising. With no pre-registry, things came in mostly because I really needed something and decided to look around and see if it was a thing. So much of baby stuff seemed to be better felt out by Markus and I after Heidi was here, but I do have a short list of things that seem to come up when people ask me for referrals or I just generally lift my arms to the Heavens and praise God and the person who invented whatever is making life happen. The list can be narrowed to "The New Baby Five" and I present them here without affiliate links:
1. Wubbanub - As soon we talked Heidi into sleeping a few weeks in, we had pacifier problems. One night I spent a constant rotation of her sleeping for about 30 minutes until she spit out her pacifier and started crying and I woke up to put it back in. I remembered seeing the Wubbanub with a friend's kid on instagram and hoped the weight of the added animal would keep her paci in place for a few hours of rest. Ordered at 3:00 a.m. on Amazon Prime, and we've had at least two in the rotation ever since. The animal weights things down at first, is easy for baby to grab as they become more tactile, can be found in her crib at night and keeps the pacifier from rolling around when dropped. Every day I hope the inventor of this product is a woman who just sits and counts her stacks of money. Freaking genius.
2. Honest diapers - I knew by the layout of our laundry area and general lives that cloth diapering would not be a thing for us. After price comparing a good number of eco-friendly disposable options, Honest was competitive and by far the most convenient. A month plus of diapers and wipes ships to our door every month, which has probably been the best way to keep us rolling with life and not running to Target or specialty stores for baby supplies. I really don't know what it feels like to be out of diapers which is quite a nice feeling. I've adjusted our ship date many a time on their easy to navigate app, talked to a real and even friendly human in customer service and enjoyed a relatively diaper rash free baby thanks to these products. I've become a crossover shopper and also love their baby shampoo and body wash combo, also available at Costco, plus their sunscreen, chest rub and dishwasher pods.
3. Baby books - While it may seem slightly against type, I loved me a few baby books in the beginning. Books on babies are often written by and distributed for doctors, researchers and/or subject matter experts, which is more than I can say for most of the Internet (personal opinion). There's so much out there, it was helpful for me to find a few choice priorities and ideologies that seemed attractive to me and go for the printed page so I could highlight, dog ear and set it on my nightstand with a sense of accomplishment once satisfied with my learnings, even if I only read half the pages. I loved and tremendously benefited from Healthy Sleeps Habits, Happy Child and Bringing Up Bebe, as sleep and fostering independence in myself and my child were some of my main concerns as a new mom. Whatever yours are, there is likely a book out there to validate and educate you!
4. Bugaboo Bee - Ok, so my stroller is kind of an asshole. It's flashy, pricey and branded. Despite our differences, I love the thing. I've had Heidi in it since her first stroll and we'll be rolling together until she's old enough to walk around herself. I love how foldable, portable, easy to maneuver and lightweight this thing is. I've never used one of the car seat/carrier things and was a total baby wearing failure, but the Bee made it easy to go places. I've never felt like popping it out of my trunk was too daunting. It also takes on our neighborhood's bumpy sidewalk with plenty of ease. I was near Neiman Marcus when I got the call that my baby was ready (still figuring out the best way to phrase this) and remembered they had the Andy Warhol collection, which is 100% how I based my purchase decision. I've been happy to discover how well it does is matters other than pop art flowers ever since.
5. Baby Brezza Bottle Maker - The first time Markus and I went to a baby store we had a three day old baby. We originally saw the Brezza and scoffed, then did some quick math on the number of bottles we were set to be making for the next year and turned the cart around. If you are bottle feeding really even at all, this thing is the best invention since sliced bread. Although at 3:00 a.m. between making a measured and warmed bottle vs slicing a piece of bread, I would be far happier to do the latter. GENIUS INVENTION. I hope the person who invented this is best friends with the Wubbanub inventor and they just swim in their gold coins like Scrooge McDuck. He/she deserves it.
One by one these baby all stars have packed up at our house and deployed to the ranks of the Salvation Army, but I send them off with fondness and gratitude for their service to us. My friends and my sister will welcome babies with a box from me containing one of these five and a word of advice on the others. After this they will be left to do their own thing without my opinion or judgment - probably, unless you are my sister.
Anything on your baby must must list? Leave it below for the new mamas!
