I\'m Summer, a mouthy, sarcastic bitch. I\'m passionate about natural birth, long term breastfeeding, and living naturally. I curse too much, love tattoos, and will some day be crushed to death by my book collection. I homeschool, dream of gardening, and swing to the left. 
5 Must Have Baby Items
Mama Is has a great cartoon series (parts 1, 2, 3, and 4) on making a gift registry for a new baby. Doing this for the third time I’ve figured out that 90% of the “must have” items are just useless junk cluttering up the place and getting in the way. I know I’ve written before on skipping the big purchase baby items to save money, but I thought I would make a top 5 list of the things I would say are really must haves for a new baby.
(Note: this list assumes the new baby has mom, and that mom will be there to care for it. Of course in some families that isn’t the case so you’ll need a few extra things, like formula.)
- Clothes – OK, starting with the most obvious your baby will need something to wear. The problem is too many new parents go out and spend over $100 on new baby clothes. That’s just a little insane. Firstly babies grow faster than weeds. That $20 sweater you bought today probably won’t fit by the end of the weak. Secondly babies can be messy creatures. Even if it does still fit it will probably be covered in stains from baby poop and/or spit up. It just ain’t worth it. Spend a few dollars at the thrift shop and buy up all those cute outfits other people paid full price for only to have them worn once before being outgrown. Plus, if they get messed up you’re only out a couple dollars.
- Carseat – This one is another obvious item. If you plan to ever take your baby somewhere that requires riding in a car then you’ll need a carseat. This is one of the places where my thrifty rule takes a back seat. Safety is more important than saving money when it comes to being side swiped by some idiot on the high way. There is some debate about buying a carseat. Do you buy a special infant one and then buy a convertible one a year later or buy one is convertible from the newborn size? The first fits newborns and young babies better, but the second can be cheaper and create less plastic to be tossed out. Either way look for a good. quality brand rather than going for the cheapest one at the store.
- Diapers – You may think this is another obvious choice, but it’s actually fairly controversial. Do you really need diapers? Well ask a parent who is doing EC, or elimination communication, and the answer would be no. People were having babies for a long time before anyone thought about strapping something to their butts. I am still adding these to the “must buy” category even if you are planning on doing EC. You never know when a diaper need might arise: an unexpected long car trip, needing someone to babysit that isn’t EC friendly, getting ill and needing to rest more than taking your baby to the toliet. In those cases you should at least have a set of diapers on hand.
- Sling - Yes, I know that many mothers get along jsut fine without a sling. But honestly, it’s a lot harder to do. Comparing the early days of motherhood with Evan and no sling to Trey with a sling is like night and day. No lugging a heavy carseat around, no trying to juggle the baby and your bag and anything else you have to carry. You can go as expensive as you want on a sling, going all out with a Hotslings Hemp Organic Baby Sling or buy a cheaper low cost one ( I got my first sling for $20 on Ebay). If you’re crafty and can work a sewing machine you can even make your own sling for even less.
- Love - OK, so it’s not something you can buy in a store but it is certainly something your baby cannot live without. You can toss out all the fancy, high priced baby gadgets and toys and products and you still have love to give your baby. And let’s face it, that’s really all a baby wants anyway.
Great post! I love when you can get down to the basics!
stephanie\´s last blog post..7 random facts about Stephanie
Yup. All babies really need is something to keep them warm, something to poop in, and something to eat. Everything else is just extra.
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I made my first Snugli, and later on a sling for every one of my kids and can’t imagine doing the parenting thing without one. Wearable babies are the ultimate in portable babies. Great post on the baby essentials!
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I couldn’t have said it better. I always laugh when I see the media reporting how much babies “cost” in their first year. Utter nonsense.
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Here’s my “Tried and True” list of baby must have and nots. http://www.mommamuse.com/2006/01/15/prepare-for-new-baby-with-these-tried-and-true-items/
A friend of mine did EC.. I am so bad, I didn’t even do cloth, I caved and used disposable… but, to my own credit, I breastfed forever and never did get a baby crib.
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We did pretty hard core EC (we caught his first meconium poop, and he was 100% diaper-free by 9mo), and I STILL consider diapers essential! About 2-4 dozen prefolds (or flats), a couple snappis, and a few fitteds and a couple wool pants for out and about.
Clothes, however, were basically optional. :p OK, we used them when we went out, but that meant we needed, what, 3-4 shirts to go over the wool pants? And socks, socks were nice. Still, clothes are overrated.
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