Sleepy Time!

With three weeks to go before baby comes and still working full-time I find I’ve been almost too exhausted to blog. Life at the moment for me and hubby seems to be on-hold. I have been feeling pretty energetic most days but completely crashed last night. Sometimes folding and going to bed at 8pm really is the best thing to do. 

I am still tired now but definitely much better. It seems that working a full week is more exhausting then I thought it would be. I will have to take things a bit slower in the next few weeks.

I think this weekend will consist of lots of naps.

The horror of too much stuff!

Yesterday we had lunch at some friends of ours we haven’t seen in a while. They are currently in the process of emigrating to Australia. He is leaving next Sunday to find them a house there and she has to finalize all the packing in the next three weeks plus look after their two small children (3 and 18 months).

Their house is understandably a bit of a mess right now and they are sorting through all their stuff but I was still horrified! They have a large five bedroom house and absolutely every room feels like it is crammed with stuff. 

A lot of it is children’s stuff (which seems to be stacked up in every room in the house). How many bits of plastic do you really need to keep a child occupied? How do mom and dad feel being constantly surrounded by all this garish plastic bric-a-brac? I think if I had to pack it all up I would first have a serious cry since the task seems monumental then I would call in local charity and have them box-up and take-away every stack I point my finger at. 

                                                            This could never be me!

A move is always a good time to have a serious purge but most of it looks like it will go with them to Australia since the company is paying shipment costs! I compare it to the one meter cubed I brought with me when I left Belgium and it just seems crazy.

Anyway it is their choice I guess but does affirm to me how much my perspective has changed since choosing a more minimalist lifestyle.

Otherwise we are doing ok with our baby list so far. We have almost all the items I thought were essential and I haven’t caved-in to extras yet.

Yesterday Hubby said neighbours wanted to give us a travel cot and he was keen. I said no. We do not have the space to store one (we don’t have a garage or store room). He said we could use it for baby to sleep in, I said yes but we agreed to have her in the bassinet we already have and then transition her straight to a mattress. If we do go visit friends and want to put her down for a nap we can always put her on a mattress there with some pillows around her. So no travel cot. I am happy about that. I feel like our flat is clean, de-cluttered and sober. I find it peaceful this way and want to preserve that peace, something I think will become even more important to me once I am in all the chaos that can be looking after a small child.

Anyway tonight those friends are coming to visit us and I am very curious about their reaction to our flat, maybe they will find it too austere and small. To each his own.

My Essential Baby gear List

So we are into the final stretch, less than six weeks until the due date. With that in mind and now that we have a designated nursery we figured it was time to slowly start collecting all the gear and supplies we would need during the first three months. We decided to focus only on the first few months as other items could always be bought or borrowed as needed and we didn’t want to over clutter the house. So items like feeding chairs and most toys we are ignoring for now.

 

I made a list of essential items I figured we would need straight away. This is my own personal list and not everyone may agree but it is based on quite a bit of research and cross-checking with other peoples lists. I am planning to breast feed initially (so fingers crossed that works out) and we have also decided to use disposable nappies for new-born stage and only graduate into cloth diapering later on (which we will try on a trial basis and see how we get on).

Checklist: Baby Essentials (0-3 months)

Clothing:
[ ] 4-8 undershirts or onesies
[ ] 4-8 one-piece pajamas (or nightgowns until the cord falls off)
[ ] 1-3 rompers
[ ] 4-7 pairs of socks
[ ] 1-2 pairs of scratch mittens – not 100% sure on this one yet
[ ] 1-3 hats

Sleeping:
[ ] Bassinet
[ ] 2-4 fitted water proof sheets
[ ] 4-6 soft, light receiving blankets (can double as burp cloths or nursing covers)
[ ] Sleep sack or swaddle blanket

Diapers:
[ ] Changing table pad
[ ] 6-10 dozen cloth diapers and 6-8 diaper covers, or 2-3 large boxes of disposable newborn-size diapers
[ ] Diaper pail
[ ] Disposable wipes, baby ointment and barrier cream to prevent rash

Bathing:
[ ] Baby soap
[ ] Soft washcloths
[ ] 1 plastic infant tub
[ ] 3 soft hooded towels

Feeding:
[ ] 2 - 4 nursing bras
[ ] Pump (not immediately necessary)
[ ] Milk storage bags (not immediately necessary)
[ ] Breast pads + Nipple cream

Basic care:
[ ] Baby nail clippers or blunt scissors
[ ] Baby thermometer
[ ] Petroleum jelly, surgical spirits and sterile gauze (for circumcision care)
[ ] Bulb syringe or similar for suctioning mucous


Transport:
[ ] Infant or convertible car seat (with optional mirror to see baby while driving)
[ ] sunshades for car windows
[ ] Sling or baby carrier
[ ] Stroller (not immediately necessary)

It may seem like a lot of items but this really is a much pared down list compared to some I’ve seen. We decided to not rush out and buy many items but put out feelers instead. We have been pleasantly surprised at the response, friends, co-workers and even neighbours have pledged us all sorts of stuff. We even have big ticket items like car seat, stroller and bassinet sorted. Most people seem happy to let us sort through their garage for useful items. We have also received free samples of lotions, shampoos and nappies from antenatal classes and various stores. It makes me happy to think we have nearly everything on our list and we haven’t spent anything yet. 

I am starting to think the baby sector might be a bit like the wedding sector – lots of pressure to buy everything new and shiny and make a big production out of the whole affair. Since our wedding is what started me on the path to anti-consumerism and minimalism I am stoked I can apply the same principles before getting sucked into the baby marketing machine (which mostly seems to be about scaring parents – ie you need this product for your child’s safety/development/health etc).

I try to remind myself every now and then that our parents got by without all this stuff and we turned out mostly fine :)

December Purchases

So it’s been a long break, a blissful four weeks to relax. We finished the work on the flat. It’s all looking so lovely now and I am so happy it’s all done. Finally feel like I can relax again in our own home and can now focus on getting things ready for baby (more on that later).

My list of December purchases:

-        *  Nothing. I bought no clothing this month, despite getting bigger. I did borrow some maternity wear from a friend though so that helped. My mother also gifted me a pair of soft, thick-soled moccasin type shoes as my feet are starting to get quite sore.

With so little left of my pregnancy I feel like now is not the time to buy more maternity gear, I will keep relying on the capsule I have built-up. Once baby is born I also don’t foresee a rush to buy new clothing until after my body settles back into something I am hoping resembles its previous shape. At this point I don’t think I will buy anymore items until earliest April or May but I will post if I do.