Baby and minimalism

So I am almost 6 months along and Hubby and I are seriously thinking about where to slot baby into our flat. I’ve been very mellow now in the second trimester, most of the panic/stress is gone and I am feeling very relaxed. So relaxed that I am not at all fussed about baby anything.

This has left hubby trying to sort out everything. He is very excited about baby coming and wants to get our flat ready. He’s re-done the bathroom floor, getting quotes for new built-in cupboards and drawing up plans for a partition wall in the lounge so we have a baby room. I wasn’t fussed at first, thinking we could just put baby in lounge and it would be ok but he is adamant a child should have its own room, even if it’s just so you can close the door on them and relax in the rest of your house (since admittedly my idea of baby in lounge would probably mean that we’d need to be quieter in the evenings and tip toe around her (yes we’re expecting a little girl!)).

Some inspiration I've collected for our nursery:

So how does this tie-in with minimalism? We’ve decided that we will not go overboard buying baby items. Since it is our first I appreciate that it may seem naive, after all what do we know. I’ve been reading lots of ‘baby essential’ lists and there are only a few things that most lists agree on. The best piece of advice I’ve seen so far is to only buy stuff as the need arises, ie not stock up on loads of items beforehand.

So here are some of the things I’ve got on my basics list:

1.       Newborn diapers – We haven’t decided on disposables or cloth diapering yet but either way were told the first couple of weeks to stick to only disposables so we will get a small supply (not too many as we were also told baby might grow into a bigger size soon). I am thinking maybe 50?

2.       Stuff to clean baby and umbilical cord – surgical spirits, cotton swaps, baby oil, soft towel and a plastic mat (since we are planning to wash baby in bathroom sink – we haven’t really decided on a sink yet so might have to get a plastic tub if this doesn’t work out)

3.       A Moses basket – a friend is lending us hers with sheets, covers etc so baby’s sleeping arrangements for first couple of months is sorted.

4.       A car seat so we can take baby home safely from hospital – we might look at one that fits on a stroller – Hubby’s parents have said they would like to gift us this.

5.       Some onesies – although we are expecting to get gifted enough that we won’t need to buy these (also getting hand me downs from friends). Baby will be born at height of summer so I figure we don’t need that many cloths.

6.       A couple of light blankets (that can double-up as burp cloths, nursing covers)

7.       Nursing bras, nipple cream and pads

8.       A wrap carrier of some sort, we haven’t really started looking at any though

That’s pretty much it for now. I am planning to try the breast feeding route so we will see how that goes. I have purposefully decided not to buy feeding items until a couple of weeks after baby is born. I’ve read that it is best to try out a couple of different teats etc with baby before buying a set of plastic bottles etc. Same goes for breast pumps, I have no idea what will work for me but have heard that the hospital has a selection so I can try out some there and decide later on which system I prefer.

We have also decided not to buy any toys. I am sure we will get gifted some but I figure babies don’t need much to be entertained. I have seen them staring at plain walls and finding that exciting enough. All I have is an old stuffed rabbit (which I’ve had for more than 10 years, it survived the purges as I wanted to keep it for my first born. I had a stuffed bunny as a baby and like the idea that my child will as well, even if it’s not the same one). It is baby safe (ie no buttons, zips, sharp or loose bits) and I will give it a wash beforehand.

And that’s pretty much it for now. We haven’t bought anything yet though. The plan is to wait until after I’ve seen what my mother and mother in law send us. Both have already bought items which we are expecting to receive over the Christmas holidays. We are also waiting to see what we get as hand me downs from friends. Worst case DH will have to go and pick up any necessities while I am at the hospital (standard for a natural birth here is 3 days in hospital). We are avoiding any and all baby shops like the plague! I have heard from friends that the larger baby warehouse type of places are very overwhelming and there is such a large selection of items that it becomes very difficult to distinguish between necessities and needless items. 

Lastly we have decided to fore go the crib. We have a basket for the first couple of months. Our neighbor will let us have her old traveling cot which we will use afterwards and whenever we go out and when that gets too small baby will migrate straight to a mattress on the floor. We are investing in a new memory foam mattress for ourselves (mostly since I’ve been struggling more and more to get comfy at night, my hips are on fire by the morning!) so our old mattress is available for baby room. Since it’s a double I figure I can sleep next to baby during evening feeds or when she’s being particularly difficult.

As mentioned before though, I realize as first time parents we probably have a lot to learn and might not be able to implement all our plans so I will post about how things go as we go along :)