Creating Space for Baby

One of the most common questions I get from friends and expecting mamas is, "what do I need for baby?" 

Well, I have news for you. Babies need only a few things (at least for the first 6 months or so). 

• A place to sleep
• Clothes, mostly pjs
• Diapers
• Mama's milk or formula
• Love

Now, of course it's nice to have a few other items that are helpful for keeping babies clean, dry & happy. My advice is not to get too caught up in it. Many new mothers spend hours looking through Pinterest, mommy blogs, and the like to find the items which will suit her needs as a parent. It is easy to find oneself awake at 2 am (pregnancy insomnia) Googling, "Best diaper bags 2017" or, "What to pack for the hospital." (I actually have the hospital packing list covered here and here.) I know that I personally put in more hours researching a stroller than I did when purchasing a new car. ​

I chose to buy baby items with a few things in mind.

• second-hand: newborn items show little to no wear so we chose to give these items new life while saving our pocketbooks and our planet. Buy consignment, accept hand-me-downs, scour Kijiji...
• handmade: it is so lovely to look at a baby toy or blanket or sweater and think, "someone made that for my baby." 
• quality: when we did purchase baby gear new, we did our research and chose items that would last multiple children and would fit our lifestyle. Many of our baby gear items fold away or are travel sized because we started our family in a 600 sq ft. apartment. 

I say look at these lists. Why not? Look at a variety of them, from more eco-conscious sources to more mainstream and gadgety ones. Then talk to your friends who have kids, reach out on social media. I am sure that of all of these lists and recommendations, you will start to notice that everyone claims to have something that they could not live without! And that some things just don't matter as much. 

There is my rant. 

Again, through all of the advice I give moms, it comes back to the same thing:

You are the parent.
You do the best that you can for your family.