HOW I PREPARED FOR BABY (A MINIMALIST GUIDE)
When you find out you’re pregnant you are given a 9 month timeline to get ready for one of the biggest moments of your life. There are a million different products and websites for new moms to consume but if I can give you any advice, less is more.
FEEDING: When I walked down the bottle aisle I was so overwhelmed. There are so many different types of bottles, nipples, pumps, formula, the list goes on. I went into motherhood assuming I would just breastfeed and only pump to have milk for when I went away. I don’t know what I was drinking but that was not what Emi had in mind. Your baby is going to be who they want to be and you have to be ready to embrace that and by ready I mean there is no point in investing in bottle systems or pumps until you meet your little one. I ended up renting a hospital grade pump for 3 months! But if I can make any recommendations, you could always go with one bottle set, just a basic bottle, and I actually had a great experience with this manual pump by Medela. Obviously if you end up exclusively pumping it would not be ideal but for on the go or if you’re in a pinch it is amazing. I would even venture to say it was more efficient than the electric one.
CLOTHES: You’re going to be sleep deprived, the last thing you are going to feel like doing is putting your newborn in an outfit. At this stage it’s all about function, not fashion, so stock up on good onesies and pjs! I even found some in mom size from a Canadian company Smash + Tess.
FURNITURE/EQUIPMENT: One fear I had before baby was letting my house be overrun with baby “stuff”. After asking around one common piece of baby equipment kept coming up. A baby swing. There are a lot of different styles of swings out there so pick one that you like the look of. Emi spent sent a lot of time in her swing sleeping and it was a lifesaver for me. Transitioning to a bassinet and then later her crib will come later in another post. But for those first few months I can’t emphasize enough the amazingness that is the swing.
Of course you’ll also need a car seat, stroller (remember the car seat adapter), some diapers, and really that’s it. At the end of the day your baby doesn’t need much, just you. I know it might sound a little cheesy but anytime you start to feel anxious or worried, remember you were literally made to do this. You got this, you don’t need a bunch of stuff to be an amazing parent.
