Since Islo has turned 6 months old (what?), I thought it would be a good time to do an update on the New Baby Essentials that we actually used and how we felt about all the stuff. This post covers 0-3 months and next week's post will cover 3-6 months.

Big life transitions are apt to make us feel uncertain, so some of us (most of us really) look to buying things to feel a little more secure. I mentioned this briefly in the last post... even our family falls into this trap sometimes. And with the exception of one or two things, the items we acquired when feeling that way were unnecessary and usually returned.

This is where we landed on baby stuff for the first few months.

0-3 MONTH BABY ESSENTIALS:
1. Diapering: We decided to punt cloth diapering for a couple of reasons but mostly because of the water usage and effort it would take at a time when we knew we would already be struggling. So, we were pointed to and have loved compost diapering! The Swedish (yes!) diapers and wipes are healthier for baby and the environment and they’ve performed quite well, better than Honest or bigger brands for us. Plus, they are simple and cute. That’s all we’ve used in addition to a little coconut oil here and there… no warmers, creams or ointments.
We’ve also been really happy with our diaper pail and changing pad. It’s so easy to wipe down and helps us avoid pad covers and related laundry.
2. Feeding: We breastfed almost exclusively but wanted to have the option of bottle feeding for both the car and so I could be away from Peanut for more than a couple of hours if need be. We were told that there was an ideal window for introducing a bottle at around 4 to 5 weeks. It took a few tries at an already stressful time but we are so glad we persisted because it’s a relief to have a baby that can easily feed from breast or bottle. I’ve really liked my pump, although it’s not the tiniest for travel, and we stuck with two Dr. Browns bottles per stage. We fed all over the place but had a couple of stations at home... no rockers required.
3. Carrying: Unfortunately, we weren’t a huge carrier family for the first few months... maybe because of reflux or healing or strollering or a baby that liked free feet? When I did manage to use a carrier, I liked the Nesting Days one that I received as a gift. It was comfortable and supportive and easy to use. One note is that I wish I had started using it earlier. Peanut was a small newborn and wasn’t eligible for most carrier weight limits but it turns out that that first month was the perfect time to start.

4. Strollering: We actually did choose to get a car seat/stroller combo right away and have been really happy with it. It’s less than a quarter the price of most I see around the city but it’s done every job well and it’s super easy to use. We used this a lot the first few months to leave the house, go on walks and run errands. It even has a bassinet setting if that’s a thing you care about. Peanut doesn’t mind the car seat, especially with a mirror reflecting trees.
5. Sleeping: Hmm, well our intentions of having Peanut sleep in his crib right away didn’t work out so well. He had bad reflux with choking and couldn’t be on his back a lot. After a couple of weeks of getting no sleep, it was suggested that we try a Rock ‘n Play and so we did. It was an annoying thing to have to buy but it was one of the few anxiety-ridden purchases that definitely paid off. We ended up using it for nighttime sleep plus most naps for two months or so and then did an abrupt transition to the crib once he could almost push himself out! It was in his nursery so at least he was getting used to that location. We swaddled using these and started leaving his arms out once he was hand-soothing, a little after three months.
6. Clothing: This is an area to save a good amount of money and resources. We did laundry at least every couple of days so needed very few clothing items to begin with. Peanut spent most of his time in long-sleeve footed pieces. We loved ones that snapped (kimono-style) or zipped all the way up. We used a handful of those (Burt’s Bees and L'ovedbaby), a few kimono-style onesies (H&M), a couple of pairs of pants (Gymboree, of all places), a hoodie (hand-me-down from Gap) and a hat (hospital-issue). Things we didn’t use: socks (to begin with footies worked better), shoes, mittens (just trimmed those nails!), t-shirts, dressy outfits.
+ Most of the items we had ready to go were size 0-3 months. Peanut was… well, a peanut so thankfully I had purchased one newborn item to take to the hospital. He wore newborn size items until almost 3 months and is just outgrowing 0-3 month items at 6 months. It’s good to have a few items in different sizes for that first week because you never know!

7. Wrapping: We swaddled in blankets to start and also used blankets when outside or hanging out on a floor. Three was probably the right number in different weights. We also went through our fair share of burp cloths (reflux!) and had about ten in rotation.
8. Entertaining: Peanut interacted with zero toys his first three months. We read daily and looked at and touched a bunch of things around the house and outside but he needed nothing special. Receiving toys early on was actually stressful to me because I felt like I needed to entertain him and get him excited about them.
9. Toting: We’ve appreciated using this travel changing pad when on the go. It fits a couple of diapers, wipes, a burp cloth and a small change of clothing. This is the minimum we would leave the house with unless we were just going for a walk.
10. Bathing: We opted not to get a special tub and it worked out! One of us would bathe with him and we did a few sink baths on a towel as well. He didn’t get that dirty so this wasn’t a daily thing. We used a little sample of Honest shampoo to start with along with a towel, two washcloths and a hooded towel for extra warmth and cuteness. ;)

+ Another item we've used a bunch is a balance ball. I labored on it, we'd bounce Peanut to sleep on it in the beginning and now we use it to soothe him if he's upset or gassy :/

Those have been our essentials over the first 3 months! It sometimes feels like a lot to me but most items get used daily and have a space to be put away. Some of the things we’ve enjoyed not having so far: a special rocker, a changing table, an infant tub, multiple strollers, a swing, a pacifier, a monitor, grooming items (we share), special detergent, most toys, extra clothes/sheets/towels, a diaper bag, nursing paraphernalia, a floor mat and any crib decor.

Next week: an update for 3-6 months!

Hello! While our family has gotten a little bit larger, I feel like my world has gotten a little bit smaller. We stay in more, do a little less, go to bed earlier and sometimes just focus on getting through the day. (Now, we do have grand adventures ahead: first flight, first beach and next month at this time, we’ll be in Japan!) On good days, naps happen, I get some work and chores done and I might even get dinner started. On not-so-good-days, I try not to cry and just focus on feeding and getting some rest. For both of us! With this new life, it’s become even more important to have simple systems in place to help the household run a little smoother.

As I said about pregnancy amplifying your values, I feel like having a newborn amplifies your lifestyle choices. I can imagine our laundry would be out of control right now without Essentialism and simplifying. Thank goodness we practice Lean Laundry!

While working with clients to help them declutter their lives, I have seen a range of laundry situations. Most of us have something in common though: a laundry bottleneck. Start by noticing your bottleneck. Is it sorting the clothes, actually starting the load (is your washer out-of-house or in a creepy basement?), folding, or putting everything away? Simplify that step and remove the obstacles if possible. (Mine was ironing and hand-washing items. Ugh.) Try a few of these tips if you’d like to make your laundry a little more manageable.

THE ESSENTIALS OF LEAN LAUNDRY:

1. Have fewer clothing items overall. Even try a Lean Closet! I’ve found that the fewer items I own, the better I take care of them. If, come laundry day, you still have a wardrobe full of clothes... perhaps you have way more than you need or could possibly use. I’ve said this before... when you have a smaller wardrobe, there are no longer clothes on the floor, left in the dryer, unfolded in a basket. You can spend less time sorting, cleaning, folding and maintaining everything. Plus there’s more space to put clothes away!

Figure out how many pieces you need for a typical laundry cycle and use that as a limit. In our home, we each have one bath towel that gets washed weekly with a few extras for guests or crazy weeks. Limiting baby clothes has also been super helpful in keeping laundry manageable. Right now, Islo can fit in an item only for a month or two so it doesn't make sense to have a ton of them going unused. I'm doing my best to have him wear out the few great garbs he has. Lean Baby Closet! <3

2. Buy clothes that are easy to care for. The more difficult an item is to wash, the more likely it will end up on the floor of the closet. I tend to avoid dry-clean-only items like the plague and machine wash and even dry almost everything we own. (Line-drying is a future goal!) If a difficult item does need more special treatment, that's what the drycleaner is for. ;)

To reduce wearing out items too quickly, wash items only when they are actually dirty, especially jeans. Also consider having lounge clothes to wear around the home after work.

3. Do laundry around the same time, once a week. It’s beneficial to have a regular laundry day… doing so removes the indecision and procrastination around doing it. Plus your household will know when to expect clean clothes! Doing fewer loads slightly more often makes the chore less daunting and time-consuming. If you have closets full of clothes that let you go a month without doing laundry, imagine how much work said laundry day will be!

Pre-baby, we did a couple of loads of laundry once a week... one dark and one light, adding towels, rags and pillowcases, plus another load for sheets every other week. (Now we do the same, just slightly more frequently!) The benefit of having only one set of sheets per bed is that I’m rarely folding sheets! I just strip the sheets, wash, dry and remake the beds.

4. Have one place to store all laundry and laundry-related items. It helps to have one central place for all dirty clothes to end up so there’s no uncertainty about where things belong. I’d recommend near the washer but another option is a hamper in each dressing room (making sure it gets emptied at least every week!). This way, there are only two places to put clothes: in the washer/hamper or back in the closet. Not the chair, not the floor...

Our place for all of this is our pantry/laundry room. Throughout the week, we just put all lights in the washer (leaving the door open) and darks in the hamper next to it. There’s no running around hunting for dirty clothes before washing. Come laundry day, all I need to do is add detergent and press start, no sorting necessary.

Now, I enjoy folding laundry... something about the order and neat piles. Yet we still hang most of our clothing. This way Greg puts his clothes away every once in awhile ;) So if you don't like folding and that is your bottleneck, hang most things.

5. Use one product for almost everything. I use to work with P&G so I know a little bit about the marketing machine behind all of those specialized cleaning products! Maybe all you need is laundry detergent?! It’s one of the few cleaning supplies I buy premade. We choose one brand that's gentle yet effective. It gets everything out of baby clothes, but is also gentle enough for basic lingerie on a delicate cycle. We don’t need fabric softener, bleach or stain treatments... just use a little bit of detergent or dish soap if pretreatment is necessary.

+ Also consider how much detergent you use. “Filling to the line” in my machine was using twice what the product recommended so now I use far less and save!

Does this make you want to go fold something? Hah. These days, it seems even with Lean Laundry, clean clothes take a few hours longer to get folded and folded clothes take a day longer to get put away. That said, it really helps me feel on top of clothing clutter and avoid those situations of needing an item that’s still dirty. I can’t imagine what our home would look like without it.