Oh my goodness... next week, in addition to all the holiday festivities, I'll be starting my third trimester!! While we are prepared for the baby in a number of ways, there are still a few things left to do. Like, this is our nursery:

And the tree and lights and window seat and futon have been there for years! (That's a new-ish closet to the right.) It's been our meditation room and an Airbnb room until now so we have a few things to buy and set up over the next month or two. We haven't bought anything and I've been working on a list of the minimum we'll need when Peanut arrives.

We've decided to start with the minimum (for us) and then add items as we see the need. Hopefully this will help with the much-talked-about onslaught of baby stuff. In addition to the items the hospital gives, there's Amazon Prime and Instacart and a 24hr Safeway down the street when a need does pop up.

We're starting slow and we're opting to not have a baby shower. Of course we are grateful to receive anything for the little boy but a shower doesn't feel right. We're also trying to avoid a lot of baby stores and lists because they are crazy! We are total amateurs and will be learning as we go but we do know that the baby doesn't need all of the stuff. Baby registries are almost worse than wedding registries!

Obviously, every baby is different and every parent is different. I'll keep you posted as we learn and add/subtract from the list. These are the Baby Essentials we're most likely going to BUY NEW:

1. Diapers (mostly cloth) plus Wipes and a Changing Pad: We're going to try to cloth diaper. We're also buying some disposables for travel and we've read cloth diapers can sometimes be too big for a newborn.
2. Glass Bottle: Before we know much about Peanut's feeding habits, we're going to start with a glass bottle. There are so many types and nipples and cleaners but we'll know more about what we need later.
3. Carrier w/ Newborn Insert: In and out of the house, we think this will be our preferred carrying method for a little while. We'll see!
4. Car Seat: We need one legally plus we do use our car and it's how he'll get home ❤.
5. Crib and Mattress w/ Cover: I don't need to start a discussion on sleeping and co-sleeping right now ;). We're getting a crib for the nursery and hoping to start him in there.

And these are the Baby Essentials we're hoping to be given to REUSE or buy USED:

1. Clothing: Starting with a few onesies, sleepers, pants and socks.
2. Blankets & Swaddling Cloths: I can imagine an excess of these out there. :)
3. Sheets: We'll start with 2-3 fitted sheets.
4. Burp Cloths & Washcloths: While some existing towels might work, we'll probably purchase some cuter and softer ones.
5. Pump: (no picture necessary ;) We'll most likely be getting this through our insurance.

There are a few other items that we might buy but maybe after Peanut is born:
1. Stroller: We'll have to decide on our needs.
2. Chair for Feeding: I'm going to start by using our existing lounge chair or the futon.
3. Swing/Seat for Baby: This seems like something we should test out with him first.
4. Diaper Bag: We're going to start with a backpack we already own and some packing cubes.
5. Additional Bathing and Changing Things: He'll need soap but we want to wait and see how we like to bathe him and where we like to change him first.

That's where we're starting! Some more things might come up as we continue to talk to new parents and our doula. I'll update the list on how we did after the first month and then later probably too. I know every parent has an opinion on these things. ;) We're open to listening.