the crunchy mama blog

Congrats!! Or, maybe your not having a baby soon but plan to be soon in the future… happy trying 😉 Oh, and that reminds me on a note about trying to get pregnant since I get that a lot!! Be healthy, eat healthy, take prenatals,  don’t drink excessively , and most of all enjoy trying to get pregnant.  Don’t stress about what day or what hour you need to do it, just enjoy your spouse and have fun 🙂 Both times I got pregnant the month I said, “okay, lets stop trying” .  If you have been trying for a while and think there is something wrong, or maybe you need a little help becoming as healthy as you can be, I can refer you to a holistic dr. that has a 100% success rate 🙂

What Baby Needs:

It is always nice to get recommendations from other moms because let’s be honest there is a TON of baby shit stuff out there and you can spend tons of money, but I promise you, you don’t need to.  It is funny to look at the difference between prep for baby number two compared to baby number one.  We of course had a shower for our first child because we had nothing. Receiving the big items was awesome and I loved that we got clothes for all sizes but I for sure did not need the massive amounts of frilly skirts etc. that I got once everyone knew we were having a girl. Don’t get me wrong, I thought they were all adorable but a baby doesn’t want to wear tulle, jeans, skirts, and tights all the time.  What I did love with my daughter were those sleeper gowns…. sooooooo easy to change diapers!!!! We also used a sleep sack at night.  With her I loved the boppy, don’t think I ever feed her without it.  When I went to a bottle with her a tried everyone in the damn store I swear, and she did use a pacifier ( I didn’t want her to, but once she started using me as one I decided to buy one). For diapers I loved pamper’s swadlers.  Once she started eating real food I used those mesh feeders and made my own baby food using the magic bullet and trays that looked like ice cube trays pretty much but you could write on them with a dry erase marker.

When we were expecting with our son(4 years later) we knew we wouldn’t have a shower since we kept all the big items (crib, stroller,etc.) I did have a little girl’s day in though with a few of my closest friends which turned out just perfect. I was able to get a few things I needed and some boy clothes, all practical outfits that would get a lot of use 😉  I kept any clothes from my daughter that were neutral colored but when I used the sleep gowns that I loved so much for her on my son I found out that they didn’t work out so great on him. Yes, they were great to get to his diaper but he was so long that they just didn’t stay down ever so they were more like bunchy shirts on him.  I got a muslin sleep sack for him that he only wore once or twice because his long legs moved around so much he would get too bunched in that.  I preferred hugies pure and natural or Earth’s Best diapers for him ( I am now starting to cloth diaper ). I never used a boppy with my son, just a small rectangular pillow. (If your not catching on yet, I’m saying a lot was different this time-each kid is different.)  When I went to buy him a bottle I looked for the one that looked most like my boob lol. Tommee tippee won.  I bought a natural pacifier from Modern Natural Baby but he never took to one. (I am very grateful for that!!)  One of my must haves with my son is my Aden+Anais bamboo blankets. one word= AMAZING.  They feel like heaven and I use them when it’s warm out because they are so light and airy, when its cold out-I just double it up underneath a small afghan in his seat, and I use them as a nursing cover If I am out and need a little coverage. They are thin so he doesn’t mind them on his face and they double as a teether because he loves to chew them.

To sum it up besides a crib (which you won’t need right away anyways if you plan on co-sleeping or bed-sharing), car seat, stroller, a swing or something like that(to give you a break) and a tub you really just need the following:

Your boobs. The most nutritional food for your baby and IT IS FREE!!!!  A small tube on lanolin (I recommend putting it on daily in the beginning. In my experience it doesn’t take long to get used to. With baby number 2 I put it on every day for the first week and then before I would pump when I first started. I never had any problems or soreness. (* side note to new breastfeeding moms- don’t wash your nipples with soap- it dries them out). Nursing pads will most likely be a must -Baby one I used disposables but this time I chose organic cotton reusable ones and I love them.  I recommend the book called The womanly art of breast feeding.   WONDERFUL!!! Advice,tips, and anything related to it that you could think of.

Onsies(long sleeve and short) and cotton pants. But remember babies grow fast!! You don’t need 50 pairs of pants, honestly my son has 6 in his current size and that is fine. socks (Baby legs brand are the only ones that stay on my baby…but the ones that I loved with my daughter I still have and those didn’t work at all with my son- each foot is different) One piece sleepers. (I prefer button over zipper because after a few washes the zipper gets funny and bunches, then my son just wants to chew on it) One sleep sack

Diapers + wipes: Disposable + cloth I recommend waiting til baby is here to start buying cloth…ask around to get your hands on a few different brands you can try, you won’t know what works on your baby till your baby is here.  I’ll also add here that I think diaper genies are a joke.  We just walk the diapers out to our main garbage since that gets emptied every other day. If you are doing cloth you will want a bag for those (they have all different sizes of wet/dry or just wet bags) The good ol’ fashion cloth diapers are what I use for burb rags/spit up clothes -cheap and work great. I also keep thin washcloths by changing area to dry baby’s bum off after wiping so that there isn’t moisture sitting. I keep a stack of them at the front of the changing pad and at the back. (front for spit up/ drool + back for pee mishaps and drying!-don’t want to mix up a front or a rear cloth 🙂 )

Products:My best advice is Less is More and Read the ingredients!!! Really you do not need to bath your baby everyday and cover him in soaps, lotions, powders and creams every day.  I use natural soaps from Dr. Bronner’s and Oyin handmade. If I do need to put something on him to absorb some moisture I use cornstarch but mainly I just try to let him air out or blot with washcloth.  I do not use lotion, if there was ever a time I needed to I would use coconut oil. If you aren’t drying out your babies skin with soaps everyday you prob won’t need to replenish moisture.   I have had to use a cream for diaper rash maybe 5 times total (combined between 2 kids) and I use burt’s bees- each time I used it I only applied once. (side note * I use coconut oil to wash my face and it is amazing, my skin is the best it has been since before I was a teen! I use Oyin’s funk butter (funny name huh?!)deodorant- I have had lots of mom’s ask about that , I tried tom’s and one from trader joe’s but wasn’t pleased but I don’t like feeling like I have deodorant on either. I stopped wearing deodorant daily when I was pregnant with my daughter (now 4 1/2), but this pregnancy I laughed a lot about how one of my armpits stunk though -also I have found other mom’s with this problem, so I began a search for a natural deodorant that worked! It is also common for stronger odor after you have your baby, so your baby can “find” you so don’t be alarmed!)

Eventually, yes you will need some toys but you do not need 50 and you sure don’t need to spend a lot!! Once again I believe less is more and there are soo many neat things you can do with household items. Both of my kids loved washcloths for teething and Ronin loves his sophie giraffe and simple objects he can hold and chew, but most of all he prefers my knuckle.

In a nutshell (I really don’t like that saying but can’t think of a beter one) : It is really easy to get suckered in to needing a million things for your baby but if you are feeling overwhelmed take a step back and think about it your baby really just needs you ❤