Our little boy is 11 days old already. We’ve had a couple sleepless nights so far, but mostly it’s been a wonderful week and a half. I was noticing today that I can already tell that we’re not going to need some of the baby stuff that we have – and we don’t even have that much stuff, since we didn’t have a baby shower (the ladies I work with at the library threw a book shower for me, and everyone brought a favorite book, which I thought was a wonderful idea, but we didn’t have a typical shower with a gift registry and piles of baby stuff all around). We did get lots of hand me downs from friends and family who have already had babies, and we bought a few things from Craigslist (a sling, a pack n play, some cloth diapers…)
So far, we’re using the sling every day – it’s been a lifesaver. He loves to go for walks in the sling, and we can wear him around the house in it, with our hands free to do whatever else we need to do. We both love how it lets us keep him very close by and still be able to get other stuff done. It’s a sling that lets the baby ride sideways against the parent’s abdomen, and it’s perfect for now, although I think we’ll need to move on to an upright carrier by the end of the summer.
We’re using lots of baby blankets – we use them to swaddle him; we put them down on the floor for “tummy time” and we put them under him at night since he sleeps in our bed, they keep the occasional spit up off the sheets.
I’m loving the one piece outfits that are like a bag with arms and an opening at the bottom. They come down over his feet to keep them warm, and they make diaper changing a breezy – just scooch them up around his waist and change the diaper. No snaps, no threading noodly little legs into leg holes… Even though we haven’t bought any clothes at all, we have a whole dresser full right now. Lots of things that we got as gifts, and lots of hand me downs from friends. I can already tell that he’s going to outgrow a lot of them before he ever wears them. I’m tending to stick with the clothes that are simple, easy to wash, and easy to put on and take off. And he wears the same clothes for 24 hours – although that could change if he starts spitting up (for now, he’s only spit up three times in 11 days!).
We haven’t used the stroller yet, since we’ve carried him in the sling everywhere he’s gone so far. We used a baby swing a couple times, but he got tired of it and so did we. It uses batteries, which is a drag, and it takes up a lot of space. I think that will be getting donated soon. We haven’t used the changing table at all, since we’ve been changing his diaper on our bed. I’m glad we didn’t buy an actual changing table – we got a contoured pad that sits on top of his dresser instead. And for now, our cat has taken up residence there. In fact, we haven’t used his room at all so far, although I’m sure that will change over the next few months.
I knew that we didn’t need most of the baby stuff that’s out there – but now that he’s here, we’re needing even less of it than I had imagined. All he really wants to do is nurse, get his diaper changed, snuggle with one of us, sleep, and be carried around. We don’t really need anything other than ourselves and some diapers to get all of that done.
djc says
When babies are breastfed, they tend not to spit up much, or hardly at all, because they aren’t gulping air as they feed, or needing to be aggressively burped.
MITBeta @ Don't Feed The Alligators says
Just because you don’t use everything right away, doesn’t mean that you won’t use it someday. I’m sure you’ve already found that babies change day to day, and so do their preferences and cognitive abilities. Toys that our daughter couldn’t care less about for months suddenly became her favorites. Same goes for things like the swing. Don’t give up stuff too quickly on just 11 days worth of evidence.
I’m glad to hear that everything is going well so far.
FrugalBabe says
We’ll hang on to everything for the time being, but there’s a lot of stuff that he’ll outgrow pretty quickly, whether we use it or not. But our goal is to have as little “stuff” as possible, and instead to spend as much time with him as we can. So we’re much more likely to put him in the sling and take him for a walk than to put him in the swing.
Smart Girl says
I’m surprised you are using the swing so soon – though I don’t have kids, I watched my siblings with their kids (infants) and I don’t think anyone used a baby swing unti the infant was a few months old – at which time, it was a god send for a number of months.
While you’re not using much now, as time goes on, you will be using more and more – like the changing table…. you will likely use the changing table until it is time for potty training – so in four or five months time, you’ll be thrilled to have it and be using it for many months to follow.
You are correct, babies don’t need a lot of “stuff.” However, as he becomes older, you’ll appreciate all of the great “educational” types of toys and such that will engage his mind. Babies and young children have an amazing capacity for learning – many of my friends start at infancy speaking to their children in multiple languages. One friend is from Spain, her husband from France – they are raising their little girl in the US – so they each speak to her in their native language… utheir little girl now speaks three languages.
Enjoy your baby time!
Frugal Babe says
Smart Girl – Thanks for stopping by! We really aren’t using the swing at all. It’s just like a tiny cradle (it will only hold an infant up until they’re a few months old) that sways sideways. But we didn’t like it because it’s noisy and uses batteries. What we use everyday is the sling – we take our little boy everywhere in it. We “wear” him around the house while we’re just going about our day. It keeps him close and lets us respond right away when he fusses so he never has to get to the full-on wailing stage to get our attention. And it’s great for going for walks. We haven’t used the stroller at all yet, or the car seat for that matter, since he hasn’t been anywhere in the car. Everywhere he’s gone, he’s been in the sling.
Claire in CA, USA says
This post brings back memories. I, too, had a little room set up for our first baby. It had the crib with beautiful bedding, and even custom painted walls. She NEVER slept in that room until she was two years old. We had a family bed right up until our second child was about 4 years old (though they did have their own beds, and slept in them some of the time).
I sold the crib (which I had bought in the PennySaver before the first was born) for the same price I bought it for…after all, it only had dust on it. :-)
It is interesting how we have preconceived ideas about babies, which they usually destroy in no time. Like, that old one “Babies sleep about 20 hours a day.” Um, yeah, my baby slept about four hours a day (in 24 hours). LOL, it sounds funny now, but I was TIRED!!