Minimalist Baby Registry Essentials for Having a Baby on a Budget
If you are pregnant and anything like me, you want to know what you and your baby will actually need!
When I was going through this journey for the first time, it felt like a baby registry list with only the essentials was a well-kept secret that was locked away in a vault.
Since I had been a full-time nanny before I had my first baby, I had a pretty good idea of what the absolute essentials were. But I still wanted to be sure I wasn’t missing anything.
As I searched Pinterest for Minimalist Baby Registry Lists, I was shocked to find that every list I found had countless items that I already knew were unnecessary at best and a complete waste of money at worst.
Even though I had a general idea what we needed, it felt like I was being guilted into spending more money than I wanted or needed to.
I didn’t have a lot of time, space, or money for things that baby would just use for a month or two. Or for things that would take up a lot of real estate on my living room floor.
So when I began looking at what I was going to get for my baby, I started thinking about what people a few generations ago used and what people in other parts of the world use for their babies.
Then I worked backward from there and added in some items that are nice in this generation and in my part of the world.
Since we were planning to become a single-income family after our baby was born, we needed to be intentional about every dollar we spent. And we needed to use our registry wisely.
As I whittled down my Baby List, I realized how much bad information there was about what people need for their babies.
So in this post you’ll find my favorite baby registry site, how to get the most out of your baby registry, my absolute must-haves for babies, and a few items that you may want to have, but don’t necessarily need to buy if you are on a tight budget.
(And if you prefer to watch instead of read, here is the video that goes with this post:)
What Registry Should You Use?
If you haven’t set up your registry yet, I recommend starting with that. It’s an easy way to keep track of your wish list, and get your registry completed at the same time!
While there are many different options out there, I recommend using the Amazon Baby Registry because:
- It’s incredibly easy to set up
- Items can be easily added from other sites if something is not available on Amazon
- Almost everyone is familiar with Amazon and has an account, so people will feel comfortable purchasing.
- You receive a one-time 10% clearing discount 60 days before your baby’s arrival
- Prime Members receive a 15% clearing discount 60 days before your baby’s arrival
- Everyone gets Free 90 Day Returns!
If you aren’t a Prime Member, you can easily sign up for a 30-day trial before you do your final, one-time “clearing purchase.”
This doesn’t mean that you have to buy everything left on your registry. But you can buy everything you still need or want that you didn’t receive as a gift at a discount.
To sign up for your amazon baby registry, simply follow this link and click that yellow Create a new Baby Registry button in the middle of the page.
Now that you’re ready, let’s get started!
How to Get The Most Out of Your Registry and Baby Shower
Often people like to register for a lot of fun things on their registry knowing that they don’t really need it. They think, “if someone wants to get it for me, great!”
If you build your list this way, you will likely get a lot of fun items for your baby shower… but not a lot of the essentials.
This isn’t a problem if you have a lot of extra money to spend buying the essentials. But since I was trying to do things on a budget, I took a different approach:
I decided that I would only register for things that I knew I needed. If all of those items were purchased, then I would add anything else that looked fun to me.
While this may sound like a less exciting process, it prevented Ross and me from buying all of the essentials ourselves.
We received almost everything we needed from baby showers, including almost all of our diapers!
In total, the first year with our first baby, we spent less than $300 purchasing baby items.
(That Amazon Registry clearing discount came in handy!)
Baby Registry Essentials
Whether you’re a family on a tight budget, or a minimalist looking to not add any clutter to your space, these items are the absolute essentials that you need for your baby:
1) Diapers and Wipes
Yep, you knew this one was coming! Unless you decide to use elimination communication full-time, you will need some form of diapers for your little bundle of joy.
There are two main choices here: cloth diapers and disposable diapers.
Think about your lifestyle when making this choice. Do you travel a lot? Do you work outside the home? Will your baby be with sitters or at daycare during the day?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, disposable diapers are a good choice for you.
Will you be on a single income? Do you struggle to make ends meet even if you both work? Do you prefer to have a minimal carbon footprint?
If you answered “yes” to these questions, cloth diapers are your best bet.
I do have friends who use cloth diapers only at their house, but they do disposables when the child is at daycare or when they are traveling.
Here is a great article with a cost breakdown of disposable and cloth diapers at Shoestring Baby if the cost is a deciding factor for you.
If you decide to go the cloth route, join some Facebook mom groups and keep your eyes open for a cloth diaper stash for sale. My sister got an entire lot of cloth diapers from a marketplace for only $100!
Recommendations:
Disposable Diapers: We used disposable diapers for our second and third babies for nights since they would sleep longer that way. We have had great success with cheaper options like Luvs, the Amazon Brand, the Costco Brand, and the WinCo Brand.
If you use disposable wipes, we love the Costco Brand wipes.
Cloth Diaper Recommendations:
We used cloth diapers exclusively for our oldest after she was four weeks old and have had great success with them. With our second and third, we used cloth diapers during the day and disposable at nights since it would help them sleep longer.
(Even if you are choosing cloth diapers, I recommend getting disposables for those first few weeks while you are getting your routine in place.)
Covers: Rumparooz are high-quality and one-size-fits-all! We received Rumparooz as a gift when our second was born and I’m hooked. They are of great quality and come in fun colors!
Thirsties are lower quality and wear out and stretch more quickly, but they work great for if your child outgrows the Rumparooz. We have used the Thirsties for two children and haven’t had any leaking, although they are noticeably wearing out.
Inserts: OsoCozy Size One, Oso Cozy Size Two
They say up to 30 pounds for the size two option, but they fit way longer than that for my kids. I used them until they were potty trained. (And even after my kids were day trained, I used these to night train them so I didn’t have to clean the sheets every night.
Wipes: If you are doing cloth diapers, you might as well grab the cloth wipes as well since you are already doing the extra laundry. We use cloth wipes or washcloths as our wipes.
Wet Bags: If you cloth diaper while you are out and about, you will want a waterproof place to keep the dirty diapers. We love our Thirsties Wet Bags.
Hamper Bags: We use two of these Laundry Bags. (And after you are done with diapers, they are awesome to take with you on trips as laundry bags!)
Hampers: I use two hampers for the baby. One for diapers and one for dirty clothes. When I need to do a load of diapers, I simply wash the laundry bag with that load and rotate the other hamper to be the diaper hamper. Then each bag gets washed the same as the other and they wear out equally.
2) Baby Bed
Unless you are planning on co-sleeping, your baby will need someplace to sleep. Even if you do plan on co-sleeping, I would recommend having some place that the baby they can safely nap if you don’t want to lay down every time they need to rest.
You can spend a lot of time researching and even more money purchasing the best crib, but I will forever be grateful for the advice I got from the mom that I worked for as a nanny: “Just get a pack and play!”
I’m glad I got the pack and play instead of a crib because:
- They are cheaper.
- The baby can sleep in any location
- Pack and Plays are more compact than a crib
- They are easy to move into the parents’ room if need be
- Pack and Plays make it easy to travel or go to friends’ houses even if the baby needs to nap
- You don’t need to have a stationary crib and a travel crib, a Pack and Play will do both jobs!
Recommendation:
Pack and Play: Graco
Pack and Play Mattress and Waterproof cover: Quilted Waterproof cover
Pack and Play sheets: American Baby Company
3) Car Seat
A car seat is non-negotiable if you live in the US and ever plan to use a car to drive with your baby.
If you didn’t know this already, children now have to be in cars seats from birth until they are twelve… Ok, maybe I’m exaggerating a little bit, but not much!
Your cheapest option is to get an all-in-one style car seat.
We have the Graco 4Ever and the Diono car seats for our all-in-ones. I like both car seats, but there are pros and cons for each one. So I decided to do a little comparison for you in case you happen to be looking at either of these brands.
Recommendations:
What works:
It is easy to move in and out of cars if you have two vehicles and need to move it back and forth. It is much lighter than the Diono.
The Graco also sits up by itself if you set it on the ground instead of falling into your shins (not to mention any names of course *cough* Diono *cough!*).
It has six different recline levels. Three for when the child is rear-facing, three for when they are front-facing. I took this for granted until we got the Diono and I realized that it only offered one choice for rear-facing and one choice for front-facing.
I love having the different recline options, especially if we are on a long road trip and need a child to fall asleep, but we don’t want them to have to lie down when they are awake.
It is easy to take apart and wash. Then it is fairly easy to put back together (just pay attention as you are taking it apart!)
It is easy to setup and install. Again, I took this for granted at first, but this car seat can basically go from the box to your car without any more than the simple instructions that it comes with.
What Doesn’t:
It’s really wide. There is no way that you will be able to fit three car seats in the back of a car if you choose this brand.
It doesn’t look sleek.
The cup-holders are easy for the child to remove so we would usually end up with them floating around the car somewhere.
What works:
The Diono is narrow: If you plan on having three children close together who will all be in car seats at the same time, the Diono is a great choice.
It is very comfortable for a forward-facing child to sit in. The placement of the head supports makes it comfortable for the child to lean against if they do fall asleep. The Graco’s headrests are too wide so often their head just ends up falling forward.
It’s sleek. This car seat looks like it belongs in a high-end luxury vehicle. If looks matter to you, the Diono is the clear winner.
What doesn’t:
It’s Heavy. Really heavy. When moving car seats back and forth between cars, size matters. Yes, we could get a second car seat, but if you are a single income like we are, you may just want to move them.
It is awkward to move: It doesn’t sit nicely on the ground like our Graco does. It falls over and slams into any shins that happen to be close.
It doesn’t recline. I love the recline feature for our Graco. The Diono didn’t recline enough to feel safe for my infant’s head, so we just upgraded our oldest to the Diono since she was a forward-facing child who rarely fell asleep in the car anymore.
The Diono is quite involved to take apart when you need to clean it. It is also a challenge to remember how to get it back together. So I’ll give the point to the Graco for easy cleaning.
The cup-holder is easy for the child to remove so it usually gets taken off and ends up floating around the car. (Yes, they both have this problem!)
Pros for any all in one car seat:
1) They will save you money and 2) You only have to learn one car seat.
Cons for any all-in-one car seat:
You can’t carry a sleeping child in the car seat when you go inside. None of my kids would stay asleep when the car was turned off so this wasn’t a big deal for me, but I know a lot of our friends love to be able to use that feature of an infant car seat.
When we were expecting out third baby, our first child was old enough to move to a booster. I searched high and low for one that would work for our car. (Our car is very narrow and we would still have both of the all-in-ones in use in the back seat as well).
Finally, I found the Mifold Travel Booster and it worked perfectly!
She says it is super comfortable and it fits nicely between the other two carseats!
If you need a booster seat for an older child, this is a great choice.
Recommendation:
All Around Car seat: Graco
Car seat if you have a narrow vehicle or a forward-facing child: Diono
Booster Seat for older children: Mifold Booster
4) Baby Carrier
Before I had my own children, I worked as a nanny. They had several carriers for me to try and use and encouraged me to go on walks every day with their little guy.
Before that time, I probably would have rolled my eyes at a minimalist baby post that had a baby carrier as an essential. I wasn’t planning on babywearing constantly, so would I really need one of these things?
Yes, yes, and YES!
I am so glad that I had experience with the carriers before I had children so I could realize how handy they are!
I still do not wear my children constantly or put them in the carrier every time they cry. But I do use my carrier several times a week, and when they were tiny I used it at least once a day.
Here is a short list of what I use mine for so you can see if it might be helpful in your life.
Hiking: Our carrier gets used almost every weekend for this purpose.
Grocery Shopping: I use the carrier every week for shopping until the baby can sit up in the grocery cart seat.
Cleaning: Both of my girls were born terrified of the vacuum. I did all the things to get them to like it, but to no avail. I would strap them on and like magic, they would be quiet and happy until I was done.
Errands: They are so much easier when you have two hands.
Going on walks: It is so nice to get fresh air while still snuggling your sweet baby.
What to look for when choosing a carrier:
1. You want the baby to sit in an ergonomically correct way for their hips. You can check out this article for more information on the ergonomics of babywearing.
2. Having a carrier with multiple carry options was huge for me. I wanted to be able to carry them as an infant, face them out while still having them in an ergonomically correct position, and carry them on my back when they got bigger.
3. I also wanted a pocket so that I could stash a key when I went for a short walk.
Recommendations:
First Pick: Lillebaby Airflow 360. I love my Lillebaby and use it all the time! It has a pocket on the front for easy storage, and the lumbar support is great if you are wearing your baby for longer periods of time.
The Lillebaby also has a sunshade for if your baby falls asleep in the carrier.
If you haven’t worn a baby before, let me tell you, it can be HOT! But the Lillebaby Airflow keeps you both a little cooler on hot summer days.
The other feature I like of the Lillebaby is that the neck support is easy to tuck away when your baby is strong enough to hold their own head.
The only drawback in my opinion is that the Lillebaby is hard to figure out how to put it on by yourself… at first. I suggest practicing at home a few times before you go out and about. (There are a lot of great YouTube videos showing you to do it!)
Second Pick: BabyBjorn One. This is my second pick because it doesn’t have the pocket and is a little warmer to wear, but easier to put on by yourself.
The BabyBjorn also doesn’t have a way to secure the neck supporter down when the baby’s neck is strong enough to hold itself up. It tends to flip up on its own.
The biggest feature that the BabyBjorn has that the Lillebaby doesn’t is how it can fold up into a neat, compact, and secure bundle which would be nice for stowing in overhead bins of an airplane while traveling.
If you decide to go with the BabyBjorn One, be sure you are purchasing the one model and not the original model. The original model was not ergonomically correct for babies.
5) Diaper Bag
Another must-have item on my list is a diaper bag. Sure, you could use a tote bag of some sort, but it’s nice to have more compartments and a waterproof lining.
Some of the best advice we got before having our first was to get a backpack diaper bag.
I like the backpack style for several reasons:
1. It is helpful to have both hands free to hold your baby when you are out and about.
2. It makes leaving the house and doing errands feel more doable as a new mom with an infant.
3. Any men in your life who aren’t keen on wearing a giant purse will be more than happy to carry a backpack instead.
Recommendation:
Diaper Bag: Bag Nation
6) Blankets
When I was expecting my first baby, a friend told me not to register for any baby blankets because I would receive so many more than I need as gifts.
Well, we had a baby shower with friends… and we received zero baby blankets. Then our church decided to throw us a shower so, just to be prepared, I registered for a few blankets (and thankfully we received them!).
Basically, know your audience when you are deciding what to put on your registry. If you come from a family of quilters, sewers, and knitters; you probably don’t need to register for them.
I do not, so people needed to know what to buy.
There are three types of blankets you may want to register for.
Swaddle Blankets: Our oldest daughter was born in the summer and a swaddling blanket was her only clothing for the first several weeks.
Receiving Blankets: We mainly used these right after each baby was born and the couple of days that followed. If you are having a hospital birth, they are provided and you may not need to buy them at all.
Security Blankets: Both of my girls love their blankets with silk around the edges (pink for our first, and purple for our second).
Our younger daughter is in love with this bamboo blanket (and by in love, I mean obsessed!) If it isn’t in the same room that she is, she will start calling ‘pu-pow, pu-pow!’ gradually getting more frantic until she finds it.
Recommendations:
Swaddling Blankets: Soft Swaddle Blankets
Receiving Blankets: Sew your own or have someone sew them for you if can. If you are like me and don’t sew (and you don’t have a handy mother-in-law like I do :D) try these Burt’s Bees Receiving Blankets.
Snuggling Blanket: Bamboo Blanket with Satin Edging
7) Baby Clothes
We chose not to know the gender of our babies before they were born… and I’m one of the biggest planners I know!
When we did this, a lot of people wondered how we could possibly be prepared for the baby’s arrival if we didn’t have clothing for them.
Surprising as it may seem, you can purchase gender-neutral clothing. I got three 0-3 month onesies and a week’s worth of boy outfits and one week’s worth of girl outfits from a local second-hand store.
But even if you decide to find out your baby’s gender, you don’t have to go overboard with the clothing!
Recommendations:
If you are waiting to discover the child’s gender; go to a local second-hand store and purchase 5 little girl outfits and 5 little boy outfits. 1-2 outfits size newborn and 3-4 outfits size 0-3 months outfits for each gender.
I also then got a package of sized 0-3 months of gender-neutral onesies.
Also, have a few swaddle blankets around that you can wrap them in when you are doing skin to skin time. You may be surprised how little they need clothing at first!
If you know your baby’s gender:
Try not to go crazy! You really only need about a week’s worth of clothing and you should buy it for the season your baby will be born in.
8) Feeding Baby
Think about how you want to feed your baby… and then be prepared for that to change.
I had planned to exclusively breastfeed, BUT my kids all had significant tongue ties that made it extremely painful for me and frustrating for them.
With my oldest I was able to mostly breastfeed with some formula supplementation here and there when she was going through a growth spurt. With my second, I had to switch to formula after 4 months because she wasn’t getting enough food. And with my third, I had to exclusively pump because he wasn’t able to transfer effectively. (You can hear about my struggles with breastfeeding in this video if you’re interested.)
I had a friend who had formula-fed her first baby because the baby wouldn’t breastfeed. She was planning on formula feeding the second time, but her second baby was happy to nurse.
And obviously, there are many times when it works out exactly as you planned… you just may want to prepare for both options before you are sleep-deprived with a hungry baby. 🙂
Recommendations:
Nursing Cover: If you want to cover up while you are nursing, find a cover that you can easily see the baby while you are nursing like this.
I had intended to use my swaddle blankets as nursing covers, but this worked much better for me when I was able to nurse.
But if you plan on pumping, I really liked using a a cover like this.
Breast Pump: I loved my Spectra Pump. Your insurance should pay for a breast pump for you, so check with them before you buy anything.
If you end up pumping full time like I did with my third, I also recommend getting a Medela Manual Breast Pump for when you are out and about or on a hike.
Haakaa Set: I’m not sure if Haakaa’s existed or not when I had my first two kids, but by the time I had my third, I had heard so many good things about them that I decided to get one. I got this Haaka Set with a Haaka, 2 Ladybug Collectors, and 2 Colostrum Collectors and it helped me a lot with my supply and helped me build up a stash for the freezer without doing a lot of extra work. I also got a lid for my Haaka, and a brush for cleaning the Haaka and Ladybugs.
It is a bit of an investment, and you can get by without it if you don’t have the budget for it. But if you want to breastfeed your baby, or if you want to be able to pump out and about using a manual pump on one side and a Haakaa on the other, I think it is worth the money to help your supply.
Nursing Pads: Bamboobies
You will need nursing pads the first few days after you give birth no matter how you decide to feed. I needed them the entire time I was nursing, but I know other people can stop using them after a couple of months.
Bottles: I recommend finding a ventilated baby bottle that works for your family. I liked the Dr. Brown bottles and the Como Tomo bottles for my first two kids. With our third baby, we had a lot of feeding issues and we had to switch to the MAM bottles… and he LOVED them!
Formula: We signed up to receive free formula from Similac and Enfamil before the girls were born. That’s all you need to get ahead of time if you just plan on using formula as a backup.
9) Baby Tools
This is an area where you can really go crazy spending a lot of money on a lot of junk if you aren’t careful.
There are so many cool new gadgets out there for anything and everything.
In my experience between being a nanny several times and having my own children, the only two tools that I’ve used for every child are nail clippers and the NoseFrida.
Nail clippers:
All of my kids were born with nails that needed to be clipped. It is so scary trying to cut those tiny little nails without getting any tiny little fingers.
With these nail clippers, I’ve never had any sad incidents where I’ve clipped more than a nail or clipped them way too short. I think it’s because they have the handy light on the end and it makes it really easy to see exactly what you are cutting.
Snot Sucker: At some point, your perfect little bundle of joy is going to get sick. And when that happens, you will be more than willing to suck the snot out of their nose so you all can get some sleep.
Enter the NoseFrida: your life-saver during sickness. Especially if your child sucks their thumb to go to sleep as my younger two did, it is impossible for them to sleep with snot clogging up their only airway.
I thought colds were hard with my oldest, but at least she could get to sleep relatively easily since she didn’t take a pacifier or suck her thumb. But my friends, hell hath no fury like a tired, sick thumb-sucker that just wants to suck their thumb.
Which is why the NoseFrida became our best friend!
No, your child will not enjoy the NoseFrida. I didn’t say it was magical. But you will figure out how to use it quickly and efficiently after a couple of tries.
At first, I needed Ross’s help, but I now find it easier to hold their heads against my chest with them facing me and do it by myself rather than to have anyone try to help me.
Recommendations:
Nail Clippers: Safety 1st Nail Clippers With Light
Snot sucker: NoseFrida
10) Baby Skin Care
While I’m all about cutting costs wherever you can, these are necessities in my opinion.
Baby Lotion: Babies tend to have very sensitive skin and can break out in a rash for no apparent reason at all. I recommend sticking to a lotion that is designed for babies and has a minimal scent.
Baby Soap: For the same reason as the lotion, I recommend getting an all-in-one baby soap and shampoo for the bath. Baby shampoos are also typically tear-free!
Diaper Rash Ointment: Words cannot express how much I love the Burt’s Bees Diaper Rash Ointment!
I’ve tried using many other brands when we’ve been with friends or family and I forgot mine at home, but nothing clears them up as quickly or as completely.
PRO TIP: Never leave your diaper rash ointment at home. Every time you do, they will get a rash and you will have to run to the drugstore at 10 PM and be subject to whatever brands they have on hand. If you take your cream with you, your baby will have a perfect-looking bottom the entire time.
It’s like the Murphy’s Law of baby butts.
Recommendations:
Baby Soap: Burt’s Bees Baby Shampoo and Wash
Baby Lotion: Burt’s Bees Baby Lotion
Diaper Cream: Burt’s Bees Diaper Rash Ointment
Additional Items to Consider
Everything I have listed above, I consider a must-have for a baby. But there are seven additional items that are on the line for me.
Some of them I have, but I can see how you would do just fine without them. Others I would not purchase them again if I were starting over.
I thought I would include the list here because it might be helpful to someone.
7 Items You Might Want (But You Might Not Need!)
1) Baby Bath
We didn’t register for a baby bath with our first because I figured we could use a sink.
Then a friend loaned us their baby bath for a few weeks until they needed it back, and by then… we were hooked.
We used it every night with out first baby. But I think we only used it twice with our second. #secondchildproblems 🙂
Basically, they are nice to have, but you can get by without one if you are on a tight budget.
Recommendation
Baby Bath: Summer Infant
2) Stroller
Pick either a stroller or a baby carrier. You will only use one most of the time and your baby will get used to whatever you use most often and love it. They will most likely hate the other one if you try to switch them!
The family I was a nanny for used the City Select and it was amazing for people who walk everywhere they need to go. You can also add a second seat to this one without it becoming any wider, which was so helpful for getting in and out of stores.
If you drive a lot and have a small car, you may want an umbrella-style stroller like I have.
Recommendations
Standard/Jogging Stroller: City Select
Umbrella Stroller: Summer Infant
3) Sound Monitor
If you need one, grab a cheap model without a camera. Get a separate camera if you want to see your baby. The monitor will mainly sit by your bed and be used while you are sleeping.
Recommendation:
Monitor: VTech
4) Camera Monitor
I highly recommend having a camera if you plan on sleep teaching your baby and plan on them being in their own room.
It is something you can live without though so if you are on a tight budget, don’t worry about it. People didn’t have cameras for thousands of years!
We like the Foscam because you can access it from your phone and you don’t have to carry around another contraption as you do with most baby monitor cameras.
Just make sure you set your camera to private so other people won’t be able to access it.
Recommendation:
Camera: Foscam
5) White Noise Machine
White noise for babies is something people either love or hate.
Personally, I prefer to have my babies sleep very well and long the 99% of the time when we are home or staying at someone else’s house. (Our LectroFan is very portable.)
So far it has not been an issue when we have camped and they haven’t had the white noise all night. The last time we camped in the summer both girls slept past 8:30 am even with it being quite bright after 5:00 am and sharing a campsite with friends who were up with the sun.
But even if they struggled a little bit when we were outside in the sunlight without a noise machine, I would still go with a noise machine at home.
For us, white noise is one of the key factors in getting our kids to sleep twelve hours a night and take two-hour naps (or more) every day.
You can absolutely live without one, though if you don’t have the extra money in your budget.
If you’d like to see a video where I talk about my recommendation for a white noise machine and give reviews on a few battery-powered ones, check out this video.)
Recommendation:
White Noise Machine: LectroFan
6) Feeding Items
Chair: I like having a chair for feeding our kids because it has made meal time more enjoyable for me. I don’t get to eat as much food if I have a squirming baby on my lap that is trying to grab things off my plate.
I like having a chair that sits directly on our regular chairs. It takes up less space than a traditional highchair and is more portable.
Bibs: I also have liked having bibs for the kids. These Baby Bjorn Bibs and these Healthy Happy Parent Bibs are wonderful because they keep their clothes clean and catch any food or water before it ends up on the floor.
My younger daughter even figured out how to scoop out any food that fell into her bib with her spoon and eat it. She doesn’t like to miss out on anything!
The neck is very adjustable and has fit our kids from the time they are six months old until they stop needing to wear bibs.
Spoons: Small spoons make it easier to get the right-sized bite, especially when they are little. It also makes it easier for them to feed themselves from a younger age.
We chose metal spoons because we wanted our girls to be able to use regular utensils at restaurants or friend’s houses. It has always been easy for them to adjust to eating with a regular teaspoon since their small spoons are similar.
Recommendations:
Feeding Chair: We went super cheap and got this chair. It worked well for our first, but the tray handle broke a couple of months into the second child using it. We can still use it, but if I were purchasing today, I would get something like this.
Bibs: Healthy Happy Parent Bibs
Spoons: Metal Spoons
7) Toys
When I read this list to my husband and asked him if I was missing anything, he said a toy or two. (Can you tell who the fun parent is?!)
It is nice to have a couple of toys for them that will not roll away.
Here are our favorites:
Recommendations:
Rattle Toy: Winkel Rattle
Shape Sorter: Melissa and Doug
Silicone Blocks: Infantino
Teething Toy: Baby Banana Brush
Stuffed Animals: Aurora (This little guy has been washed about a thousand times at our house and hasn’t come apart at all. I’d say that’s a successful child’s stuffed animal!)
And there you have it!
Want More Minimalist Mamma Posts?
If you are looking for more posts how to simplify your life now that you’re a mom, check out How to Create a Daily Routine With a Simple Block Schedule, How to Create a Morning Routine… Even if You Aren’t a Morning Person, My Simple Weekly Cleaning Schedule: the Routine That Took Me From Overwhelmed to In Control, How to Begin Meal Planning… When You Don’t Know Where to Start.
And you might also enjoy, How to Declutter Your Home: 10 Steps for Getting Started Today, The Best Intentional Gift Ideas for Children, Our Ten Favorite Toddler Books That Parents Will Enjoy Too.
If you’re living on a tight budget, you might like…
How We Paid Off $20,000 in debt in 18 Months!
How to Organize Your Finances With 7 Bank Accounts.
37 Ways to Save Money on Groceries if you aren’t sure how to get your grocery budget under control.
10 Ways to Save Money When You’re Living Paycheck to Paycheck if you need some ideas for how to cut costs.
If you want to be sure that you can stick with this budget from the start, check out The Biggest Secret to Sticking With Your Budget.
Does worrying about what other people will think of you if you start living more frugally keep tripping you up when you try to start a budget? Check out 7 Powerful Mindsets for Low-Income Families.
You can read about our journey learning to live on one income here: How We Became a Single Income Family.
Ready to Get 7 Extra Hours in Your Week?
Then check out Simply Streamlined!
In Simply Streamlined, you will learn how to
- Declutter Your Home
- Put Effective Routines in Place
- Create a Set-It-and-Forget-It Meal Plan
- Get Your Finances Under Control
Simply Streamlined walks you through exactly how to Completely Streamline Your Home in just 15 Minutes a Day!
Plus you will receive
- Cluttered to Calm Lessons, Workbooks, and Spreadsheets
- Put Your Home on Autopilot Lessons, Workbooks, and Spreadsheets
- Set-It-and-Forget-It Lessons, Workbooks, and Spreadsheets
- Master Your Money Lessons, Workbooks, and Spreadsheets
- AND Weekly Live Coaching Calls!
I hope to see you inside the program!
(Or if you are more of a do-it-yourself kind of gal, you can check out my DIY Streamlining Resources!)
