Minimalist Baby Essentials
I'm the kind of person who prefers to buy simple things that have a dual purpose and more importantly sustainable for the environment. My baby essentials are tried and tested as I posted this post after my pregnancy and when we started caring for our baby. These are not your usual expensive baby items, as my husband and I try to keep them on a budget and only bought what's needed for taking care of our baby. Most of the items from our baby registry were brought by our loved ones and the thought of it always warms our hearts. We also received secondhand clothes from families and friends, which we deeply appreciated. I've already prepared my mind and body for my pregnancy now it's time to prepare for my baby's needs and essentials. Let's go!
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.jpg "Baby Carrier Convertible for Newborns and Older Babies 8-32 lbs")
Got a baby and need a hand? Or two?
My husband says the best way to raise a child is hands-free.
Here's our Minimalist Baby Essentials, things that we're given as gifts, and what we actually bought before the baby arrived and still using in the present.
1. Infant Car Seat, Seat cover, and Baby Stroller
- Infant Car Seat: The infant car seat is a must-have as your hospital will ask you for it after you delivered your baby. This also goes to your hospital essentials, check out the full list here.
- Car Seat Canopy & Nursing Cover: I used this cover for the infant car seat and to protect my little one from the wind or dust. Aside from that, it's also a seat cover for grocery carts and for breastfeeding sessions in public. Sometimes I even use it for impromptu diaper changes. Baby travel essential!
Stroller: We got a free one from the FB marketplace and had it cleaned up by a professional before using it. If I were to do it again, I'll purchase a new infant car seat with a stroller, it's a good investment for your child's safety and saves the hassle of driving to pick it up and having it cleaned. The total amount of money you spend is almost the same, just add in 50 bucks more and you save time and energy.
2. Sleeping: Graco Pack n' Play
We have limited space and we didn't want a crib as well, this Pack n' Play was perfect for us as it also comes with a diaper change area, a flat mattress for the newborn and it's convertible to a toddler bed too.
3. Clothing: Sleepers and Onesies
Newborn:
We want efficient and safe clothes for the baby. In his newborn stage, we wanted all of his clothes to be easy to wear and as first-time parents, we made sure everything even looks simpler during a diaper change. We ordered newborn Zippered-sleepers that already came with mittens and footsies, it covers his hands and feet for comfort and the zipper makes it easy to change his diapers at night. However, as much as I like the quality and softness of these zippered sleepers it did not work with our baby as all babies are different. We’ll use it for our second baby.
I also wanted to take care of his little head and these Kimono style onesies were perfect. However, the kimono onesies did not work too for our baby. More stuff for our second baby then
From the moment he came home he wore his 0-3 month sized onesies. These are the clothes that we loved. It turns out we're big fans of plain old-looking onesies.
Clothes for 0 - 6 Months:
.jpg "Gratitude Journal for Kids")
- Onesies: Gerber Short Sleeve Onesies Unisex 8 pcs - soft and gentle on my baby's skin
- Onesies: Marvel Baby Boys' 5 Pack Bodysuits - The Hulk, Spiderman, Iron Man, and Captain America - My favorite! I was able to dress up my baby with his awesome Marvel onesies every day without buying those expensive costumes.
4. Diapers: Cloth Diapers, Diaper Mat, and Diaper rash balm
- Waterproof Changing Pad Liners 3 pcs. - I used this pad for the bedroom, and the living room and I also packed one in our diaper bag. Baby travel essential!
- For an Eco-friendly approach: Baby Cloth Diapers with 12 inserts
- Earth Mama Diaper Balm - I'm proud to say my baby did not have any diaper rash, as I try to prevent it by applying this diaper balm especially if I see any redness on his skin during a diaper change. It's organic too! Baby travel essential!
Optional -Other Earth Mama Products: Earth Mama Body Wash and Earth Mama Baby Oil
.jpg "Baby Car Mirror, View Infant in Rear-Facing Seat")
Peek-a-boo! Mommy and Daddy see you! Don't want to break your neck looking back on baby? We thought we'd be fine until our friend bought it for us. And then our necks said, "thank you."
5. Bathing: Sponge Mat, Bathtub, Washcloth, and Potty training
- Infant Bath Sponge Mat - We didn't want to buy those baby tubs for bathing, this one came more useful for us, easy to store, and easy to wash afterward. Eventually, we got the Fisher-Price Whale of a Tub Bathtub at Buybuybaby as it grows with the baby till the toddler years.
- Baby Muslin Washcloth 10 pcs. - I used this for bathing my baby as it's gentle on his skin, and also as a burp cloth.
- OXO Tot 2-in-1 Go Potty - This made potty training easy as we can use it in our bathroom and outdoors too.
If you're getting one of those Free welcome kits from the baby registry sites, you will get lots of free samples like pacifiers, breast pads, and baby bottles. I used the samples first to check what my baby wants then later on we bought the one he likes.
6. Feeding: Burp cloths, Bibs, Feeding set, and Teething
Pacifier from samples in the Free welcome kit
- Baby Pacifier Clip/Blanket Leash "Tropical Palm Leaves Trees Pineapples" - I used this to hold his toys too. Baby travel essential!
- Never Drop from Hand Baby Teething - A very useful teething toy especially since our baby loves to throw things all the time.
- Silicone Baby Feeding Set - A perfect feeding starter pack for babies, includes a waterproof bib, suction bowl, and a spoon.
- Organic Burp Cloths - Soft and great shoulder coverage. Baby travel essential!
- Pullover Baby Bibs - This does not have any velcro on it and it stays on during feeding and is great for drool protection. Best bib on the market! I have a lot of these as you can never have enough bibs with a growing baby, as it's always on demand. My Most Favorite Baby travel essential! If you want something cheaper and works the same way try this one: Pullover Baby Bibs - All white
7. Breastfeeding: Breast Pump, Breast Pads, Baby Bottles, and Nipple Cream
- My Best friend Nursing Pillow - This is great for back support during breastfeeding, or you can always use a regular pillow.
- Bottle Brush Cleaner and Tray - This is not a must-have if you're exclusively breastfeeding, but it comes in handy when you want to separate the baby items from your utensils when you're ready to use the breast pump for bottle feeding.
- Formula feeding - We choose Enfamil NeuroPro Gentlease Baby Formula as our baby boy loved it from day one.
Breast pump free from Insurance
Breast Pads from samples in the Free welcome kit
Baby bottles from samples in the Free welcome kit
8. Sleeping: Muslin Swaddle, White Noise Machine, Humidifier, and Nasal Aspirator
- Bamboo Cotton Muslin Swaddle 3 pcs. - I used this one for everything, for sleeping, sometimes for a diaper change, as a mat, burp cloth, and even as a breastfeeding cover.
- Zippered Swaddle (0-3 months) - This is another option if the baby does not want to be swaddled in a muslin blanket.
- Yogasleep Portable White Noise Machine - This one helps with the baby's sleep as it mimics the sound inside the womb. You can also use an air purifier as an alternative. Baby travel essential!
- Humidifier and Essential Oil Diffuser - This helps when your baby is sick or has a stuffy nose.
- FridaBaby NoseFrida Snotsucker 24 filters - This nasal aspirator will get rid of the mucus when the baby is having colds. Also, those small suction bulbs also come in hand like the ones they use in the hospital, sometimes even more reliable than nosefrida. Some days I just use his onesie, mold a sharp tip and insert it on his nose, it works for me!
Gratitude Journal for Kids
Don't be a Negative Nancy or a Gloomy Gus.
Remind a kid to take an attitude of gratitude like a boss!
9. Carriers: Baby Carrier and Diaper Bag
These items are also our baby travel essentials for hiking and road travels:
- Ubon Lightweight Backpack 20 - I'm not your ordinary momma I prefer to buy things with a dual purpose. This one came in handy as a hospital bag, diaper bag, and hiking bag. Besides, I have had my hiking bag for more than 5 years now. Keep in mind you can always use any kind of backpack or shoulder bag. Baby travel essential!
- Baby Ring Sling - This carrier was very flexible I use it in the house to carry my baby and when we went swimming, the mesh cloth made it really comfortable especially on the summer days.
- Infantino Flip 4-in-1 Carrier - My husband and I loved this carrier for long walks as it provides good back support, especially on our hikes and grocery shopping. Baby travel essential!
10. Gear: Play Mat, Bouncer, and Toys
- Large Waterproof Foam Play Mat - You can always purchase a Yoga mat instead and place a blanket on it for tummy time - viola, dual-purpose!
- Bath Books – Set of 4 Black and White Waterproof Books - Newborns love black and white pictures so this came very handy during tummy time, later on, we used it for bath time as it's waterproof, and when he started to see more colors this book was even more entertaining to my baby.
- Sea Animal Fabric Cloth Book - This second book features sea animals I wanted my baby to be acquainted with loving the ocean as he grows up and the scratchy sounds on each page made him giggle. Baby travel essential!
- Infantino Activity Gym & Play Mat, Tropical - This is great for babies' tummy time. Another option if you want a dual-purpose mat is you can always to purchase a yoga mat and then place a thick blanket on top of it. I loved the Yoga mat option as it's non-slippery and thick enough for my yoga routine and my baby's tummy time.
- Fisher-Price Fawn Meadows Deluxe Bouncer - I can't live without this bouncer! My husband's cousin gifted us a baby bouncer and it really helped us out when we need to do something or wanted to get to the bathroom. Just make sure you don't use it as a crib replacement and I always check on my baby every few minutes.
- Baby Car Video (Infant in rear-facing seat) and Baby Home Video Monitor - We were privileged to have such loving friends and they gifted us these two gears for our car and house to monitor our baby's safety. Baby travel essential!
11. Grooming: Nails
- Electric Nail trimmer - Lifesaver! Save your sweat from cutting those precious nails. We got this trimmer and it works wonders, my husband and I usually sneaked in trimming our son's nails while his breastfeeding.
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More Baby Tips: Free Welcome Kit with baby products, coupons, breastfeeding pump, and baby formula milk samples
I found out that just by creating a baby registry with different sites you'll be able to accumulate free baby items and breastfeeding samples.
How to get Free Baby Kit Samples with no shipping fee?
Buybuy Baby
Go to the website and create a baby registry. Buybuy baby also does not ship out welcome kits to your address. All you need to do is walk-in into any Buybuy Baby stores and tell them you registered for the baby registry and you're there to claim your free welcome kit.
Walmart
Go to the Walmart website and create a baby registry. Type in your details, due date, and shipping address. They will automatically send you a free welcome kit in around 4-6 weeks.
Target
Go to the target website or through your target app and create a baby registry. There will be a portion on the baby registry page that mentions the free welcome kit, click on that one and it will show you a barcode (screenshot that code so you won't have to go back to that page again). My husband and I drove to target but they ran out of the welcome kit. It turns out that they have a new policy with the welcome kit now. You have to get it online, in order to get rid of the shipping fee, you'll have to purchase any kind of stuff that reaches the amount of 35 USD. So we bought our toiletries and then added the welcome kit to our cart.
How to get Free Breastfeeding products?
The Medela Moms' Room
Sign up with "The Medela Moms' Room" and put in your details and due date. It will prompt you if you want to receive some free samples and you will then provide your shipping address.
How to get Free Breast Pumps? (depends on your insurance coverage)
It will be on the same website where you sign up with "The Medela Moms' Room" for your free breastfeeding products. Click on the Moms' Room Concierge Team on the website and fill out your insurance information. This is one way of knowing if your insurance covers your breast pump, or you can always call your insurance company to make sure about the cost and all other inquiries.
As for me, I simply filled out the form from the website and received my free electric breast pump the following day by mail.
How to get Free Baby Formula Samples?
Enfamil
Go to the Enfamil website and sign up with your details and they'll send you Free Enfamil baby formula samples for free. Enfamil is also giving out cash rebates, make sure to keep your receipt as I was able to get 10 USD for our Enfamil purchase.
Similac
Go to the Similac website, register, and expect to get Free Similac baby formula samples in the mail for free too.
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Budget tip for Baby items
For those moms who are on a tight budget here's one tip for you, try hand-downs from families and friends or shop for secondhand baby gear. My husband and I were able to get free stuff for our baby from people we know and even purchased a car seat mirror for only 5 USD on the Facebook marketplace.
Where to get Free baby items or second-hand gear?
Facebook Marketplace
If you're on a tight budget and you don't mind using second-hand items like cribs and all kinds of baby gear then check out Facebook Marketplace. There are tons of free items to choose from and some baby gear is also sold at half the price instead of buying a new one that your baby is only going to use for a few months (you can even bargain if you want). Take note: Baby car seats have an expiry date, check with the seller before buying used seats. Check the model number at the bottom of the seat where you'll find the expiry date details.
Diaper Assistance for Cloth Diapers
For "theclothoption", the applications are reviewed no earlier than 45 days from your due date or expected placement. The diapers will be sent out to your address within 30 days before the due date.
Check out my Pregnancy tips and essentials
Are you ready to travel with your baby?
Check out:
Enjoy your pregnancy, have fun with your baby and be safe ^__^
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