When I was pregnant I did loads of googleing to find great ideas for keeping it simple when we had our baby. To my surprise that was not as easy as I had expected. For the most part I had to figure it out on my own. I suppose that is because not many advertisers want to advice you to buy as little as possible. But here I blog out of the goodness of my heart, not to sell you anything!
The picture above is how we started out. Our "nursery" was in the corner of our own bedroom. We actually have a second bedroom but with my mother staying with us for a few weeks to help us get adjusted while the baby was here, we wanted her to have her own room. We also just thought it would be easier to care for the baby in the middle of the night if everything we needed was in our room. That ended up working really well.
But let's break it down. A friend of mine gave me the wire drawers that have been great because I can see right through them and know exactly where everything is. The top drawer is filled with diapers so I don't even have to open it, I just grab from the top.
To the left of the wire baskets you will see the "diaper champ." AKA waste of money. It wasn't really helpful, obviously with cloth diapers being larger than disposables. I thought I could use it to throw wipes in but it didn't get the wipes into the bottom part very well. Also the wipes don't smell bad after even a poopy use, so it was pretty pointless and ended up in the recycling bin within a week of Baby being born. It was replaced with a small trash can we already had at our office desk. It has a step peddle to open the lid which helps make for quick disposal.
Also we have a small table set up with a lamp on it and baby wipes. Originally we had a wipes warmer. AKA waste of money #2. It really didn't keep the wipes so warm. By the time we took it from the warmer to the booty it was cool again. We also had to keep it warm by constantly wetting this pad on the bottom of it. And as it turns out, it doesn't bother the baby one bit to have a non warmed baby wipe. (update on this: I was actually at a friends house who had a lionheart wipes warmer and it actually worked pretty good. Still not a necessity but at least I know they at least do work.)
If you want to keep it extra simple, skip the wipes all together! We told a friend of ours that we don't use wipes after a number one because the pediatrician said it wasn't necessary and even better for the works down there not to. They replied that they don't use wipes at all for one or two! They just run their baby's bottom under the water! I would love to do that, but the sink is way too far away to do that. It is my dream to have a bathroom big enough for our whole changing table set up though. That would be perfect and perhaps make Elimination Communication easier... what is Elimination Communication? It will have to be the topic of a completely different blog!
We also have one hamper for our cloth diapers which is pictured... and not pictured is a hamper we got later for messy baby clothes. Which we go through quicker than you would know! (we now know that keeping a bib on the baby is a lot easier to change than her whole outfit- it catches drool and spit up well)
In the corner is our pack n play with built in changing table. Awesome! If you are trying to keep it simple in your house, always try to get combo deals like this. The changing pad has worked well for us. Baby A is 15 pounds and 25 inches long (yes she is in the 95% in weight and height) and this thing is holding out well. The pockets on the sides are great for holding diapering supplies. There is a place to hold just a few wet wipes. It is pretty pointless to use this because I'd be refilling it everyday. However if I were to take it on a trip, which I haven't yet, it would probably be useful then. (update on this: we did travel with it and it is very difficult to take apart and put back together with the changing table and canopy on it.)
Graco Pack 'n Play Portable Baby Play Yard
As for the crib section... during the first month this sections was called the baby storage unit. We pretty much just thew blankets and toys in there as we got them from visitors. We kept her in the Rock N Play to sleep in. Eventually we cleaned out the baby storage unit and would place her in it on occasion for just a few minutes just so she would be in a safe place when I was in a pinch and needed to set her down. By two months old I was placing her in it for naps. Only recently I have placed her in it for a whole night's sleep. There is a mat that makes it into this "crib" like setting, that we can take out when she is older to play in. I'm not sure how that will go. It seems so small and cage like to contain a child in, but so far this pack n play has been awesome enough to make it worth its money even if we don't use the bottom part.
As I mentioned before she sleeps in a Fisher Price Rock N Play, pictured below.
This thing is wonderful! I originally considered co-sleeping with the baby. There is some controversy over this, but seriously the only people who roll over their children and suffocate them are drunks and druggies. Occasionally she slept in bed with us, but it made for a slightly uncomfortable night for us as we were overly cautious not to roll over her... and also my husband is just a big guy and I'm a bed hog so we didn't really have room for a third. But if you are able to, I know that there are many different beds you can put in your bed for added security and safety for your baby. If you rather not add something in your bed and keep it simple, just be sure to do the safety research.
So our alternative was the Rock N Play. The rock n play sat by our bedside all night long. It has no electronics on it and can easily be moved all around the house. So wherever we needed her to be to nap she could nap there.
It also made the middle of the night feedings much easier. I just picked her up, laid her in bed with me to feed, and then when she fell back asleep, I just put her right back in.
It is at a incline which helps digestion I'm told. I am so grateful she has not suffered from colic but I'm told that this incline is really helpful to those colicky babies.
One more praise for this thing is that if your pediatricians and baby books have freaked you out about not letting babies roll over and sleep on their belly, you don't have to worry about it in this thing.
Our little girl seems to talk in her sleep so I wasn't getting very good sleep so we transitioned her into the other room. This transition has been super easy because she is still in her same rock n' play so she doesn't seem to notice or care.
Well I'm sure this blog isn't going to win any blog awards but I sure hope it helps someone out there in thinking of ways to keep their home baby simple. I will continue with more simple tips on bathing, diaper bags, and baby carriers next time.
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