Simple Living With Baby

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Are you expecting a new little one soon and are overwhelmed when you walk into the baby section of the store? Do you feel like all of your plans for simple living are going to go right out the window with all of this new tiny clutter? It really doesn’t have to be that way. Here are some simple tips to maintain Simple Living with a Baby.

Are you expecting a new little one soon and are overwhelmed when you walk into the baby section of the store? Do you feel like all of your plans for simple living are going to go right out the window with all of this new tiny clutter? It really doesn't have to be that way. Here are some simple tips to maintain Simple Living with a Baby. #simplelife #newbaby #welcomebaby #simpleliving #simplelivingwithbaby

Simple Living with Baby

Babies are so tiny and so cute. But what is it about them that can cause such clutter and chaos in our homes (besides the fact that they are fairly demanding roommates and are up all hours of the night)?

Today’s culture tells us we need this, and we need that, oh and you aren’t a good parent if you don’t have ___ & ___. You name it, someone wants you to buy into it.

I remember with our first, I was very much overly prepared. I had the swing and the bouncy chair and the jumper and the walker and clothes upon clothes. When we moved when he was about a year and a half old, I sold just about everything I had for him. Why? Because most of it was barely even used.

By baby number two, I had a pretty good idea of what we needed. Plus we were in a very small house so I just didn’t have the space to splurge on extra things. The only piece of in-home baby “equipment” we even owned for him was a swing.

Now with baby number three, I think we have things down to where they should have been in the first place. Of course, I have had to get more things since this is our first girl, but other than that, we kept the swing from baby number two and the only other thing I’ve purchased was a bassinet (which was something I wished I had for the other two but never had space).

Somehow we get caught up in this idea of things that we think we “need” and we fail to remind ourselves that babies are very simple little people. They just want to be clean, get sleep, be fed, and be loved. Today I’m not sharing a list of “what to buy for a baby”, you can find that all over the internet with a simple search, but I hope that you will gain some inspiration of how to keep your life simple, even with the addition of a baby.

Take advice from others with a grain of salt.

A friend is telling you that you need this or that gadget to help with baby because it was a miracle for her child? How wonderful for her. 🙂 Thank her for the advice but wait to purchase things until you know that it’s something you will really need for your little one. EVERYONE has an opinion on the best everything for baby, and most of the opinions will differ from each other. Stick with what your gut instinct says that you will need and tuck the other ideas away for later.

Remember what a baby really needs.

Baby needs to have a place to sleep, ways to keep clean, ways to be fed and to be loved. I won’t cover the sleeping place since that tends to be a hot button topic but keep in mind that baby will need a blanket or two. You can easily make your own Receiving Blankets in just a few minutes. These are great for when baby needs something to lay on. We also have had one special blanket for each of our littles. Burp cloths are another linen you will need, those can be made in the same style with the same fabric as the receiving blankets but in smaller sizes.

What you need for feeding baby will be up to how you are able to feed your baby. I’ve never found that I need more than 3 bottles, in fact, any more than that can cause some serious kitchen clutter.

It goes without saying that clothing should be kept to a minimum if possible. Babies grow so quickly which is why there are so many sizes! I try to purchase all of my baby and kid’s clothing at rummage sales in the summer. If you stick with basics, they will be able to wear them in any season. Onesies, sleepers, and simple tops and bottoms that can be mixed and matched are what I look for. If I don’t find everything I need during the summer, I wait for the Black Friday sales online from stores like Carters, Kohls, and Children’s Place to finish up getting what we need for the entire year.

—Check out this post on How to Minimalize Children’s Clothing to get an idea for the pieces that you’ll need.

All you need for a baby to feel loved is simply you! The only other thing I would add to this list of must-haves is a carrier. Any seasoned mama will tell you that a carrier helps her baby feel loved because the baby gets to be close to your heart, while mama still gets to keep her sanity and both of her hands-free to do what she needs. I didn’t understand this concept until our second baby. I have a Boba Carrier which is really gentle on the shoulders.

baby hands

Let others love your baby too.

If you are feeling overwhelmed by the costs of the baby things that you need, be sure that you are allowing others to love on your family and love your baby and I’m sure everything will come together even better than you could do on your own. When someone asks what you need for baby, don’t be shy in telling them you need something practical, even something like formula or pacifiers. Most will enjoy being able to get you something that you can really get use out of instead of something that might go to the wayside.

One easy way to do this is to create an Amazon Baby registry. You can load your registry up with the practical things you need like diapers in varying sizes, formula or pacifiers and point friends and family who want to help to your registry. Once you are ready to close out your registry, you get an extra 10% off any remaining items that you still need. (15% if you are an Amazon Prime Member) This is a great way to save a little extra money on those things you know you’ll need.

Take time to prepare your heart and home.

If you are able, take the time to prepare for baby before they come. I don’t mean baby proofing or buying things, that can always be done later. Begin preparing your own heart and think of things that will help to tame your sanity after baby arrives. Freezer meals or pantry mixes are a great project to work on before baby comes.

Begin to consider how baby will affect your current routine. No matter if this is your first baby or sixth baby, they will change things in your household! If you have other children, begin making changes to their routine if necessary. I prefer our days to have a gentle flow and rhythm to them. My children have difficulties with transitions so anything we can do to stick to a general routine is helpful.

We had 2 weeks to prepare for our newest arrival (Longest prep time we’ve ever had! The first was 30 minutes, the second was 3 days.) and so I had plenty of time to start making new plans. I began getting myself up earlier every day, not just on the days that I had to work because I knew that would be my time to get things done when none of the kids would interfere. I prepared pantry mixes so that I would still be able to make my boys their big breakfasts every day, which is just something I love to do for them. All of these little things made our transition much smoother in the end and kept our days nice and simple.

Life with baby can be simple if you have clear goals in mind and remember not to over-stress about the little things and accumulate baby clutter.

Looking for more baby items you can make at home? Here are a few simple projects to get you started:

Homemade Baby Toys
Towel Baby Bib Pattern
Baby Sling Sewing Pattern
Homemade Baby Wipes
The Best Natural Homemade Diaper Rash Cream
Budgeting for a New Baby
Decorating on a Budget ~ Baby’s Room

I would love to hear from the other seasoned mamas out there…if a friend was asking you how you’ve still maintained the simple life with a new baby, what would you tell them?

This post on Simple Living with a Baby was originally published on Little House Living in October 2017. It has been updated as of October 2019.

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12 Comments

  1. My advice to first time mom’s is keep the major stuff neutral. Then it doesn’t matter boy or girl. A blanket on the floor works just as well as a fancy playmat. Keep the toys simple and only a few. I bathed my babies in the bathroom sink. When they out grew that I used a 10 gal Rough neck tote. When they out grew that I had a storage container.

  2. I would advise them to keep a reign on clutter. New parents are already sleep deprived and fuzzy-brained. Having a field of vision with 14 different primary-colored, plastic, jingling toys on the floor and a tumbling stack of board books in the corner just makes the lack of energy and muddled thinking even worse. And also to be thankful, even on those inevitable tough days.

  3. I quite agree, but when my grand daughter was pregnant, I advised her to go easy on all the “things” she wanted for baby, and insisted she needed. I told her they required so little…just what you said, to be warm, fed and feel loved and just the basics. But of course, grandma, is just so old fashioned and really doesn’t know anything. I also warned her about vaccinations and received an ugly email back…Consequently, I keep my mouth shut now and let the chips fall where they may.

    1. These younger “girls” think they know everything and don’t like to take advise from the grandmothers and great grandmothers. There are some in my family. I’m thankful that my daughter doesn’t get defensive when I give her advice, not that she does everything I tell her.

  4. Congratulations on your new little girl! This is the first I’m hearing about your new daughter and I’m thrilled for your family. The only item I was thankful to have with my last child was a bouncer seat. She became ill at three months with RSV and keeping her upright was a huge tepee avoided a hospital stay. This will not apply to everyone though, I know. Thanks for all you do Melissa and congratulations again!

  5. Great advice! We used Velcro swaddlers for our first son. It was one thing we couldn’t overuse. Also, as a working mom, having all the same type of bottle is very important. We had to drop off at least 12 bottles every morning at school. And it helps mom and dad to be able to put together bottles and have them all match up every time.

  6. I think if I could go back I’d be less hesitant to put my foot down about what we need and what we don’t. Both my parents and my husband’s kept wanting to buy us things they thought we needed, which was nice of them, but they wouldn’t listen to us about what we actually did need. There was so much we didn’t use and didn’t even want, a formula making machine, a huge playpen, literally 24 baby blankets… lots of duplicate things because no one would stop and listen. It really got out of control and we didn’t have room for most of it.

  7. My husbands words before our first was born: We want to take care of a baby, not a baby’s stuff. That’s been our response to family and friends when they ask what they can get us, and for the most part it’s worked well…even if we’ve sometimes had to repeat it a few times 🙂

  8. My advice….. wait until after the little one comes! My last one had terrible reflux, and the brand new swing got 20 minutes of use. Along with the rock n play, carseat, carriers/slings (all three types I bought and tried). I also recommend, for seriously large chest women ( like me… size 38j postpartum) a sling or carrier does not work well with reflux babies…. no matter how you try, your chest puts too much pressure on their little bellies. Looking back, I would’ve invested in a few pair of awesome tennis shoes! I had to walk her for at least 10 hours a day for the first 6 months. That, and maybe a back support! LOl! (I’m only half joking though) Point is… each kid is different. The one thing all my kids used and loved. The walker and the exersaucer. And, of course a good high chair. 🙂 And….. the pack n play with the bassinet attachment.

  9. Hi Merissa:
    I realize from the following comments that you originally posted this a few years ago. We eventually had 4 boys and lived mostly on one income so our baby budget was really tight. After number 3 I thought we were done so I gave my baby things to a charity that supports unwed moms and their newborns. Lo and behold 3-4 months later I discovered that number 4 was on the way and I literally had no baby stuff left to prepare for baby and virtually no budget to buy new. A friend who worked in our church office set up a baby drive for myself and another mom in need and boy was the response fantastic. I got everything I needed in terms of clothing and then some. Another lady gave me a whole bunch of pink clothing in the hopes that I would finally get a girl. When my fourth son was born I traded the pink clothes for some blue with a lady who lived up the street who had a girl after two boys. Another neighbour sold us a crib and a car seat at reasonable cost. My hubby found a next to new high chair at a thrift store for only a few dollars. My mother gifted us with a new stroller. I think the point I’m trying to make is that there are ways to obtain inexpensive baby stuff if you are willing to go second hand or do what I did the first 3 times which was to borrow equipment from family and friends who were already past the need for baby equipment. For my first 3 my sister-in-law loaned me a change table and rocking chair which I returned to her so she could re-loan them to another friend after I was done with them. The same items were not available for number 4 so I went garage sale hunting and found a dresser that would work well as a change table and for storing baby clothes. The church had a garage sale and there I managed to find another rocking chair for a few dollars. I usually bathed my kids in the kitchen sink and later put a baby tub in the main tub when they could sit up. Once they were about a year old and steady on their feet they got bathed in the tub with the next oldest sibling. I never bothered with swings, walkers. I did invest in a playpen for travel and to contain my baby when they were at the crawling and toddling stage if I needed to keep them safe and out of the way for short periods of time. I did have one of those turning musical things to attach to the crib and playpen because we received it as a gift otherwise I would never have bothered with it. I used home made cloth diapers and mainly vaseline or Zincofax for diaper cream. It was unheard of to make your own at the time but I would have if I’d known how. I did make my own baby food and froze it in ice cube trays. Lots of ways to save if you think on it and don’t fall for all those flyers and commericals which try to kid you that you are a bad parent if you don’t buy their products.