Tuesday, April 21, 2015

A Baby Registry List for the Cheap-#&@ Mother

Stormageddon is 6 months old today, and therefore I have been awarded the title of “Battle-Hardened Mother.”  Now, I really don’t want this blog to be a mommy blog (hence my lack of writing recently), but here I go anyway.

Several of my friends are currently pregnant with their first baby, and some of them are even cheapskates like me.  Friends, this post is for you.  This is a list of everything you will need for the first six months of your baby’s life.  If you want a minimalist’s baby registry list, this is it.

Newborn (0-2 months):
-A place for them to sleep (I highly suggest the Fisher-Price Rock’n’Play or something similar; takes up a minimal amount of space and snuggles them to bed)
-3 blankets (large enough to swaddle them)
-4 shirts, 4 pairs of pants, 4 pairs of socks, 3 pairs of pajamas, and for the winter baby 1 hat and 1 hoodie size 0-3 (do yourself a favor and don’t buy newborn size unless you have a very small baby -6 lbs or less)
-5,000 burp cloths (or 5)
-Either 1 nursing cover or 4 small bottles and a container of formula (if you get bottles, also get a bottle brush; if you’re going the nursing route get a large box of nursing pads)
-Size 1 diapers (don’t do newborn diapers unless you had a tiny baby)
-Lotsa lotsa wipies (Stormageddon kept getting diaper rashes and the rash cream only made it worse, but once we switched to Pampers Sensitive we haven’t had any rashes at all.  This parenthetical has been brought to you by Pampers.)
-2 washcloths, 1 towel, and 1 18ish-oz container of baby wash (it will last you forever; we’ve had ours for 6 months and we’ve barely used any)
-1 fingernail clipper (ours has a flashlight on the end and I thought it was stupid until I actually cut his fingernails – love it!)
-2 binkies
-1 carseat
-1 stroller (getting out of the house will keep you sane – get a stroller)
-1 wrap/carrier/something similar (great for when you need to do chores and they want to be held)
-1 diaper bag
-1 library card (you will get SO sick of reading the same five books every day; we have about 20 and I still got bored of them within a month)
-Baby laundry detergent (some babies get rashes if you use the normal stuff; ours did)
-1 super-awesome stain remover (Oxi-Clean!)
-Something to keep their dirty laundry in and something to keep their clean clothes in
-Baby Tylenol

3 months:
-See clothing needs for 0-2 months size 3-6 (if your kid still fits in their old stuff, just buy enough to keep the numbers up to snuff once you’ve phased out the too-small clothes)
-Size 2 diapers
-Wipies
-Some type of ball/keys/something they can start gripping and playing with (O-Ball makes some great stuff)
-A playmat with things hanging down is wonderful, but not necessary
-Some type of crib if you’re feeling it (Stormageddon is still in a Pack’n’Play and it works great)
-A snuggly animal for naptime/bedtime (the tiny blankets with a stuffed animal head are wonderful)

4-6 months:
-Size 3 diapers – stock up; they’ll be in this size for a while
-Wipies
-See clothing needs for 0-2 months size 6-9 (they start growing like crazy around this time)
-1 mesh food pacifier and some extra mesh bags (uh-may-zing!)
-4 baby spoons (heat-sensitive is nice)
-A bouncy chair/exersaucer is very nice, but not necessary (but you’ll want one)
-Whatever food you feel comfortable feeding your kiddo (Stormageddon loves Cream of Wheat, bananas, sugar snap peas (loves to chew ‘em), celery, cucumbers, apples, bits of bread, ice cream, and pretty much any small piece of whatever The Man and I are eating)
-5 bibs (they won’t protect the hands/face/entire area around the kid from getting dirty, but at least that chest will be clean!)


….aaaaaand that’s it.  Wow, all written out like that makes it look like a huge amount of stuff.  I guess it is.  All the more reason to put it on your registry and let your family and friends buy it for you!

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