Comments on: Bare bones baby buying guide

By: Leah Goodman

Leah Goodman — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 23:16:05 +0000

To those who say that a stroller is not a necessity, it really depends on your situation. I have back problems, my 9-month-old is about 22 pounds, I have a 2-year-old to chase around, and I’m frequently on my own with the two kids. I use a double stroller quite a lot of the time (I bought it used and will probably be able to sell it for close to what I paid for it)

I have friends who have an only child who is an 18-month-old who is about 17 lbs. They frequently carry her around in a back carrier when both parents are together. Different situations call for different equipment.

By: Once

Once — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 18:52:37 +0000

Stephanie,

You need to quit believing everything the car-seat industry tells you, and finish listening to that lecture. The DATA shows that a child who is more than 24 months old is EQUALLY safe in a regular car seat as he is in a standard forward-facing add-on car seat.

Note that I said “data”, not “gut feeling” or “advertisement-driven quasi-religious beliefs”, and that the two are “equally” safe: A regular seat belt is not a safer (or less safe) choice, and no claim is made that it is more comfortable (because it’s not).

At the end, the Freakonomics speaker advocates for a system that would be MORE safe than what is currently required. Surely all parents and other people of good will could support a system that actually reduces children’s injuries. The scandal here is that so many people are shelling out $100 per toddler (NOT infants!) for a system that actually provides no additional value compared to a regular seat belt.

By: DeAnna

DeAnna — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 04:36:54 +0000

Great list. The only thing I would add is Pedialyte, for when your four-week old is vomitting up/crapping out every feeding. The only thing I would exclude is a nasal aspirator, ONLY if you’re delivering in the hospital, b/c they will send you home with the one you use, and it’s better than any one you can buy. Our seven-month-old is in a pack & play, b/c our oldest is still in the crib ($80 new @ Ikea), and we love it. Easy to assemble, mobile and very compact.

By: LAL

LAL — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:00:08 +0000

Great post, got it from a friend. Awesome. Just about to have my first baby and I’ve got tons of clutter.

But I’m okay with it. I got a free infant seat, so I’ll buy a convertible later. From reading online, the problem with convertibles is they can be too big for some newborn infants because the shoulder straps don’t fit.

Got a free co sleeper, I’ll get a crib later. I have a free swing, pack and play, bassinet, etc. I’m going to test out what is necessary and go from there.

I’ve gotten a ton of free and used clothes too.

Now I need to buy a stroller and monitor and possibly a couple of other things. Ugh the clutter!

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 03 Sep 2009 22:11:30 +0000

Great list! I would add not to skimp on a stroller or a baby carrier. I ended up going through 4 strollers until I found the right one and in the end it was the most expensive (Bugaboo Frog) that had I just bought it to begin with I would have been fine. Plus it has a wheeled board you can attach to the back when your child is old enough not to want to sit but still too small to walk everywhere. Also, I highly recommend the ErgoBaby carrier. I tried a bunch and this was the one with the most comfortable support and can be worn on the front or back. I think the cost for this carrier is comparable to the Baby Bjorn.

By: Karen

Karen — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 16:05:26 +0000

I think the most important thing is just to be *mindful* when shopping for your baby. Use a clutter-free mindset, think realistically about what your situation calls for, and get what you’ll really need and use rather than what “everyone” says you “must have” or “definitely don’t need”.

We love to hold our baby and use slings whenever possible, but unlike Smug Polly, we found the “baby bucket” snap-in-snap-out scenario to be perfect. Why? Well, we had to have a carseat either way. And because we both had to work, one of us dropped baby off at daycare in her bucket, and the other one picked her up. Baby could nap in her bucket if she was fussy, or sit in it sometimes while the older kids played outside. One carseat + 2 bases + stroller frame + swing frame is less cluttersome than two carseats, a stroller, and a swing. An added benefit for my November baby was not having to stuff her into winter outerwear or ever expose her to the elements when she was tiny tiny.

And – get this – when we got somewhere, if the baby was sleeping, we snapped her into the stroller. If she was awake, we popped her into the sling. Choices! Incredible.

And now, we have converted to the older-baby-plan we made. Convertible seats, slings, and a lightweight Combi umbrella stroller when necessary.

The other day I took off with my 6 month old tucked in a wrap sling and a diaper wallet on my wrist. We used the bus to get to the metro station, the metro to go to the zoo and walk around for 4 hours, and then metro home. It was awesome! She was happy as a clam and boy, did I earn my hotdog.

Cosleeping is a great idea, but it doesn’t work for every family, even ones that would prefer it. I can cosleep with baby, but only if my super-light-sleeping partner goes off to the guest room.

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 22:28:22 +0000

Rebecca-I tried to watch the video you posted…but it was just too ridiculous to finish. I hope no one actually believes that children at 2 years old should ride with only an adult seat belt. At that age it is a FACT that they need a child restraint, and should be rear facing still as well!

By: paxye

paxye — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 15:15:34 +0000

I am another of the “hippies”

no crib (co-sleep and real bed when they are ready), no strollers (wraps and slings… and I have 3 kids), breastmilk right from the source needs no accessories, EC is great way to use less diapers….

By: Cynthia Freeman

Cynthia Freeman — Sun, 02 Nov 2008 23:05:58 +0000

Having an ergo baby carrier actually helped me unclutter – there’s a little pocket in the carrier that will hold a diaper or two and wipes, and i got the little fanny-pack-like attachment for the hip belt that would hold my wallet, keys, cell phone, some kiddie snacks any other crucial small items i needed. i could spend half a day or more out of the house with no diaper bag or temptation to lug a lot of extra stuff along!

By: Tom

Tom — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:14:34 +0000

I just have to say that you can skip the stroller and cribs altogether. We co-slept with all our children from birth and wear all of them using a sling, wrap, or other soft structured carrier. And both my wife and I prefer wearing to stroller use even for our 3 yr old.

But to each their own.

By: Molly

Molly — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:04:39 +0000

I must hang out with hippies! Half these things seem like unnecessary clutter to me. My friends with kids have mostly done co-sleeping (no crib), a lot of slings (no strollers), don’t need carseats because they don’t have cars, are in breastfeeding-friendly professions and don’t need pumps or bottles, don’t need high chairs because the baby breastfeeds long enough ze can just sit in a regular chair by the time ze’s eating with the family, etc, etc, etc.

I guess being a hippie is good for uncluttering! Though, to be fair, I don’t have kids yet myself.

By: Clare

Clare — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 09:34:28 +0000

Plunket is a national organization here in New Zealand devoted to under 5′s and their family. It is not so much a company as a part of our identity. Kate may not realise that not all countries in the world have such a good service. All babies born here have the right to visits from plunket nurses, providing support in the early years. So in context although buying/renting second hand isn’t ideal, here the plunket car seat rental scheme is trustworthy. See http://www.plunket.org.nz/

By: Tiimbo

Tiimbo — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 17:39:11 +0000

Great post, and great comments. I’ve been on several parenting blogs where any post immediately devolves into a shouting match about breast/formula or co-sleeping/crib. I guess the Unclutter crowd is just more civilized than others.

“Home safety items”

These are important but another area that can wait, I think. For the first few months, an infant can’t get into anything in the house (e.g., electrical sockets, stairs) that could be harmful. And there are such differences between babies — our first son couldn’t care less about outlets, but baby #2 had to touch all of them.

If it turns out that you’ve got a spirited kid who gets into everything, then batten down the hatches. If you don’t, you may feel like it was a waste to buy and install tons of protective devices everywhere.

By: Someone

Someone — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 14:55:41 +0000

Thanks for the article, but I’m not in the market for buying a bare bones baby at the moment.

By: Di

Di — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 09:39:36 +0000

I have to say that list is too long for me – half of your essentials list would be clutter in our house.
Porta-cot – we co-sleep when traveling and large amounts of the time at home so we had no use of one of these (and never bought one)
Carseat – while yes we do have a convertible, we hired the capsule or borrowed from friends we trust.
Stroller – used slings mostly so again not really needed (again didn’t buy one for ages – first child was 10 months old before we bought one).
High chair – isn’t needed until starting solids so can go on the wait to buy list.
That is not even going into the suggestions of what might be included under the topic.

My basic list is
Some way for baby to be in a car safe
some way for baby to be transported out of car
clothes (which includes nappies)
blankets
somewhere for baby to sleep
somehow for baby to eat

The baby health stuff is a buy as you need, the safety stuff again is buy as you need.