Baby Essentials

I hesitate to give a laundry list of baby essentials, because what works for us might not work for you. Every family has its own needs and priorities,, our decisions to co-sleep and practice EC (Elimination Communication , To connect with another being, to understand his need, and to help him fulfill that need - well, I can't think of anything that is more wonderful in this life.). The bottom line? Do what is right for you, your family, and your little one. Follow your convictions, follow your budget, but most of all,  follow the child. What your child needs is YOU - your love, your smiles, your voice - not stuff! Stuff can be nice (and very helpful) but keep in mind that you shouldn't feel pressure to accumulate it.

• the Moby Wrap. I've talked about it before, but this is our go-to option for soothing a tired baby. Daddy wears the Moby, and I wear ...
• a ring sling. I've found that it's easy to get on and off and great for covering up while nursing out of the house. Our current favorite is the hip hold - we get a lot done in the kitchen and around the house thanks to the sling.
• at least 50 pre-fold diapers. They are cheap, super absorbent, and perfect for EC backup around the house, worn with a diaper belt (known affectionately around these parts as Finn's sumo belt). Amanda Soule's book, Handmade Home, includes instructions on how to make your own pre-fold diapers from recycled cloth. We don't use diaper covers unless we're out and about (and we used g diapers with much success while traveling) but I'd say you'd need three covers to be safe.

• a dresser with the top drawers reserved for baby diapers and clothing. No need to get a special baby changing dresser - we already had ours, a mid-century-ish find from a thrift store. The above photo is our "baby care station" - a changing pad (with two cotton terry covers - one for the wash, and one for the pad),  Baby Bjorn potty on top of a waterproof mat, a toy or two for potty time, wipes, and two burlap buckets - one for the 20 or so washcloths that we use constantly for cleaning up spit up, drool, milk - you name it, and one for holding my cotton breast pads.
• a water repellent wool pad, topped with a flannel receiving blanket, for sleeping on top of in our family bed. You can make your own felted wool pad, or buy one here. You'll need lots of receiving blankets. I think we have about ten. You can make your own by buying cotton flannel at a fabric store and simply cutting them to small blanket size - zigzag the edges and you're done.
• a co-sleeping pillow. This makes all of us feel safe and secure at night. Finn slept in a sleep sack for the first few months.
• kimono shirts, baby legwarmers, socks and hats. Finn doesn't really have that many clothes - figure that your baby will go through one, maybe two, shirts per day (depending on drool and spit-up) and two or more pants if you choose to use pants. I rarely put Finn in pants because we EC. We prefer to use legwarmers and socks to keep his lower extremities warm. We do laundry every other day, so we only really need about four shirts, two pairs of pants, and a few pairs of baby socks. If you don't want to do laundry that frequently, then you'll need more clothes (and more diapers, probably!)
• a wool fleece pad or lambskin, for hanging out on the floor, playing with toys, watching mobiles, cats, etc.
• several mobiles from the Michael Olaf catalog or made by hand. Finn loved his black and white whale mobile.
• Montessori baby toy set from Pink House Handworks.
• and, finally, a Svan baby/youth chair. We've just started using it with Finn (because he's just begun to sit up on his own) but we LOVE it. It is an expensive item, but we knew we wanted it and spread the word - several family members went in on it together to purchase it for us as a gift. The chair is so great on many levels - the tray comes off so you can scoot the baby right up to the edge of the table to socialize with you as you eat meals as a family. It's beautifully made of wood. Perhaps its biggest selling point for us was that it converts into a toddler and youth chair which the older child can get in and out of himself with the aid of a step/foot rest.

First, know that you will not need a lot of things, because the most important things you are already carrying with you: your motherly love, comforting arms and the milk your body provides – mashaallah, all the essentials are there with you! Just follow your natural instinct and all will go well, inchaallah.

But ok, there are still a few things you will need apart, so let’s see what I really find important and please don’t forget that these are personal experiences and your situation may ask for other things.

We are practicing a natural family living and sort of attachment parenting and that means in short that baby co-sleeps in our bed (all our kids still do), because it simply seems normal to us and it is so much easier to breastfeed and to feel the needs of a baby if it sleeps near to the mother.

It also means that I am fully breastfeeding baby until now (5 months) and longer, inchaallah, because the God-given mother-milk is the best we can feed our babies with and no factory-made-thing can replace its benefits.

And it means that we use cloth diapers (except during nights) and I carry my baby in a sling all the time she cries, needs love, contact and warmth.

So here is my have-to have-list for newborns and their mamas:

2 woollen sleeping bags
2 baby-caps
2 woollen long-sleeved shirts
4 cotton bodies
2 pairs of woollen socks
2 little woollen blankets

lambskin to lie on and a cotton cloth for the head-part
I really recommend using natural materials for the clothes and especially for the first weeks I think sleeping-bags or loose comfortable baby-clothes are best and I don’t think that baby has to be stylish and chic then- it has to feel comfortable and welcomed in this oh so cold and new world… 
25 cloth diaper sets
3 woollen/plastic trousers
clip
body oil to clean
cream for the bottom
a place to change nappies (it also can be a simple towel you place on the floor wherever you are and a box with all the things you need)bath tub
big towel
thermometer (to take the bath temperature)
a sling to carry baby
2 nursing bras for the mother
2 pairs of silk, woollen or cotton nursing-bra-inlays
a place to sleep during the days, near to mom’s main working area (we use a mattress in the kitchen corner but it could be a cradle or something else)
suckle (I used them after 6 weeks and it really calms my baby, alhamdulillah)
baby car-seat
baby carriage

Your baby will not need much more during the first few months and especially toys and all that stuff you really will not need. Your body, babies own hands, a scarf or a suckle is way enough for baby to play with.

But maybe I should mention that you – the mother – will need some things to treat yourself well: healthy food, enough naps and time to relax, a lot of water and calming teas (like fennel) to drink, things you love and enjoy and sometimes maybe also some chocolate… be kind to yourself and pray and pay gratitude to Allah for the work your body did and will have to do.

I am sure, I forgot something important, so please feel free to comment about what you think, dear mothers!

And to all the first-time-mothers I wish divine blessings and that you may be able to trust in Him and in your inner voice, in your womanly instincts and in the power within yourself! Amen.