Newborn Essentials For A Small Space
After a coffee with a girlfriend who is expecting her first and choosing to stay in a 1 bedroom apartment at least for the beginning I realized that I haven’t put in one place the items that helped us get through the first few delirious newborn months. So here they are! My picks and what we loved about them.
I get so excited to hear of other friends deciding to try and stay in the city in their small apartments, a trend i’m hoping continues!! More babies in the city! I promise that it’s possible with a few well chosen items and lots of walks and park time ;)
A CRIB
We chose a Babyletto Alma Mini Crib (new model here) from Overstock.com and have been so happy with it. It leaves more room for play in our small space and since Theo likes to sleep all curled up, we don’t see a need to upgrade anytime soon. It was a great compromise because my dream crib, the Stokke Sleepi Crib (link here) was out of our budget. We put him in the crib as soon as we got home from the hospital so never found the need for a bassinet or co-sleeper.
A BATH
We received a Puj Tub (link here) as a gift and we couldn’t have been happier with this perfect apartment friendly invention. It fit in our washroom sink and we used up until about 6 months old (he was quite small at the beginning!) Bathing a newborn can be a stressful time but the puj tub relieved so much of this. When it was not in use we hung it out of the way on the back of the door.
A CARRIER
Please don’t waste any time and get an Ergo Baby carrier (link here). I didn’t want to believe the hype and tried 2 other carriers before we got an Ergo Baby. It’s the best! I’m only 5'2" so It’s starting to get difficult to carry Theo except on my back but it was a lifesaver for the first year and half and I wish we had it when he was a newborn.
A CHAIR
We love our Nuna Leaf (link here), for its’ lack of batteries and noise, clean design and for the cozy way it cradled our little one while giving our arms a much needed break.
STROLLER
We didn’t choose the best stroller and ended up reselling it after 10 months. Now we use a McLaren Triumph that suits us perfectly at this stage. If I was to do it all again knowing what I know now, I would get either the Bugaboo Bee (link here) or a Maclaren with infant capabilities (link here). The small size, maneuverability and high quality parts/wheels of the stroller ended up being of utmost importance in the city for me. We walk ALOT and are pretty tough on our stroller.
CAR SEAT
I don’t have any strong opinions about a car seat beyond the fact that you need one. We chose the Maxi Cosi Mico (link here) for lightness and clean design and we were happy with it. I do think a stroller with car seat adaptability is very helpful especially when not wanting to wake a sleeping baby after a car ride or for travel. It’s certainly a modern luxury but we found it helpful in the first year.
BLANKETS
A couple of Aden and Anais (link here) swaddling blankets are worth the extra $$. They are the perfect size for a nice tight swaddle and make a great sunshade. The muslin just keeps getting softer and they come in cute patterns and colours. We are still using ours, especially in the warmer months.
SLEEP SACK
My go to expert on all things parenting (hi Karen!!) recommended an Ergo Cocoon (link here) to help with sleep before Theo was born. I thought it looked ridiculous but we bought one just in case. And as usual she was right, it helped sooo much. He loved being all snug and zipped up. He would actually smile when we zipped him in. We even used it at naps sometimes to calm him. I believe it helped him to be a great sleeper (until teeth started coming in).
This list is not complete and I hope to update with some more small details at a later date but if the items listed above were all you had you would be fully equipped and comfortably spoiled just like us.
I would also highly recommend sharing your beloved baby items once you outgrow them. It saves having to store them and helps out a friend who is probably just as nervous about getting ready for baby as you were.