As some of you may know, Modern Domestica is about to become submerged in a whole new world of domesticity that involves a tiny human. Tiny humans, or babies* as some people refer to them, come with a whole variety of needs: being fed, being clothed and diapered, entertained and comforted. It is a good time to use some domestic ingenuity and come up with simple, efficient, and hopefully inexpensive and environmentally friendly ways to satisfy these needs.

Once we knew we were expecting a tiny human, I had some questions (well, I actually had about a million and a half, but we’ll stick to the domestic side of things). What do babies need? And how do they affect the routine domesticity of the home?

The first question I have mostly answered. Here is a basic list of things we have that the tiny human will need:

• A place to sleep: crib, pack n’ play, bassinet, etc. We were gifted a crib and then someone happened to give us a used pack n’ play so we have a travel option as well!
• Feeding: If breastfeeding this is easier! Just need a nursing cover and a nursing pillow, which I made. Later on may need pump and bottles and accessories (but I will worry about that later).
• Clothes: Keeping it simple, and trying to get lots of hand-me-downs. Tons of gifts as well.
• Diapers: Cloth vs. Disposable, possibly a pail or wet bag, a fancy changing station or a towel on the floor, wipes (homemade, disposable or reusable). We decided to give cloth diapers a try, and make our own disposable wipes. For now, towels on the floor as a “changing station.”
• Car seat: no discussion there.
• Traveling method: strollers, baby bjorns, baby wraps. We bought a used stroller for $30 that is compatible with the car seat and can be used by itself, plus someone gifted us a ring sling.
• Bath time: towels, soaps, shampoos, bathtubs, etc. We decided to use the sink, and have been gifted all the other essentials.

This is the most simple list, without the toys, traveling devices, accessories and giant plastic things that make life easier. Once the tiny human arrives, I am sure this list may change a bit. 

We decided to give the tiny human a room of his own, mostly as a storage room for his stuff (being honest here, doubt he’ll sleep or spend much time in this room until the age of 1 or so). First, we had to clean up the room, which was previously being used to store other stuff. Then, painting! Picking a color was difficult. At first we wanted green. Animals painted on the walls, safari, then jungle. Then a tree. Then the color became yellow. And birds. Then we ended up with blue, but mostly because the theme became the ocean. Why the ocean, you’d ask, especially if you know of Modern Domestica’s irrational fear of whales? Well, first of all my husband grew up near the ocean, and I didn’t, and the ocean is cool (those statements are more intelligent than they appear to be). Also,  aquatic life is much easier to draw and paint than the more complex muscle and hair of many land animals.
If I ask you to draw a jellyfish, you can probably do that. If I ask you to draw a convincing ant-eater, well…Lastly, the ocean is the ocean… It’s just the ocean. Whereas if I ask you to draw me some land creatures, then we have all kind of complicated questions- is this a rain forest or a desert or a tundra? Land animals don’t just float there, so there has to be a horizon or grass or something.  A zebra floating next to a goat is…strange. Too complicated.

Once the room preparations   were complete, we could start arranging furniture in the room and putting things into their places. It is very hard to decide where something should go if you have never used it, and won’t be using it for a while. But I did my best to guess the most accessible places for things I’d need in the middle of the night while completely overwhelmed and possibly  hallucinating. It’s a fun exercise.

Finally, attempting to figure out a new domestic routine with the new person in the house. This one is much harder to do in advance, but there were a few things I could do to prepare. For example, much more laundry! Especially with cloth diapers. Also, freezing a ton of meals so we don’t have to cook for a few weeks. And keeping hallways and doorways clear of furniture and obstacles, in preparation for zombie-walking in the middle of the night (or day?).

These are just some of the projects that Modern Domestica has been working on. Stay tuned for more Baby Sagas as we explore this whole new world of giant plastic things and complex terminology!

*Searching for the definition of “babies” on the internet could lead one to believe the term applies to a type of shopping or product, since everything that comes up is related to retail. But in reality, a baby is actually an infant, or a young version of the species. Who knew?