*Updating this post now that Indie Bo has joined our world 4 years later*

Looking for forest school gear? Scroll to the bottom!

After an impromptu Instagram story of Evie’s nursery (which we never actually used for her to sleep in), I got overwhelmingly positive feedback in favor of this exact post, so here goes nothing! Below is a list of game-changing (or at least very helpful) items that we’ve used since Evie’s birth, and now Indie’s too. The new baby market, like so many others, plays on new parents’ emotions, trying to sell EVERYTHING imaginable. We keep things minimal and simple here, so this is a list of the things we’ve loved, needed, and purchased out of necessity since our little souls joined us earthside. My hope is that it will help you sift through the fluff and get just what our little ones will benefit from without the excess. Sending you love in whatever phase of this parenthood journey you might be in!

Now that we’re on baby number tow (Welcome Indie Bo), we’ve gone even more minimal. Indie sleeps in bed with us and she doesn’t have her own room or space. We use THESE soft containers for under the bed; one for her clothes and one for blankets, burp rags, and shoes and such. We have Evie’s old clothes and favorite hand me downs in a box in the basement, and at each growth state, we grab the box and swap in “new” clothes in her size. We also have this single basket for her handful of toys and books at this stage. It’s worked so well to keep things minimal for our small living space.

Ok, FIRST, some resources for mama and dad. These are mostly focused on reading and preparing for what happens once babe is here (game changers for us and easily found at the library or borrowed from a mama friend):

• Eliza Parker: her focus on movement, crawling, and development without props has been amazing
• Aletha Solter: Aware Parenting
• Megan Garcia: First foods
• Ina May’s Guide
• Mama Natural’s Guide
• The Vaccine Friendly Plan
• The Aware Baby
• No Bad Kids
  
• The Whole Brain Child
• Last Child in the Woods

On the go:

• The Solly baby wrap was my FAVORITE for the early weeks. She’d sleep for hours in there, and I loved having her sit snuggly against my chest. I also love the Moby wrap as the weather cooled down because it’s thicker and sturdier. I use one of them every single day now with Indie as life is a little more full than our first go around. It’s a sweet way to snuggle and get stuff done all at once.
• Once Evie hit 4 months, all bets were off, and we fell in love with the Ergo 360. Game changer. She can sit forward, backward, on the front, hip, and back. I love it and always will. A friend gifted us a Baby Tula carrier when I was pregnant with Indie, and that’s been awesome into toddlerhood.
• For hiking! The Osprey hiking pack has been game-changing, especially for our very active Indie girl. She loves that she can see everything and be in the mix, and I love how comfortable it is for longer hikes. Bonus points because I can set it down with her still in it and it doubles as a high chair or safe space to contain her when needed.
• Note: We chose wearing both girls over a stroller or carrying her around in a carseat for developmental reasons, cost effectiveness, and convenience. We do love our Uppa Baby Mesa (and man did I research the hell out of carseats), but it stays in the car where it’s safe and sound and secure.
• Wagon! Now that Indie is older and we’re spending so many fun-filled afternoons at the lake, our wagon has been awesome for simplicoity’s sake. I can load up the car with a cooler of snack, basket of towels and suits, and our collapsable wagon. Then, I it all goes in the wagon (girls too) and getting down to the beach is extra easy.
• When we were living in the van, we ended up getting a gb Pockit collapsible stroller for exploring downtowns (at a reasonable pace when she didn’t want to be in the carrier). It’s proved durable and super effective for a minimal lifestyle. We pull it out on occasion for Indie and she loves it too!

Play: Rusty and I are both HUGE advocates of allowing for independent play and for keeping toys and stuff to a serious minimum. For that reason, this list is short, but it has still been very effective for us and our little one!

• Pillobebe – This has taken the place of her crib in our room. It’s been amazing as she learns to crawl, and we love having a safe, non-toxic mat for her to roll around on. (The one we got is currently unavailable, but this one is super similar)
• Nook Lilypad – This is great when I take her outside for quick workouts. It’s easy to carry around and a nice small size. We also often have it splayed out in our living room so she can hang while we do. Indie loves laying on it and staring out the window in the afternoons while I work.
• Flap Happy hat – great for sunshine play! One of the free hats Evie will keep on her head 🙂
• Wooden Blocks – We got these blocks as a hand me down, and it has been hands down one of the coolest toys to watch Evie grow into. What started as us stacking, and her knocking down has turned into her building hand eye coordination, patience, persistence, and dexterity stacking them herself. So much joy from such a simple toy.
• GAMES! Now that the Evie is older, we’re having a BLAST with family game nights. Find the list of our favorite family games HERE!

Read: 

• Yoto audio players: we love our Yoto audio players. Evie’s been enjoying The Zoey and Sassafras Collection and excited to move on to The Chronicles of Narnia next. She’ll head to her room for hours and enter new worlds, use her imagination, and direct her own learning – all without screens, microphones, wifi access (or any of the other things that we don’t feel ready to give her yet). And that’s what makes Yoto so unique: no tablet needed; simply hand over cards you choose with your little ones, and they plug and play – in her case for hours – opening their minds to endless adventure, creativity, imagination, and learning. And Indie loves listening to campout sing along songs and short stories too.
• A Sourdough Adventure: have you checked out my (newly updated) sourdough kids’ book? Explore the world of sourdough with Evie and connect with your little through a love for reading and baking bread!
• Paper book shelf – Eco friendly, affordable, and really good looking considering it’s made from paper!
• Goodnight Stories for Rebel Girls – A gift from my dear friend Kelsey, this book has brought me to tears multiple times. I am so proud to share stories of incredible women with my daughter, and if we have a son someday, with him too.
• The Illustrated Harry Potter Series – I have the sweetest memories of Rusty reading the first 4 Harry Potter books to Evie and me every night before bed. This series even found a spot in the van for our cross country adventure. And now, we look forward to starting from book 1 with Indie girl. 
• Hobbit – Evie got this cool version of the Hobbit with rad illustrations. Rusty is reading it to her every night before bed, and it’s magically nostalgic for us both. We look forward to many  more reads to come of this favorite.
• The Purloining of Prince Oleomargarine – This is an incredible book gifted to us by Rusty’s mama. It’s a New York Times Best Seller and a never-before-published, previously unfinished Mark Twain children’s story is brought to life by Philip and Erin Stead, creators of the Caldecott Medal-winning A Sick Day for Amos McGee. We can’t wait to read it to her cover to cover.
• The Complete Tales of Winnie-The-Pooh – I got this book when I was a little girl and Rusty read it from cover to cover to Evie in her first months. We both cried at the end. It’s touching, unique, and filled with such fun stories.
• The Boy, the Mole, the Fox and the Horse – This is SUCH a special book, gifted by my dear friend Erica. This book offers inspiration and hope in uncertain times, following the tale of a curious boy, a sweet mole, a wary fox and a wise horse who find themselves together in sometimes difficult terrain, sharing their greatest fears and biggest discoveries about vulnerability, kindness, hope, friendship and love.
• The Colors of Us – a sweet positive and affirming look at skin color, from an artist’s perspective to her little girl.
• Slow Down: 50 Mindful Moments in Nature – In this beautiful illustrated collection, 50 moments in nature are paused for you to watch them in detail. Then you should go outside, and explore, and see what you find when you take the time to slow down. It leads to so many cool conversations when we’re out in nature!
• All Shel Silverstein – I have a very special quote from one of his poems on my back, and when I got it over 5 years ago, I knew our Evie already on some level.

“Listen to the MUSTN’TS, child,
Listen to the DON’TS
Listen to the SHOULDN’TS
The IMPOSSIBLES, the WONT’S
Listen to the NEVER HAVES
Then listen close to me-
Anything can happen, child,
ANYTHING can be” – Silverstein

Sleep and snuggle:

• Moses Basket – While we bed share with both girls, I love the ease of moving this around the house for the newborn stage as a safe and sweet place to set my babe down while I get stuff done. It also looks great and is eco friendly and affordable.
• Teething necklace – Believe what you want; I think this works!
• Askr & Embla – She’s loved this since the start, and it’s made travel and transferring from bassinet to crib easy peasy! Bonus points for sustainability, toxic free materials, and a small family company.
• Snuggle Me Organic Toddler Lounger – We’re loving this for Indie. We can bring it around the house and on our travels, and it’s a snuggly spot that’s always hers wherever we go.
• Avocado Mattress – As we begin the process of transitioning Indie to share a room with her big sis, we’ve purchased a toddler mattress (and sheets) from what I believe to be the best company in the business for quality, safety, comfort, and health. Avocado’s mission is to be the world’s most sustainable brand — the pinnacle of GOTS-certified organic mattresses, luxury pillows and bedding, and quality American-made bed frames and furniture – and it shows!
• Cuddle and Kind– We keep toys minimal, but the girls each have one of these sweet stuffed animals and they love them so! Plus, the company is on a mission to give back. 
• Dimmable one touch amber lights – These were a lifesaver for nighttime feedings. They helped avoid switching on overhead lights that would make falling back asleep hard for everyone, and they are easy to keep within arms reach. We had one in every room at the start.
• Blue blockers for mama – speaking of sleep and amber lights, these have been a game changer for me. Babe gets melatonin from mama’s milk, so if you can keep your circadian rhythms in a solid routine, it will help with sleep for little one. Enter blue blocker glasses. While these aren’t a miracle worker, and screen time is still screen time, they certainly help in those marathon nursing evenings, where a little tv or phone time is bound to happen. And now I use them for early morning work sessions to save my eyes and rhythms.
• Woolino Sleep Sack – This was great for Evie (Indie will only wear it when we’re camping and it’s a must; she’s a mover, even when she sleeps). It helped Evie sleep and kept her warm in these “cold” Santa Cruz winter nights. Especially great for a babe who won’t be swaddled.
• Organic muslin blankets – I love having these on hand for when a chill picks up. In the early weeks, we had her in just a diaper always for skin to skin time, so we’d just wrap one of these around us when it got chillier.
• It wasn’t until we started adventuring in the van that we decided we needed a baby monitor. Our condo was tiny enough to hear her anywhere and neither of us wanted a video monitor. We finally settled on this simple, no frills, audio baby monitor because both parent and baby sides can go cordless (great for camping!). Because Indie is such a mover, we’ve since gotten a video monitor to ensure she doesn’t fall off the bed!

Nourish:

• Tiny Health: I can’t recommend getting a gut test for you babe (and yourself) enough. These super informative microbiome and vaginal health tests demystify what can be a complicated transition into motherhood by giving mamas the empowerment that comes from knowing about thier babe’s gut health. The results come with an in-depth action plan, and it’s totally transformed the way we’ve navigated first foods and supplementation for Indie. Save $25 with code: LAURA25. 
• Smidge Infant Probiotic – (ONLY IF NEEDED based on the Tiny Health tests results) If there’s ever signs of gut discomfort or if a first food doesn’t sit well, probiotics to the rescue! (about 3x a week). Note: thus far, probiotics haven’t served Indie well, but we’ll try again as she gets older.
• Klaire Labs Prebiotic – This made a huge difference in Evie’s gassiness since adding in solids. I put some on my nipple or add it to purees for some extra gut love. (about 3x a week)
• Wild Pastures – This has helped us move into baby led weaning with ease because I know she’s getting the best possible meat that those little hands can grab! (Save 20% for life here!)
• US Wellness Meats liverwurst and braunschweiger – We always prioritize grass fed organ meats as a first food, and the whole family loves these! SO good as they are and also seared, sandwiched, you name it. The highest quality organ meats mixed with beef and so much flavor. I can’t recommend them enough. 
• Wishgarden Tinctures! We love Colic Calm when they’re tiny and the immune boosters as they get older. I took Happy Ducts religiously the first three months postpartum, and still use Sleepy Time for Pregnancy, Stress Relief for Pregnancy, and Immune Boosters all year round. Save 20% with code: RADICALROOTS.
• Paleovalley Organ Complex – I open a pill up and sprinkle it on her food at least a few times a week. She gets the flavor and nutrient boost from my favorite superfood; great for mama too! And as the girls start eating food, we love breaking bits of the turkey and beef sticks for nourishment on the go (Get 10% off with code: RADICALROOTS).
• Pump – I LOVE the Haakaa manual breast pump. I find this super helpful for expressing some fore milk, especially in the early weeks/months when too much of it can lead to a belly ache. It collects milk from the other boob when nursing too, which is great.
• Como Tomo bottle – Evie never took a bottle, but Indie has! And it’s so sweet watching Evie feed her baby sister. I only use the Haakaa but it collects enough for a morning bottle from sissy.
• Pura bottle – We transitioned in time to Pura. I love that there is zero plastic and a straw bottle for little ones. Evie is randomly super into sipping from straws.
• EvoCups stainless steel sippy cups – We’ve tried A LOT of sippy cups at this point and this is the most convenient and environmentally friendly one. I love that I can just throw one of the tops in my bag and use it on any cup when we’re out.
• Pure Synergy Vitamin C – Made from organic camu camu, this is awesome for immune health and for extra iron absorption.
• Dulse – Great for iodine and trace minerals as a sub for sea salt for little ones!
• Bone-in skin-on canned wild salmon – pretty sure this is Evie’s favorite food to date! Bones provide extra calcium. Skin provides extra omega-3s, and the canned salmon dissolves in her hands and mouth to ease any concern about chocking. Great first food!
• Salmon Roe – Speaking of salmon, we LOVE the roe from Vital Choice, which is extra rich in omega 3s for the growing babe.
• Coconut butter packets – Evie LOVED coconut butter, and I love having something easy to travel with and nourishing to give her. In my opinion, these are much better than the fruit filled, shelf stable baby food packets you’ll find.
• Paleovalley beef sticks – Because these are moist and soft, our little one can enjoy them with her now 7 teeth, but even before those teeth came in, I’d take a bite and give her some of the middle of the stick, which she could gum and swallow no problem. Stick to about 1/2 a stick at a time as to not get too much salt before 1. (15% off code: RADICALROOTS)
• Travel high chair – we love this thing. We have a very small space, and it folds up nicely. I set her up on our high counter, and then I can stand next to her and work as she chows. Win win!
• Wipe Off Bibs – These are so great to have on hand and EASY to clean. The little pocket holds all the food so it doesn’t fall on the floor, which means I can give it to Evie after a mouth miss or save it for later.

And mama needs nourishment too. Waking up before my girls has been a game-changing choice for my motherhood journey. And fueling those early mornings with mindful Flow and paleovalley whey (+ colostrum) protein-packed 1/3 caf Purity coffee (save with code: RADICALROOTS) has made all the difference.

Clean: 

• Puj Tub – (Note: we used this for Evie, but I just bathe with Indie now) – Makes bath time fun and safe! We used this for Evie, but I’ve actually just loved bathing with Indie in the tub. We take a few epsom salt baths together a week and we all sleep better and feel great after.
• Bath bar: Crunchi’s nourishing, versatile bathtime bar is crafted to safely keep our little ones’ delicate skin clean, soft, and moisturized.
• Burp Cloths – These take the cake for us! Organic, simple, durable.
• Diapers – After some research, we decided to go with non-toxic, eco-friendly disposable, and Abby & Finn diapers have been AMAZING. No leaks, no rash. WIN!
• Water Wipes – We LOVE these. They’re great for everything and because they’re mainly water, I feel safe wiping Evie’s face. Perfect for travel when little one won’t get a bath. We used them a ton when camping.
• Diaper pail – This is great, it takes regular trash bags and is made from steel, which helps us in our efforts to avoid plastic as much as possible! Fun fact: it’s so durable that we used it for Evie, and then our van trash can for 2 years in the van, and now, we’re using it for Indie!

Clothes: HAND ME DOWNS! Seriously, except for maybe a few outfits that you cannot help but buy because of the cuteness, save your money. We got so many amazing hand me downs, and they grow SO FAST. We do also buy a handful of onesies and jammies at each new growth spurt from Pact Organics because their clothes are adorable, affordable, and organic!

And now for forest school/outdoor gear!

I get this question all the time, so I am adding my list of favorites here. We’re SUPER fortunate that Evie’s forest school has a outdoor gear lending library, so we get to borrow all her gear and swap it out as she grows. Here are our favorites:

• Base layers: Nui Organics wool (these we buy ourselves and they’re so worth the investment!)
• Fleece jumpsuit: This Columbia jumpsuit has been a game changer for easy outings with Indie. So cozy, warm, and easy to get on and off (a very wiggly babe).
• Rain suit: Helly-Hansen rain suits have proven to be durable, warm, and super waterproof; plus, they have something for all ages! We’ve used and like Oaki to (especially for when they’re tiny)!
• Socks: Darn Tough and Smart Wool.
• Gloves: Head (also at lots of Costcos), and they make great snow/ski gloves too!
• Boots: Belenka is by far our favorite for cold weather, minimalist, warm boots.
• Warm weather barefoot shoes: We love Saguaro; they’ar affordable, comfortable, durable, and available in fun colors (save 10% with code: RADICALROOTS).
• Baby snow suit: Columbia (this was a hand-me-down) and we LOVE IT.
• Sun hat: Outdoor Research Kids’ Helios sun hat. They both have one!
• Water play: Little Green Radicals swim and spf gear.

Looking for a list of our favorite outdoor/camping gear? Find that in my Camping with Kids Guide!

Well, that’s all for now. I’ll likely keep adding, but at this point, these are things we’ve REALLY used and loved. I can honestly say there is nothing that is not on this list that we found we would have needed, and even some of these items are not necessary, just convenient. I hope this helps you mamas and papas out there. If there is anything I missed, comment below! Babies are simple. They need lots of love, listening, and snuggles. Not junk. Cheers for now. Love to you guys from our little family to you and yours!

♡ Laura (& fam)