We both work from home offices and live in a very modern-looking apartment so we wanted to find something which complimented our living room space but was also super practical for the baby in the first years. Tatami makes these wonderful mats which are basically softer (memory foam & velvety exterior) and more modern-looking versions of the traditional Japanese family mats which promote posture, strength, and the building of close bonds in a communal space. It's a perfect fit for both our baby and our home design and the company is great in how it prioritizes sustainability, quality, and charity. If you want to learn more, here's the link to their website: https://tatamikids.com

As much as we're trying to keep clothes to a minimum, the list of specific and essential clothing items is pretty extensive. Not to mention, babies grow FAST! So this is a little fund to help us to choose some more additional and essential (and adorable) clothes for our rapidly growing little one.

As some of you well know, we're into our plants! And Oliver's name is in part inspired by the significance of olives and olive trees in our relationship story. We want to buy an adolescent olive tree to grow with our little boy and hopefully get passed down through generations of our family. The average lifespan of an olive tree is 500 years, so if you decide to contribute to this gift, it will certainly be a gift far beyond just for us. But it's name will remain Oliver. :-)

Though we're going to be using mostly reusable diapers, we have been advised by many experienced parents to have regular diapers on hand in those first, difficult weeks of learning what it's like to, ya know, have a baby that's pooping all the time. And for when we find our reusables are all in the laundry. :-) So we've found a pretty incredible company which makes diapers with no oil-based-plastics and almost all renewable and compostable materials which are also plant-based. Yup. You heard me right. Ha!

This is the second of 3 Play Kits from LOVEVERY (developed by Montessori) which we hope to get for our little one. These play kits are delivered every 2 months and are ideal for our limited space but optimal for the baby developmentally. Check out this link: https://lovevery.eu/products/the-play-kits-the-charmer if you want to read more about this particular one. Here's the summary: "Your baby may start to recognise your face, cooing at you, smiling, and delighting everyone they meet. This Play Kit is designed to let your baby explore with their mouth, eyes, and hands as their personality emerges and their social awareness grows."

This is the first of 3 Play Kits from LOVEVERY (developed by Montessori) which we hope to get for our little one. These play kits are delivered every 2 months and are ideal for our limited space but optimal for the baby developmentally. Check out this link: https://lovevery.eu/products/the-play-kits-the-looker if you want to read more about this particular one. Here's the summary: "Sensitive to light and sound, your newborn is already becoming aware of their new world. This Play Kit helps them build new brain connections with high-contrast images and black and white sensory mittens."

Though we're going to be using mostly reusable diapers, we have been advised by many experienced parents to have regular diapers on hand in those first, difficult weeks of learning what it's like to, ya know, have a baby that's pooping all the time. And for when we find our reusables are all in the laundry. :-) So we've found a pretty incredible company which makes diapers with no oil-based-plastics and almost all renewable and compostable materials which are also plant-based. Yup. You heard me right. Ha!

After weeks of searching for a multi-functional crib / side-sleeper which we could also use in some way after the first year (as a bench for the baby's room) as well as from a company which made it from non-toxic materials AND a mattress which is also ideal for babies and not also made of crazy synthetic stuff, we've decided on this lovely item from BabyBay with an Allnatura mattress. The pictures show all the functions in different colors, but we're almost certainly going to get it in white.

This brilliant doo-dad might just save us. Because we live in a walk-up (you may've heard the number of steps from Joyce already) we have to be smart about how to get the baby up and down from the apartment. Even with us being able to park our baby buggy in the front hallway of the building, the removable bassinets and even light-weight car seats are nearly impossible to manage. This carrier can lay directly in the bassinet and is designed for easy carrying and basically doesn't weigh anything. I think we're gonna' call it our baby elevator. :-) The company that makes it is super fancy, but this is one of those things which we feel will be more than worth every Swedish penny! ( https://najell.com/de/p/babynest-sleepcarrier-volume-2-sandy-beige ) -> The moody, upper class models are worth a good laugh on this website.

If you haven't noticed yet, we love this company LOVEVERY. There's so much packed into this wonderful play station for the baby! Here's a link if you want to read all about it and see all the specific things designed especially for the baby's development in the first year: https://lovevery.eu/products/the-play-gym Here's the summary about it: "The Play Gym gives you and your baby the perfect first year of play with a play gym that looks at home in your home. Designed by child development experts, our award-winning debut product includes five sensory zones to help your baby through everything from tummy time to teething. Crafted with natural materials, and sustainably sourced, FSC-certified wood, The Play Gym will help you connect with your baby as they discover their new world. Comes with The Play Guide for families to discover expert tips, child development research, and ways to play."

GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified expandable Baby Nest. The bumper and the mattress can also be separated so the bumper can be used in other ways. Also the mattress insert can be easily removed to wash all components. We love the little hot air balloons on this, hence the "dreamers" theme name. It's made by Filibabba if you want to dig further about the wonderfully mindful company which makes this product. :-)

BabyKajo is a German startup with some very cute and custom products for babies. They of course pay careful attention to safe and high quality materials. Their baby bath was super cute and we were looking for something simple but not too breathable because of what we've read about babies getting cold in the new super-modern ones. So here it is. And the little Indian bear baby on it is super cute. :-)

You should've seen us trying to figure out these hundreds of wraps and carriers in the baby store. It was a mess. This was one of the only ones we found which had really comfortable material options, was great for newborns all the way up to toddlers, and was maybe even possible to put on alone without an air traffic control team! Ha! And it's also a great company. More about it at this link: https://ergobaby.de/babytragen/adapt/adapt-heritage-blue (Don't worry, it says it's not available, but we can get it through a third party company.)

This one is self-explanatory. :-)

We're not sure when this will be possible with us, but we know it is something which will be important when the day comes that Oliver can come along on our most beloved adventures - our hikes! These baby carrier backpacks are super fancy and the good ones start around $500 but this is just a fund to help take the edge off once we find the right one to buy. The first hikes we can imagine with him would include one we actually did when Yana was in her first trimester up to Reintalangerhütte from Garmisch-Partenkirchen in the Bavarian Alps, a couple we absolutely fell in love with in the Appenzell region in Switzerland, and a few which we dream about doing in Norway. It's important to us that Oliver grows up knowing that nature isn't just something you visit, but that he IS nature just as much as the plants in our garden, the animals in the wild and those raised and killed for food, and the mountains we climb. This hiking backpack will be an important tool for us in teaching him this unquestionable Truth. We ARE nature.