There’s a whole industry built around convincing you that birth and early parenthood require a long list of carefully curated, aesthetically pleasing, and often expensive things. Americans spend an average of $4,250 to over $34,500. Birth and early parenthood are not about performing preparedness. They are about being held well enough that you can surrender to the experience as it unfolds. And that kind of preparation doesn’t come in a package. It’s built—slowly, intentionall
