When Sarah asked me to preview Your Baby Booty, I was really excited. Pregnant with my 2nd child, I was ready to get back into the baby world and figure out exactly what I needed to make it through that first year.

A sucker for personality tests, strength evaluations, and Cosmo quizzes, I pored over the various mommy lifestyle descriptions presented on the main page. What kind of mama was I?

Eco-Mama? I do love Burts Bees products, I thought to myself, but then I remembered my biggest eco-sin: disposable diapers. My first child refused to potty train until she was three-years-old and my two-month-old poops like 8 times a day….yeah, there is no way I’m an Eco-Mama.

What about Active Mama? That sounds like a good one. But wait, just the thought of jogging to my mailbox is enough to make me want to take a nap…okay, okay, active is probably the last word anyone would use to describe me.

Fashionista? Now we’re talking. I love the pretty stuff. I drool over DwellBaby even when I’m not pregnant. I cannot tolerate any sort of Winnie-the-Pooh character on my diaper bag (sorry, Tigger!), I love custom-made anything, and I don’t think we could own too many pairs of Babylegs. Robeez baby shoes? Yes, please. And pass me a couple of those Sophie Giraffe teethers while you are at it.

But although I’d love to have one of each toy that Skip Hop makes, the reality is that I live in a modest sized, three bedroom house. We just don’t have room for a lot of stuff. So while I’m a fashionista at heart, I do have some Minimalist tendencies.

I like products that look good and get the job done. Anything that requires little space and does not have Elmo’s face plastered across it (like the fisher price space saver high chair) is a must-have for me. I love my baby jogger stroller that fully reclines (for infants) and then can be adjusted to sit up for when my baby is old enough to hold her head up and look around. I also love that it folds up neatly and tidily–no massive stroller with extra components lying around for me to trip on (that’s what toys and sippy cups are for.)

I like footed sleepers that are comfortable and warm enough for pajamas at night and also cute enough to pass as clothing during the day. I love using a low bookshelf or desk as a changing table, and you can be sure that I will be getting rid of most of the baby junk, I mean stuff, as soon as my daughter outgrows it. (Must be sure there is enough room for mama’s shoe collection, you know.)

The second reality that I live with is my budget. While I dream of DwellBaby bedding, I am glad that there is an affordable Target version that I can actually buy. And even though I love designer baby clothes, what I love even more is finding them barely worn at baby resale shops. And while my etsy wishlist for handmade nursery art is longer than a Dickens novel, I find that a few vintage book pages, pretty scrapbook paper and some Mod Podge are all you need to decorate a little girl’s room with style, and still have enough money for shoes. (Is there a shoe mama? I think I’m that…)

So there you have it. I’m a fashionista mama with minimalist tendencies on a budget. What kind of mama are you?

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Vanessa is the mother of two beautiful girls–Juliet and Lucia. Before she was a mom, she spent her days teaching a little bit of English and a lot more “please be quiet” to high school students and her nights…wait for it…SLEEPING. Now her days are spent reading books, crafting, and chasing the cat around the house while her nights are filled with significantly less sleep and a lot more “please be quiet.” She writes about children’s books, crafting, and learning activities for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers at Silly Eagle Books.