Humidifier - check. Electric fan - check. Lullaby CD - check. Nightlight - check. Final kisses and whispered prayers, and at last you’re ready to lay your tiny baby down to sleep.

Modern convenience makes caring for a little one easy as pie and exhaustingly complicated at the same time. Our parents muse, “How did we ever get by without that nursing pillow/bottle warmer/Sippy cup tether?” Yet somehow, the human race got this far without all of today’s fancy gadgets designed to ease parents through the baby years, and we would be wise to consider how it used to be done when evaluating raising an infant during a crisis situation.

To begin with, let’s determine what the basic needs of an infant really are (hint: they’re not too different than anyone else’s): food/water, warmth, hygiene. In this article I will discuss how to meet the needs of an infant on a very barebones level, as well as mention some tips on making it easier on yourself and your little one.