Hello pregnant friends! Congratulations on this big step in your life! I know you are probably anxious about the birth of your first child and doing everything you possibly can to prepare for the birth. You are probably researching EVERYTHING and want to be as prepared as you can. Well I’m here to tell you about something you do not need to sink your time and money into: unnecessary baby items!
The Lure of Unnecessary Baby Items
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When I was pregnant, I was diligent, y’all. Hyper diligent. I had five pregnancy books on the go at all times, at least three pregnancy apps on my phone, and googled EVERYTHING. I ate organically, used only clean David Suzuki-approved skin care products and flat-out refused to step foot in a freshly painted room.
This is perhaps nothing compared to when I was trying to conceive when I bought and read at least 4 TTC books… and we got pregnant after two weeks. It turns out I had nothing to worry about. I was more prepared for my pregnancy than a boy scout (if they could get pregnant… that was a weird analogy…).
At prenatal class, I was confused why I was the only one who had the pros and cons of every pain relief option available. Did no one else spend their weekends studying best practices for drug-free births? And why was everyone eight or nine months pregnant instead of five and a half? OK, thinking back, I now realize I was veering on the side of obsessive.
All this was fine and I went on happily obsessing, until something dawned on me…
Around about the seventh month of my pregnancy, it occurred to me that after my well-researched, well-planned birth, I would actually have a BABY to care for and I had better do some research on THAT important fact.
So off I went, on a tear to research how to care for a baby. Along with every book I could get my hands on (my fav here).
I read EVERY Pinterest link about must-have baby items. Breastfeeding must-haves, pumping essentials, I read them all!
If it could make my life easier, I was on it. We had more baby gear than I knew what to do with.
As you can imagine, after the baby was born, I figured out quickly that a lot of that stuff was junk. Hannah much preferred my arms to those elaborate baby-holders, and loved to play with my husband and me, not a bunch of fancy toys. I want you all to learn from my mistakes, so I am here to share with you some 100% unnecessary baby items!
Totally Unnecessary Baby Items:
Fancy Nursing Pillow
I splurged on the fancy nursing pillow, thinking I would nurse comfortably for hours on end. It had a belt for back support! and it had a pocket! Who wouldn’t want these things?
Well, it turns out that maneuvering myself into that thing while holding a screaming baby was NOT doable. I also found out that as a long-torsoed gal, i had to hunch over to even get my boob close to my baby’s mouth, making my back ache constantly. It was just one of many unnecessary baby items I had purchased.
I quickly downgraded to a normal pillowy nursing pillow (Read about my essentials for breastfeeding here). And you know what? most of the time i just nursed laying down (get your lactation consultant to show you how before you left the hospital, ladies, best decision of your life).
Related post: Your Survival Guide to Breastfeeding a Newborn
Bumbo
This is another totally unnecessary baby item. The time period of use for the Bumbo chair is soooo short. By the time the baby can hold up their head and support their trunk enough to use it, it will be about three weeks before they can actually sit up unassisted.
I think we used ours about three times. Plus, Hannah was only happy sitting in it for about 5 minutes at a time and only when I sat in front of her entertaining her.
OT’s actually do not recommend using one, because it can slow the development of their learning to sit independently. NOT worth the $60.
Plunk your baby in the middle of that low-grade nursing pillow you bought. It’s the perfect cushion if they tip over while sitting. They’ll be just as happy, and so will you.
One Bouncy Chair or Swing, Not Both
I will say Hannah’s swing was an absolute lifesaver and was the only thing she would happily stay in it for enough time for me to actually about to wash my face AND brush my teeth each morning.
She did not care for the bouncy chair. It seems that many babies have a definite preference for one or the other (or some just prefer your arms).
I would not recommend buying both. If I could do it again, I would have borrowed both items, figured out what Hannah preferred and only bought one.
Tip: If you end up buying a swing, it is one item you should not buy secondhand. Swings motors run out quickly, so you may need to replace it (definitely if you have a swing-loving baby like mine).
Play Gym
It took me a long time to clue in to the fact that the play gym is actually a completely unnecessary baby item. I thought it would be great to have a little play mat on the floor so Hannah could have her own special spot for tummy time.
After the worst of sleep-deprived mommy brain had faded (don’t make the same newborn sleep mistakes I did), I realized that tummy time is spent on the TUMMY and that Hannah couldn’t see all the pretty hanging toys above her head because she was on her TUMMY (you are probably smarter than me and figured this our sooner).
By the time Hannah could roll, she would often roll into the arms of the play mat, so we ended up detaching them.
Instead, just throw a blanket down on the floor and put some baby toys on it. Play mats are cute and will draw you in, but don’t buy it!
Jogging Stroller
This is one of the most expensive unnecessary baby items. Unless you are already a runner, do not waste your money on a jogging stroller.
Guess what? Trying to become a runner is really tough. Even at 25 with no baby, I hated sweating and huffing and puffing, trying to jog for more than five minutes.
Starting a running program while pushing an extra thirty pounds of baby+stroller weight (plus being out of shape from pregnancy, PLUS being sleep-deprived, PLUS those breastfeeding swollen boobs) is not going to happen.
A regular stroller is just fine.
Even better? Get this handy stroller frame to use with your car seat. It’s SUPER easy to fold and fit in your truck and is compact enough to wheel around stores easily (because unlike jogging, new moms shop A LOT).
Playpen
We never used the playpen (aka baby jail) once for playing! Much easier to babyproof a room and let baby crawl around freely than confine her to one sad little cage.
If you have an open concept house, try an extended baby gate to section off one area for baby.
We did use the playpen one time for an overnight trip, but could have borrowed one just as easily. Definitely an unnecessary baby item.
Baby Necessities
Baby Items I Couldn’t Live Without:
Baby Swaddles with Velcro
These are fantastic little contraptions. When you are totally sleep deprived in the middle of the night, you do not want to be frigging around with a swaddle. DO NOT waste any precious sleep time trying to deal with a confusing but fashionable receiving blanket (another unnecessary baby item). Get the swaddle with the velcro. It will take 15 seconds to swaddle the baby and you can get back to your precious sleep.
Bonus: When your baby gets a little stronger, the velcro will keep your baby from undoing the swaddle by itself while sleeping. This will be KEY for your own sleep and sanity.
Related: Newborn Sleep Mistakes You’re Probably Making
Nipple Shield
This amazing little piece of plastic was the key to my breastfeeding success. It made breastfeeding SO much easier and ended bleeding, chaffed nipples.
Related: What to Do When Breastfeeding Hurts
Be sure to consult your doctor or lactation consultant if you are interested. We did have to have Hannah’s weight monitored more frequently to make sure everything was going well.
If you do go this route, buy two or three (or a dozen), so you can keep one in the diaper bag and one ready when you’re sterilizing the others.
The Snot Sucker: Nasal Aspirator
No baby (or mommy) should be without this genius contraption which lets you quite literally suck the snot out of your baby’s nose (don’t worry: there’s a stopper that prevents the snot from going in your mouth). This is such a comfort when baby is stuffed up and struggling to breath and works much better than bulb syringes!
I have not tried this version, but I have heard from many moms that it works even better than the Snot Sucker. For such a good price, it’s worth a try!
Baby Carrier
I actually have two carriers. We had a baby K’tan that we used when Hannah was very young. I wasn’t totally confident in it (probably just new mom insecurities).
When Hannah was about 8 months old, we got a Tula SSC (soft structured carrier) and that really changed the way we did things. It was so handy to be able to carry Hannah hands-free anywhere I needed to. We used this often when going to our local farmer’s market (wayyy too crowded for a stroller) or when chopping down our Christmas tree.
Many times we would use it around the house when I had housework to get done, but Hannah was too fussy to amuse herself. I can imagine it would be even more useful with more than one child!
Bonus: Hannah was obsessed with the straps and clips on her carrier for a very long time. I often pulled it out of the closet when I needed to entertain her for five minutes. A very strange toy, but made for great entertainment!
Update: Now that I have two kiddos (read my list of life-saving items for baby #2 here), I am seriously considering investing in a third carrier. This one can be used from birth, baby can be carried in six positions AND has zipper mesh panels so baby can stay cool in the summer, but cozy in the winter. Sounds perfect, right?
Sophie the Giraffe
Sophie seems expensive, but it really is the perfect teething toy. It was easy for Hannah to grip and she could maneuver it into her mouth a lot easier than other toys when she was just little. We actually had two, one for outings and one for home.
I love that Sophie is made of 100% natural hevea rubber with food-grade paint (I actually got sassed by a random man at the grocery store for letting my baby chew on plastic. I was able to retort that Sophie was ALL NATURAL thank you very much!). Well worth the investment!
Cloth Diapers
Cloth diapers are one of the best decisions I made as a new mom. There are so many benefits to using cloth diapers (my top ten here) and it saves you a TON. OF. CASH. I figure my stash (all brand new) paid for itself about a year into diapers and you could certainly buy secondhand to save yourself even more money.
If you’re thinking “no way am I dealing with all that poop,” there are actually a ton of not-too-gross solutions so your hands don’t have to touch the mess.
If you’re worried about how family and friends will react, I’ve been there and stuck to my guns when people tried to talk me out of it.
If I’ve got you convinced, here are a few resources to help you along your cloth diapering journey:
How to Choose the Perfect Cloth Diaper
The Best Newborn Cloth Diaper for your Family
My Favorite Newborn Cloth Diaper
Baby Items I WISH I Had Splurged On
Sterilizer
I became OBSESSED with pumping and establishing a good stash of froze breast milk (read all about my essentials for pumping moms here). That meant pumping twice a day, every day. Which meant a lot of sterilizing. For some reason, I did the old-fashioned pot of boiling water. Every. Single. TIME. For an entire year. I will be sucking it up and buying a sterilizer next time!
Update: I did and it’s GLORIOUS.
Double Breast Pump
I used one measly single breast pump for the entire time I pumped. I will be getting the Cadillac option next time. Hands-free? You bet.
If you need help getting your milk supply up so you can pump more milk faster, click here!
So there you have it, my list of totally unnecessary baby items. Don’t waste your money on these products unless you’ve got cash to burn.
Tell me about your experience with baby products. Are there any unnecessary baby items I’ve forgotten? What items could you not have lived without?
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Great post in great post I’m actually going to forward this over to my niece. She is having her first baby and would find this post super beneficial 🙂
Thanks! Hope it comes in handy!
I couldn’t have lived without my baby carriers either! They were a necessity for me and gave me so much more freedom, all while keeping my baby close. 🙂
So handy, huh? Even to just get some chores done around the house!
I am lucky to say i didnt have to buy most things as both my sisters have kids. Definitely agree on not having to purchase unnecessary baby items. The older they get the more expensive everything becomes! We also couldnt go without a ababy carrier. Especially having to climb 4 flights of stair with shopping and a newborn.
So lucky to have hand-me-downs. Our baby was the first in the family, so no hand-me-downs for us!
This is a great post! I could add a few things to the ‘unnecessary’ column: Baby shoes. Newborn outfits that aren’t pajamas. Wipe warmer. Literally any additional toy besides one (that is safe for chewing).
And you are 100% right that you only need ONE safe place tut baby.
But. If anyone offers you this stuff as a hand me down for FREE, take it. You never know what your baby will prefer. ?
So true! We had the first baby and first grandchild in both sides of the family. No hand-me downs!
Haha, this is a fantastic post. I am a mum of 4… my first baby had EVERYTHING and then some. My fourth, poor kid, let’s just say not so much. 😉 In our case it was our Moses Baskets that were horribly unused because most of them refused to sleep anywhere other than my chest for the first few months! Also, baby bathing stuff – the best thing we ever used was a $2 plastic waste paper bin for a dunking, our baby loved it. The baby bath was a complete waste of money. Baby feeding stuff – we ended up BLWing, and plastic cutlery – they went from hands to adult cutlery. Newborn size baby clothes – they either lasted 5 minutes or they never fit in the first place. Oh so many things, this is making me nostalgic, lol!
Thanks so much! We did baby-led weaning too and LOVED it. Saves so much money! And yes to baby outfits. My daughter was born in January in -27 degree weather. She was in fleece sleepers 99% of the time!
I enjoyed your perspective and after reading through many of these “must haves” I am realizing that they differ greatly, lol. It really depends on your lifestyle. I’m doing into minimalism and so I was excited to read your post. Thank you for your recommendations. This will be baby number 3 and the playpen is a must for us. But that’s our lifestyle. ❤
Oh I laughed at some of your ‘don’ts’ as I had a swing and a bouncer. Only time I needed 2 was if he was sick in the swing. I could clean him up and put him into the bouncer whilst I cleaned the swing. In the end I sold the bouncer as it was taking up too much space.
Yes, the bouncer is definitely not that useful! We wanted to cover all the bases, so we got one, but we definitely didn’t need it!
Baby carriers are life savers…and it’s true baby don’t need all the stuff…it is us who want to give it to them
So true!
Very useful and informative post. The list you have suggested is very true. I agree that these things are not much important to spend money on them. We can ignore them also. Very useful for new mommies.
Thanks very much!
Very useful and informative post. I agree with the list you have suggested. These things are not much important to spend money on them. We can ignore them also. Very useful for new mommies
Really great advice in here! After having 6 kids myself, I can agree and vouch for most of your recommendations. In my experience, however, my most heavily used item was a second-had pack-n-play we found at a garage sale. We used it when we had to move cross-country, for frequent visits with friends (nap time for twins), and I always keep it in the living room for those times I need to put the baby down during meal time or potty training trips. My kids actually enjoyed the play gym and the bouncer, I never got a swing. The holy grail of baby items for me has been a simple wrap. What a life-savor! Especially if your kids like to be held a lot, or for trips to the grocery store.