Itty Bitty Babes

Don’t Waste Your Money on These Unnecessary Baby Items

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

Don't spend your money on these unnecessary baby items! A list of items moms-to-be do not need for their babies!

This post contains affiliate links. This means I may receive a small commission at no cost to you if you make a purchase after clicking on a link on this page. Read more here.

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.

Don't Waste Your Money on These Baby Items

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

Don't Waste Your Money on These Baby Items

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? 

Like this post? Pin it for later!

Unnecessary baby items

 

Don't Waste Your Money on These Baby ItemsDon't spend your money on these unnecessary baby items! A list of items moms-to-be do not need for their babies!

19 Comments

  1. Zarah August 17, 2017
    • Cindy August 18, 2017
  2. Angela August 18, 2017
    • Cindy August 18, 2017
  3. diaryofasinglemum August 18, 2017
    • Cindy August 18, 2017
  4. Darlene Dee August 18, 2017
    • Cindy August 18, 2017
  5. Holly @ HollyJoseph.com August 18, 2017
    • Cindy August 18, 2017
  6. MarissaSanders August 19, 2017
  7. Laura August 19, 2017
    • Cindy August 25, 2017
  8. Niharika Roy Choudhury August 19, 2017
  9. Minakshi Bajpai August 19, 2017
  10. Minakshi Bajpai August 19, 2017
  11. Annie September 11, 2019

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.