Modern expecting moms are often bombarded with lots of baby stuff; advertisements, promotions, gifts.
I remember when I was pregnant, I used to receive weekly updates on my pregnancy along with different promotions. I used to read about all these devices for baby that will presumably make your life easier. Other moms’ testimonies on using these products would make me ponder even more if I needed all of these things. What if I don’t buy a rocking chair, would I be a bad mom, because babies love being rocked to sleep and it reminds them of an environment in the womb?
When I gave birth, I had essentials only. I decided that if I need something more, i would buy it only after the birth. And you know, it turned out my child didn’t need all these “baby essentials”. As you know, marketers work hard to talk potential customers into buyers. Even if product looks completely pointless, they will find a way to persuade us in reverse.
So, here’s my personal view of most unnecessary baby buys that you could waste your money on.
1. Diaper Trash Can
Okay, with all my respect to moms who use this device, I can’t wrap my head around why would you need another trash can in your baby’s room. Many first-time moms unaware of the fact that breastfed baby’s poop doesn’t smell. If you’re exclusively breastfeeding, you’ll hardly notice any smell from the diaper. When you start to introduce solids, that’s when the aroma arises. And still, I don’t understand why would you pile dirty diapers elsewhere rather than in a place where alike items belong, aka your bathroom.
2. Burp Cloths
Now, this is ridiculous. What are burp cloths? It is a piece of fabric, which you would lay on your shoulder and your baby will burp or spit up on it. There is no fancy or special layers, it’s just a simple cotton fabric. So do you need to spend money on a regular piece fabric rather than using something you already have in your house? Take towel, swaddling blankets, or even don’t use anything at all. Because although babies burp and spit up, most of the time no burp cloths is needed.
3. Dresses in newborn size
I know, baby clothes look super adorable. You literally want to buy everything you see. But does your newborn who can’t even hold his/her head need all these dresses, jackets and costumes? If you have ever had a chance to dress up a newborn, you probably know how difficult it is to put something through his head. Unless you’re going to photo shoot your baby every day and dress him up in all these pretty costumes, believe me, most of the times your baby will wear his jammies, because that would be the most comfy thing to put on him.
4. Cute little shoes
Why on Earth would you want to buy shoes for your newborn ? This is something you won't need until your child is capable of walking himself.
5. Shampoo Rinse Cups
Because you can’t just use a regular cup to rinse off shampoo, you would “definitely” need a shampoo rinse cup. Yeah, I know, it has a flexible edge that helps to keep shampoo and water out of baby’s eyes. But are you incapable of rinsing off shampoo without getting it into your baby’s eyes? Do you need a special equipment for it? I know, sounds ridiculous. Just another item to hoard in your closet.
6. Baby Wipe Warmer
Unless you store your baby wipes in a freezer, you don’t need a warmer. At first you may be tempted to use all these fancy devices, but when a diaper change becomes a regular routine, wipe warmer will take its deserved place in a closet.
7. Diaper Stacker
Yes, it’s cute to have a pretty sack hanging on your nursery’s door. But unless you have extra bucks to waste, you don’t need a special bag for storing baby diapers.
8. Baby Laundry Detergent
We want to believe it’s the best and safest detergent for a baby. The truth is, you can buy pretty much any organic laundry detergent that will work the same as a baby’s ones.
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9. Bassinet
If you already own a crib, bassinet is a waste of money.
First - it’s not cheap. Second - baby will outgrow it pretty fast. It’s a cute little furniture that you might think baby will feel more secured sleeping in there. But honestly, you can create the same environment in a crib without spending extra money.
10. Pepee-Tepee
Despite its cute name, pepee-tepee is one of the devices to waste money on. A regular wipe or blanket would do the work. In any case, you’ll most likely be peed on anyways. Sorry:)
I could add so much more items to this list, but those in my observation are the most useless. If you happen to use these products and you like them, I’d love to hear your comments. It’s OK, you don’t have to agree with me.
And to all experienced mammas, what baby buys in your opinion were the most needless?
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Sarah H says
Just found your list and I do agree with all of them...apart from burp cloths as they have been so useful!! I do thunk you're missing a really big one though.....all the wrapping paper and gift bags that all these things come in....i was overrun and inundated and it actually got me down the amount of unnecessary extra packaging we received haha! Great article though, gave me a chuckle!
Iryna says
You are right. I should probably remove burp cloths form the list. After I had my second daughter, I realized that excessive burping is a thing. In those first months I was all covered in burp))).