What DIDN'T you need for baby?

[JoyNChrist]

I'm sure this has already been discussed somewhere, but my searches aren't returning anything, so I'm asking.

As I've been researching baby products and working on my shower registries, I'm coming across a lot of stuff that ranges from seemingly unnecessary to downright weird. I know a lot of new moms-to-be ask for advice on what they do need, but I'm kind of wondering about the stuff I *don't* need.

Now, I know every mom and baby is different, so what was a lifesaver for one family could be completely useless for another (like swings). But I'd just like your opinions...what did you buy/receive for baby that you didn't really need or use?

[shilo]

this mega-thread from october ought to help:

http://www.windsorpeak.com/dc/dcboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=37&topic_id=367949&mesg_id=367949&listing_type=search

for me personally product wise: bjorn and pack and play were probably 2 of the most common registry items i got the least use from and i skipped the highchair alltogether.

much like i and many people said in the thread above, my advise is to wait on as much stuff as you can until you get a chance to know yourself as a parent and know your baby. you can make _much_ more educated decisions if you can stand to wait until you see what you really need, want, like, etc.

if i had my registry to do over again, i would have registered for one of each of a couple of differnt things to try in some of the smaller categories - ie. one avent bottle, one playtex bottle, etc. so that when we were ready for dad to do a relief bottle of EBM at night, we could try a few different one's and see which he/we prefered. same goes for binky's - even if you're pretty sure you won't be using them, register for one of each of a few differnt brands just to have on hand to try in the middle of the night in a pinch. same goes for basics like onesies, footed sleepers, newborn sleep saks and snap t's - one of each until you know what you like. if you can stand it, return some of the larger items for store credit and wait. if you decide you need a swing, then take baby to the store and see which one he likes. i did return my high chair b/c i didn't have somewhere to store it for the first 6 mos in the box and in retrospect, it was the smartest decision i made. i wound up skipping the standard highchair all together and doing a $25 booster with a tray from 6 mos to a year and then going straight to a kinderzeat/tripp trapp (which is the best thing ever!). saved me money and space in my small downstairs and will last a lot longer than the high chair would have. and added bonus, the booster gives me an extra 'highchair' to use when friends are over.

anyway, hope that gets you started. i'm sure lot's of people will have other suggestions, and unfortunately a lot of conflicting advise, since really so much of it is preference and finding what works for you and your family.

good luck, lori
Sam 5/19/05 How lucky I am that you chose me.

[denna]

I think the link that the Lori provided will keep you busy for awhile, it has a ton of responses.

It is all different for every parent, for example Lori put that the Bjorn and Pack 'n' play were a few of her worst and we use the bjorn often and the Pack 'n' Play daily, (especially as a younger infant and for travel). Looking at my answers to this thread I would probably add clothes. We had *way* too many clothes. I would have prefered more basic rompers/sleepers and onesies. A newborn doesnt need *real* outfits IMO, its a lot of hassle w/ all the diaper changes.

One thing I wish we would have gotten but never did is a wipes warmer, someone mentioned that his was a waste of money but DS used to scream(!) when the cold wipes would touch him no matter how much we tried to hold them and warm them up ourselves.

[Jenn98]

This was my philosophy: Don't buy it until you need it. I didn't buy a swing, exasaucer nor a high chair and never missed any of them nor their expense. And I avoided the little things like a wipes warmer, bottle warmer, sleep positioner. The things I did have were a bouncy seat (a gift), a KKAFP pouch, boobies for nursing ;), a pack n play for a place to set DD in the living room when she was super little and for trips to grandma's, and tons of blankets for swaddling.

[JBaxter]

I had 2 huge baby showers w/ DS3. I did have the luxery of having 2 boys prior but lots of things changed in 10yrs.
All 3 times I found the baby tub useless. The kitchen sink was much nicer because I am 5'8" and I didnt have to stoup down to the tub.
The foam positioner , baby mittens ( never did figure out what they were for) bulky coats/buntings were on the never used list here.

[SnuggleBuggles]

Yeah, that mega thread will probably make your head spin. One mom's trash is another mom's treasure. :)

Things I never had and never missed:
-wipes warmer


-pacifiers

-an array of bottles (Avent worked fine for the occaisional bottle of EBM and they were what I registered for)

-mittens

-sleep positioners (seemed like a suffocation risk to me)

-bedding set (a crib skirt may have looked nice in retrospect but still was not necessary)

-travel system stroller (I found it much easier to get around with a Bjorn rather than a stroller)

-fancy outfits (I preferred basics)

-formula (never bought any but b/c I mistakenly signed up at the OB/CNM office and they sent so many samples. I planned to keep them "just in case" but then I decided that I didn't want to go down that road and just wanted to stick with bf'ing no matter what. I would have donated it but by the time I got arounf to it it had expired. I had no idea it expired so quickly)

-giant diaper bag (I am not a "big purse" kind of person. I like to travel light so I hardly ever used it.)

-The "What to Expect..." books. Should have gone with just the AAP and Dr. Sears.

Loved my Bjorn, pack and play, swing, bouncy seat...all things we really liked. :)

Beth

[hudsonam]

LOL, I was going to say our wipes warmer was a waste for us. A friend of mine loved hers, but we had the issue with the wipes constantly drying out, and we didn't have the time or the ambition to continually make sure the little pad at the bottom was still wet.

I loved our high chair - healthy care by fisher price. I can see how someone could get away with just a booster though. I would have spent the $$ on a Kinderzeat/Tripp Trapp if I'd known about them though.

We didn't use the gowns - I can't think what they are called - the ones with the elastic at the bottom? I found them to be more of a pain then unzipping a footed sleeper. We got TONS of them too.

I can't think of anything else. HTH a little! :)

[LarsMal]

Ditto the wipes warmer/bottle warmer- waste of money. I was able to return both, though, so keep the boxes if you do get them!

Also, those Swaddle Me blankets never worked for us- the ones with the velcro tabs. DS was always too little for it.

Oh...and don't just pick one kind of bottle. I BF DS, but did supplement with a bottle now and then. It took 3 different kinds before I found one he'd take- so then I was stuck with about a dozen Avent bottles that he wouldn't use. Maybe register for one or two of each of a few different kinds.

Good luck! I found registering for the baby A LOT more stressful than registering for our wedding! Relax and enjoy it!

[HGraceMom]

I gave this advice to my sis. & she was so greatful - register for TONS of things - even if you don't think you'll need them - it'll stop people from guessing & picking up stuff from stores where you can't return. Then, after the shower, return as much as you can & save all of your gift cards / store credits to buy things as you need them. For example, she doesn't have space to store her Britax Marathon, but was able to go out and buy the latest & greatest when the time came. She didn't want an exer-saucer (used ours) so used the $ for diapers. There's nothing worse than having to store items you might never use / need even though they look great in the store.

just a thought...

[cstack]

I second the "everyone is different" philosophy (or third or fourth, whichever i am). I loved the wipes warmer. Bottle warmer wasn't a necessity, because I BF, but for the week my mom had to watch DS while I finished the student teaching rotation that DS interrupted it was really nice for her. I loved dressing my DC in cute outfits and they were only in sleepers when they were sleeping. I love the advice to register for everything and anything, then return and keep the gift cards and store credits. It sure beats storing stuff that takes up room, or getting stuck with stuff you don't need/want/use. You never know what works for you until you are there.

[JoyNChrist]

Thanks for the link!

See, I knew there was something like that out there, but I couldn't find it. That should keep me busy for a while...

[DebbieJ]

I would see what you can borrow or buy used. We paid full price or received brand new things that would have been just fine second hand.

~ deb
DS born at home 12/03
Breastfeeding After Reduction is possible! www.bfar.org

http://www.bfar.org/members/fora/style_avatars/Ribbons/18months-bfar.jpg

[oliviasmomma]

We never/hardly used:

Diaper genie
swing
bath seat
swaddle me
reams of washcloths went unused--they are so small and I have a ton of 'em
I have at least 5 unopened bottles of J&J 'poo--I don't even like to use it on DD
teeny tiny socks
hats--DD would not wear them!

[megs4413]

i strongly suggest returning any bath products you get at your showers if you get gift receipts or can get store credit for them. we got TONS of bath stuff and DD ended up allergic to all of it except aveeno, which we didn't get any of....so i had barely used but open bottles of J&J and baby magic all over the place that we couldn't use a drop of. they last forever, so while it seems like you're gonna need a lot of baby wash, the truth is you really only need one of those giant bottles and it will last you MONTHS. so again...any bath products you get, RETURN, and buy small bottles or get samples from the hospital of different washes so you can buy big amounts of what you end up needing.

RETURN ALL THE DIAPER CREAM! we were lucky enough to get a sampling of rash cream as gifts, but again, only use the one kind (boudreaux's butt paste) so all the desitin and aveeno, etc is going to waste in a drawer at my house...wait and see what works for you or buy small containers...most of the diaper creams have travel sizes....

we never used our bouncy seat cause DD hated it, but it's one of those things that if you can borow it or get it cheap used, it's worth having in case you have one of those babies that really enjoys it...same goes for the swing and the exersaucer.

skip the bedding set, or return it if you get it. they're ridiculously expensive and useless.

good luck getting ready for your little one!

[kfk]

Didn't have--didn't miss: wipes warmer, bottle warmer (for EBM), swing, bedding set (used only fitted bottom sheet)

Had--didn't need: baby tub (went from sink to full tub), fancy swaddlers (the double wrap using blankets taught by the NICU nurses worked best), bjorn (ouch), sling (babies hated it), baby gowns, baby mittens, fancy outfits (liked soft cotton stuff the best), snap n go (liked our stroller much better),

Wanted more of: cloth diapers (for burping), drop cloths, extra cover for nursing pillow, extra cover for changing pad, pacis

I also second the advice about baby wash/diaper creme. Our boys wound up doing best with the Target baby body/hair wash and Boudreaux's butt paste. All the other stuff went in the trash.

One friend did give me a great gift of baby tylenol, baby motrin, gas drops, saline nose spray, pediasure, etc., so I was fully stocked on that stuff when the need arose.

[crl]

Well we did not buy a gliding rocker or a changing table. We adopted DS at 13.5 months so your mileage may really vary, but we never missed those items and I am very glad we did not spend the money on them. We do own a regular rocker (already had it pre-DS) and he has never liked being rocked.

[bisous]

I replied in the thread already posted but I'll add a few more here. I didn't really use the Diaper Champ--just had DH take a diaper run every couple of hours out to the dumpster. I really didn't use the folding bathtub we received. I found it easier to use the kitchen sink as others have suggested. I have the Universal Car Seat Carrier and did use it but only for about 2 months. I had a C-section and couldn't lug the car seat around for a couple of months and my DS was big so he outgrew the "baby bucket" at four months old. Come to think of it--if I had it to do all over again, I would have skipped the infant car seat altogether!

Incidentally, my best purchase of all must have been the Baby Bjorn which some have listed as not useful at all. Just had to throw in my 2 cents! :)

[amp]

Wipes warmer - we took it back
Bottle warmer - never used one, never missed it
swaddling blankets - kids hated them
swing - both kids didn't care for it
bouncer/vibrating seat - neither kid liked it
exersaucer - might have been nice, but takes up space and very time limited
jumper - repeat of above
sleep positioner
pacifiers
baby tub


Contrary to others thoughts though, we loved our Diaper Champ, PNP, small washcloths (used as spit up cloths when babies were really tiny and still being used after meals, etc).