So I realize that my baby is already two but I feel like I get asked enough about which baby products are actually worth spending money on and which ones I wouldn’t recommend getting. Any new parent can tell you that it is more than a little overwhelming shopping for baby. You want to make sure you’re prepared for anything and that you’ve got your bases covered. But with the wide range in cost of baby products you don’t want to end up wasting your money. I feel like we ended up with wayyy more baby products than we actually needed and multiple that seemed to take care of the same thing. So in the interest of cutting down on the clutter and not ending up with five things that pretty much do the same thing I thought I’d put together a list of the 10 most unnecessary baby products we got and why I felt we didn’t need them.
First off let me tell you, that what worked for our baby might not work for yours. I got so many great recommendations for baby products and when it came down to it, Mason wasn’t that interested. But then there were other recommendations I don’t know what I would have done without. So here’s a rundown on the most unnecessary baby products that we bought or were gifted from my registry (can’t blame the gift giver for getting something I thought we needed).
10 Most Unnecessary Baby Products We Got:
1. The Rock n Play – I had such high hopes for this product since everyone and their mom said we had to get it. But sadly, this lasted such a short time in our house. Mason wasn’t too interested and it didn’t do the one thing I really wanted it to do which was to entertain Mason long enough for me to take a shower. He would literally start crying a minute into me stepping into the shower. I could see him and talk to him but that rocker did nothing to keep him occupied and happy. I have friends that swear by this but for us it was a waste of money.
Good to note: The Boppy lounger was used so much more in our home than the Rock n Play. I could have Mason right next to me on the sofa and he was one happy camper in the Boppy lounger. I think it’s probably because it hugged his little body more closely and kept him nice and cozy. It was also way easier to take the lounger room to room than the Rock n Play. I think every new parent needs one of these for sure. And if you get one, you might as well skip out on the rest of the lounging type of baby products.
2. Baby Swing – Again, this was super short lived. Mason was (and still kind of is) a bad napper. I was desperate to find a way for him to fall asleep that wasn’t on me. I know that sounds bad but I really wanted to be able to get things done while Mason napped as opposed to be tied to the sofa so he could peacefully sleep. On the other hand, it was great bonding time so in hindsight it wasn’t a bad thing at all but in the moment I wanted that nap time to be productive since I felt I was falling behind on everything. So back to the swing, one tip I did get that worked for a while was making sure it was on the highest setting. I initially felt that would be too fast for Mason but that was the only way he would fall asleep in the swing (till he just decided enough was enough).
Good to note: The 4moms mamaRoo on the other hand worked wonderfully. I think the different motion settings like car ride and waves is what soothed him enough to fall asleep. Also, the white noise was a big winner.
3. Nursing pillows – So I ended up with three different nursing pillows. While they were helpful to have my one arm free I often didn’t grab it because it required I put it on and take it off in between feedings. I know this makes me sound lazy but when you’re going off of very little sleep, convenience always wins. And I found that some of them would slide down my waist while breastfeeding Mason making it uncomfortable for me and inevitably having to use my arm to prop him up high enough to nurse comfortably. Mason was a grazer when it came to nursing and I didn’t really want to live in the nursing pillows so I decided to ditch them, use the time to bond and be in the moment, and couldn’t be happier about that decision.
Good to note: The Boppy nursing pillow is multifunctional! We used it for nursing when Mason was really little and then used it to prop him up when he was learning to sit. So, if you’d like to be “hands free” for nursing this is the one I would suggest. I loved all the cover print options. We found one that was neutral and fit in with our color scheme. This way we didn’t have to buy one of these little plastic/rubber floor seats.
4. Swaddle blankets – I know these are super helpful to many but Mason was a wiggler and got his little tiny hands and arms out of the swaddle blankets every time. I was so worried each night he’d get his arms out and somehow the swaddle blanket would end up over his face so we stopped using them because it didn’t help me or Mason get any more sleep.
Good to note: What worked wonders for us instead of swaddle blankets was the Zipadee-Zip!! This was an amazing investment. It not only helped with Mason’s startle reflex, it kept him nice and cozy, and well as prevented him from being able to scratch his face. I HIGHLY recommend buying these for your baby.
5. Wipe warmer – I figured that a baby would prefer a warm wipe to a cold wipe but boy was I wrong. Not only did Mason hate the warm wipes, the wipe warmer also dried out the wipes before I got to the bottom of the pack. So, a double waste of money because of how many wipes I had to throw out due to them not being moist at all.
6. Baby bath – This I should have known better because I was washed in the sink as a baby, right mom?! The baby bath we got came in two parts the “tub” part and the “sling” part. It was pretty unstable in my opinion and Mason would slide right down so it was such a juggling act between holding him up, making sure the sling didn’t come off the tub, and washing Mason. We scrapped that so fast cause it was way easier for me to just shower with Mason.
Good to note: There are so many cute and soft sink inserts for your newborn baby which I think is probably a better way to go than the stand alone baby bath tub.
7. White Noise Machine – You would think that from my earlier comment on the white noise on the Mamaroo being a winner that this would most definitely be on the list of good baby products to buy not my list of useless baby products. But here’s the deal, most baby monitors (or at least all the ones we looked at) had the ability to play music. Mason still sleeps with the music on his baby monitor. It’s not white noise in the fact that it’s songs not sounds and he settles in nice and easy with the music playing. Our monitor has 5 song options and so I regularly rotate through them.
8. Bottle sanitizer – So let me say that this is a yes and no for me. I absolutely loved having our bottle sanitizer and used it all the time for Mason. I was super anal about making sure his bottles were sanitized between each use. But overall, you do have to wash the bottles by hand first then put them into the sanitizer so I know lots of mamas probably don’t want to do the double cleaning. I didn’t realize before getting one that I’d have to clean the bottles first. They’re not super cheap so I was stocked at the idea that this product would take care of the cleaning for me in between feedings once Mason went to the bottle. But since you do have to clean the bottles first so that there is no breastmilk/formula in the bottles before they go into the sanitizer I’m saying it’s definitely not worth the spend if you’re looking for places to save money. After Mason turned one is when I think I stopped using it and opted for cleaning by hand only.
9. Baby food maker – I had high hopes and dreams of making Mason’s food as a baby. That was of course, before he was born. After one attempt and an unhappy baby, I gave up. Unless you are super into cooking as it is, I’d say don’t bother. There are so many great baby food options that don’t require the mess to prepare (the mess to clean up is inevitable no matter the food you feed them) and are super high in nutrients. We went with organic options just because and pretty much as soon as it was appropriate went to baby lead weening instead. So much easier to feed the baby what you’re eating rather than prepare a separate meal.
Good to note: Baby food pouches are also a great way to go and there is literally no mess! Mason still loves to have these as snacks and can twist the cap back on himself when he’s finished.
10. Bibs – So I still have a ton of our cute handkerchief style bibs and every now and again think to pull one out before giving Mason his meal. But 9 times out of 10 it didn’t matter if he had one on or not, food gets EVERYWHERE not just where the bibs cover. So if you’re going to have to change your baby and even toddler after almost every meal why bother with the bib??? If you’re like me and love a good fashion statement maybe have a few on hand for a cute picture or two but IMO not worth the drawer space that they take up…not to mention the extra washing and folding required by adding bibs into the mix.
Bonus: Baby Floor Seat – I could tell before even having Mason that these plastic/rubbery baby seats were not necessary. There are so many other baby products designed to keep your little one put that this seemed very unnecessary. Between the activity tables, jumpers, loungers, high chairs, etc. I didn’t see then need to ask for this or buy one ourselves…and Mason turned out just fine without it 😉
Bonus, Bonus: Baby mittens – I almost forgot to put this one in but remembered right before I hit publish…now we’re up to 12 but it’s late and I’m not about to change the graphics I already made for this post (keeping my mom priorities in check – like sleep!) So, baby mittens are seriously so unnecessary. Mason would take them off in his sleep and scratch his cute little face then wake himself up or sometimes not wake up but still in the morning there would be scratches! So what’s a mom to do, you ask?! Well above I mentioned swaddle blankets were an unnecessary baby product for us and that’s cause Mason would wiggle himself out of them. In comes the Zipadee-Zip and that one product covered both. A sleep sack that he couldn’t get his body or hands out of, that wasn’t constrictive, but still helped tame his startle reflexes. I’m telling you, if you only take away one good product from this post let it please be the Zipadee-Zip! I’ve recommended this to soooo many moms and they’ve all thanked me!
I’m sure some of you mamas will have a difference in opinion on some of these products but for us, these were the ones we found either didn’t last long enough to justify the money, Mason didn’t like, or we just felt weren’t really necessary. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments below!
Shop the baby products we did think were necessary:
As always, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!
