This is my post of things that I think are highly "optional" when it comes to having a baby...or things that I haven't really missed if I don't have them. Now, I am the first one to admit that a lot of the things I use on a regular basis are definitely luxuries...the video monitor for example. But if I use a luxury item a lot, that makes it a necessity to me, and so things like the video monitor (and 3 different strollers...haha) are necessities! Please add to this list in the comments section of things you think new parents don't need...or if you disagree with something that I deem not a necessity.
1. An expensive high chair. I alternate between the Bumbo and Ezra's Ikea high chair to feed him. The Ikea chair cost $20 and my lovely sister bought it for me. It is a great chair. It also has an inflatable insert for smaller babies who don't "fill out" the whole chair. It is small. It is easily disassembled, so I can take it out of town with me if I need to. Expensive high chairs are extremely unnecessary, in my opinion. Spend your money on a video monitor. :) Also, I only have the Bumbo because it is on loan from my sister-in-law. It's nice, but for the short amount of time you use it, I wouldn't spend the money (especially with the play tray, which is how I use it.) I've also heard a lot of people say that their babies don't like it because it smushes their stomach and makes them spit up. I also think this would be a good alternative to an expensive high chair.
2. An expensive carseat. We got a Graco Snugride32 with the travel system (rated highly in Consumer Reports, and also rated for 32 pounds/32 inches) and while it is a little heavier than some of the more expensive carseats, they are all heavy when your kid weighs 16 pounds and you are still lugging them around. This isn't the cheapest car seat, but it isn't the most expensive...kind of middle of the line, but it has great features. Look for safety and value, and something that you won't have to replace sooner than you'd like. I know the Chicco brand is also good. If you want to skip the infant car seat altogether, you can go with a convertible car seat, but you won't have the option of transporting your newborn around in their car seat if they're sleeping, which is a big plus to me.
3. A million blankets. I guess I just thought I lived in an arctic tundra when we registered. I registered for flannel receiving blankets, waffle weave blankets, a really soft fuzzy blanket, cotton knit blankets, etc. etc. Then, when you have a baby, people also give you handmade crocheted blankets and quilts. Register for maybe one really soft "furry" blanket (we use this with the carseat all the time), one set of receiving blankets (good for around the house), and a little lovey (which Ezra uses to sleep with). That is plenty, considering the handmade items you will receive as well. We used the kiddopotamus swaddle me instead of swaddling with receiving blankets, so if you decide to go that route, you need way fewer blankets. Oh, and if you think you are not going to swaddle your baby, you might want to have the kiddopotamus on hand anyway. I think it costs about 10 bucks, and it was worth every penny. Unless your baby hates to be swaddled, it will make him/her (and subsequently, you) sleep so much better because they can't hit themselves in the face with their out-of-control hands.
4. The fanciest pack-n-play. A good pack-n-play should have the bassinet so you don't have to bend all the way down to put your baby in and get him out (when they are little), but I have not missed the diaper changing part or any of the other bells and whistles. Ours is a Graco and cost around $65, but they can easily cost twice that or more. Most of the places we go (our parents' houses) already have a pack-n-play, so you may not really use your own that much anyway. Other people who have the nicer pack-n-plays might disagree with me on this.
5. A bassinet. If you are going to have your baby sleep in your room when he is first born, just use your pack-n-play (if you are getting one), or borrow one. Ezra only slept in our room for about 3 weeks when I realized we were going to his room multiple times a night to change diapers and feed. I borrowed a cradle, but if we had spent money on a bassinet, it would have been a wasteful purchase. Obviously I am a proponent of borrowing as much as possible, because then if you find you don't use it, you aren't out the money.
6. Baby washcloths and baby hooded towels. Buy these for washcloths. They are awesome. I use a regular towel with a hand towel sewn as a hood for Ezra's towel. When that's dirty, I just use a regular towel. The baby towels that you buy at Target are just too small, thin, and don't absorb anything.
7. Fancy bottle warmer. The basic one (Mine is The First Years brand and cost around $20) works great. You don't need a bottle warmer, but it is mighty handy for warming up bottles of refrigerated pumped milk, since you can't microwave it. We also have a car bottle warmer too and although that is definitely not necessary, it is mighty handy as well.
8. Sleep positioners, mobiles that play music, bumpers, other crib things. Let's face it, when you are traveling with a baby, you already have to bring a ton of stuff. If you think your child is dependent on these things to go to sleep, you'll have to lug them with you everywhere you go (or take them to their day care). The fewer things you implement into your baby's sleep routine, the better. There is a lot of information about bumpers and sleep positioners in relation to SIDS, so just do research on any of these things before you use them. We do have this crib toy tied to the side of Ezra's crib, and he seems to really enjoy it. I see him smiling in the mirror and playing with the little bugs attached to the mirror before I go in and get him after he wakes up. It's a good diversion for him while he's waiting for me to get him out of his crib.
9. Dishwasher basket. I never use this, because I have to wash bottle parts, pacifiers, etc. a lot more often than I run a load of dishes.
10. Wipes warmer. No explanation necessary.
11. Nasal aspirator. Yes, you need one, but don't buy one. The only kind that works for us is the one we got at the hospital. The ones at BRU and Target that we actually spent money on did not work at all. If they'll give you more than one at the hospital, take 'em.
12. Humidifier. I know some people swear by these. We don't have one, and when I researched them, I found that some of them can make allergies/asthma etc. worse because the wet air harbors the growth of mold and dust mites. Since Chad and I both have respiratory issues and Ezra probably will anyway, we opted to not put a humidifier in his room.
13. Don't buy a bunch of diapers, especially newborn diapers, ahead of time. At first, before we started using the cloth diapers, Huggies didn't work for Ezra. Pampers did. He grew out of the newborn diapers in just a couple weeks (and if you have a bigger baby, they might go straight into size 1), and then the Pampers stopped working too. Target diapers are great and soooo much cheaper. Don't be afraid to try the cheap diapers on your baby. You'll save a ton of money if they work for you, and the worst thing that can happen is they'll have a blowout, which will happen anyway, even if they're in the most expensive brand.
14. Something to sterilize bottles, pacifiers, etc. quickly is handy to have. Get something that you can put a little water in and steam sterilize in the microwave. I have this and these. I use the bags more. The Dr. Brown's sterilizer is great too because it can sterilize a lot of stuff and can be stored in a cabinet and doesn't have to sit on the counter all the time. BUT, you can also boil some water and stick everything in there and it works just as well if not better than a sterilizer. P.S., you won't be sterilizing every day. Electronic sterilizers can be really expensive, take up space on the counter, etc. etc.
15. Don't buy a swing that runs on batteries only. If your baby loves his swing (which you REALLY hope he does), you want a swing that plugs in. What you DON'T want is for your fussy baby to finally fall asleep in his swing and be taking a great nap when the batteries die on his swing. I have this one and it is GREAT. You might assume that all swings plug in, but unfortunately, that is not the case at all. Check before you buy.
16. Extra car seat base. A lot of my friends have these and find them useful. We just have the one car seat base that came with the travel system because we never really take Ezra anywhere in the other car. If we did, it seems like it would be pretty easy to put him in the other car using the seat belt. Bases can be pretty expensive, so unless you know you'll be driving your baby around in both cars pretty equally, I'd skip it.
Other things I thought of since I originally wrote this post:
17. Impractical diaper bags. Pick something BIG that can hold a lot of stuff. Pick something that you don't have to dig down to the bottom to find things. Pick something that has a lot of pockets/compartments on the inside, and something that has a couple pockets on the outside that can hold things that you need to get to quickly (bottle, pacifier).
18. Dreft or other kinds of special baby laundry detergent. I have always used our regular detergent and Ezra has never had a problem.
Okay...that is all I can think of for now. I'd love for other moms to chime in about what new parents shouldn't spend their money on. What did I forget that should be on this list? Is there anything on my list that you disagree with? What did you buy (or receive as a gift) that you thought you'd use a lot but never did?
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7 comments:
Awesome list. One thing I would disagree on is the dishwasher basket. I use mine everyday. BUT, the reason is because I have three kids and I use it for not only bottle sterilization but also sippy cup valves, of which I have a lot. Soooo, for me the dishwasher basket is a necessity. :) One thing I would definitely say is not necessary is a diaper genie. I used one with my first two and it just ended up stinking up their room, that is if you use disposable diapers. So, what I ended up doing is just putting them in the trash because I have to take out the trash everyday anyway, so it doesn't stink up the house. Great list! I totally agree with almost all of your stuff. We have chosen to go with less expensive car seats, pack and plays, swings, booster seats, etc. and they are all just as good as the top of the line and we have saved a lot of money. I think what people need to remember is that most of that stuff is only used for the first year or two and then after that, you really do not need it anymore, so why spend a ton of money on something that will only be used for a year or two. Anyway. I enjoyed your list. :)
Thanks for your input, Chrissy! Yes, this is definitely coming from someone who has one child, and a 6-month-old at that, not a seasoned veteran like yourself. :) I think the dishwasher basket is great if you're already doing a load of dishes. It just seems like the stars never really align for me that I have a full load of dishes and I need to wash bottle parts at the same time. I haven't had that experience with the diaper genie. I love ours. I think especially when you are a first-time parent, you are so worried about not getting the BEST for your child, and you think best equals most expensive, which just isn't true. Thanks for the input!
P.S. Chrissy, my sister (who also has 3 kids around your kids' ages) agrees with you about the dishwasher basket.
hi lesley! i also love my dishwasher basket. in fact, my mom and mother-in-law bought one for their houses too! it is wonderful for plastic spoons, straw cup valves and small parts. i also used it for the tops to the bottles that i pumped milk into. i don't even think i put it in the dishwasher until she was 6 months old. you'll definitely get use out of it!
we also loved having 2 car seat bases, but we did use both cars equally. i used mine while mike was at work and then we used his whenever we went anywhere in the evening or on the weekends.
i originally bought a smaller travel high chair and then got rid of it to buy the more expensive one at about 6 months. it is wonderful to have a large tray for finger foods. i also have the fisher price booster seat (got it on clearance at BRU for $13!) and it is wonderful to take places or to have an extra at the house when you have multiple babies over during lunch or dinner. i always put her in the high chair with the big tray though. that ikea one looks good too.
i totally agree about the blankets, the baby hooded towels, diapers, etc. i did buy a cool mist humidifier for elise when she was really congested a few months ago and it worked wonders. a steamy shower works well too, but there might come a time where you'd rather put a humidifier in his room for a night than wake up multiple times to sit in the steamy bathroom :).
i haven't tried the target diapers, i will have to do that! i usually leave her in a disposable for the church nursery.
also, i have recently started using the huggies overnight diapers at night. she started leaking through normal diapers and cloth diapers at night, but these work well.
great list!
I have two dishwasher baskets, so it sounds like I'll be putting them to good use soon enough. Stephanie, I agree with you that a travel high chair is probably not the best way to go for every day use. My point was that one could easily spend $200-$300 on a high chair, when there are really decent high chairs on the market for around $30.
I also looked for Huggies Overnights for Ezra, since we don't use the cloth diapers at night. They don't make them small enough for him, so I'm just waiting until he gets big enough and then maybe I won't have to change his sheets every morning.
This is so fascinating hearing what everybody has to say.
While I agree that many of the products on your list are indeed "unnecessary"...a few of them have made Cy and my life alot more enjoyable for the past few months. We love our bumbo and have used it every single day since he was about 10 weeks old. I've also loved my wipe warmer...definitely not a "must-have", but it makes diaper changes more enjoyable for Cy (especially the middle of the night variety)& also works great with runny noses. I also used Medela Sterilizing Bags and loved them when Cy was younger. And our Dekor Plus Disposal Diaper System works great. My mom is a Nurse Practioner and highly recommends a cool mist humidifier- especially for dry west Texas winters. I dump the old water and refill the reservoir with fresh every night & drain the entire humidifier and clean with Clorox Bleach product once a week to prevent bacterial growth. We do also have a large Chicco High Chair...I would have just purchased a booster chair to use once he grows out of his bumbo, but our dining table chairs our on wheels and I didn't feel like they would be stable enough. All that being said...you could ask a 100 different moms and get a 100 different lists...thus the billion dollar baby product industry! It is easy to be overwhelmed with registering as a new mom and feel like you HAVE to HAVE every product available. Enjoyed your prosepective~
Excuse me...our dining table chairs ARE on wheels.
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