Friday, September 12, 2008

Top 15 Baby Items You Don't Need

I was inspired by Baby Cheapskate to finish my own list of baby items you don't need. Mine is not the same list as the one they did, but there is definitely some overlap. You can see their list here. I do completely disagree with one of their items, the diaper pail. Where are you supposed to put those stinky things if you don't have a system that controls the smell? I have the Diaper Genie II (which I like) but recommend the Diaper Champ, because you don't have to buy expensive refills. I have heard wipes get stuck in the Champ though.

I have one disclaimer, what seems worthless to me may seem useful to you and vice versa but this is my blog, so I get to share my opinion. And, I only put items on this list that I really figure, nobody needs. I have some opinions on things we don't need that others might but I didn't include those. I would love to hear your comments on why I am right or wrong! And if you are convincing enough, I may change my list!

Here are my Top 15 Worthless Baby Items (in no particular order):

Dishwasher Basket
No Scratch Mittens
Shopping Cart Cover
Wipe Warmer
Baby Robe
Sterilizer (use the dishwasher!)
4 0z. or 11 oz. bottles (just use the 8oz ones)
Sleep Positioner
Pacifier thermometer
Diaper Stacker
Formula Mixer
Expensive baby monitors
Bottle/Food Warmer
Wee Wee Blocker
Dedicated Changing Table (Use a dresser! It's cheaper!)

I am really sorry to those of you that purchased some of these items for me when I registered for them. I really didn't know better. Why didn't anybody tell me? I actually still use most of them, out of guilt and not wanting to be wasteful. And I love them because you purchased them, and I love you. And some of them I never did buy, because even I was smarter than that.

Hope I didn't offend anybody with this post! And, as always, I may just change my mind at sometime with a little convincing from my dear blog readers. Do you have any other items that you would say weren't worth purchasing?

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

I completely agree about the mittens although I do love the onsies/outfits where you can convert the sleeve into a mitten. They don't come off and keep those fingernails at bay.

I also completely agree about: wipe warmer, sterilizer, various size bottles, sleep positioner, formla mixer, diaper stacker, bottle warmer and changing table (we are hardcore and just use the floor!)

I didn't even know they had a pacifier thermometer.

I disagree about the shopping cart cover, baby robe and expensive baby monitors.

Here's my case: The shopping cart cover helped fit my dudes in the shopping cart when they were in that weird "middle" phase. They couldn't yet sit well on their own but we were no longer using the portable car steat.

Baby robes are just cute and necessary for any post-bathtime photoshoot. See here

For us, we already had one monitor for Boaz. We bought a cheap-o one for Gideon and got so much interfereance it sound like Darth Vader was in his room. We bought another set of expensive ($40) monitors, viola, no more Darth Vader.

Anonymous said...

I actually bummed over to Baby Cheapskate and disagree with more than half of theirs! It's amazing to see what is necessary to one family and usless to another. I cannot live without my boppies (that also helped during pregnancy) and bumbo (which I really just use for an infant high-chair).

The Hansen Family said...

I agree with most everything. I only have a 3 week old, so some things do not apply to me yet. No scratch mittens are not necessary, cut their nails! Diaper stackers are cute, but not necessary, same with the baby robe. I do like the wipe warmer, but again not necessary. We are using the monitor my parents used for my brothers, who are now 14 and 16. :) I would add baby booties. We got a hundred pairs and I just put him in socks. Maybe I'm on my own here..

The Hunter Family said...

Great list! There's nothing more frustrating than having stuff that doesn't get used. Sometimes it blows me away some of the things babies stores sell as "must haves." One of the biggest things that I see as a waste is a changing table - one that specifically for changing diapers. I always tell new moms when asked for furniture reccos, use a dresser that way you can use the furniture beyond diaper changes.

The only things on the list that we had to have were the wipe warmer, sleep positioner, and dishwasher baskets. Here's my reasoning.

Wipe warmer: we actually didn't register for one of these cause I heard it was unecessary but within two weeks of Cal being born we had to buy one cause he hated cold wipes on his bum. Our wipe warmer did wonders for our diaper changes.

Sleep positioner: This was our saving grace for transitioning Cal into his crib. We didn't use it for the "positioning" aspect, he just needed to feel snuggled in his crib and this did the trick. We bought a cheap one ($10) and it worked wonders.

Dishwasher basket: again this is something we didn't buy/register for cause I didn't see a need for it, but the day that we switched to formula bottles (several bottles a day) it was a necessity for washing all the bottle pieces (especially Dr. Brown's bottles). I can't have enough of these in my dishwasher now to wash all the bottles we go through.

The McFarlane Family said...

Thanks for the feedback ladies. I pretty much agree with most of what you said. I just thought of one more must not buy item I couldn't leave off- the tempertature tester for the bathtub. For goodness sakes, stick your hand in it!

Anonymous said...

I totally agree about the wipe warmer, we used ours twice and then never again. Also agree with the sleep positioner, we got one and then realized that it was on a list of things not to purchase for babies because of the risk of SIDS, so it was a waste of a gift. I have to agree with your friend about the bath robe, it's totally cute for pictures! I agree with all of the items except for the shopping cart cover even though we only used ours a few times, we should have used it more.

Great list!

Kelsey

Caleb, Bree, Zane and Claire said...

I agree with most of the list too! I wish someone had told us about the changing table/dresser thingy...Thankfully we are having a second we can use it on now, but we will need two dressers in the future. And the Diaper Genie is completely useless. A waste of money, not to mention a wste of money on the refills. We had one last time and will NOT be using it this time around. I do disagree with the dishwasher basket though. We have one for Zanes sippy cup parts that we have been using since he was a baby. It's a must for keeping bottle parts from melting in there. Now I have one that is for all of Claire's stuff.

The Heaviland Family said...

Our baby items we didn't use were all cute baby shoes. Maybe James is a crazy active kicker but we had a few cute pairs of newborn shoes and they never, ever stayed on. Robeez are the way to go. And I totally have to disagree about the shopping cart cover. They totally helped James sit in there earlier which gave my arms a break from the infant carrier. Also the GERMS! http://abcnews.go.com/gma/oncall/story?id=2859060

I'm just glad to see that plastic sword did not make the list :)

Anonymous said...

I totally agree about so much of this! Also about the diaper pail...seriously, what would you put those stinky diapers in?

And I couldn't agree more about the baby robe. My baby goes from bath, to towel, to clothes or jammies. The robes are sweet but we really only used ours sometimes as a beach cover up. And I just sold a post-bath bunting (that was so friggin adorable!) on ebay!

I do have to put in my two cents for the shopping cart cover (you know your baby is going to chew on those bars and I am such a germaphobe I can't take it) and the dishwasher basket (if you're doing any bottle feeding). Also they say to wash baby spoons in the top rack and I feel that they are safer in the basket...hate to have one melt in my dishwasher!