Let’s face it: having a baby is expensive!
And every blog, Instagram post and advertisement claims the products they tout are “must haves.”
But are they really that necessary?
For us, we ended up with a whole host of crap that we never even used, or, used like, mayyyyyybe once.
- Baby wash cloths
Ours were grey stripes with cutesy little elephants on them. So sweet. But also, there were only three of them to a pack, and we only got one pack. We found out REAL quick that was not enough, and started relying on our regular, plain white washcloths. We had maybe 600 of them, and could easily wash them with our regular towels without fear of colors running or the cutesy little elephant appliqué falling off.
Our advice: skip the cute bullshit and just buy a pack of solid white. They’ll last longer, be easier to care for, and will cost a fraction of the price. Added bonus: you can keep using them for years to come without embarrassment.
Same goes for the hooded baby towels. Cute? Yes. Necessary? Nah, totes unnecessary.
Save the money and use your regular bath towels. I promise you, they work exactly the same.
2. Wipe warmer
This item was something my MIL insisted on us purchasing, especially with our babe arriving in the winter.
But no matter how much I searched, I couldn’t find one that A. had great reviews, and B. wasn’t like $50. So we skipped it and I was super super stressed out about it, thinking we’d made a HUGE mistake. But TBH, the baby didn’t mind cold wipes one. freaking. bit.
3. Baby socks
“You’re having a winter baby, you’ll need SO many socks!” said everyone.
We bought 40 pairs. Because, like, socks get lost easily, right?
We used like two pairs of them before deciding it wasn’t worth the hassle. Because as immobile as our infant was, she somehow always managed to kick her socks off. She HATED them. Which was cool because I hated washing them and fishing through the rest of the laundry to find a matching pair.
4. Bath toys
From the moment we gave her that very first bath, we noticed a rash on her belly, arms and legs. A quick trip to the pediatrician confirmed it was only eczema, which is often exacerbated by long baths. The doctor’s advice was to keep baths to a minimum – preferably only once a week, and five minutes or less.
That ruled out using all those cute tubby toys we received at our shower. Our advice is to skip them for now, since most babies won’t even use them until they are several months old. You can always buy them later if you see a need.
5. Baby carrier
This is one that I really wanted. I pictured myself getting so many things done with a baby strapped to my body.
But in reality, our baby absolutely HATED being worn.
She would cry because she was too hot.
Cry because she couldn’t get comfortable.
Cry because my shirt was itchy.
Cry. Cry. Cry. Cry. Then I’d put her down, or just hold her in my arms instead of wearing her, and she was peaceful.
Maybe it’s just that style of carrier she hates, we thought. So we bought a different style.
The takeaway? Neither baby carrier did not work out for us, and was a complete waste of $45, and an additional $60. Cool cool cool.
What must-have items did you never use? Let me know in the comments!
the northeast ginger 