Ok, here is MY idea of what baby items were completely worthless. Keep in mind that there are plenty of things that might have been less than useful, but these are the ones that make the top 10 list, and that I actually owned:
10: Baby Onesies. I honestly got over 80 of these little white one piece onesies as gifts. I think I may have used them once or twice. I never felt the need to put an undershirt on the boy…unless it was long sleeved…then I did for that cool guy layering effect.
9: Baby Swing. Okay, I know that this is probably baby specific. I got a brand new swing…that sat. And sat. And collected dust. The kid hated it.
8: Baby bouncer/vibrating seat. Again, probably baby specific. My next kid may love it. But Henry refused to just sit there. Too much energy…even at 4 weeks old.
7: Baby socks. Okay, not so much useless as We can put a man on the moon but we can’t figure out how to design baby socks that actually stay on???!!!
6: Newborn mittens. You know, those little mittens you put on newborns so they don’t scratch their faces? Again, great idea…but they always fall off.
5: Large diaper bags. I got a super cute one that I adore. Except that I hardly ever needed it. When you nurse and don’t have to pack bottles and formula, you don’t need much except for a few diapers, some wipes, and a burp cloth. I use the big diaper bag now more as Henry luggage. In fact, I use a cute Roxy tote as a “diaper bag” now.
4: Ear thermometer. I feel bad on this one. I registered for it, and a dear friend bought it for me. But it doesn’t work. It’s so inaccurate. When I take his temp rectally (gross, yes) it is completely different than what the ear one says. It sits in a basket.
3: Mobile. We have one. I think Henry liked it for about 3 weeks. So, I guess it was good to have at that point. Luckily, he’s the first baby of 3 (or 4), so it may get more use with future kids. It’s cute though. :)
2: Stuffed animals. Okay, really folks. I love you. I love that you love my child. I love that you buy him gifts. Really. But the kid has over 50 stuffed animals…and he doesn’t play with a single one. At Easter, he got SEVEN, yes seven, stuffed bunnies.
1: Receiving blankets. The standard sized ones you get in a 5 pack. I must have 25 receiving blankets in a drawer and I returned about 30 to Target. They are too small! Even for my 5 pound peanut! I LOVED my Swaddle Me blanket and other oversized receiving blankets…swaddling was a must for sleeping those first three months. But the little felt ones??? Who uses these???
There. Better.
Tomorrow, I’ll do a “Must have baby items”. Because I know you all really care. :)
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i have to agree with you on some of those items. but, dillon loved his swing and bouncy seat (i just wish they didn’t eat so many batteries. like you said – baby specific – the next one may deem it useless :)
Okay, this one is worth commenting. I didn’t use receiving blankets with Aubrey, but I had to buy more for Ainsley, I just couldn’t keep them clean. I don’t know what I used them for, but they were always covered in mass amounts of spit up. I now cut them up and use them as wash cloths for faces and hands after meals. I should probably put a finishing stitch around the edges, but I just throw them out when they get too frayed. Both of my kids loved the bouncy seat, but we also watched baby TV and the bouncy seat went hand and hand with that activity. Ainsley lived in her swing the first two months. That was where she took many a nap. I also put onsies on my kids all winter under their shirts, but it is 35 degrees outside most days.
And here’s the main thing. I hate that stores have parents convinced that they need to have all that crap new for their kid to be cared for. I got tons of big ticket items second hand and am so glad. Yeah, I didn’t have matching fabric on everything, but I also didn’t get 100’s of dollars of things that are going to end up in a land fill. Mike and I gave tons of that stuff away to a mom in need in Denver believing that if we have more kids we can borrow it from someone then. Car seats are a different case, but for the most part a used swing collects dust as much as a new one.
My biggest waste are the hand made blankets I never used with my kids because I didn’t want them to be ruined. What am I going to do with them now???
see now, i adore onesies! i still use them under esther’s jammies. i like to know the babies are warm because i know she kicks off her blankets. and the flannel receiving blankets, i adore those, too! i could always get a nice tight swaddle and they are handy as burp cloths and when they got dirty, i had lots so i didn’t have to always wash blankets. we never used our swing or bouncy seat a whole lot either, but we didn’t have really fussy babies. diaper bag i agree with now, but when eli was little, i did tote around extra clothes for blowouts. i totally agree about the baby socks and we always use an ear thermometer. i’m way too chicken to do rectal. plus, the ped uses an ear one. and i LOATHE stuffed animals. one of my greatest joys is to round them up and tote them off to goodwill. one or two maybe are fine, but otherwise, they just collect dust and look ugly. what fun lists!
I have to agree with the swing and bounce seat for the first baby, but I can’t wait to hear what you have to say about them when you have your 2nd or 3rd. With Matteo the swing and bouncer were life savers!! Poor kids might never have left his crib if it weren’t for those two items!!
yeah, it’s all so individual, and so different with each kid.
#10. well, it depends on the season, but yeah, i agree you don’t need many. i thought they were wonderful for summer (keep in mind where we live! HOT), and in the winter we used them under pjs (because it FREEZES at night here). but ultimately, we had more than we needed.
#9. LOVED the baby swing. both kids loved it, and we used it a lot. it was absolutely necessary when nehemiah was very little and i wanted to take zeb swimming in our pool. just stuck nehemiah in the swing in the shade and didn’t have to worry about him.
#8. again, LOVED it. only way zeb would nap for the first 7 or 8 months of his life. nehemiah liked it too, though not as much.
#7. yeah, they don’t stay on. needed them when it was cold, but tough to stay on, especially for little skinny babies like henry and nehemiah.
#6. are you kidding?! totally useless!
#5. yeah, if it’s too big, it’s a pain. unless you are hauling around a bunch of kids, and then you need every bit of that thing!
#4. a regular thermometer in the rear or the armpit works fine! actually, there is a difference in temp based on where you do it, and your nurse or doctor and can tell you how to adjust it (ie, plus or minus a degree or so usually).
#3. hmmm… toss up. did entertain for a little while. i know some kids that need constant stimulation, so it might be more necessary for some. though, i think one of those crib railing toys with lights and music (as opposed to a traditional mobile) would work better for those kids.
#2. SERIOUSLY!! i completely agree. i have given away BAGFULS of stuffed animals (after keeping them for awhile just so i wouldn’t feel bad because they were gifts). my boys couldn’t care less about them, with the exception of ones that are their favorite cartoon characters. the only time other stuffed animals get played with is when little girls come over for a playdate!
#1. are you serious? i love these! i didn’t think they were too small, and i couldn’t have enough because they were always getting dirty from diaper leakage at night or spit up. we swaddled our kids a lot (and yes, we used the swaddle-me too, which i LOVE, but they were expensive so we didn’t have many). they both loved being swaddled. don’t know what you mean by felt ones. never seen those! fleece or flannel, yes, and again, it freezes here.
bring on the must have list…