Unnecessary baby items

firefly2013 · March 2013

XP 3T: What do you think about this list of unnecessary items? Do you agree/disagree? Have anything to add? I am registered for a couple...TIA!

1026pumpkin · March 2013

I mostly agree with it- my 2 exceptions are the mattress protector (we had 2 and if DS had an accident, we just dumped sheet and mattress pad into wash and put clean ones on...no washing/drying the mattress in the middle of the night) and hooded towels. We LOVE these- DS is still going strong with these at 2.5 yrs, and he's a big kid. I really feel like the hoods help keep them warm while getting dried off and you can keep them bundled up better until you get their jammies on....especially in the winter.

Angela814 · March 2013

We have a mattress protector, and I personally prefer washing that to hoping that wiping down the mattress is enough.

My girls loved their exersaucer. They liked it a lot more than the jumperoos.

Our stroller is part of a travel system, and we really like it. We got the Graco Metrolite, which is a smaller stroller than the traditional Graco travel systems.

The rest I agree with. I'd never even heard of the Itzbeen thing. Looks pretty ridiculous.

Megispreg · March 2013

I love my baby food maker. You could certainly do without it, but I like having it all in one appliance. I'm all for stuff that makes life easier.

I also don't understand the problem with hooded towels. How are they difficult? They're plenty big for my 6 month old.

honeybee111 · March 2013

We used mattress protectors, and I guess you could just wipe down the mattress, but at 3 am, it was much easier to just whip off the protector and throw it in the wash, than to strip off all the bedding(which involved partially lifting the mattress out) and wiping it down. We also used hooded towels. I didn't think they were too small.

abell77 · March 2013

I was definitely glad we had a mattress protector, and we still use hooded towels so those were not a waste in my opinion. The rest of the list is not necessary, but some things might make your life a little easier, i.e., put baby in exersaucer so you can make dinner, etc.

eyenigh · March 2013

My son was able to use the exersaucer before the Jumperoo so I appreciated having it. We have plenty of room so having both was NBD. I could definitely do without the smaller, thin newborn style hooded towels and go right to the ones that are more for 2 years and up-- those I still use.

I don't understand why you wouldn't want a mattress protector if for nothing more than not having disgusting stains on a mattress. Our mattress is definitely not waterproof. My son is a year old and I still do mattress cover/sheet and another mattress cover/sheet over the top just in case there's any sort of middle of the night accident. I've only had to do it a couple of times but I was so glad to not have to change everything.

MrsBigTime · March 2013

Lists like this are so personal. I agree with some and disagree with others.

The Boppy Lounger is one of the few places LO will sit happily, so it's been super helpful for us. Personally, I'd skip the regular Boppy in favor of the lounger.

I also love our hooded towels, but we only have two, so neither was a big expense or difficult to store.

I used the "Total Baby" app on my iPhone for a few weeks and really liked it.

I'd also skip a travel system, but instead of getting a snap n go, I'd just get a stroller that could clip your car seat in (for example, our Britax snaps into our Bob). I know SNG's are convenient, but it's another big piece you use for a short amount of time and then have to store.

We have a mattress pad, but frankly, making the crib is a huge pain in the butt! Because of this I am super thankful I bought a sheet saver on a whim. It goes on top of your sheet and ties to the side of your crib so it's safe. I put DD's head on it and it has saved me more than once from needing to change the whole crib after a particularly large spit up.

AKB090609 · March 2013

We use our mattress protector and hooded towels all the time. I also 'need' the baby shoes to keep her socks on. Would I spend a ton of cash on any of it, no.

chardonnay24 · March 2013

1. Wipes Warmer - unnecessary, although we use cloth wipes and I always wet them with warm water before using them

2. Newborn lounger - unnecessary. We received one as a gift but I only used it a couple times. I preferred to hold him, wear him, or put him in the swing.

3. Baby shoes - unnecessary. My kid walked for about 3 months before we put shoes on him. They are cute but not good for development.

4. Mattress protector - unnecessary but convenient. In the middle of the night, I'd rather just pull everything off the bed and replace it than take the time to wipe down the mattress.

5. Exersaucer - unnecessary, but so is a jumperoo, really. Both are fun for babies, though. We only had a jumperoo and I'm glad, because my kid loved to jump.

6. Crib bumper - unnecessary. My wild sleeper only got a limb stuck once and it was no big deal. He cried, we freed him, and everything was fine.

7. Baby food maker - unnecessary. I used a steamer basket, baking sheet, and food processor.

8. Travel system - unnecessary. I hated ours and wished we had just gone with a snap and go. I upgraded to a nicer stroller when he was a few months old and could sit up better. Actually, I really wish we had gone with something like the UBV that has a basinette option.

9. Itzbeen - unnecessary. But I think any baby apps are unnecessary. When we had trouble with nursing for the first couple weeks, we kept track of feedings in a little log book. But otherwise, we fed and changed and napped as needed.

10. Hooded towels - unnecessary but nice to have. We still use them at 2. I never found them difficult to use and once he grew out of them, we switched to children's hooded towels.

bridein08 · March 2013

We found the lounger to be indispensible and the regular boppy useless. It's so personal!

Bonnesetter27 · March 2013

With the mattress protector you can layer as well. mattress, sheet, waterproof protector, sheet. Then in the middle of the night you can just take off the top sheet and protector and be ready with a sheet beneath it. Also we used the waterproof sheet when he needed diaper free time to help with a diaper rash and during tummy time because he was a big spitter.

Nechie122 · March 2013

I agree with the list completely. If money is no object, sure, a couple of those things are nice to have, but they all have suitable work arounds.

I found that I could do without most of the baby gear. Especially any contraption meant to hold or entertain a baby, like a bouncer or jumparoo ... they grow out of those so quickly. I also skipped the glider.

MNgirl326 · March 2013

I liked the hooded towels and didn't mind my travel system.

Other then that I agree with the list.

lindslalala · March 2013

I like hooded towels. And agree you don't need an exersaucer and a jumperoo, one is all you need.

I agree with the rest.

I would add that a bottle warmer is totally unnecessary. My kid had room temp bottles and it saved time and made it easier to pack bottles when we went out.

SweetHurricane · March 2013

MrsBigTime:

Lists like this are so personal. I agree with some and disagree with others.

This^^

We have a travel system and love it. It's not bulky or a pain. It depends what you buy and I really hate when people generalize things like that. For the frequency that we actually use a stroller, it works just fine for our needs. I have no desire to own a BOB or a City Mini or anything else.

We really loved our Itzbeen. Used it with both kids. Apps are fine, but you can't hand your phone off to the sitter when you leave the house.

We used hooded towels with DD1 for about a year and a half. Then we switched her to an adult towel, which she did not keep on for more than two seconds. We are now back to hooded towels with her. I don't think they're a waste at all. Our infant ones have lasted us through two kids and we plan on passing them on to my sister for even more use.

LittleFish1 · March 2013

By about 2 weeks LO was unhappy during diaper changes and we figured out it was the cold wipes. By 2 months no longer needed the warmer but made diaper changes much calmer.

abbyful · March 2013

1. Wipes Warmer - Unnecessary, just hold the wipe for a couple seconds and it's warm. Also, wipe warmers promote bacteria growth.

2. Newborn lounger - We have a regular Boppy that we use for this. Boppy gets a lot of use in our house: feeding, holding, lounger, tummy time, assisted sitting, toy ledge if we sit baby on the couch, etc.

3. Baby shoes - My kid won't wear shoes until he's walking, and then it will just be for public places. Not only unnecessary, but some experts say that they are bad for development. Let the kid be barefoot or sock-footed with those grippy socks.

4. Mattress protector - Unnecessary but convenient.

5. Exersaucer - We have Baby Einstein jumper that has exersaucer toys on it. Best of both worlds.

6. Crib bumper - Unnecessary and dangerous!

7. Baby food maker - I have one, but it really isn't necessary. Mine was a gift. I use it because I have it, but it's only good to make a couple jars of food at a time, not big enough to make batches and freeze.

8. Travel system - I love our travel system. We have the Britax B-Safe carseat and B-Agile stroller. I don't think you can lump all travel systems in together, some look like they suck, ours is awesome!

9. Itzbeen - Never heard of this until today, but it looks stupid. We wrote things down on a piece of paper at first, because the hospital had us do it so we continued for a week weeks after we got home just because we were paranoid first-time parents. If you want an electronic record, there are free apps. As far as remember which side baby nursed on, I just have a pony tail holder on my wrist, or you can just feel your boobs or look in the mirror, you should be able to tell which one is full.

10. Hooded towels - Unnecessary and worthless! They are too thin to dry baby off, so you have to use several towels. We have several different brands of hooded towels, the only one we really use that works is Little Giraffe brand, which cost $45 retail. I could never bring myself to spend that much money on a baby towel, I won it from a Bump giveaway.

FabulousMrs.P · March 2013

I mostly agree. The only exceptions I would say are the mattress protector...trust me at 3:00am when you discover that diaper is leaking, you don't want to wipe down a mattress.

And my DD loved her exersaucer. It is just a matter of having the space for it. (I got mine at a yard sale for super cheap!)

MrsJetSet · March 2013

I agree, except the mattress protector. I do still use our hooded towels though, so I would say they were a good investment. The boutique A+A ones will get several more mos of use but the baby sized hooded towels will need to be retired soon. I still got a year's worth of use out of them!

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