15 Baby Items That You Really Don’t Need
By: First Time Mama
Tags: Baby, Childhood, Collection, Need, Money

When you have a baby, especially the first time around, we seem to build up a vast collection of ‘must have’ items that we thought we needed but that turn out to be a complete waste of money. Babies don’t actually need that much, especially in the first six months.

Here are 15 baby items you will be convinced you need when, actually, you don’t.

A FANCY NURSERY

When you’re pregnant, you can spend ages drooling over adorable nurseries on Pinterest. Bespoke furniture, high-end fixtures and a walk-in wardrobe full of colour coordinated designer clothes.

Your baby does not care if you’ve spent a few grand on their nursery or a few hundred. They hardly spend any time in there in the first six months, most babies sleep in their parent’s room in a crib. If you have the money and desire to do it go ahead, but it’s a better idea to save your hard-earned pennies and treat yourself or open a savings account for your little one.

It’s easy to create an Instagram worthy mountain collage with just a few paint colours and some masking tape. I did one on my son’s wall with paint we already had in the shed. It took me half a day and it looked amazing. Think it was one of my most liked photos on Instagram, ha!

BABY SHOES

Babies do not need shoes. Until a child starts to walk, they don’t need to wear anything on their little tootsies. Sure, they look cute, and it might be fun to put them in a pair for an occasion, but babies don’t need them.

BABY DRESSING GOWNS

They look adorable in them at first, but they are entirely useless. They drown their top half and leave their little legs completely exposed, so they are not helpful when it comes to regulating your babies temperature.

NECKERCHIEF BIBS

I have never really understood these. They are those small triangle shaped bibs that look like little neckerchiefs and barely cover their chest. They come in some cool designs and don’t look like bibs, which I think is the appeal, but when babies start eating solids, they make a mess. Bibs need to be big; they need to cover their chest and down to their little tummies so they can catch any drips or mouthfuls of food they decide to spit back at you.

BABY HAIRBRUSH

Most babies have very little hair, so why you need a hairbrush is beyond me.

BABY POWDER

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I’m not sure why you would use this, it was very popular in the fifties and sixties, but current research has linked baby powder to breathing problems in babies and even cancer. It’s nasty, steer clear.

COT BEDDING SETS

You know those gazillion piece matching sets that include a quilt and a bumper? They look lovely, but they cost a fortune and can be dangerous. Quilts are not safe for babies under one year old, and the NHS says that you should avoid using cot bumpers in your baby’s cot — they are a hazard for choking, suffocation and strangulation. Enough said.

NAPPY BINS

You are guaranteed to find second hand, barely used nappy bins at car boot sales and on facebook market places across the country. They seem like a fantastic idea when your pregnant with your first, but you quickly find out that they are just a waste of space and your better off just putting nappies in your kitchen bin and emptying it regularly.

BABY BREATHING/HEART MONITOR

When my oldest was born, the hospital gave us one of these monitors as a precaution due to their having been a cot death in his father’s family. They are great when your baby is sleeping on them, the ticking sound they make is a real comfort, but if they roll off the monitor, which is a regular occurrence, the alarm goes off, and you absolutely shit yourself every time. I found it more of a hindrance than a help; it turned me into even more of a sleep-deprived nervous wreck than I already was! If your baby has a genuine medical reason for needing one use it. If not, I would recommend saving your money as they are very expensive.

PARENTING BOOKS

There are a gazillion parenting books out there, many with completely contradictory advice. If you read too many, you will just end up confusing yourself.

WASHING POWDER FOR BABIES

There is no need to change your washing powder to non-bio just because there is a baby in the house. The difference between bio/non-bio is that one contains enzymes that can supposedly irritate the skin, and one doesn’t. The bio/non-bio split is a weird British quirk, in no other country in the world is the detergent market divided in half. Current research has shown there is no evidence to support the old notion that biological washing powder can irritate babies skin.

BABY PHOTO ALBUMS

We have just moved house and had a massive clearout. I found five baby photo albums. Do you know how many photographs were in them? None.

DESIGNER ANYTHING

A family friend bought my youngest an Armani baby grow that looked like a tuxedo. When I googled it, it had cost £70! He wore it once on our way to a wedding. Before we even got there, he did a massive exploding poo that went right up his back and front. We had to stop at a supermarket onroute and bought him 3 baby grows for £10 instead. He looked just as cute!

CHANGING TABLE

Just get a changing mat and put it on the floor. They cost a fraction of the price, take up far less room, and you don’t need to worry about your baby rolling off when you realise you’ve left the wipes across the other side of the room.

BABY BATH

They are enormous, a pain to store and aren’t generally that great for bathing babies. In my opinion, you can’t beat the kitchen sink! It’s the perfect height and size for a baby. I still bathe my two-year-old in there sometimes ha!

EXPENSIVE TOYS

To a baby, a cardboard box or a wooden spoon is just as exciting as an all singing all dancing toy that cost £50.

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