Did you know that the global market for baby products is almost 75 billion dollars? While some of that revenue is items that you need to purchase (a crib, a car seat), many of the purchases made are based on people thinking they need every gadget and device to survive babyhood. Don’t fall prey to this thought! You’ll have so many things sitting around your house that you used once, or even worse, that you never touched.

After considering what I’ve used over four pregnancies, there are definitely some items that come to mind that we’ve never used. Keep in mind that this is our list, and that someone out there probably thinks that something on the list is a requirement. We are all different, and as you will learn quickly, we all parent differently.  The real goal here is to get you to really think about the worth of items before you run out to all buy all of the baby stuff at the store. Here are 11 things you DON’T need for baby.

11 Things You Don’t Need for Baby

Baby bath tubs & bath thermometers

Guess what, every home comes with one of these! If your house isn’t equipped with a kitchen sink, then I truly feel for you. Don’t waste $30 on a cute little whale tub that you have to bend over and break your back to still hold the baby upright in.  You have one arm wrapped around the baby, one arm trying to bathe and meanwhile you stopped breathing from the tub wall cutting off all circulation to your lower body. After that you’ll decide that babies aren’t dirty and never need baths!  Just stick with the sink.  It’s the perfect height and the right size, and they aren’t going to be in there long anyway. As for thermometers… you have ten fingers.  Stick one in first and you’ll know if it’s too hot.

Wipes warmer

This can cause a heated debate.  So many mamas think that a cold wipe seems too harsh. This is a contraption that most of us have never had, and now most pediatricians say you shouldn’t have one because they increase the risk of bacteria and mold. If it’s a super cold night, grab some wipes and run them under warm water in the sink first. It’s not worth the $30 for the device that will just take up space.

Baby shoes

If you want to go crazy, spend 20 minutes trying to get shoes on a baby just to have both of them fall off in less time than you spent to put them on.  By all means, don’t go out in public with those shoes or you’ll have strangers handing them to you all through the grocery store as you keep losing them and don’t even realize it. Put them in stockings or use a blanket—there are a lot of other ways to keep toes warm! Shoes are cute and that’s why they get bought, but anyone with more than one kid will tell you that they are useless. We don’t start using shoes on our kiddos until they start walking.

Read More→