The First Six Months: Baby Gear I Could Have Lived Without
I recently wrote about the baby gear that saved my life when Clara was an itty bitty baby, and in that post I said I'd follow up with what we could have lived without. Here goes:
The Bumpo: Don't get me wrong, it was nice to have, especially since it was a gift. We used it. But for how much it costs, we certainly could have lived without it if we weren't given it. I've heard of moms buying them for $10 on craigslist and then sterilizing them, it might be worth it then. But there's such a short time period that you can use this. When she's small enough, the bouncy seat could work fine. Now her chunky thighs won't go into it. Just not worth the money for us.
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper: As I mentioned in the other post, Clara slept in the Fisher Price Rock n' Play sleeper next to our bed for the first few months of her life. So in my pre-baby mind, this item was perfect because it'd serve as her bassinet right next to me in bed and it converted into a "pack n' play" of some sort later on. For what it cost and how much she used it as a bassinet, we might as well have just purchased a larger pack n' play that's easier to take down and put up, less expensive, and has a bigger "play" area.
My Breast Friend breastfeeding pillow: I bought this and a boppy and used neither while nursing. The boppy was nice for other reasons though.
Itzbeen Timer: When I saw this at Babies R' Us, I thought it would be great! Ian and I could use this timer and trade off so we didn't have to keep track of how long it'd been since a feeding, changing, etc. We never used it. Not once. In the beginning when you're too sleep deprived to remember how long it's been, you're keeping track of her feedings and output for days at a time, and we needed our sheet of that info to refer back to from a few hours before. Plus, you get into a little diaper change, eat, sleep, diaper change, etc. routine that you don't really need to know if she needs to be changed based off of a timer. (Believe me, she will tell you, one way or another...) This was a waste for us.
Lots of plain onesies and extra clothes: Everyone told me I'd be changing her so often, I'd want a ton of plain onesies. I don't know why I believed them, because I have 10 onesies that in my excitement I took the tags off of and have nothing to do with them. I really didn't have to change her that much as a newborn, she rarely had a blow out, and if she did so many people gave us cute clothes I was going to get use out of them, not a plain onesie. Plus, if it's one of those days at home where you know they're going to get dirty or won't see anyone, then you want a sleeper or something with "legs" so you don't have to worry about pants on top of the onesies. Along the same note, you really don't need that many clothes. I bought a lot of gender neutral clothes because I was afraid Clara would have no clothes when she was born or 3 months old - maybe it's because she was a girl, but we were given so many clothes, especially in the 0-3 month range, I would have dressed twin girls. No need for all the extra gender neutral items. Maybe a couple things just to get you through the first couple weeks and by then you'll have figured out what exactly you need and it's easy enough to order those things online if you can't get out of the house yet.
Lots of towels, washcloths, and receiving blankets: Don't bother registering for or purchasing these items yourself, it seems these are people's favorite go-to gifts. We actually do use a lot of washcloths, more than I expected, but we have *seven* hooded towels for her. ;) It is nice to have one in her swim bag, car, and a couple at home in case I'm behind on laundry, but not necessary. :)
Any pacifier other than Soothies: The soothie pacifier is just what she preferred, thank goodness too because that is the pacifier that comes with the Wubbanub. But every baby is different, especially when it comes to bottles and pacifiers and trial and error is what you're going to have to do when it comes to pacifiers and bottles, if your baby needs these.
Things we didn't buy and didn't miss: A crib set/bumper (just the sheets and whatever decor I wanted for the room), baby food maker (a food processor or blender works fine, and we didn't start this until six months anyways), wipes warmer, and bottle sterilizer.
The Bumpo: Don't get me wrong, it was nice to have, especially since it was a gift. We used it. But for how much it costs, we certainly could have lived without it if we weren't given it. I've heard of moms buying them for $10 on craigslist and then sterilizing them, it might be worth it then. But there's such a short time period that you can use this. When she's small enough, the bouncy seat could work fine. Now her chunky thighs won't go into it. Just not worth the money for us.
Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper: As I mentioned in the other post, Clara slept in the Fisher Price Rock n' Play sleeper next to our bed for the first few months of her life. So in my pre-baby mind, this item was perfect because it'd serve as her bassinet right next to me in bed and it converted into a "pack n' play" of some sort later on. For what it cost and how much she used it as a bassinet, we might as well have just purchased a larger pack n' play that's easier to take down and put up, less expensive, and has a bigger "play" area.
My Breast Friend breastfeeding pillow: I bought this and a boppy and used neither while nursing. The boppy was nice for other reasons though.
Itzbeen Timer: When I saw this at Babies R' Us, I thought it would be great! Ian and I could use this timer and trade off so we didn't have to keep track of how long it'd been since a feeding, changing, etc. We never used it. Not once. In the beginning when you're too sleep deprived to remember how long it's been, you're keeping track of her feedings and output for days at a time, and we needed our sheet of that info to refer back to from a few hours before. Plus, you get into a little diaper change, eat, sleep, diaper change, etc. routine that you don't really need to know if she needs to be changed based off of a timer. (Believe me, she will tell you, one way or another...) This was a waste for us.
Lots of plain onesies and extra clothes: Everyone told me I'd be changing her so often, I'd want a ton of plain onesies. I don't know why I believed them, because I have 10 onesies that in my excitement I took the tags off of and have nothing to do with them. I really didn't have to change her that much as a newborn, she rarely had a blow out, and if she did so many people gave us cute clothes I was going to get use out of them, not a plain onesie. Plus, if it's one of those days at home where you know they're going to get dirty or won't see anyone, then you want a sleeper or something with "legs" so you don't have to worry about pants on top of the onesies. Along the same note, you really don't need that many clothes. I bought a lot of gender neutral clothes because I was afraid Clara would have no clothes when she was born or 3 months old - maybe it's because she was a girl, but we were given so many clothes, especially in the 0-3 month range, I would have dressed twin girls. No need for all the extra gender neutral items. Maybe a couple things just to get you through the first couple weeks and by then you'll have figured out what exactly you need and it's easy enough to order those things online if you can't get out of the house yet.
Lots of towels, washcloths, and receiving blankets: Don't bother registering for or purchasing these items yourself, it seems these are people's favorite go-to gifts. We actually do use a lot of washcloths, more than I expected, but we have *seven* hooded towels for her. ;) It is nice to have one in her swim bag, car, and a couple at home in case I'm behind on laundry, but not necessary. :)
Any pacifier other than Soothies: The soothie pacifier is just what she preferred, thank goodness too because that is the pacifier that comes with the Wubbanub. But every baby is different, especially when it comes to bottles and pacifiers and trial and error is what you're going to have to do when it comes to pacifiers and bottles, if your baby needs these.
Things we didn't buy and didn't miss: A crib set/bumper (just the sheets and whatever decor I wanted for the room), baby food maker (a food processor or blender works fine, and we didn't start this until six months anyways), wipes warmer, and bottle sterilizer.
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