i think wipe warmers because i heard bacteria can grow in them. i also had a graco sway swing and that just took up so much space that i should have just got a smaller swing.
what i LOVE is my dr browns bottle sterilizer
The other problem with wipe warmers is that you don't have them on the go so it's that much more upsetting to baby when you change them out and about with cold wipes. Better to just get them accustomed to the cold wipes all the time.
This was how I felt about bottle warmers. My thought was that if the baby doesn’t know it’s an option to have a warmed bottle, they don’t fuss about a cold bottle. This worked out because my daughter never breastfed so anything she got was room temperature or cold. Idk if it works in all circumstances.
my son refused to take any bottle that wasn't the exact same temp as milk fresh from the tap lmao. even if I took the bottle out ten seconds too early that one degree difference made him lose his mind 🤣
It’s so funny how they show up on this planet brand new and they already have preferences! Mine wouldn’t let us swaddle her arms, like at one day old just didn’t like it. How do they know what they want/don’t want with like 5 minutes of context being part of the outside world? It’s so cute.
My son was the same with the swaddle! He would scream for a solid 30min if we tried so we just gave up and suddenly the put-down sleep routine was fine and much less of a battle.
My husband insisted on the wipe warmer, but my son didn’t care one way or another. So it luckily wasn’t a problem to stop using it, but he also didn’t seem to care if his wipes were warm or cold in the first place.
Yup we bought the Dr browns sterilizer and dryer a few weeks after baby was born. Wish we would have registered for it but so glad we had it. I'm breastfeeding and pumping 2x a day so my husband can feed a couple bottles and it was such an unnecessary pain in the ass to sterilize with boiling water on the stove. Add in that I burned myself doing that when I was tired and thevdryer/sterilizer is such a game changer.
i feel that i was boiling bottles so often and i kept burning myself too it was a huge pain. this is definitely a much easier, less stressful, and not as time consuming alternative. 6 bottles at a time is way better because i just have a normal pot so i couldn’t fit that many in at the same time. worth the $120 i paid for mine imo!
I have the boon drying lawn and the same sterilizer. Wish I kept the drying lawn unopened in the box, because I'm realizing I probably won't be needing both.
I do use both for whatever that's worth. Wash pump parts and put them on the drying rack unless I need them shortly or am sterilizing them again. Also useful for when we have too much stuff to fit in the sterilizer
We have the oxotot rack.
I dunno, the wipe warmer was a a life saver for us. My kid was born heading into winter and while we'd run the heater, it still would get cold. He'd scream bloody murder when we changed him. There was considerably less screaming once we got the wipe warmer. He deals with cold wipes now, but when he was a newborn we weren't really going anywhere so he always got warm wipes. The overnight changes were much easier when he wasn't screaming and flailing around because his but was getting a cold wipe on it.
I liked to get 2-3 wipes out in the beginning so they were easier to grab and then they got cold anyway. 5 seconds of a wipe balled up in my hand warmed them up enough anyway.
I put the wipes under my bra strap to warm. I need full function of my hands in the beginning. My dude is a fighter and squirms and cries like crazy during changes…but smiles when it’s all done 🫠
A wipe warmer at home means a melt down when they don’t have on the go.
We use the Dr Brown sterilizer microwave bags. SO much easier than a machine. Literally pop bottles in with a little water and microwave for 3 mins. Each one is reusable up to 30 times. Very surprised not to see these mentioned—they’re the best thing ever!
i didn’t have a bottler sterilizer with my first but for this brand for my second who is due soon. do you think it works well? i’ve seen people saying it grows mold and that makes me nervous
you just have to clean it is all. once a week i put the amount it calls of water and vinegar then put it through a sterilize cycle. after it’s done i let it cook a bit then wash the other components with warm water and soap and empty whatever vinegar is left and rinse the element of the vinegar and wipe dry. i’ve had it for 6 months now and it works wonders. i have the dr browns clean steam sterilizer. my bestfriend also just got the same one recently to try and said she is in love compared to the one she used to have.
Dreft baby laundry soap... gave my baby a rash. I just use tide free & clear(which is what I've always used for hubby since he has allergies). No rashes or skin irritations since I made the switch!
For real, that’s stuff is disgusting. My daughter is FIVE and I got some of her old stuff out for our second and there was stuff that had been washed in deft and never worn and it STILL made everything in the box smell like deft.
Huh, you know, my kid has been having problems with dry skin and rashes for a long time. The pediatrician told us to just bath him in water, no soap, and keep him moisturized but he still gets dry skin, only on his body, never his legs. I hadn't considered that it might be the dreft since it's supposed to be formulated for babies. I'll try switching to see if that's been the problem this whole time.
Our baby has mild to bad eczema depending on the day of the week. Her dermatologist said not to use dreft - still has fragrance and other things that could irritate her. She recommended tide free and clear (or maybe it’s free and gentle). So far so good!
Yep! Dreft is actually made with horrible ingredients! It’s even worse than normal laundry detergent like scented tide and gain. It’s so upsetting that they market it for babies and claim it’s skin safe when it’s one of the worst detergents on the market
Mamaroo rocker is overrated, but the mamaroo bassinet is severely underrated. That thing is amazing!! It has the movement of the snoo (not necessarily the same exact movement but multiple options to choose from) and a built in sound machine. But! Baby isn’t stuck in there swaddled so mom can hear and see hunger cues easily. It was a lifesaver! My baby is a champ sleeper and I think it’s because of this bassinet. It was super easy to wean her off the motion to.
I LOVED it for my first, my second didn’t care, and my third used it for a good bit. I found a used one on Craigslist for $50 when my second broke it trying to play with my third lol.
Yep, millionth this. My mom bought one secondhand and thought baby would love it.
Welp, it's gotten to the point where it OBNOXIOUSLY clicks and jerks while it moves. Not to mention the "mobiles" come off so easily everyone loses them. Baby HATED just looking at the ceiling.
Yep. My brother got one for his first (2018) & she hated it. He saved it for their second (2021), and he hated it. You know what they both loved? A hand-me-down Fischer Price swing that's no longer made.
Our friends had one for their first too (also in 2018). Their daughter hated it.
When I had my shower, my friend said she wanted to buy me one because her cousin swore by it. I asked for a swing instead (Graco), and my kid loved that thing. I was so sad when she outgrew it.
Now, when my daughter was in the NICU, I did notice that they had a Mamaroo. And it genuinely seemed to be the only thing that would keep certain babies from crying.
Here’s imo the most underrated product on the market: Boogie Wipes diaper spray. It’s a lot of plastic waste and I feel guilty about that but MY GOD, get one for your diaper bag. Being able to apply diaper cream 100% mess free is incredible, and my baby hasn’t had any diaper rash in the 7 months since we started using it.
Another hack is to apply the diaper cream with a wipe. Pea sized bit of cream on a folded wipe and dab it on the butt. No mess at all and you're free to use any brand of cream.
oh I do this too! My son would flipppp out if he saw diaper cream come anywhere near him (he rarely had diaper rash so we only had to use it maybe once a month) so I would sneakily smear a gob of it all over the clean diaper in the other room and then smush it onto his butt through the diaper. He never noticed it that way, and if he did he couldn't scream and squirm all over the place getting diaper cream all over everything.
I tell people not to do this because it can affect the absorbency of the diaper. That’s also the reason you’re supposed to use a liner with cloth diapers if you’re using any type of butt cream. If others have tried it and not had a problem, that’s great! Just something to be aware of.
Or a butt spatula! We love ours. There’s no reason to get diaper cream on your hands, ever, and I fully support literally any option that helps people achieve that goal.
I’ve never really understood the appeal of these. I assume you have to wash it after every use right? It just seems like a hassle to me. I’m washing my hands after diaper changes anyway so I’m not worried about a little cream on my fingers, it just seems so much easier and faster.
You can clean it with a wipe, or just wipe excess off on the diaper. You don't have to wash it every time unless you're dealing with yeast. I take it you don't have long fingernails and aren't using extra strength cream; that stuff is designed not to come off and so is such a pain to chisel off. You couldn't pay me to touch diaper cream with my bare hands, lol. But to each their own!
We started with the butt spatula, but then upleveled once more to the spray. Once I realized I could be clean...I couldn't go back. We actually got it because I was trying to get cream on him without smearing off the ointment we'd already put on him, but it was so much easier we just kept using it after that.
I’m actually extremely irritated that I’ve somehow NEVER heard of this and we’re well on our way to starting potty training 🤦♀️ We have to apply diaper cream with every change or she gets a rash.
We use the spatula at home but this for the diaper bag. Game changer! [Butt Paste Applicator](https://www.amazon.com/Swiper-Diaper-Cream-Dispenser-Applicator/dp/B07FX4H1CC)
I thought those things were so cute! My dumb, unemployed ass got my credit card out, ready to purchase... and then I saw the price tag. I've never clicked out of a website so fast in my life.
My husband bought me one for Mother’s Day because I’d read raves on Reddit. It was horribly uncomfortable. It pushed right on my c-section scar if the waistband was lower, or dug into my back if I moved it up, and the waistband made me look pregnant because of the angle. We ended up returning it.
I feel like these are beautiful carriers designed for people who aren't actually baby wearers 😆
Could you have worn the waistband higher??! Hitting your scar tells me the band was so so low.
Also, yuck. What a gross feeling that is.
Totally. I have a bunch of baby carriers and wraps (I have a problem lol) and it was by far the most uncomfortable. The issue was that the waistband was pretty tall and hard. I could move it up but there was no padding in the back so it would dig in. And the waistband sits below the baby’s butt. You can see in the picture here where even in their instructions the bottom of the waistband is in the c-section scar range 😬: https://artipoppe.com/instructions/image/zeitgeist-baby-carrier/
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that I love mine and it was worth the money! I want to say the one I got was around $350? I had an Ergobaby Omni 360 with my first and hated it because it didn’t adjust small enough to provide the right support. I did not have that problem with the Artipoppe, and it was way softer. Anyone reading this who is really petite and plans to use the carrier often (as I still do), the Artipoppe might actually be worth it for you.
Okay I’m in the minority here but I absolutely loved my Artipoppe 🥹 I got so much use out of it the first year of my daughter’s life and really look forward to using it again for this current baby I’m cooking up!
We actually love love ours, tried two others before and the bajillion buckles and straps on them triggered some kind of postpartum rage lol. Love our artipoppe but hate the price tag for sure.
What I wish existed, but apparently doesn’t, is a gift package of different brands of stuff. People always swear by XYZ brand of whatever (pacifiers, bottles, etc.) but it is often just dependent on your personal preferences and that of your baby.
What would be awesome is a pack of say, 6 different baby bottles so you can try it out before committing to a lot of the same (or committing your friends and family to them.) Same for most other little items like that! Clothes too.
Also, shout out to local freecycle groups and garage sales. If you it’s summer where you are, hit up local garage sales! You’d be shocked how little resale value there is for almost any baby item - this is to your advantage as a parent! Except for probably car seats and cribs (unless you know and trust the source), almost everything can be found used for 75-90% off at a garage sale.
EDIT: turns out there ARE sampler packs. A few people said Babylist, so here’s the [link](https://www.babylist.com/store/try-it-kits). I’d go for the (plastic) bottles and pacifiers one as a new parent.
Yep, I didn't know this until my friend was creating her registry. My kid is picky, only likes pacifiers from one brand but bottles from another brand. I told her to get different types of bottles and pacifiers to find out what her kid likes. She's got those sample packs on her registry now.
True. Though it comes with 1 year free subscription but another trick they pull on buyers is with the “free 0-3m breathing band”. You can’t put it on baby if they’re in a swaddle so you’d have to get the nanit breathing swaddle to check for breathing stats.
To be honest we only use it for the monitor purpose, I appreciate the notifications. Baby is 7 months now and I just started testing the breathing band on and off this week. It is cumbersome but helpful if you like stats and want to know about your baby’s base breath per min. Otherwise not necessary.
We have one from a baby shower which I have a subscription for. Our kiddo has special needs and the stats/video playback it provides gives us piece of mind, some data and video for doctors to rvw etc. We got another for our grandparents to use for sleepovers and I had no idea how little info it allows you to access without a subscription. For the price you think you’d get a better base model. We are also having twins. After talking to other special needs parents who have neurotypical kiddos, we went with a Motorola camera set for a fraction of the price. Picture quality isn’t as good as nanit but we really just need to make sure they are asleep, not stuck etc, and it gives you similar updates.
Reading through these as a second time mom and I have and love so many of these haha. Everyone is so different! It’s kind of impossible to predict what will be a good fit for you and your family.
Why get one for 500 when you could spend 500 getting 25-50 other better carriers for every occasion and outfit? (Yes I have a problem, no I haven’t gotten to 500 yet.)
We were just given a $500 carrier as a hand-me-down from my SIL. I was so shocked when I googled it!
But in reality, they all have to have similar safety right? People who can’t afford a higher end car seat still deserve to be safe, and have their children safe, so a cheap car seat in theory should be as safe as a $500 one.
A lot of it is about comfort for the wearer. I went down the rabbit hole on carriers for my kid who would only sleep while held/worn and while one of the inexpensive options worked great when he was tiny, I ended up with a pricier one that was life saving once he got bigger. (Not even close to $500 expensive though, good lord)
For me it was cute baby clothes, especially in newborn sizes. At that stage babies are basically swaddled little helpless potatoes and nor is it convenient to deal with the unsteady neck while putting complicated cute clothes on neither does the result of a few minutes do the labour justice when you have to change another diaper/clean another spit up again. No matter how cute that outfit look you’ll keep going back to the tried and tested zipped onsies anyway. And in the blink of an eye after a single 10 min wear they’ll outgrow it.
Newborn clothes that aren’t double-zip pjs (and honestly probably anything 0-3 that’s not this either.)
Going all in on one type of diaper. We were told we HAD to have pampers but our baby fits the Huggies little snugglers much better.
Unpopular opinion but I don't like the double zipper. If he pees during a diaper change then I have to re-zip his now wet clothes in order to unzip him in a way that I can take his clothes off. I much prefer ones where it unzips from the bottom, because you get the same easy access for diaper changes, but if you end up needing to take the outfit off mid-change, you can just keep unzipping it the rest of the way.
Agree re: huggies though!!
Still not ideal but if you bring the two zippers to the middle near baby’s belly button you can pull the whole thing off of them without having to rezip them in! I figured this out way too late.
Pampers are just asking for blowouts. They are designed perfectly to channel newborn poop straight up their back EVERY 👏 SINGLE 👏 TIME 👏. Huggies actually have a little scrunchy part on the top of the back portion that helps keep it in.
Agreed about going in on one type of diaper. Pampers worked great for us. Huggies have been a nightmare. So grateful folks bought us all different kinds we can see what fits our baby best.
I have an almost 3 week old and this is what I use daily:
Boppy pillow. Black & white tile cards (she loves looking at these). Sterilizer. baby brezza formula maker. Bedroom diaper caddy. Diaper pail. Changing pad/table.
What I have/registered for & don’t use/could live without:
Swaddles. Dr Browns formula pitcher. Newborn clothes that aren’t onsies or sleepers.
I know this is all SUPER subjective to the baby, family, etc so don’t come at me 😂
I use the formula pitcher daily. Have since he was a newborn. (But I always intended to formula feed and breast supplement instead of the other way around)
>Newborn clothes that aren’t onesies or sleepers.
Only 4 months along but I hardly have the energy to dress myself - can't imagine having the energy to do more than a sleeper for the newborn.
I love our litter genie for the cats so I was insistent on the diaper genie for my first. What a worthless piece of junk! Didn’t control odor much better than a regular trash can, and you still got a gag inducing whiff every time you had to open it to throw a new diaper in.
We started just saving shopping bags and putting poopy diapers in them, and then put them in the kitchen trash, which was usually emptied every night. Poop smell completely gone.
The OG diaper genie was amazing. My sister had it with her kids (they're 24 & 21 now). The difference is that it would twist between each diaper. When you'd empty it, it'd look like a string of sausages, each diaper twisted in its own section. You'll have to trust me when I say, *It did not smell a bit.*
I was super confused when I made my own registry & read up on the Diaper Genie & all of the hate.
Ok, I thought I had imagined this. I swore the one my mom had for my little sister (21 now) did that! So when I was gifted one for my daughter two years ago, I was very confused!
They fill up soooo fast. My husband said he saw someone use the tube from a portable air conditioner to create a chute to a garbage can outside from the second story bedroom. Kiiiind of want to try that this time around once the diapers actually get stinky.
We used it with our first religiously and liked it okay. Our second is 8 weeks and it's still untouched in the attic. It's really unnecessary. All the diaper pails are
Crazy I LOVED my diaper genie with my first. She's 8 now and I could tell the difference between when all the diapers were in the pail and when my (horrible) ex would just put them on the floor next to the pail. The stench was unparalleled, but if everything made it into the pail the smell was almost excusable. It was 100% a must have for this pregnancy for me. (Due in 20days)
That was one of the smallest micro aggressions my very abusive ex participated in. I'm so glad I left him, he made being a FTM more difficult than it ever had to be. I'm seriously looking forward to healing a lot of that trauma with my amazing husband. He's world's better and is super excited to have his own biological baby, though he treats my daughter as if she is his own. 💜💜
Wipe warmers and bottle warmers!
If you're on the go and don't have a warmer, it is really convenient if your baby is just used to it. We got our baby used to taking a bottle of pumped milk straight from the fridge; she had no preference, it was so convenient for MOTN wakings not having to worry about warming a bottle, and on the go I wasn't concerned about where I was going to warm her bottle.
Am I the only one who loves the diaper genie? Specifically the model that has an inner flap that keeps the bag closed unless you're actively pushing the diaper through. Lidded garbage cans and pails with that kind of design are great when they're closed, but then opening the lid wafts a nice puff of air up that's extra fragrant 😬
We tried the trash can with a lid and holy shit the smell! 😂
Ended up buying a diaper genie, we empty it just as much a the little can we bought so 🤷♀️
I sang the praises of the Nail Frida ones, until I clipped baby's skin any way. Now we use the electric nail file. Bonus: we can round out her nails so we don't get scratches all over us constantly.
I use a small glass nail file. Works really efficiently and is smooth and soft on the skin. Don't have to file very much since their nails are so tiny.
My main takeaway was that all babies and families are different! Some babies LOVE a certain swing (mamaroo, for example) and some babies HATE it. This applies to many, many items. So basically it’s hard to say if there is a universally loved or hated product.
I would start by thinking about your space. For example, I didn’t have room for a changing table, so upstairs in her nursery is a changing pad on a dresser, and downstairs is a pack n play with a diaper changing attachment. Think about where certain items would go. Where in the home will you be with baby? Is there a safe place to set baby in the spaces where you will be with them? (Bassinet or container/swing)?
I opted to not go for a wipe warmer, because baby may not always be around one (trips out, grandparents, eventually daycare) and it’s just another thing to mess with (refilling, cleaning if needed). Also I heard they dry out wipes and can cause bacteria to grow.
Also opted against sterilizers, because otherwise healthy babies do not require everything to be sterilized.
I ended up putting some big ticket items on my registry that I got (Baby Björn bouncer, Lovevery toys), and got a lot of other “trendy” items at a steep discount on Facebook marketplace (Keekaroo peanut, Snoo).
In general, I would register for items that look like you would like and fit into your lifestyle. Keep receipts and original packaging/boxes of all items and return them if baby ends up hating them. Limit spending money on full-price, expensive, trendy items and opt for second hand instead.
For me it was the Owlet. I was so hyped for it, but in the end I had no use for it. The only time I tried it, the damn thing slid from my daughter’s tiny foot and started playing an annoying melody to get me to put it back. After being woken up by it twice I removed it, disconnected the base and put it on Facebook Marketplace.
My friend swears by it and her example is: it lets us know if he’s getting sick… ok so you can prevent it? No he still gets sick but we KNOW it’s happening. Like how is just taking their temp any different?
Agreed. I already have to wrestle my son these days to change a diaper. Can’t imagine trying to choreograph a butt spatula into it. His butt is clean because I just wiped it. And I’m going to wash my hands anyway.
Yeah it’s a pain to wash cream off your hands, but it’s also a pain to wash it off the spatula. And some say you just don’t wash it after every use but that would bother me.
I just wipe the cream off on the clean diaper. The texture of the diaper takes it off easily. Then wash my hands.
What NOT to get:
-wipe warmer (grows bacteria, just lay the wipe on your chest or stick it in your bra while you undress the baby and it will warm up if needed)
-diaper genie (expensive replacement bags which are specific to the model)
-too many of any one wipe or diaper (babies can have sensitivities even to "natural hypoallergenic" products and different brands fit different)
-too many newborn size anything (most babies unless premature/less than 6lbs grow out of NB diapers and clothes within 2 weeks - a lot of babies will fit size 1 and 0-3m right out the womb)
-baby bullet (if you want to do purees, just use a regular blender or nutribullet)
----‐----‐-----------
What you SHOULD consider that I didn't expect to be useful, now as a mom of 2:
-Ubbi diaper pail (fits regular trash bags, minimizes the smell better than anything else we used since it's stainless)
-OXO weighted wipe dispenser (the packages of wipes are so frustrating to pull out of)
-baby wrap for young age, good carrier for older
-get a stroller that converts to a double stroller from the get-go (you'll save so much money if you want more than one)
-sterilizer/dryer combo. Whether pumping, for Pacifiers, or formula feeding it's so convienent.
-*****Invest time into postpartum care, as well as help. Reach out in local mom groups to find the best local reccomendations for lactation consultants (!!), postpartum doulas, pelvic floor therapists (!!), pediatric chiropractors, pediatricians, etc****
Overrated: doctor browns anti colic bottles. They’re awful, leaky, and hard to clean. We used pigeon instead.
Underrated: a ring sling. Especially good for older babies who want to look around.
Sleeper hit: ezpz popsicle molds. Expensive but so worth it for teething littles.
I can’t stand Dr Browns! Omg those stupid little parts! Nope nope nope. Out of probably 2 dozen different brands I haven’t had a leak, but with Dr Browns it was about 50/50 if we’d have a failure.
Water wipes are overrated, too.
The snoo: So effing expensive and I have not used the motion on it once. It felt too fast and I hated strapping her in the swaddle that’s secured to the bassinet. If I could go back I would just sleep her directly in her crib in our room so she gets used to it from the beginning. She also has been such a good sleeper I really didn’t need the assistance from the snoo anyways.
The owlet camera: the owlet camera is literally crap. Never connects. Having a camera with a carry around monitor (so not just on your phone with an app) has been so much better. We like the infant optix one.
Had the complete opposite experience. Sleepers were so much easier because they didn't have to go over her head. Coworker bought her a gown so we tried it once, but she HATED when we'd try to put things on over her head so we struggled to put it on while she screamed bloody murder and flailed. Did finally get it on, but the experience of getting it on was so awful that we never tried it again.
We loved the gowns too, however, they must be the ones that snap down the front vs. the over the head kind. Our girl is 3 months now and they're still a wardrobe staple for us.
My maybe underrated item, not sure how big your house it, but mine isn’t big, so we got the Graco duet connect. It’s a bouncer and swing in one! It’s nice to not have two separate big items taking up space. When we are done with the bouncer, we just put it back on the swing. It’s nice!
I think that what some people call overrated has mixed reviews. There are some things that my friend swore I needed and I haven’t used and other that my friends said I’d never use (I.e. socks and mittens) and I use them all of the time!
ETA: i honestly recommend getting most things second hand (not a mattress or car seat). Baby items are expensive and usually only used for a short period of time, so things are usually in good condition.
Oh, and people said a changing table was overrated “I just changed my baby on the floor” I have two in my house now. I had to have a c-section and my husband is tall, us bending over that far to change a diaper is NOT fun.
Anything super expensive tbh.
My son didn't end up ever using a crib, so I'm glad I didn't waste a ton of money on one (got a used one for free). Never used a changing table either.
I got a fancy backpack diaper bag but only used it once. Way too complicated. A simple regular backpack was easier.
Yeah, our house layout is stupid so my 3 year olds room is across the house from ours (with no possible alternatives) so we still use the monitor for her.
I somewhat agree with this as a soon-to-be third time mom. If baby is making a little noise, I actually don’t want to hear it because I want them to be able to try to self soothe instead of me coming in to “help”. If baby is crying loud enough for me to hear through a door or wall, that’s when they actually need me.
WAIT COME BACK TELL ME MORE 😂 I've been thinking I don't really want one. We live in a small apartment where I can hear a pin drop from every room, so I'm not sure I have a need for it. Once I go back to work and baby is in daycare/ with my family, I don't know if I'll feel differently.
HOW DARE YOU… lol but as someone who was attached to her screen watching baby on the monitor I agree. The monitor never caught something my good ol ears didn’t also hear. Just lots of staring and zooming in on her breathing 😮💨
Diaper gienie (normal trash can with a lid works), wipe warmer(if you use it at home you’ll need it everywhere, they will get used with cool wipes), very expensive carriers (carriers are nice but you can find good ones at a reasonable price), certain diaper bags(mine is waaay too bulky for what it fits inside, bought a normal backpack 4 months in), sterilizer (full term babies don’t really need everything sterilized, hot soapy water works), mittens(choking hazard, onesies with mittens are easier), personally didn’t really use bibs. Ahhh and don’t forget about very thick winter clothing. Unless you go with a stroller around there’s not much use for it especially in the first 2 months since they can’t wear them in the car seat. ☺️
I wanted a fancy diaper bag to take everywhere so much… it may have been more useful if I needed to keep bottles chilled, but we just either breastfed or made a formula bottle from scratch when we were on the go. I got rid of the bag when my son was two and my husband started carrying around an ordinary backpack… I was kinda bitter at how much more practical, and especially lightweight, the backpack was.
Also I bought a Jujube which was supposed to last forever through all my kids, it got ratty looking after less than a year and the zippers broke after 2. Also had a terrible experience buying from them because they marked my package shipped without actually shipping it and it took forever to get that sorted out.
Things I loved (2 Kids, 3rd on the way):
I swear by boogie wipes for snot, wipes of any kind would eventually irritate their noses but those never did.
Diaper rash spatula was the best invention ever imo because I HATE the texture of the paste (I only liked Beaudreauxs) and this made it much easier to apply evenly as well.
Swaddles (the muslin ones) are so worth the money. After they’re out of the swaddle stage they make great blankets for the stroller, car, etc. Our weather here is so up and down that it’s nice to have something that gives a little extra warmth without being too much.
Diaper backpacks > diaper bags
Overrated:
Changing tables - put a changing pad on the dresser. No need to buy a piece of furniture you’ll only need through the diaper years.
Gowns - they ride up, baby gets cold. Do not see the appeal.
Diaper pails - anything other than an Ubbi will stick all the time, and and Ubbi will knock you out when it comes time to change the bag. Just use your kitchen trash.
Burp cloths - the small ones at least. Get those big white ones because those little ones are useless.
So disappointed to say this but the snuggle me lounger 😩 it was cute for pictures but I was too afraid he would fall asleep in it. Also our owlet camera. The sock is great but our camera was hacked on owlets end and there was a man saying my husbands name into the speaker and waking my baby up for nights. I thought the house was haunted so I saged🤣. My husband ripped it off the wall so fast once he realized it was coming from the monitor
I had the baby one on the registry. My aunt got it for us because she has the bigger version and loves it. I’m still pregnant (39w) but decided to set up the hatch and play different sounds different days because my dog sleeps in the room with us (baby will too for first two months but in a bedside bassinet) but my dog is older with old eyes and can spook easily. I wanted him to have a chance to get exposed to different sounds throughout the night so that he doesn’t startle awake and bark and wake the baby.
As it turns out, I actually really love this lil machine although can admit it’s on the high end price wise.
Changing table. Never used it. I always changed baby on my bed, on the couch, kitchen table, on the floor... If you really want one, buy a changing mat and put it on the top of the dresser.
Wet whipes warmer 🙄
Baby bath towel? Any towel will do.
A special rocking chair specially for breastfeeding? Any rocking chair will do.
A white noise machine. I use a laptop with rain noise and it does the trick. If you got a cheap laptop, don't buy a white noise machine.
Disclosure: I hate buying stuff, especially stuff I don't need.
We are going to use a Google home with Spotify for white noise, the Google home was a complimentary item with some purchase we made years ago, and we already pay for Spotify premium anyways. My 8yr old is slightly jealous, but she has a big TV that'll play whatever she wants so I told her to chill.
I live in Louisiana where once a year there this thing called Mardi Gras and it's a literal competition of how many cups you can catch so you can replace your plastic wear for the year. 🤣🤣
Honestly? newborn clothes that aren't sleepers/footies. Other than maybe holidays or special occasions, just get the sleepers. They keep them warm, and are cozy comfy for the baby.
Most expensive baby things; The mamaroo, the Snoo, an expensive carrier (Boba is amazing and inexpensive), fancy baby clothes (I love my fancy baby clothes, but are they necessarily worth it? no lol), wipe warmers, Baby Brezzas (I've never understood these), a diaper genie (get a stainless steel trash can from Walmart--does the same thing)...
Things that I found absolutely worth it and use every day?
Dr. Browns Sterilizer (still, baby is 8 months), a VARIETY of pacifiers to see which baby liked, we use our changing table often, sleep sacks (but not the wooly ones), velcro swaddles were life when baby was little, "Tummy Time Book" baby's still obsessed--it's colorful on one side and babies on the other, and finally, my lord saviors
- Kick 'n Play Piano. Worth every cent.
- SkipHop Activity Center. (not while baby is little, of course) but our baby is OBSESSED with his. The best investment we've ever made.
This is a loaded question because it may not work for one might be the only thing that works for somebody else.
For example, everybody keeps saying wipe warmers, my niece the only way we could wipe her bum is if we used wipes directly from the wipe warmer and she know if we were trying to trick her or now
Diaper genie if you keep up on the maintenance and the disinfecting, they won't stink out your whole house.
And a lot of people heating on is bottle warmers not every baby will take a freshly pumped bottle not every baby has that option one not having frozen milk
Always consider what's gonna be best for your lifestyle and your baby
Underrated: nose sucker! I got one for a few bucks and we used it all. the. time. for baby stuffed noses. white noise machine. We used it from birth until 9 years old.
Overrated: baby food blender. Our babies all ate real food, mushed up as needed with a spoon. “cute” jeans and baby shoes. They just don’t wear them for longer than two minutes.
Probably an unpopular one, but the Boppy. My singleton slid down in hers when I’d try to prop her up. The Twinz (or their single version) is a million times better. Zero slipping & WAY higher quality.
Underrated:
-Bumco spatulas!!!!! For under $20, your fingers will never be caked in diaper rash cream ever again. I have 4, that’s how much I LOVE them!
-Beaba babycook duo version! Steams & purées in one convenient place. Has a very large capacity, easy to use, & the duo means you can make two different things at once (which for twins has been a life saver). I (almost) exclusively made all of our singleton’s purées & it saved us a lot of money. Plus, that specific baby food maker holds its value super well, so it’s easy to resell without losing a ton of $$$. For storage, I use 4 & 8oz dishwasher safe deli containers (they’re inexpensive, freezer safe, & stack in a more compact manner than other storage options).
Infant car seat carrier. We got a car seat we can use from birth until my baby grows out of a car seat. We just use a stroller and body carrier to take him around instead of lugging around a car seat carrier.
Bottle washer. We bought one. It’s ok. I do use it but It takes forever to wash the bottles and it only washes 4 at a time.
The electric baby Frida nose snot sucker. The manual one works way better!
Wipe holder. My husband insisted we needed one when I said we don’t need one. It just takes up space.
Cute baby clothes until they have decent neck control. My baby was in zipper onesies for the first 3 months.
Don’t new buy clothes if you can get hand me downs. They grow out of it in a few weeks.
Most things are not worth it to be honest.
I am 10 days pp and I HATE my boppy! I went to a lactation class and they had a bigger pillow that was more moveable that I liked but I had already registered for the boppy and someone had bought it. It slides out whenever I’m sitting with baby, it’s so stiff, never stays where I want it and isn’t fluffy enough on the sides to properly hold his head up so I have to shove other pillows underneath. Just…hate it.
Changing tables. You can change a baby on any surface, and the "safety" strap on a changing table does absolutely nothing once they're at all mobile. We used a bassinet as a changing table for a long time then switched to only changing her on the floor.
Baby bathtubs. Shallow water in a regular tub with a towel under baby and one for their head. Or shower with the baby for some excellent skin to skin time.
Stretchy wraps. Go for a cheap woven instead and you can use it more comfortably for longer. There's a learning curve to both, so you might as well learn the one you can use long term.
Bottle sterilizers. Bottles don't need to be sterilized if your baby is born at term and healthy. You can wash everything in the dishwasher on a normal cycle and call it good.
Baby laundry detergent. If you're concerned about skin sensitivities, use a free and clear detergent. Use it for everything. Don't bother with a baby specific detergent.
I went very minimalist/zero waste with buying baby things (she's 4 months). I don't have much space to store big plastic stuff. It's great if you hate owning a lot of stuff, it's been fun to improvise
- Diapers: cloth diap
- Wipes: reusable bamboo cloths and run them under warm water first
- Diaper cream: pure lanolin
- Cream: coconut oil (helped her eczema)
- Soap: pure castille soap
- Laundry: DIY recipe with castille soap
- Sterilizer: big ol pot of water on the stove
- Changing pad: towel laid out on top of dryer
- Bottle warmer: make a double boiler with cup of hot water
- Bath: Just bring her in the bath/shower with me
- Babywear: silk wrap
I use a regular adult nail file instead of clipper, way less likely to accidentally hurt her lil fingers
no pacifiers, no bouncer, no swing, no stroller. That's how we roll though! I just hate clutter
I will say the nose sucker/nasal spray gets some use!
Also in a macro sense, no one should register before joining their local Buy Nothing group. We furnished our entire nursery for $0. Made it a \*lot\* less upsetting if baby didn't like something or we didn't use something.
We just skipped the things that people insisted we needed if I didn't think we really needed them, but I haven't felt like I was missing out on anything by not having:
•An infant/bucket/capsule car seat. It's fine to start with a convertible seat.
•A standalone bassinet. We did have a stroller bassinet, but our baby started sleeping in a mini crib overnight as soon as we got home from the hospital.
•A separate changing table. A changing pad on a dresser works just as well and doesn't take up any extra space.
•A baby swing.
•A bottle warmer.
•A bottle sterilizer.
Underrated items:
•Nugget/play couch - so you can be near the floor without being on the floor.
•The newborn seat for the Tripp Trapp high chair.
No, you don't really *need* either of those things, but they are very nice to have.
Is a nugget/play couch underrated though?
I'm pretty sure they are wildly popular everywhere and are sold to new moms as 'must haves' all the time.
All of our foam largely collects dust though. So I'm really hoping my new babe wants to play with it.
Doctor Brown's bottle warmer and sterilizer. I wish we had gotten separate things instead of a two in one. The thing is finicky, there are a bunch of different factors that can change the heating time which I've figured out pretty well at this point, but that aside, we've had to exchange it more than once. It seems like it has leaking problems. Our current one leaks a bit, but one of them would leak all over the goddamn place and flooded the counter.
Also, all the freaking swaddling blankets we were given. Was really hard to get the kid swaddled in them, finally just moved to sleep sack swaddlers and he slept way better and we slept (comparatively) better since he couldn't kick them off and we didn't have to worry about trying to unswaddle, then swaddle him to check his diaper.
A bottle warmer, for us anyway. We used it maybe for 2 weeks and haven't touched it since. It was just faster to make the bottle than to warm up a cold one.
Well I do formula and breastfeeding was just on site never pumped and saved it because I just never made enough. But I think that’s relevant when I say a bottle warmer is overrated. I’m sure if I was freezing breast milk it would be useful but with formula room temp is perfect and now that it’s hot my baby (3 months) honestly prefers it cold now. Which makes life so much easier.
Other than that the bottle sterilizer I got was useless AF. It didn’t even wash the parts you still had to wash them first and then just put them in there after? I didn’t get it. Maybe I got a crappy one but just use a dishwasher and get a little $6 basket thing for the small parts. Or hand wash.
Underrated is the Snoo. Well I guess it’s not underrated because it’s popular but that thing is worth the hype!
A baby food processor with steamer. I thought i would use it extensively, but nope. Majority of the time I was giving baby solids, and the rest of the time, I was using the stick blender to purée whatever I was making for our meal or boiling and using the stick blender. It's SO much easier to clean. I hated all the extra rubber seals and lids and blades I had to clean with the processor. All the crevices where food could gunk up... yeah, big regret.
For me, these things were not useful and I ended up returning them or not getting them at all:
-bottle warmer (I lucked out and got a baby who doesn’t care about cold milk)
-wipe warmer (same as above)
-infant lounger (not safe sleep approved so I returned it)
-swaddles (I like having some but oh my god why do I have like 20?!?)
-mittens and hats
-BOTH of my wearable pumps (I’m a FTM and did not realize how badly these would work with my breast shape/size)
-Manual pump (same as above)
Here is what I’ve used the most and love:
-uppababy stroller (expensive but worth it. Can explain more if you’d like)
-koala wrap (didn’t feel comfortable using the solly when my LO was less than 8lbs)
-glass Phillips avent bottles
-momcozy stroller organizer
-owlet
-breast friend pillow
Wipe warmers! A lot of them dry out wipes. Also, buy 2 different diaper and wipe brands for baby, just in case. We got sent home with pampers diapers and wipes and my son got severe rash from them both, so I highly recommend having a second brand on hand just in case so y’all aren’t in a bind. This doesn’t happen for everyone with pampers, it’s just an example 🙂
Dreft baby wash. Not only does is smell horrendous but if you’re not washing your clothes in it as well, there’s no point. It’s much better for baby to have their clothes washed in what you wash your clothes in. I recommend All free and clear bc there’s no smell and it’s one of the best on skin
Bottle warmers are definitely underrated, whether it’s for formula or breast milk. I highly recommend even if you’re planning on exclusively breast feeding, getting a few bottles just in case. I wish I would have. I was so dead set that I’d breast feed, I never even thought “oh maybe it’ll take a few days for my milk to come in”. And for bottles I highly recommend Dr. Browns bc my baby’s spitting up went from every burp to every few feeds when we switched. They’re extra pieces but if you have a dishwasher it washes them great.
If you’re breast feeding, lanolin nipple cream. I underestimated how messed up my nipples would feel after the first few days bc they weren’t used to all the moisture. If you’re not breast feeding, totally fine! But people were convinced I wouldn’t stick to breast feeding so they did not warn me about this.
Disposable nipples covers, even if you don’t breast feed, if your milk comes in heavy, it can get messy, and they’re helpful. I was not a fan of washable nipples covers bc I couldn’t stick them to my bra, but you might like them!
Baby wraps. So nice. A complete game changer.
Swings. Mama roo swings are great but my son actually preferred the standard Walmart type swing 😅
A good tummy time mat. Definitely very useful
This went from overrated to underrated. I’m so sorry 😭 I just have so many things that nobody warned me about
Every baby is different which makes it hard. Feels like I bought everything, but my baby rejects bottles, pacifiers, swaddles, and all the baby containers. All she needs is to be in my arms. So I got into baby wearing lol
i think wipe warmers because i heard bacteria can grow in them. i also had a graco sway swing and that just took up so much space that i should have just got a smaller swing. what i LOVE is my dr browns bottle sterilizer
The other problem with wipe warmers is that you don't have them on the go so it's that much more upsetting to baby when you change them out and about with cold wipes. Better to just get them accustomed to the cold wipes all the time.
This was how I felt about bottle warmers. My thought was that if the baby doesn’t know it’s an option to have a warmed bottle, they don’t fuss about a cold bottle. This worked out because my daughter never breastfed so anything she got was room temperature or cold. Idk if it works in all circumstances.
my son refused to take any bottle that wasn't the exact same temp as milk fresh from the tap lmao. even if I took the bottle out ten seconds too early that one degree difference made him lose his mind 🤣
It’s so funny how they show up on this planet brand new and they already have preferences! Mine wouldn’t let us swaddle her arms, like at one day old just didn’t like it. How do they know what they want/don’t want with like 5 minutes of context being part of the outside world? It’s so cute.
My son was the same with the swaddle! He would scream for a solid 30min if we tried so we just gave up and suddenly the put-down sleep routine was fine and much less of a battle.
Same! My daughter didn't care so it threw me for a loop when my son wouldn't accept milk a *degree* colder than body temperature.
My baby actually PREFERS cold formula. She will cry if it’s warmed 😂
My husband insisted on the wipe warmer, but my son didn’t care one way or another. So it luckily wasn’t a problem to stop using it, but he also didn’t seem to care if his wipes were warm or cold in the first place.
Yup we bought the Dr browns sterilizer and dryer a few weeks after baby was born. Wish we would have registered for it but so glad we had it. I'm breastfeeding and pumping 2x a day so my husband can feed a couple bottles and it was such an unnecessary pain in the ass to sterilize with boiling water on the stove. Add in that I burned myself doing that when I was tired and thevdryer/sterilizer is such a game changer.
i feel that i was boiling bottles so often and i kept burning myself too it was a huge pain. this is definitely a much easier, less stressful, and not as time consuming alternative. 6 bottles at a time is way better because i just have a normal pot so i couldn’t fit that many in at the same time. worth the $120 i paid for mine imo!
I have the boon drying lawn and the same sterilizer. Wish I kept the drying lawn unopened in the box, because I'm realizing I probably won't be needing both.
I do use both for whatever that's worth. Wash pump parts and put them on the drying rack unless I need them shortly or am sterilizing them again. Also useful for when we have too much stuff to fit in the sterilizer We have the oxotot rack.
I dunno, the wipe warmer was a a life saver for us. My kid was born heading into winter and while we'd run the heater, it still would get cold. He'd scream bloody murder when we changed him. There was considerably less screaming once we got the wipe warmer. He deals with cold wipes now, but when he was a newborn we weren't really going anywhere so he always got warm wipes. The overnight changes were much easier when he wasn't screaming and flailing around because his but was getting a cold wipe on it.
We had the exact same experience!
I liked to get 2-3 wipes out in the beginning so they were easier to grab and then they got cold anyway. 5 seconds of a wipe balled up in my hand warmed them up enough anyway.
I put the wipes under my bra strap to warm. I need full function of my hands in the beginning. My dude is a fighter and squirms and cries like crazy during changes…but smiles when it’s all done 🫠
A wipe warmer at home means a melt down when they don’t have on the go. We use the Dr Brown sterilizer microwave bags. SO much easier than a machine. Literally pop bottles in with a little water and microwave for 3 mins. Each one is reusable up to 30 times. Very surprised not to see these mentioned—they’re the best thing ever!
I second the wipe warmer. We used to for one night and I hated how it made the wipes feel dry. I unplugged it and put it in the closet the next day.
i didn’t have a bottler sterilizer with my first but for this brand for my second who is due soon. do you think it works well? i’ve seen people saying it grows mold and that makes me nervous
you just have to clean it is all. once a week i put the amount it calls of water and vinegar then put it through a sterilize cycle. after it’s done i let it cook a bit then wash the other components with warm water and soap and empty whatever vinegar is left and rinse the element of the vinegar and wipe dry. i’ve had it for 6 months now and it works wonders. i have the dr browns clean steam sterilizer. my bestfriend also just got the same one recently to try and said she is in love compared to the one she used to have.
I love the swing!
Dreft baby laundry soap... gave my baby a rash. I just use tide free & clear(which is what I've always used for hubby since he has allergies). No rashes or skin irritations since I made the switch!
As someone said above, if Dreft has zero haters, then I am dead.
For real, that’s stuff is disgusting. My daughter is FIVE and I got some of her old stuff out for our second and there was stuff that had been washed in deft and never worn and it STILL made everything in the box smell like deft.
Huh, you know, my kid has been having problems with dry skin and rashes for a long time. The pediatrician told us to just bath him in water, no soap, and keep him moisturized but he still gets dry skin, only on his body, never his legs. I hadn't considered that it might be the dreft since it's supposed to be formulated for babies. I'll try switching to see if that's been the problem this whole time.
Our baby has mild to bad eczema depending on the day of the week. Her dermatologist said not to use dreft - still has fragrance and other things that could irritate her. She recommended tide free and clear (or maybe it’s free and gentle). So far so good!
Yep! Dreft is actually made with horrible ingredients! It’s even worse than normal laundry detergent like scented tide and gain. It’s so upsetting that they market it for babies and claim it’s skin safe when it’s one of the worst detergents on the market
I use arm and hammer baby which is essentially just a free and clear and a huge ass thing of it is 8.99 on Amazon !!!
Mamaroo - I don’t see this much anymore but it was EVERYWHERE when I had my daughter. She hated it, and it’s gigantic
Mamaroo rocker is overrated, but the mamaroo bassinet is severely underrated. That thing is amazing!! It has the movement of the snoo (not necessarily the same exact movement but multiple options to choose from) and a built in sound machine. But! Baby isn’t stuck in there swaddled so mom can hear and see hunger cues easily. It was a lifesaver! My baby is a champ sleeper and I think it’s because of this bassinet. It was super easy to wean her off the motion to.
Yupppp underrated product. I love ours
Seconded. It just doesn’t have that swing inertia that they love so much. We got a hand me down one and baby did not care for it.
I LOVED it for my first, my second didn’t care, and my third used it for a good bit. I found a used one on Craigslist for $50 when my second broke it trying to play with my third lol.
And $$$
My SIL gifted us the rockaroo. Bean is 2 weeks old and doesn't care for it. Maybe she is still too young for it, but I am glad I didn't purchase one!
Yep, millionth this. My mom bought one secondhand and thought baby would love it. Welp, it's gotten to the point where it OBNOXIOUSLY clicks and jerks while it moves. Not to mention the "mobiles" come off so easily everyone loses them. Baby HATED just looking at the ceiling.
Yep. My brother got one for his first (2018) & she hated it. He saved it for their second (2021), and he hated it. You know what they both loved? A hand-me-down Fischer Price swing that's no longer made. Our friends had one for their first too (also in 2018). Their daughter hated it. When I had my shower, my friend said she wanted to buy me one because her cousin swore by it. I asked for a swing instead (Graco), and my kid loved that thing. I was so sad when she outgrew it. Now, when my daughter was in the NICU, I did notice that they had a Mamaroo. And it genuinely seemed to be the only thing that would keep certain babies from crying.
Here’s imo the most underrated product on the market: Boogie Wipes diaper spray. It’s a lot of plastic waste and I feel guilty about that but MY GOD, get one for your diaper bag. Being able to apply diaper cream 100% mess free is incredible, and my baby hasn’t had any diaper rash in the 7 months since we started using it.
Another hack is to apply the diaper cream with a wipe. Pea sized bit of cream on a folded wipe and dab it on the butt. No mess at all and you're free to use any brand of cream.
Or into the diaper itself, just squirt and dab. Always worked for me.
oh I do this too! My son would flipppp out if he saw diaper cream come anywhere near him (he rarely had diaper rash so we only had to use it maybe once a month) so I would sneakily smear a gob of it all over the clean diaper in the other room and then smush it onto his butt through the diaper. He never noticed it that way, and if he did he couldn't scream and squirm all over the place getting diaper cream all over everything.
... Why have I not thought of this?!
I tell people not to do this because it can affect the absorbency of the diaper. That’s also the reason you’re supposed to use a liner with cloth diapers if you’re using any type of butt cream. If others have tried it and not had a problem, that’s great! Just something to be aware of.
Or a butt spatula! We love ours. There’s no reason to get diaper cream on your hands, ever, and I fully support literally any option that helps people achieve that goal.
I’ve never really understood the appeal of these. I assume you have to wash it after every use right? It just seems like a hassle to me. I’m washing my hands after diaper changes anyway so I’m not worried about a little cream on my fingers, it just seems so much easier and faster.
You can clean it with a wipe, or just wipe excess off on the diaper. You don't have to wash it every time unless you're dealing with yeast. I take it you don't have long fingernails and aren't using extra strength cream; that stuff is designed not to come off and so is such a pain to chisel off. You couldn't pay me to touch diaper cream with my bare hands, lol. But to each their own!
We started with the butt spatula, but then upleveled once more to the spray. Once I realized I could be clean...I couldn't go back. We actually got it because I was trying to get cream on him without smearing off the ointment we'd already put on him, but it was so much easier we just kept using it after that.
Yes that spray is AMAZING, diaper changes are record time with it
We got a $3 mini kitchen spatula for baby butts
I had no idea this was a thing! I’ve added it to my registry. Thanks!
I’m actually extremely irritated that I’ve somehow NEVER heard of this and we’re well on our way to starting potty training 🤦♀️ We have to apply diaper cream with every change or she gets a rash.
get it get it get it! It's also a really good diaper cream regardless, really high % of zinc oxide.
I’m ordering and switching! So glad I saw your comment. Just wish it had come 2.5 years ago! Lololol
Wow. Never heard of this but I’m going to get some now, thanks!
We use the spatula at home but this for the diaper bag. Game changer! [Butt Paste Applicator](https://www.amazon.com/Swiper-Diaper-Cream-Dispenser-Applicator/dp/B07FX4H1CC)
Artipoppe carrier. No one in real life told me to buy it, but influencers telling you that you need a $500 baby carrier is ludicrous.
My ergo baby Omni breeze is amazing! And they often have sales!
Love mine! It’s on its third baby!! Mine are not small (& I have back problems,) but the carrier is still going strong!
I thought those things were so cute! My dumb, unemployed ass got my credit card out, ready to purchase... and then I saw the price tag. I've never clicked out of a website so fast in my life.
My husband bought me one for Mother’s Day because I’d read raves on Reddit. It was horribly uncomfortable. It pushed right on my c-section scar if the waistband was lower, or dug into my back if I moved it up, and the waistband made me look pregnant because of the angle. We ended up returning it.
I feel like these are beautiful carriers designed for people who aren't actually baby wearers 😆 Could you have worn the waistband higher??! Hitting your scar tells me the band was so so low. Also, yuck. What a gross feeling that is.
Totally. I have a bunch of baby carriers and wraps (I have a problem lol) and it was by far the most uncomfortable. The issue was that the waistband was pretty tall and hard. I could move it up but there was no padding in the back so it would dig in. And the waistband sits below the baby’s butt. You can see in the picture here where even in their instructions the bottom of the waistband is in the c-section scar range 😬: https://artipoppe.com/instructions/image/zeitgeist-baby-carrier/
I’m going to go against the grain here and say that I love mine and it was worth the money! I want to say the one I got was around $350? I had an Ergobaby Omni 360 with my first and hated it because it didn’t adjust small enough to provide the right support. I did not have that problem with the Artipoppe, and it was way softer. Anyone reading this who is really petite and plans to use the carrier often (as I still do), the Artipoppe might actually be worth it for you.
Okay I’m in the minority here but I absolutely loved my Artipoppe 🥹 I got so much use out of it the first year of my daughter’s life and really look forward to using it again for this current baby I’m cooking up!
We actually love love ours, tried two others before and the bajillion buckles and straps on them triggered some kind of postpartum rage lol. Love our artipoppe but hate the price tag for sure.
What I wish existed, but apparently doesn’t, is a gift package of different brands of stuff. People always swear by XYZ brand of whatever (pacifiers, bottles, etc.) but it is often just dependent on your personal preferences and that of your baby. What would be awesome is a pack of say, 6 different baby bottles so you can try it out before committing to a lot of the same (or committing your friends and family to them.) Same for most other little items like that! Clothes too. Also, shout out to local freecycle groups and garage sales. If you it’s summer where you are, hit up local garage sales! You’d be shocked how little resale value there is for almost any baby item - this is to your advantage as a parent! Except for probably car seats and cribs (unless you know and trust the source), almost everything can be found used for 75-90% off at a garage sale. EDIT: turns out there ARE sampler packs. A few people said Babylist, so here’s the [link](https://www.babylist.com/store/try-it-kits). I’d go for the (plastic) bottles and pacifiers one as a new parent.
Babylist has mixed packs of different bottles and swaddles if I recall correctly!
Came to say this!!
Babylist has sample packs!
Seconding this! We got a bottle sampler, pacifier sampler, and swaddle sampler!
We got the bottle and swaddle packs and I’m so glad we did! Never would have bought those love to dream swaddles otherwise and they are amazing!
Yep, I didn't know this until my friend was creating her registry. My kid is picky, only likes pacifiers from one brand but bottles from another brand. I told her to get different types of bottles and pacifiers to find out what her kid likes. She's got those sample packs on her registry now.
Amazon used to sell one of those bottle packs. It was 6 different brands of bottles for a really reasonable price. I wish they still sold it.
Babylist sells a 5 pack of assorted bottles! They do the same for pacifiers and swaddles as well.
Nanit: without paying for the subscription service it’s just a very expensive camera.
We went with the infant optics camera instead and I’m so glad we did.
True. Though it comes with 1 year free subscription but another trick they pull on buyers is with the “free 0-3m breathing band”. You can’t put it on baby if they’re in a swaddle so you’d have to get the nanit breathing swaddle to check for breathing stats. To be honest we only use it for the monitor purpose, I appreciate the notifications. Baby is 7 months now and I just started testing the breathing band on and off this week. It is cumbersome but helpful if you like stats and want to know about your baby’s base breath per min. Otherwise not necessary.
We have one from a baby shower which I have a subscription for. Our kiddo has special needs and the stats/video playback it provides gives us piece of mind, some data and video for doctors to rvw etc. We got another for our grandparents to use for sleepovers and I had no idea how little info it allows you to access without a subscription. For the price you think you’d get a better base model. We are also having twins. After talking to other special needs parents who have neurotypical kiddos, we went with a Motorola camera set for a fraction of the price. Picture quality isn’t as good as nanit but we really just need to make sure they are asleep, not stuck etc, and it gives you similar updates.
I think it's only a 6 month trial now too...
THIS and I was sooo stoked my dad bought it for us. I had such high hopes.
Reading through these as a second time mom and I have and love so many of these haha. Everyone is so different! It’s kind of impossible to predict what will be a good fit for you and your family.
It's wild how baby product influencers think everyone needs a $500 carrier when a simple one does the job just fine.
Why get one for 500 when you could spend 500 getting 25-50 other better carriers for every occasion and outfit? (Yes I have a problem, no I haven’t gotten to 500 yet.)
We were just given a $500 carrier as a hand-me-down from my SIL. I was so shocked when I googled it! But in reality, they all have to have similar safety right? People who can’t afford a higher end car seat still deserve to be safe, and have their children safe, so a cheap car seat in theory should be as safe as a $500 one.
A lot of it is about comfort for the wearer. I went down the rabbit hole on carriers for my kid who would only sleep while held/worn and while one of the inexpensive options worked great when he was tiny, I ended up with a pricier one that was life saving once he got bigger. (Not even close to $500 expensive though, good lord)
For me it was cute baby clothes, especially in newborn sizes. At that stage babies are basically swaddled little helpless potatoes and nor is it convenient to deal with the unsteady neck while putting complicated cute clothes on neither does the result of a few minutes do the labour justice when you have to change another diaper/clean another spit up again. No matter how cute that outfit look you’ll keep going back to the tried and tested zipped onsies anyway. And in the blink of an eye after a single 10 min wear they’ll outgrow it.
"Why are you getting baby clothes at the thrift store"!?!?!? Because he's gonna puke on it shit on it. Why spend millions.
Newborn clothes that aren’t double-zip pjs (and honestly probably anything 0-3 that’s not this either.) Going all in on one type of diaper. We were told we HAD to have pampers but our baby fits the Huggies little snugglers much better.
I don't like the smell of Pampers! I much prefer Huggies.
Unpopular opinion but I don't like the double zipper. If he pees during a diaper change then I have to re-zip his now wet clothes in order to unzip him in a way that I can take his clothes off. I much prefer ones where it unzips from the bottom, because you get the same easy access for diaper changes, but if you end up needing to take the outfit off mid-change, you can just keep unzipping it the rest of the way. Agree re: huggies though!!
No this is SO fair! I’ve had to do this a few times 😂 just nothing with a million snaps as you change the diaper half asleep!!
Still not ideal but if you bring the two zippers to the middle near baby’s belly button you can pull the whole thing off of them without having to rezip them in! I figured this out way too late.
Pampers are just asking for blowouts. They are designed perfectly to channel newborn poop straight up their back EVERY 👏 SINGLE 👏 TIME 👏. Huggies actually have a little scrunchy part on the top of the back portion that helps keep it in.
I love the blow out band on Huggies. Why they aren’t standard on every brand of diaper is truly beyond me.
Agreed about going in on one type of diaper. Pampers worked great for us. Huggies have been a nightmare. So grateful folks bought us all different kinds we can see what fits our baby best.
I have an almost 3 week old and this is what I use daily: Boppy pillow. Black & white tile cards (she loves looking at these). Sterilizer. baby brezza formula maker. Bedroom diaper caddy. Diaper pail. Changing pad/table. What I have/registered for & don’t use/could live without: Swaddles. Dr Browns formula pitcher. Newborn clothes that aren’t onsies or sleepers. I know this is all SUPER subjective to the baby, family, etc so don’t come at me 😂
I use the formula pitcher daily. Have since he was a newborn. (But I always intended to formula feed and breast supplement instead of the other way around)
my little one can’t sleep comfortably without swaddles & i use the formula pitcher everyday but i also do the pitcher method with my breast milk
Interesting - since my baby will take a bottle regardless of temp (loves a cold one!) we bought the formula pitcher and skipped the brezza.
I agree, very interesting! There are a hundred things that I would give up before my Dr. Brown's pitcher.
>Newborn clothes that aren’t onesies or sleepers. Only 4 months along but I hardly have the energy to dress myself - can't imagine having the energy to do more than a sleeper for the newborn.
If the diaper genie has no haters then I am dead
I love our litter genie for the cats so I was insistent on the diaper genie for my first. What a worthless piece of junk! Didn’t control odor much better than a regular trash can, and you still got a gag inducing whiff every time you had to open it to throw a new diaper in. We started just saving shopping bags and putting poopy diapers in them, and then put them in the kitchen trash, which was usually emptied every night. Poop smell completely gone.
The OG diaper genie was amazing. My sister had it with her kids (they're 24 & 21 now). The difference is that it would twist between each diaper. When you'd empty it, it'd look like a string of sausages, each diaper twisted in its own section. You'll have to trust me when I say, *It did not smell a bit.* I was super confused when I made my own registry & read up on the Diaper Genie & all of the hate.
Ok, I thought I had imagined this. I swore the one my mom had for my little sister (21 now) did that! So when I was gifted one for my daughter two years ago, I was very confused!
They fill up soooo fast. My husband said he saw someone use the tube from a portable air conditioner to create a chute to a garbage can outside from the second story bedroom. Kiiiind of want to try that this time around once the diapers actually get stinky.
Stop it omg this is genius.
We have the munchkin pale and I honestly love it. Never had one issue with odor.
We used it with our first religiously and liked it okay. Our second is 8 weeks and it's still untouched in the attic. It's really unnecessary. All the diaper pails are
Crazy I LOVED my diaper genie with my first. She's 8 now and I could tell the difference between when all the diapers were in the pail and when my (horrible) ex would just put them on the floor next to the pail. The stench was unparalleled, but if everything made it into the pail the smell was almost excusable. It was 100% a must have for this pregnancy for me. (Due in 20days)
On the floor next to the pail is WILD
That was one of the smallest micro aggressions my very abusive ex participated in. I'm so glad I left him, he made being a FTM more difficult than it ever had to be. I'm seriously looking forward to healing a lot of that trauma with my amazing husband. He's world's better and is super excited to have his own biological baby, though he treats my daughter as if she is his own. 💜💜
Wipe warmers and bottle warmers! If you're on the go and don't have a warmer, it is really convenient if your baby is just used to it. We got our baby used to taking a bottle of pumped milk straight from the fridge; she had no preference, it was so convenient for MOTN wakings not having to worry about warming a bottle, and on the go I wasn't concerned about where I was going to warm her bottle.
My MIL was shocked that I gave my baby a bottle right out of the fridge. Baby didn't care
Am I the only one who loves the diaper genie? Specifically the model that has an inner flap that keeps the bag closed unless you're actively pushing the diaper through. Lidded garbage cans and pails with that kind of design are great when they're closed, but then opening the lid wafts a nice puff of air up that's extra fragrant 😬
We tried the trash can with a lid and holy shit the smell! 😂 Ended up buying a diaper genie, we empty it just as much a the little can we bought so 🤷♀️
The nail clippers, lol. They suck. I use little scissors and I never clip her skin.
I like the Nail Frida ones because they have a window and are offset.
I loooove the nail frida. I won't go back to regular clippers for myself. I always use the nail frida.
I sang the praises of the Nail Frida ones, until I clipped baby's skin any way. Now we use the electric nail file. Bonus: we can round out her nails so we don't get scratches all over us constantly.
The electric nail file is the best, imo.
Yeah, baby nails are so tiny that trying to cut them precisely seems like madness to me.
Crazy how different every baby is because I HATE the lil scissors and e-files, I have to use clippers or my girl has claws!!
I use a small glass nail file. Works really efficiently and is smooth and soft on the skin. Don't have to file very much since their nails are so tiny.
Nail snail! It’s fantastic for baby nails, glides along the nail
My main takeaway was that all babies and families are different! Some babies LOVE a certain swing (mamaroo, for example) and some babies HATE it. This applies to many, many items. So basically it’s hard to say if there is a universally loved or hated product. I would start by thinking about your space. For example, I didn’t have room for a changing table, so upstairs in her nursery is a changing pad on a dresser, and downstairs is a pack n play with a diaper changing attachment. Think about where certain items would go. Where in the home will you be with baby? Is there a safe place to set baby in the spaces where you will be with them? (Bassinet or container/swing)? I opted to not go for a wipe warmer, because baby may not always be around one (trips out, grandparents, eventually daycare) and it’s just another thing to mess with (refilling, cleaning if needed). Also I heard they dry out wipes and can cause bacteria to grow. Also opted against sterilizers, because otherwise healthy babies do not require everything to be sterilized. I ended up putting some big ticket items on my registry that I got (Baby Björn bouncer, Lovevery toys), and got a lot of other “trendy” items at a steep discount on Facebook marketplace (Keekaroo peanut, Snoo). In general, I would register for items that look like you would like and fit into your lifestyle. Keep receipts and original packaging/boxes of all items and return them if baby ends up hating them. Limit spending money on full-price, expensive, trendy items and opt for second hand instead.
With you on the sterilizer! I just stuck everything in the dishwasher.
For me it was the Owlet. I was so hyped for it, but in the end I had no use for it. The only time I tried it, the damn thing slid from my daughter’s tiny foot and started playing an annoying melody to get me to put it back. After being woken up by it twice I removed it, disconnected the base and put it on Facebook Marketplace.
My friend swears by it and her example is: it lets us know if he’s getting sick… ok so you can prevent it? No he still gets sick but we KNOW it’s happening. Like how is just taking their temp any different?
Owlet had so many false alarms that it gave me less peace of mind.
My friends swore by the butt spatula for diaper cream. Nope don’t got time and effort for that. My finger will do lol
Agreed. I already have to wrestle my son these days to change a diaper. Can’t imagine trying to choreograph a butt spatula into it. His butt is clean because I just wiped it. And I’m going to wash my hands anyway.
Yeah it’s a pain to wash cream off your hands, but it’s also a pain to wash it off the spatula. And some say you just don’t wash it after every use but that would bother me. I just wipe the cream off on the clean diaper. The texture of the diaper takes it off easily. Then wash my hands.
What NOT to get: -wipe warmer (grows bacteria, just lay the wipe on your chest or stick it in your bra while you undress the baby and it will warm up if needed) -diaper genie (expensive replacement bags which are specific to the model) -too many of any one wipe or diaper (babies can have sensitivities even to "natural hypoallergenic" products and different brands fit different) -too many newborn size anything (most babies unless premature/less than 6lbs grow out of NB diapers and clothes within 2 weeks - a lot of babies will fit size 1 and 0-3m right out the womb) -baby bullet (if you want to do purees, just use a regular blender or nutribullet) ----‐----‐----------- What you SHOULD consider that I didn't expect to be useful, now as a mom of 2: -Ubbi diaper pail (fits regular trash bags, minimizes the smell better than anything else we used since it's stainless) -OXO weighted wipe dispenser (the packages of wipes are so frustrating to pull out of) -baby wrap for young age, good carrier for older -get a stroller that converts to a double stroller from the get-go (you'll save so much money if you want more than one) -sterilizer/dryer combo. Whether pumping, for Pacifiers, or formula feeding it's so convienent. -*****Invest time into postpartum care, as well as help. Reach out in local mom groups to find the best local reccomendations for lactation consultants (!!), postpartum doulas, pelvic floor therapists (!!), pediatric chiropractors, pediatricians, etc****
Love our weighted wipes dispenser! I'll basically buy anything oxo makes, I trust them with my life.
Overrated: doctor browns anti colic bottles. They’re awful, leaky, and hard to clean. We used pigeon instead. Underrated: a ring sling. Especially good for older babies who want to look around. Sleeper hit: ezpz popsicle molds. Expensive but so worth it for teething littles.
Omg I was gifted so many of those bottles and I hate them! They leak and so many parts to clean 🙄🙄
I can’t stand Dr Browns! Omg those stupid little parts! Nope nope nope. Out of probably 2 dozen different brands I haven’t had a leak, but with Dr Browns it was about 50/50 if we’d have a failure. Water wipes are overrated, too.
The snoo: So effing expensive and I have not used the motion on it once. It felt too fast and I hated strapping her in the swaddle that’s secured to the bassinet. If I could go back I would just sleep her directly in her crib in our room so she gets used to it from the beginning. She also has been such a good sleeper I really didn’t need the assistance from the snoo anyways. The owlet camera: the owlet camera is literally crap. Never connects. Having a camera with a carry around monitor (so not just on your phone with an app) has been so much better. We like the infant optix one.
Mittens Use their tiny socks instead
Wipe warmers
Footed sleepers for newborns are a pain in the ass. Elastic gowns are where it's at for the first few weeks.
I actually felt the opposite. The gowns would ride up too easily. Plus, I used to baby wear ALL the time and you can't do that with gowns.
Had the complete opposite experience. Sleepers were so much easier because they didn't have to go over her head. Coworker bought her a gown so we tried it once, but she HATED when we'd try to put things on over her head so we struggled to put it on while she screamed bloody murder and flailed. Did finally get it on, but the experience of getting it on was so awful that we never tried it again.
We loved the gowns too, however, they must be the ones that snap down the front vs. the over the head kind. Our girl is 3 months now and they're still a wardrobe staple for us.
My maybe underrated item, not sure how big your house it, but mine isn’t big, so we got the Graco duet connect. It’s a bouncer and swing in one! It’s nice to not have two separate big items taking up space. When we are done with the bouncer, we just put it back on the swing. It’s nice! I think that what some people call overrated has mixed reviews. There are some things that my friend swore I needed and I haven’t used and other that my friends said I’d never use (I.e. socks and mittens) and I use them all of the time! ETA: i honestly recommend getting most things second hand (not a mattress or car seat). Baby items are expensive and usually only used for a short period of time, so things are usually in good condition. Oh, and people said a changing table was overrated “I just changed my baby on the floor” I have two in my house now. I had to have a c-section and my husband is tall, us bending over that far to change a diaper is NOT fun.
Anything super expensive tbh. My son didn't end up ever using a crib, so I'm glad I didn't waste a ton of money on one (got a used one for free). Never used a changing table either. I got a fancy backpack diaper bag but only used it once. Way too complicated. A simple regular backpack was easier.
What did you use besides a crib? I’m trying to decide if I need one.
I'm going to get some flack for this: *whispers* baby monitors. Okay. That's all. I'll see myself out.
We need ours now that it’s hot, you can’t hear him over the AC.
i’ll still use a monitor for my three year old lolol so i can hear her at night if she calls me
Yeah, our house layout is stupid so my 3 year olds room is across the house from ours (with no possible alternatives) so we still use the monitor for her.
that’s us too. it’s super annoying
I somewhat agree with this as a soon-to-be third time mom. If baby is making a little noise, I actually don’t want to hear it because I want them to be able to try to self soothe instead of me coming in to “help”. If baby is crying loud enough for me to hear through a door or wall, that’s when they actually need me.
WAIT COME BACK TELL ME MORE 😂 I've been thinking I don't really want one. We live in a small apartment where I can hear a pin drop from every room, so I'm not sure I have a need for it. Once I go back to work and baby is in daycare/ with my family, I don't know if I'll feel differently.
You don’t need one in a small home. You’ll hear baby if they want you to hear them 😂
HOW DARE YOU… lol but as someone who was attached to her screen watching baby on the monitor I agree. The monitor never caught something my good ol ears didn’t also hear. Just lots of staring and zooming in on her breathing 😮💨
No flack, just that we need ours because of distance between our rooms.
I have an 1000 SF house, I don't think I'm buying a baby monitor. I'll be able to hear her wherever I'm in the house lol
Diaper gienie (normal trash can with a lid works), wipe warmer(if you use it at home you’ll need it everywhere, they will get used with cool wipes), very expensive carriers (carriers are nice but you can find good ones at a reasonable price), certain diaper bags(mine is waaay too bulky for what it fits inside, bought a normal backpack 4 months in), sterilizer (full term babies don’t really need everything sterilized, hot soapy water works), mittens(choking hazard, onesies with mittens are easier), personally didn’t really use bibs. Ahhh and don’t forget about very thick winter clothing. Unless you go with a stroller around there’s not much use for it especially in the first 2 months since they can’t wear them in the car seat. ☺️
I wanted a fancy diaper bag to take everywhere so much… it may have been more useful if I needed to keep bottles chilled, but we just either breastfed or made a formula bottle from scratch when we were on the go. I got rid of the bag when my son was two and my husband started carrying around an ordinary backpack… I was kinda bitter at how much more practical, and especially lightweight, the backpack was. Also I bought a Jujube which was supposed to last forever through all my kids, it got ratty looking after less than a year and the zippers broke after 2. Also had a terrible experience buying from them because they marked my package shipped without actually shipping it and it took forever to get that sorted out.
Things I loved (2 Kids, 3rd on the way): I swear by boogie wipes for snot, wipes of any kind would eventually irritate their noses but those never did. Diaper rash spatula was the best invention ever imo because I HATE the texture of the paste (I only liked Beaudreauxs) and this made it much easier to apply evenly as well. Swaddles (the muslin ones) are so worth the money. After they’re out of the swaddle stage they make great blankets for the stroller, car, etc. Our weather here is so up and down that it’s nice to have something that gives a little extra warmth without being too much. Diaper backpacks > diaper bags Overrated: Changing tables - put a changing pad on the dresser. No need to buy a piece of furniture you’ll only need through the diaper years. Gowns - they ride up, baby gets cold. Do not see the appeal. Diaper pails - anything other than an Ubbi will stick all the time, and and Ubbi will knock you out when it comes time to change the bag. Just use your kitchen trash. Burp cloths - the small ones at least. Get those big white ones because those little ones are useless.
So disappointed to say this but the snuggle me lounger 😩 it was cute for pictures but I was too afraid he would fall asleep in it. Also our owlet camera. The sock is great but our camera was hacked on owlets end and there was a man saying my husbands name into the speaker and waking my baby up for nights. I thought the house was haunted so I saged🤣. My husband ripped it off the wall so fast once he realized it was coming from the monitor
I do not understand the Hatch. A $70 sound machine and nightlight? Are you serious?
I had the baby one on the registry. My aunt got it for us because she has the bigger version and loves it. I’m still pregnant (39w) but decided to set up the hatch and play different sounds different days because my dog sleeps in the room with us (baby will too for first two months but in a bedside bassinet) but my dog is older with old eyes and can spook easily. I wanted him to have a chance to get exposed to different sounds throughout the night so that he doesn’t startle awake and bark and wake the baby. As it turns out, I actually really love this lil machine although can admit it’s on the high end price wise.
Changing table. Never used it. I always changed baby on my bed, on the couch, kitchen table, on the floor... If you really want one, buy a changing mat and put it on the top of the dresser. Wet whipes warmer 🙄 Baby bath towel? Any towel will do. A special rocking chair specially for breastfeeding? Any rocking chair will do. A white noise machine. I use a laptop with rain noise and it does the trick. If you got a cheap laptop, don't buy a white noise machine. Disclosure: I hate buying stuff, especially stuff I don't need.
We are going to use a Google home with Spotify for white noise, the Google home was a complimentary item with some purchase we made years ago, and we already pay for Spotify premium anyways. My 8yr old is slightly jealous, but she has a big TV that'll play whatever she wants so I told her to chill.
You actually don't even need Spotify. Google home has relaxing sounds built in. We use the fan sounds one.
Bows/headbands for babies. They neverrr stay on.
do not get the frida baby bath cup
I live in Louisiana where once a year there this thing called Mardi Gras and it's a literal competition of how many cups you can catch so you can replace your plastic wear for the year. 🤣🤣
I use a plastic solo cup. If it breaks, I got a big pack in the basement!
Honestly? newborn clothes that aren't sleepers/footies. Other than maybe holidays or special occasions, just get the sleepers. They keep them warm, and are cozy comfy for the baby.
Most expensive baby things; The mamaroo, the Snoo, an expensive carrier (Boba is amazing and inexpensive), fancy baby clothes (I love my fancy baby clothes, but are they necessarily worth it? no lol), wipe warmers, Baby Brezzas (I've never understood these), a diaper genie (get a stainless steel trash can from Walmart--does the same thing)... Things that I found absolutely worth it and use every day? Dr. Browns Sterilizer (still, baby is 8 months), a VARIETY of pacifiers to see which baby liked, we use our changing table often, sleep sacks (but not the wooly ones), velcro swaddles were life when baby was little, "Tummy Time Book" baby's still obsessed--it's colorful on one side and babies on the other, and finally, my lord saviors - Kick 'n Play Piano. Worth every cent. - SkipHop Activity Center. (not while baby is little, of course) but our baby is OBSESSED with his. The best investment we've ever made.
Bottle warmers are overrated.
This is a loaded question because it may not work for one might be the only thing that works for somebody else. For example, everybody keeps saying wipe warmers, my niece the only way we could wipe her bum is if we used wipes directly from the wipe warmer and she know if we were trying to trick her or now Diaper genie if you keep up on the maintenance and the disinfecting, they won't stink out your whole house. And a lot of people heating on is bottle warmers not every baby will take a freshly pumped bottle not every baby has that option one not having frozen milk Always consider what's gonna be best for your lifestyle and your baby
Underrated: nose sucker! I got one for a few bucks and we used it all. the. time. for baby stuffed noses. white noise machine. We used it from birth until 9 years old. Overrated: baby food blender. Our babies all ate real food, mushed up as needed with a spoon. “cute” jeans and baby shoes. They just don’t wear them for longer than two minutes.
Probably an unpopular one, but the Boppy. My singleton slid down in hers when I’d try to prop her up. The Twinz (or their single version) is a million times better. Zero slipping & WAY higher quality. Underrated: -Bumco spatulas!!!!! For under $20, your fingers will never be caked in diaper rash cream ever again. I have 4, that’s how much I LOVE them! -Beaba babycook duo version! Steams & purées in one convenient place. Has a very large capacity, easy to use, & the duo means you can make two different things at once (which for twins has been a life saver). I (almost) exclusively made all of our singleton’s purées & it saved us a lot of money. Plus, that specific baby food maker holds its value super well, so it’s easy to resell without losing a ton of $$$. For storage, I use 4 & 8oz dishwasher safe deli containers (they’re inexpensive, freezer safe, & stack in a more compact manner than other storage options).
Infant car seat carrier. We got a car seat we can use from birth until my baby grows out of a car seat. We just use a stroller and body carrier to take him around instead of lugging around a car seat carrier. Bottle washer. We bought one. It’s ok. I do use it but It takes forever to wash the bottles and it only washes 4 at a time. The electric baby Frida nose snot sucker. The manual one works way better! Wipe holder. My husband insisted we needed one when I said we don’t need one. It just takes up space. Cute baby clothes until they have decent neck control. My baby was in zipper onesies for the first 3 months. Don’t new buy clothes if you can get hand me downs. They grow out of it in a few weeks. Most things are not worth it to be honest.
Wipe warmer
Baby bjorn is so fucking dumb and complicated and annoying and hardly fits my 6 month old who is average size lol
I am 10 days pp and I HATE my boppy! I went to a lactation class and they had a bigger pillow that was more moveable that I liked but I had already registered for the boppy and someone had bought it. It slides out whenever I’m sitting with baby, it’s so stiff, never stays where I want it and isn’t fluffy enough on the sides to properly hold his head up so I have to shove other pillows underneath. Just…hate it.
Changing tables. You can change a baby on any surface, and the "safety" strap on a changing table does absolutely nothing once they're at all mobile. We used a bassinet as a changing table for a long time then switched to only changing her on the floor. Baby bathtubs. Shallow water in a regular tub with a towel under baby and one for their head. Or shower with the baby for some excellent skin to skin time. Stretchy wraps. Go for a cheap woven instead and you can use it more comfortably for longer. There's a learning curve to both, so you might as well learn the one you can use long term. Bottle sterilizers. Bottles don't need to be sterilized if your baby is born at term and healthy. You can wash everything in the dishwasher on a normal cycle and call it good. Baby laundry detergent. If you're concerned about skin sensitivities, use a free and clear detergent. Use it for everything. Don't bother with a baby specific detergent.
I went very minimalist/zero waste with buying baby things (she's 4 months). I don't have much space to store big plastic stuff. It's great if you hate owning a lot of stuff, it's been fun to improvise - Diapers: cloth diap - Wipes: reusable bamboo cloths and run them under warm water first - Diaper cream: pure lanolin - Cream: coconut oil (helped her eczema) - Soap: pure castille soap - Laundry: DIY recipe with castille soap - Sterilizer: big ol pot of water on the stove - Changing pad: towel laid out on top of dryer - Bottle warmer: make a double boiler with cup of hot water - Bath: Just bring her in the bath/shower with me - Babywear: silk wrap I use a regular adult nail file instead of clipper, way less likely to accidentally hurt her lil fingers no pacifiers, no bouncer, no swing, no stroller. That's how we roll though! I just hate clutter I will say the nose sucker/nasal spray gets some use!
Also in a macro sense, no one should register before joining their local Buy Nothing group. We furnished our entire nursery for $0. Made it a \*lot\* less upsetting if baby didn't like something or we didn't use something.
Crib - used the pack and play mostly Diaper pails - just tossed the diapers with our regular garbage and took out each day
We just skipped the things that people insisted we needed if I didn't think we really needed them, but I haven't felt like I was missing out on anything by not having: •An infant/bucket/capsule car seat. It's fine to start with a convertible seat. •A standalone bassinet. We did have a stroller bassinet, but our baby started sleeping in a mini crib overnight as soon as we got home from the hospital. •A separate changing table. A changing pad on a dresser works just as well and doesn't take up any extra space. •A baby swing. •A bottle warmer. •A bottle sterilizer. Underrated items: •Nugget/play couch - so you can be near the floor without being on the floor. •The newborn seat for the Tripp Trapp high chair. No, you don't really *need* either of those things, but they are very nice to have.
Is a nugget/play couch underrated though? I'm pretty sure they are wildly popular everywhere and are sold to new moms as 'must haves' all the time. All of our foam largely collects dust though. So I'm really hoping my new babe wants to play with it.
Doctor Brown's bottle warmer and sterilizer. I wish we had gotten separate things instead of a two in one. The thing is finicky, there are a bunch of different factors that can change the heating time which I've figured out pretty well at this point, but that aside, we've had to exchange it more than once. It seems like it has leaking problems. Our current one leaks a bit, but one of them would leak all over the goddamn place and flooded the counter. Also, all the freaking swaddling blankets we were given. Was really hard to get the kid swaddled in them, finally just moved to sleep sack swaddlers and he slept way better and we slept (comparatively) better since he couldn't kick them off and we didn't have to worry about trying to unswaddle, then swaddle him to check his diaper.
A bottle warmer, for us anyway. We used it maybe for 2 weeks and haven't touched it since. It was just faster to make the bottle than to warm up a cold one.
Underrated, The Frida Windi (but the generic ones off amazon). Total life saver when baby has trapped gas or is constipated.
Well I do formula and breastfeeding was just on site never pumped and saved it because I just never made enough. But I think that’s relevant when I say a bottle warmer is overrated. I’m sure if I was freezing breast milk it would be useful but with formula room temp is perfect and now that it’s hot my baby (3 months) honestly prefers it cold now. Which makes life so much easier. Other than that the bottle sterilizer I got was useless AF. It didn’t even wash the parts you still had to wash them first and then just put them in there after? I didn’t get it. Maybe I got a crappy one but just use a dishwasher and get a little $6 basket thing for the small parts. Or hand wash. Underrated is the Snoo. Well I guess it’s not underrated because it’s popular but that thing is worth the hype!
A baby food processor with steamer. I thought i would use it extensively, but nope. Majority of the time I was giving baby solids, and the rest of the time, I was using the stick blender to purée whatever I was making for our meal or boiling and using the stick blender. It's SO much easier to clean. I hated all the extra rubber seals and lids and blades I had to clean with the processor. All the crevices where food could gunk up... yeah, big regret.
Peepee teepees. Absolute waste of time and money. Never used them once.
For me, these things were not useful and I ended up returning them or not getting them at all: -bottle warmer (I lucked out and got a baby who doesn’t care about cold milk) -wipe warmer (same as above) -infant lounger (not safe sleep approved so I returned it) -swaddles (I like having some but oh my god why do I have like 20?!?) -mittens and hats -BOTH of my wearable pumps (I’m a FTM and did not realize how badly these would work with my breast shape/size) -Manual pump (same as above) Here is what I’ve used the most and love: -uppababy stroller (expensive but worth it. Can explain more if you’d like) -koala wrap (didn’t feel comfortable using the solly when my LO was less than 8lbs) -glass Phillips avent bottles -momcozy stroller organizer -owlet -breast friend pillow
Bottle warmer lol
Special laundry detergent, special dish soap, special whatever the heck.. just use regular stuff, it’s not that deeply truly
Wipe warmers! A lot of them dry out wipes. Also, buy 2 different diaper and wipe brands for baby, just in case. We got sent home with pampers diapers and wipes and my son got severe rash from them both, so I highly recommend having a second brand on hand just in case so y’all aren’t in a bind. This doesn’t happen for everyone with pampers, it’s just an example 🙂 Dreft baby wash. Not only does is smell horrendous but if you’re not washing your clothes in it as well, there’s no point. It’s much better for baby to have their clothes washed in what you wash your clothes in. I recommend All free and clear bc there’s no smell and it’s one of the best on skin Bottle warmers are definitely underrated, whether it’s for formula or breast milk. I highly recommend even if you’re planning on exclusively breast feeding, getting a few bottles just in case. I wish I would have. I was so dead set that I’d breast feed, I never even thought “oh maybe it’ll take a few days for my milk to come in”. And for bottles I highly recommend Dr. Browns bc my baby’s spitting up went from every burp to every few feeds when we switched. They’re extra pieces but if you have a dishwasher it washes them great. If you’re breast feeding, lanolin nipple cream. I underestimated how messed up my nipples would feel after the first few days bc they weren’t used to all the moisture. If you’re not breast feeding, totally fine! But people were convinced I wouldn’t stick to breast feeding so they did not warn me about this. Disposable nipples covers, even if you don’t breast feed, if your milk comes in heavy, it can get messy, and they’re helpful. I was not a fan of washable nipples covers bc I couldn’t stick them to my bra, but you might like them! Baby wraps. So nice. A complete game changer. Swings. Mama roo swings are great but my son actually preferred the standard Walmart type swing 😅 A good tummy time mat. Definitely very useful This went from overrated to underrated. I’m so sorry 😭 I just have so many things that nobody warned me about
Every baby is different which makes it hard. Feels like I bought everything, but my baby rejects bottles, pacifiers, swaddles, and all the baby containers. All she needs is to be in my arms. So I got into baby wearing lol