What Not To Buy (from a mom who bought waaay too mush).

Posted on August 24, 2009 by elizabeth

It's a conspiracy, I tell you. Those baby stores prey on the fears and hopes of new mothers. If a new mom doesn't buy every gadget and gizmo, she's An Unfit Mother. Fie! Forsooth!

So, anyway, the other day me and my friend and fellow Mommy of Five, Katharine @ 10 Minute Writer, were exchanging some funny Tweets about the lame stuff Those Mean Baby Store People tell you to buy. Or else.

Here's what we came up with:

1. Pacifier clips: 'cuz it's hard enough to find the darn passie.

2. Moses baskets: unless you're Pharoah's daughter and your kid is gonna part the Red Sea, skip this.

3. Wipe warmer: warming 'em up in your hand is cheaper.

4. Silver spoons and rattles: the gift that says, "Yes, I've always wanted my child to be a cliche."

5. Gender specific nursery furniture: change the sheets, not the paint color.

6. Monogrammed baby blankets/items: younger siblings dislike using older siblings' customized stuff.

7. Diaper covers with cutesy animal faces on butt: umm…baby can't see it there.

8. Automatic Q-tip dispenser: seriously? You're that lazy?

9. Toys that make noise: believe me, it sounds cute now but it will drive you crazy.

10. Baby Einstein ANYTHING: it's pretty simple, actually. Just read to your kid.

11. Designer diaper bag: why spend $ on a frou-frou bag your husband won't touch when an oversized Ziploc bag works just as good?


Do you have any further WHAT NOT TO BUY suggestions? Please share.

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  • Valerie

    Keep these coming! We’re in the process of buying the ‘stuff’ for our babe. (None of these are on our list, ha ha!) So far this baby has about seven items of clothing and one of those lie-under play-gym thingies. Plus about 7 muslin rugs (it’s be summer, and hot). That’s it. Am I done?

  • http://www.thisrestlessheart.com/ Kelly Langner Sauer

    Something I learned with number one that is coming in very handy for money-saving as we prepare for number two – don’t buy anything you don’t absolutely love. I had so many unused outfits for #1 that I hated; I just never put them on her, and by the time I felt guilty enough to try, she’d outgrown them!

  • http://thedcookshouse.blogspot.com Becca

    In my experience, don’t buy any toys. Maybe one small rattle or set of interlocking rings, but that’s it. Babies don’t need or care about ANY toys for a while. Plus, grandma and grandpa, people down the street, and other friends and family will fill your house with toys.

    We also didn’t buy any clothes because we were given TONs of them. They are all gender specific though, so we are having to buy some baby clothes (at yard sales because those things get worn for a few months tops) that are less pink and more neutral. I fully encourage buying at yard sales. Most people get tons of baby clothes and half of them won’t have been worn or only been worn once. I would rather spend $20 on a 6 month wardrobe than on one outfit.

  • http://www.ariellateater.blogspot.com Ariella

    Dont buy covers for anything. Seriously, do you need a separate cover for the grocery cart and the public highchair and the diaper changing station, etc? The one time you actually need it, you don’t have it along, because you took it out of the car to make room for the groceries.

  • GrammaMack

    I’ve never been a fan of “mush” myself. :-)

  • http://www.heidijowhatdoyouknow.blogspot.com Heidi Jo

    the more kids i’ve had, i realize the less i need. siblings take the place of much of the baby store crap anyway.

    items we do use:
    -a nursing cover…love mine. (home-made for about $5)
    -bouncer/vibrating seat
    -stroller
    -diapers
    -outfits that are ONE PIECE. i hate picking up a baby and having their clothes smash up around their neck.

    that’s about it….

  • http://xanga.com/niksuela Nicole

    Too funny, and really true! I agree with everything on your list except the pacifier clip–I’m assuming you’re meaning the kind that hook onto the baby’s shirt? If so, we couldn’t live without ours–well, we could, but we’d be on the floor a LOT more :) And Becca is so right–don’t buy any toys, because without you buying a single one, your home will soon be overrun with toys! Family, friends, etc.

  • http://www.10minutewriter.com Katharine

    Oh, and if you absolutely have to have the $40 designer sneakers in size 0, you need to have your head examined.

  • http://somuchhappyness.blogspot.com Shannon

    There is an article in the August(?) Reader’s Digest about this very subject; it talks about all of the radical safety baby and kid “must-haves” that companies sell everyone on out of fear. The wipe warmers were mentioned, and my favorite was the helmet for toddlers learning how to walk-because the skull just doesn’t cut it anymore :) .

  • http://vintagemamasew.wordpress.com jennee

    Baby bath tubs that you only use for a few months anyways…the kitchen sink is the perfect size.

  • http://www.sixblessings.blogspot.com Carmen

    Don’t buy expensive, designer anything! I bet baby is so thankful that you bought the most expensive whatever because Brangelina had the same! Just my 2 cents! LOL :)

  • Sarahstew

    Funny thing… my wipes warmer was one of my favorite things – actually we used to use warm washclothes (back in the day, eh?) on our babies bottoms – I guess it is a little of getting back to that!

  • http://www.usborneconnection.com Tressa

    With three youngins’ under our roof, I have to agree about not spending my dollars on all the fancy-schmancy stuff for babies. Wish I’d figured it out (well, listened to those wiser Moms) when we had our first.

    One money saver that I wish we’d done from day one is making our own wet wipes. We could have saved a TON of money if we had. Here’s how we do it:

    Wet Wipes

    Ingredients:
    - Ice Cream bucket and lid or similar container, empty of course (bonus, you get to eat the ice cream…)
    - 2 Tablespoon Baby Oil, any brand
    - 2 Tablespoon Baby Wash, any brand
    - Roll of Paper Towels
    - 1 & 1/2 Cup Water

    How To:
    Cut paper towel roll in half, horizontal. Result will look like you have two rolls of toilet paper. Remove card board core. Place one of the “new” rolls in ice cream container. Heat water in microwave till boiling. Let set at least 30 seconds before adding oil and baby bath!! Could boil over, if you add immediately after removing from microwave. Add baby oil and stir until dissolved. Add baby wash and stir until dissovled. Slowly pour water mixture over top of paper towel roll, in circular motion. This allows the water to be absorbed evenly. Cover and let cool. Pull the wet wipe from the center of the roll. I’ll pull out several, separating as they are pulled out and place on the top of the roll, ready for wiping.

    Some suggestions:
    - Water…some online recipes call for 2 cups. I’ve found this leaves the wipes too watery.
    - Baby oil and baby wash…I like to pick these up at the Dollar Store. Usually much less expensive, whether you get the store brand or name brand.
    - Paper Towels…I buy the best quality, in bulk. After figuring out what we spent one year on wet wipes, I figured I could ‘splurge’ on paper towels, and save in the long run and be happy with the quality.
    - We keep the extra paper towel roll in a zip lock, ready to make into wet wipes.
    - These will not stay ‘fresh’ forever. If you are using wet wipes on a regular basis and use them up within a month or so, you should be okay.

  • Valerie

    I was thinking of just using a flannel with water instead of wipes? Is that too ambitious? :) We are using cloth nappies (except for going out). I also ditched the idea of a baby bath when I realised how much room they take up. I’m thinking the sink will be perfect, and much easier to empty.

    What pram do you recommend? We are thinking the bugaboo, as it has so many great features!

    Oh – I just went baby shopping with my mother, and we saw a (beautiful!) leather nappy bag for $400.00, would you believe! Apparently, Angela Jolie uses the same one, but far out! No way!!

  • http://bellwhistlemoon.blogspot/ mary bailey

    The first thing that comes to mind as being unnecessary are SHOES for a child who is not walking! When my baby was 4 months old we went to a family reunion and he was barefoot (it was October and still very hot here in the South!) and a woman I barely knew ridiculed me for not having shoes on my child! I bit my tongue but I cried about it later—yes, I was still weepy and post-partum.

    We bought him some booties and a couple pairs of soft white “shoes” for church, but he didn’t walk until he was 14 months old and that’s when we officially bought real shoes for him!

  • http://becomingthekindofwomaniwantmydaughtertobe.wordpress.com Alisa

    Pacifier clips saved my sanity. NOT optional if your kid is addicted to the paci.

    And my shopping cart cover is SO nice, that I just don’t forget it, and the few times I have for a quick grocery stop, it wasn’t the end of the world. But for those days where you are in stores nearly all day long, they save both you and your kid. Not only does it save your baby’s hands from all those shopping cart germs, but when they are so incredibly tired, they can just slump over onto their blanket and rest.

    And ditto on not buying anything you don’t actually love just to save money. I found the same, that it ends up just being wasted money because I don’t like it enough to put on my kid!

    And I “splurged” on a $50 diaper bag. Again, if you can afford it, it’s worth it, but make sure you love it enough to make it worth it! I’ll confess that I’m too much of a fashionista to go with the giant ziploc (though I use them for other things! ;^D)

  • http://afahrneylovestory.blogspot.com/ Samantha

    I wish I found this lest two and a half years ago. I bought it all and never used half of it.