Everything New Moms Don’t Need
I don’t know if this will be controversial or not, and I am definitely not the end-all be-all authority on what you can and can’t buy for your baby, but there was seriously an overwhelming amount of things I thought I had to purchase for my son that I ended up not using.
First of all, we live in a very materialistic world, a world that promotes convenience (almost to the point of being ridiculous). You don’t need the stuff. I promise.
Here’s my list of things I didn’t use, or thought were redundant. I’ve ranked them most to least unnecessary:
ADVICE: You don’t need everyone’s opinion or explanation of how they did things for their own children, but TRUST ME, you’re going to get it! Try to remember that your baby is YOUR baby. I encourage you to find a trusted mom that you know you can rely on when you decide to seek advice, but you do not have to follow the recommendations of anyone. And anyone who tries to guilt you into listening to what they have to say is… well weird. All the advice comes from a super loving, supportive place, but that doesn’t mean you have to abide by it.
DUPLICATES: You don’t need 10 bottles, 25 burp rags, 50 baby blankets, 75 stuffed animals, 100 teethers, or 1 million onesies.
Now, I am being a tad bit of an exaggerator here, but seriously! All of this is stuff you will have to store somewhere; it’s something you’ll have to fight to keep organized; and it’ll be more work in the long run. I have 3 bottles, I rarely use the third one. If I’m too lazy to wash in between each bottle I may use the second one. (I mostly nurse my son, though, so bottle use is rare anyway!) I use the same 5-10 burp rags repeatedly and 10 is more than enough to last me until my next wash day. (I run my washing machine 2-3 times a week; I just throw the baby’s stuff in with whatever I’ve got going!) We have 3 baby blankets that we like to use when he’s in his car seat, but winter is over and now South Alabama is hot! And, if I’m on the couch or in the recliner with him, we aren’t covering up with one of his tiny blankets. We are using a throw! Mommy’s cold, too! Don’t even get me started about toys.
Little man can barely sit up on his own, why did I think he needed things to play with? And I know what you may be thinking, he can have them when he’s older, but even when he starts playing, does he really need THAT many? Why not 2 or 3? And you know those little blanket toys with an animal head and rubber teether parts for arms and legs? We have SO MANY of those. Why? He uses the same cow teether everyday, and when it needs to be cleaned, he just doesn’t use one while waiting for it to dry. AND DON’T GET ME STARTED ON THE CLOTHES.
I was blessed to get so many gently loved hand-me-downs from older cousins and church family, but I also got gifted new clothes, AND I BOUGHT CLOTHES. Once my son out grew the newborn size, I remember going through everything to box it up to save or pass on to the next person and realized that my child wore LESS THAN HALF of what we had. We are a big lover of zip pajamas, and that’s all he wore for the first 3 months of his life. You don’t need all those outfits for your baby, so don’t feel like you have to spend your dollars on something they will probably ruin with spit up or poop anyway!
I understand that the idea behind having multiples is that it can be helpful, and I get that and would agree. I don’t want to have to do laundry every single day because we ran out of something, but what I’m saying is why do I have to store 10+ baby towels and wash rags for a kid that bathes 2-3 times a week? We use the same 3 towels over and over! Don’t overbuy! Save your money!
SWADDLES & SLEEP SACKS: I kept him swaddled the first few days after coming home from the hospital because that was just something I thought you had to do. It’s not. In fact, some health care professionals even recommend against it! If it calms your baby, great! Mine always kicked too much and broke out of it. Little man wanted to be free to move around! I tried using the sleep sack once or twice but it was just another complicated step at 2 a.m. diaper changes. I also co-sleep with my son, though, so I never worried about him being cold. He’s like a little space heater, and more times than not we’re trying to find ways to stay cooler. He sleeps in just a diaper A LOT!
BABY SWING: This may just be personal preference, but we had one of those plug-in baby chair swing things that are supposed to play music and sway your baby. Ask me how many times we used that…. not once. If I wanted to lay my baby down while he was awake to get something done, I laid him on a blanket on the floor! Who knows, your baby may like it, and it could be a life saver for you, but my baby never even tried his swing out. Swings are just another expensive thing that new moms are told to buy because… why? I still don’t know why I thought I’d need mine.
WIPE WARMER: This one I hesitate to add because I did consistently use it the first two weeks home from the hospital. I was gifted it by a mom who swore that it made diaper changes so much smoother. But here’s the thing, you have to change the filter between each package of wipes, meaning you have to keep buying the filters. So already I’m on the fence about this product that feels more and more like a money grabbing scam every time I change the filter. The wipes always tore when trying to get them out of the warmer, and there at the end, my wipes kept coming out with brown stuff on them (I guess I missed a filter change). My son couldn’t care less about a diaper change. And even when he is fussy, the faster I can get him out of a dirty diaper, cleaned up, and into a fresh diaper, the better. So let’s not over-complicate things. The room temperature wet wipes may feel cold to them, but most babies simply won’t care.
The whole time I was pregnant I was told things like, “Get ready for your entire house to be turned upside down.” And honestly, I just don’t subscribe to that mindset anymore. I don’t think kids need all the toys, gadgets, and gizmos. Entertaining my son is as simple as taking a walk around the yard, or letting him gnaw on his favorite cow. As he grows older, I hope we can prioritize a simpler life with less junk. Now, before I buy anything or accept anything used, I ask myself these questions: what need do I see this meeting; is this item’s usefulness worth having to find somewhere to store it; and how quickly will my child outgrow this?
Think about it this way: my mother didn’t have any of this stuff when she had me, and my grandmother definitely didn’t have this stuff when she had my mom. So what progress have we made that is actually beneficial to moms, and what are we pushing onto new moms to make a profit?
We live in a world that celebrates excess and STUFF, but I promise you that you’re life will be much simpler if you don’t get caught up in the rat race of buying every possible gadget for your household. And if you’re like I was and worry about how to afford all the things mom blogs make you think you need, remember that all your baby needs to be happy and healthy is a roof, a full belly, and your love!
Did I miss anything? What did you think you’d need that you rarely, or never, used? Should I do this again listing the things I loved having?
