Shortly after my daughter turned a year, I wrote about seven baby gear products that I found had turned out to be a waste-of-money.
Well, now that I have more parenting (and Hint Mama reporting) experience under my belt, I’ve realized that my waste-of-money first-year baby product list has become a lot longer.
So, today’s hint is my updated waste-of-money baby product list. I call this updated list of 12 skippable baby gear items, which I write about over at U.S. News Money’s The Frugal Shopper blog, the “don’t buy these baby products dozen.”
In The Frugal Shopper post, “12 Baby Products That You Should Skip,” I include a number of the same products I covered the first time around, including wipe warmers, baby shoes and special baby thermometers. In addition, I’ve extended the waste-of-money list to include a host of other baby gear items you may want to consider crossing off your must-have list (think special toddler plates and small bottles).
The truth is, you don’t actually need all the baby gear stores – and even your friends – may say you do, and you can make it just fine to your little one’s first birthday without some of the so-called necessities.
In fact, if you know which baby products to skip, you can significantly cut down the expense of baby’s first year and perhaps even stash away a little extra for the big costs you’ll be facing soon enough, like childcare and college.
So, if you’re looking to save a bit more, read my full list of 12 waste-of-money baby gear items over at The Frugal Shopper blog.
What waste-of-money baby products did I miss? What would you add to – or take off – this list?
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Good list – but big bottles might not be a necessity if you can breastfeed and/or pump. My son was breastfed/fed expressed milk at daycare and never took more than 5 oz of BM at one feeding. Of course, you don’t really know if you’ll be able to BF/pump successfully (and there’s nothing wrong with formula, either!).
Good point regarding big bottles:) My daughter was breastfed and she did begin drinking more than 5 oz during feedings eventually, but not all babies will need the bigger bottles.
I agree; my son has no need for big bottles that take up way more room in my already tiny kitchen. He rarely drinks more than a 4 oz bottle since he’s also breastfed and eating some solids.
The dirty diaper “trash can”! Total waste. If it’s a smelly diaper, you will throw it away immediately. While you’re at it, throw away wet ones too. Why “store” them in any receptacle!
Disagree on wipe warmers though. I loved the warm wipes and never liked using a cold wet wipe on their little bottoms!
Good point regarding the diaper trash cans:)
I totally agree on the diaper pails! We have a trash can with a foot pedal, and change it when there is a stinky diaper. I would also add that snot sucker thing for colds! My LO cries so hard when I get that thing close to her nose that any snot I would theoretically be able to suck out has doubled from the crying. No idea how that thing would help!
I would disagree on the breastmilk storage bags though. I wouldn’t want to risk milk going bad by storing it in something else. And cheap ice cube trays can be full of BPA. BM storage bags aren’t that expensive, but lost breastmilk is. 🙂
I bought breastmilk freezer trays (I think Sensible Lines brand on Amazon) that freezes the milk in stick shape. They are no BPA and have a lid for while they are freezing. They can be dumped into regular freezer bags for storing. However these, like milk frozen in cube form, will be more likely to get freezer burn because of the amount of surface area exposed on each piece, and the liklihood that your freezer bags will eventually let in a little air. So while they seemed like a good way to skip the breastmilk storage bags, I think the milk bags are really probably the safest way to store milk for longer than just a few weeks in the freezer. While freezer burn won’t cause any safety concerns, it may change the taste enough that your baby won’t take it. So I would caution against using anything except the storage bags, which don’t allow air to get in, unless you’re just storing short-term.