Shortly after the pregnancy test turns positive and those initial giddy
moments fade you begin to make a list of all the things you will need
for your new baby. There are hundreds of books telling you about the
essential items required to care for a new baby. Let me provide you
with a list of things you DON'T need. That is right, things that the
baby industry will convince you that you need but in reality are a
waste of your money. The baby gifts that will forever sit in your
closet untouched.
1.) Diaper Genie (or similar item)
All
new mothers think they need this. All new mothers feel this imaginary
force field drawing them to buy this item. However, if you talk with
any mother that has more than one child you will find that they don't
use it. Why? Well, unless your child is planning on pooping about only
4 times a day you will be changing the cartridge more than once (don't
believe the advertising that says 180 diapers - mine never held
anything past 10 diapers and by that time it stunk so bad it didn't
matter if it could handle more). Oh, and those cartridges are not all
that easy to change, and they are expensive, and if you don't screw it
tight enough your room still smells like poop. The easier, faster,
cheaper and more convenient method that all mothers resort to is a
TRASH CAN. That is right, a lovely trash can with a liner. I use
leftover grocery bags. I take the poop diapers to the outside trash can
and throw away the rest at the end of the day.
2.) Highchairs
Okay,
I know some of you are going to be shocked that I put this on the list,
but hear me out. Like most parents my husband and I purchased a large name
brand highchair that had wheels with changeable trays, adjustable seat,
blah, blah, blah. Well, we live in a rather modest sized house and this
highchair became the albatross of my kitchen. It took up a huge amount
of space, was always in the way and regardless of what the manufacturer
says, it was a pain to clean. When we switched the kids to the booster
seat I couldn't help but think "why didn't I just buy a really nice
booster seat instead?"
3.) Bottle Sterilizer
Some
of you may disagree with me on this one but I never had time to worry
about sterilizing my bottles. Honestly, if they even got clean was a
miracle and by the time my youngest came along I was just giving them a good
rinse under the faucet and moving on. If, you actually have enough
bottles in rotation to have some out of commission I suggest you use
the dishwasher. It's hot and it cleans things. I feel that I must also
disclose that I am the kind of mother that picks pacifiers up off the
ground, licks them, and puts them back in my kids' mouth so, you be the
judge. (I can only imagine the comments I'm going to receive on this
one - so just in case you are thinking of calling CPS my children have
never had an ear infection or an illness that required an antibiotic.)
4.) Infant Shoes
They
are cute, and when you are pregnant you can't wait for your little one
to wear their first pair of Nike's, Vans, wingtips, high-tops, high
heels, whatever. However, they are the most useless thing on this
Earth. An infant is no more capable of keeping shoes on their feet than
they are capable of reciting the number for the babysitter. Within
seconds of placing these absolutely adorable fashion items on your
child, one -- and only one -- will be lost. Where? Oh, probably on the
side of the road somewhere, in the grocery aisle, or underneath your
car seat. ONE shoe, and only one shoe will be lost forever.
5.) Help During the First Four Weeks
Here
is a secret that nobody tells new mothers. New babies sleep, almost
exclusively for the first 2-4 weeks. As a matter of fact you are going
to be rather disappointed that your little lump of flesh doesn't do
anything else. All that wonderful family assistance will be for nothing because you won't need it. Just when you start to think that this whole
baby thing is WAY EASIER than everybody says, and just as the door
shuts on the last of the family help, your baby will wake up. And when
it wakes up it is MAD AS heck!! It realizes that the whole womb thing
was a good deal, and who thought of taking it out of the womb was a
bad, bad person and oh, that person is you. Your little angel will now
cry, and cry, and cry for a variety of reasons that you won't be able
to figure out until it's 12 weeks old. In the meantime all your help is
gone, your husband is back at work, your post-partum emotional dump has
occurred and you are left exhausted, beaten down and wondering where
all the help is. Here is my advice -- ask Grandma to come back at 6
weeks.
And finally one gift every new mother could use - a
gift certificate for new clothes. You won't be able to fit into your
old clothes, you'll be sick of wearing your maternity clothes and you
will feel too cheap, guilty and tired to spend money on new clothes.
www.blogobeth.com
Baby Gifts I Could Do Without
- by , on Tue Jul 15, 2008 12:39pm PDT
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From the Community…
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 12:23am PDT
Report AbuseGod, can you be more right! I got more for you, how bout the baby bath tub, my mother just used the kitchen sink with dish towels to pad the bottom. Or how bout the push up padded nursing bra, no joke, it is there, I couldn't even fit my breasts into a shirt much less a bra and forget trying to look sexy, nothing more sexy then showing off the leeky cheechees to my poor deprived husband.
There are some items I had to search high and low for that I needed so much more then the useless bottle sterilizer. I got myself a Hooter Hider, the lightweight nursing apron with a neck strap and funky fabrics, love it more then my left arm. Trumpetts socks, baby socks that look like mary jane shoes, the way to make your child look dressed even though you know she will never allow you to put shoes on her little Houdini feet. Love the Munchkins Jelly Bean sling carrier, so comfy on the back and holds in the baby like a straight jacket. And then the best of all, those plastic chain links and a rubberband bracelette is my solution to my baby flinging her bottle to the ground.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:18am PDT
Report AbuseSorry, but I don't agree with most of this article. I actually did get a diaper Genie (II) as a gift and I love it. I still use it today and my baby is almost 9 months. Unless you are slow, it is very easy to change the cartridge, and it drastically reduces the odor. The highchair is a must for my house...it is so much easier to feed my baby when he is strapped down in the high chair. Also, the high chair is so easy to clean up. They do have foldable high chairs that can be stored in tiny areas too. The sterilizer is good at first (birth to 6 months) while the babies immune system is developing. After that, I could do without. I liked infant shoes (the ones that laced up or used velcro) b/c it helped keep my babies feet warm. The socks were always coming off, but the shoes helped to keep them on. I had a c-section, so I did need lots of help for the first couple of weeks. Yes, I agree that the baby sleeps a lot more early on, but when they get up every 2-3 hours to nurse, and you are delusional from sleep deprivation, it is nice to have someone else to cook and clean. Okay, that's my 2-cents!
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 7:30am PDT
Report AbuseI'm not sure if I agree with ALL of the items on the list but I do agree with the Diaper Genie. And thank you for clarifying that, I have put it on my baby registry list and now I'm planning on taking it out! I always had doubts about that thing, I mean, what's wrong with a good plastic bag and the trash can in your kitchen??? Also, I agree with the whole mom's help after delivery. I'd rather have her help after the first 6-8 weeks.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:35am PDT
Report AbuseI agree about the bottle sterilizer and infant shoes - babies don't need shoes anyway unless it's really cold and you are going outside and we all know those little socks just don't stay on without a shoe which does stay on. But I have to say I love the Diaper Genie II. Yes, you have to empty it often, but you'd have to empty the trash can lined with a Walmart bag even more often and it smells worse! So I love the diaper genie. I agree I would never buy one of those hideous, huge, plastic high chairs. But we have an old wooden one stained a dark cherry which matches the dark wood antique furniture in our dining room, it's not very large, it just tucks in the corner when not in use. I also disagree about not having help the first 4 weeks. Yes, babies sleep a lot, but they wake up every 2-3 hours for a feeding. And I was recovering and in a lot of pain and on pain meds (no, I didn't have a C-section, just a painful tear and subsequent stitches and uterine cramps), and only getting to sleep for 3-hour stretches at a time was hard. I could have definately used help in preparing meals (too tired!), washing bottles, laundering baby clothes and bibs, etc. so I could shower and sleep once in a while.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 8:51am PDT
Report AbuseI don't agree at all on the Diaper Genie. I used it for a solid year with my first and most of a year with my second. You must not have been doing it right. Mine held a good 15 diapers or so and I have a German short haired pointer with a good nose, and he never once sniffed around it.
The rest of the items I can agree on, esp. bottle sterilizer and shoes, but the rest are YOUR needs rather than general needs. Some moms do need help the first weeks, esp. those who have reflux babies or c-sections to heal. And some do have homes that a highchair fits comfortably in and it's a nice place to sit the baby for snack time while she vacuums or folds laundry or catches up with the news.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:43am PDT
Report AbuseGood points. The only one I disagree on is the help one. My son has never been a good sleeper and he was up every two hours from birth. I spent the first 6 months of his life in a half asleep daze. A little help when we brought him home from the hospital would have been fabulous. I could have actually showered more often than every two or three days at least!
Just as a side note, I did use the a high chair for my son but we were fortunate enough to live in a place that had a built-in table that the high chair fit perfectly to if you removed the tray. That meant that my son could eat with us at the table and I didn't have a plastic tray to clean. I never liked using booster seats at the table so that was a better option for us.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:58am PDT
Report Abuseyup, no gifts, or just plain gift cards for diapers and formulas.. the rest of baby things will come when the time comes, rather than have them sitting piles here and there.. besides taking care of newborns, cleaning house is the least on my mind ..
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 9:59am PDT
Report AbuseI agree totally withthe diaper genie and the high chair. I have five children and I bought a diaper genie with my first one. Like you said, it stunk so bad after about a week's worht of diapers, that I ended up sitting it outside to vent, this was so bad that maggots had started coming out of this thing(it was in the summertime, about 10 years ago). I would not recommendit, it doesn't do what it says it will do, the cartridges are expensive and it's not worth it. Now the highcahir, I bought a Winnie the Pooh one because it matched my child's theme, oh yeah that's another one that you don't need, a theme. I ended up not using it but maybe once or twice the whole time that I have had children. I usually ended up putting them in the swing, on my lap, or in their bouncy seat. Having a highcahir is way overrated. Thanks for the blog.
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Posted by Wed Jul 16, 2008 10:37am PDT
Report AbuseHah! I totally agree about the diaper genie. I used it 100% properly and I have twins so I have to empty it out twice as often. Just not worth the effort. I use the drop in liners and silicone nipples that can be sterilized once a week which is easy enough for me. Almost everything my kids have is used because lets face it, one week they fit, the next week they don't.
The help thing really depends. I had a c-section but my kids didn't come home right away so I didn't need the help and after they came home they ate and they slept...I still do it all by myself :)
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