7 Items of Baby Equipment You Don't Need ...

By Alison

Any parent will know that there is an awful lot of baby equipment you don't need. Well-meaning and generous relatives often gift you a vast array of gadgets that you never actually find useful. Or as a first-time parent you want to give your baby the best. If you don't want a house filled with baby items, here is the baby equipment you don't need …

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1

Changing Table

Some of the baby equipment you don't need might sound useful, such as a changing table. But it's a piece of furniture that just takes up space. A changing mat will be more useful. Most parents just end up changing the baby on the floor or bed anyway. If you really want a changing table, get one with storage built in.

2

Designer Clothes

Kim and Kanye can afford designer baby clothes (although they are gifted plenty). But does little North really need designer clothes? No, she just needs something to keep her warm. Nor does your baby doesn't need expensive clothes, so don't be tempted to splurge on filling his or her wardrobe. Put the money in their college fund instead, and buy cheap, practical clothes that can withstand the rough treatment they'll get.

3

Moses Basket

Moses baskets may look adorable, but they're not a worthwhile investment. They're only really good for tiny babies - and babies don't stay tiny for long. So unless you are given one, don't bother. Your money is better spent on a crib that will last your baby until they are old enough for their own bed.

4

Top of the Range Buggy

Sure, you can spend a 4-figure sum and push your baby around in a top-of-the-range buggy. But why waste the money, when you can get a decent, safe model for a fraction of the sum? Spend some money on a new car seat instead (never use a second-hand model, as you don't know if it's been in any accidents).

5

Wipe Warmer

I'm all for gadgets that save you time or perform a useful function, but I cannot for the life of me see the need for a wipe warmer. Yet such items do now exist. Apparently your poor infant needs to be protected from nasty cold wipes when you change them. Look, I think they'll survive.

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6

Pacifier Wipes

This is something else that exploits parental anxiety. Babies drop their pacifier a lot, it's true, and you won't want them to put it back in their mouth if it's been on the floor. But there's no need for expensive wipes when there's a simple alternative - just carry a spare pacifier. Or attach the pacifier to a cord.

7

Video Monitor

Apparently regular baby monitors aren't enough these days - you should have a video monitor to keep an eye on them. Well, your child isn't a character in 1984, and they'll be fine with a sound monitor. Babies manage to be heard miles away anyway, so you may not even need a sound alarm!

It's tempting to splash out on equipping your baby's nursery with every possible piece of equipment, but you'll just be wasting your money and taking up space. Babies don't need a fraction of the gear on the market these days, and if something is really useful you'll soon work out if you're missing it. What is the most useless piece of baby equipment you bought or were given?

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Where Thoughts and Opinions Converge

I am a week away from having my second and couldn't imagine NOT having a Moses basket, Changing Table and the Video Monitor.

The wipe warmer was wonderful. My daughter cried less when I used warm wipes compared to the cold ones. Yeah, we would have survived w/o it though. The changing table was MANDATORY. I have 6 herniated disks and bending to change a baby is impossible. I can't even lean to do it in the bed.

I don't have any children or plan on having them anytime soon as I am still quite young but I totally agree with these suggestions. I think I'll survive without the over the top "extra" baby gear. I'd like to be simple and practical yet effective in caring for my baby. All those things sound so nice to have but not actually "needed"! A wipe warmer sounds awesome though. I think I'll reconsider for that one. Agreat Buggy would be nice too bc it just feels better when one is pushing around a sturdy, cute, fashionable item with an adorable baby in it, you know?

What did our parents do without a wipe warmer? Lol I don't have a single friend who used that for more than a week. My changing table became a catch all.

Very true... On baby number four and never had a changing table and some of the other things too.

I totally agree. I was given so much when I had my baby showers and even multiple things I already had. I did a spring cleaning this year and got rid of it all. 9years later.lol

Idk I love my video monitor cause sometimes being too quiet worries me also, and pacifier wipes are great in case I forget an extra binky

My daughter and I both LOVED the wipes warmer...it was a great $10 investment. Sure she would've survived but it made me happy. :-)

i can see how some people do want these things and find them useful, but i tend to agree with the author and enjoyed the witty humor about it

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