25 Baby Essentials You Do Not Need To Buy.

There’s one thing that annoyed me when I first became a Mother… Well actually they still annoy me, and that was all the things I was told I would need. Things that would make my life easier, that baby would sit in for hours while I cooked the whole family beautiful home cooked meals and things that a baby couldn’t live without. No, babies actually need very very little, apart from warmth, love and a lot of milk. And FYI my baby never sat in a bouncer/walker/jungle jim, all singing all dancing contraptions for more than 3 minutes, unless I was sitting with her engaging all the time which kind of defeats the object, no?

Mother and young baby. Minimalist living as a parent.

Here’s the thing. The ugly truth. Babies need you! They need attention and simulations, talking, singing, chatting, smiling. Sometimes they cry, sometimes they won’t sleep. It’s all okay and it’s all normal. Unfortunately nothing you buy on Amazon at 3am is going to solve whatever problem or phrase you have right now. We’ve just got to ride it out.

So here’s a list of the top things I think we do not need for our baby. The anti baby essentials list. It’s just stuff that you’ll trip over, that will gather dust until you try to pass it onto a friend in year to come.

I hope this list makes you feel more prepared with less, and stops you spending money that could be put to better use else where. Like a long maternity leave, or a babymoon.

25 baby essentials you do not need to buy.

Pin me for later….

Pin. Baby essentials you don’t need. Image, father holding newborn on his shoulder.

1.Cot Bumpers.

This is my number one do not buy, for one big reason. Your not allowed them. Well under British NHS guidelines your advised strongly against them anyway. This is because they are a hazard for choking, suffocation and strangulation to young babies. As are pillows and duvets. So why are they sold? Who knows.

2. A Maternity pillow.

A pillow did me just fine. Steal your partners pillow, the spare rooms pillows, your older kids pillow if you have to. Just use pillows. The same goes for breast feeding. I found it much easier to put pillows where I needed them to get into the perfect position, rather than unsuccessfully maneuver one strangely shaped pillow into the right place. It always ended up one the floor.

3. A Wipe Warmer.

This is just for royal babies. Actually we use cloth wipes (the best thing ever btw, find my Complete Guide to Cloth Wipes here.) so if I was feeling luxurious I’d wait for the hot water to run through before wetting them. Otherwise it was whatever came out the tap and I can’t say she ever complained. Even now that she can talk and tell me.

4. Newborn Shoes.

These are just for newborns that walk….. oh wait. When I did put little shoes on her thinking they might keep her feet warm they just fell off in 2 seconds flat and that was that.

5. A Nappy Bin with pods.

I’ve never used one of these (apart from we do have nappy bin for storing dirty cloth nappies) but I’m talking about a specific bin for disposable nappies that has special cartridges’ to bag the nappy. When we have used disposable nappies I’ve just put them in the bin. Plus I don’t really understand why we bag nappies before putting them in the bin. I’m probably missing something as I’ve never used disposables long term, but when I have I just balled them up and binned them straight. If I am missing something feel free to comment. Also the refills for these strange pods are quiet expensive.

6. A bath thermometer.

My elbow worked just fine.

7. Snot sucker.

I always thought I should have brought one of these, like I was going to fail my daughter should she get a blocked nose, but she did and I just blow it with a soft rag. Again if I’m missing something please inform me. However, I survived without one, as did generations before us.

8. Baby food blender.

I just boiled and mashed, and/or used the blender we already had.

9. Baby lunch boxes.

Tupperware in the cupboard doesn’t look as cute but it stored food when moving from A to B perfectly.

10. A Baby Bath.

They will be able to use this for a few months max. We had a baby bath support so she could use it until we could sit unaided, though this means you have to fill the bath with slightly more water. However, the best advice I got from my midwife for when babies are very small, was to put her in the bath with Dad. It takes away any nervousness of baby not liking the bath as they are being held close to Dad. Plus it’s a lovely skin to skin way of them bonding, and something he (or partner) can do with baby. Sometimes these are few and far between when baby is small and attached to Mum so much.

Another great bath tip I read was to lie a towel down in the bath, lie baby on it and run the water to a shallow level around them. This way they can kick about in the warm water.

11. A bath kneeling Pad.

I can’t say I’ve ever sat next to the bath when my daughter was in it and thought, “Oh I wish I had a pad to kneel on!” If this did happen I would grab a towel.

12. A baby towel.

Turns out their too small to wrap baby up in properly anyway so they get cold. Though they do look cute for the first bath pictures.

13. Baby Dressing Gown.

Mine always had a bath, in pj’s, bedtime routine followed, not sure at what point I would have used it.

14. A Special changing table.

Within weeks the changing table was ditched in favor of the floor/sofa/bed and a changing mat. Especially once she was able to back flip off the thing and it became physically impossible.

15. A changing table stap/ a mat with a cone to stop them rolling.

She still back flipped out of the thing and it made changing no easier.

16. A Play pen.

Used it once in the garden, to try and get some gardening done, she tried to climb over it and hurt herself.

17. Nursing Chair.

Who wants to get out of bed and sit in a chair? Bed is best. Also it becomes to easier to throw stuff on becoming that storage spot you never wanted.

18. Sterlizer.

Boil the kettle, use the microwave, save your counter space.

19. Baby hair brush.

Granted mine weren’t born with tons of hair but when it did grow I used a normal comb. All seems well.

20. Smelly Baby Bath products.

Babies smell amazing!!! No need to mess with that. I only used a baby solid shampoo from Ethique on her hair probably once a week. The rest of time water did the job just fine.

21. Baby Oil and Baby powder.

There’s no need to use baby oil unless you see reason, perhaps if they develop dry skin or rashes. As for Talcon Powder or baby powder it used to be widely used to keep babies dry and stop any fiction but pediatrician now advise parents not to use any powders instead simply dry well after a bath or changing. When changing my little girl I would keep a muslin to hand after using a wet wipes to prevent any rashes.

22. A disposable changing mat or pee pad.

I know most of my life centers around sustainable living and not using disposable items where possible but I really was baffled when I first saw someone using a disposable pee pad on top of their changing mat. Surely if the was an accident the changing mat can just be wiped down or washed? On my changing mat at home where things could run if there was an accident I would pop a muslin underneath my babies bottom to soak anything up. On the go I had a changing mat that was absorbent and could be thrown in the wash if such things happened.

23. A pee Teepee.

Fair enough I haven’t had a boy so I have not experienced the fountain I’m told can happen should a little boy start weeing on the changing mat but I’m pretty sure a muslin/wipe/cloth/flannel popped over the area while their naked will do the same thing. In fact googling on of these made me even more confused. They don’t look like they will protect you from much.

24. Anything you think will hold them still for half an hour.

Baby walkers, bouncers, seats, bumbo’s. I’m not saying don’t get them because they are useful for popping baby down for 5 minutes while you get dressed or hang up the washing, just don’t spend hundreds of pounds on something all singing all dancing because 5 minutes is all you’ll get. Maybe it’s just the babies I know but none of them stay entertained by these things the way we want them to be. There’s no sitting down for 15 minutes drinking hot coffee while they sit quietly in them.

25. Anything to make them sleep.

Noise machines, Ewan the sheep, lights on the ceiling, a paid performer…. If your baby isn’t a great sleeper then your just like the other 90% of us. And that 10% that say their baby slept through from week two because of some magic they brought online, pretty sure their lying, or their just lucky. Every baby is different. Most like Mummy or Daddy there to rock them or feed them and keep them feeling safe. It’s just their inbuilt human instinct. Sorry…. But it’s not forever, one day I’ll miss those sleepy cuddles.

I hope this has helped any anxious new parent from thinking they need to buy it all to be prepared or that their something they can buy to solve a problem. Unfortunately the baby business is an extremely lucrative one with many things there to make a profit and not from help a poor tired parent. There are of course some baby essentials you’ll want, and some you’ll find you need but remember everything is pretty much at our finger tips now and next day delivery is a thing so if you find you need it buy it then, rather than buying everything and finding it was a waste.

Much Love

Hannah xx