Baby Stuff You Won’t Actually Use – Buy This Instead!
Are you feeling overwhelmed with the growing list of new mom and baby gear must-haves?
If this is your first baby, buying everything but the kitchen sink in preparation for your new bundle isn’t even an overstatement.
As a first time mom, I’m guilty of spending a small fortune on ALL of the baby gear must haves I got suckered into thinking I had to have.
I’m here to tell you that you actually don’t NEED all of that baby gear and new mom stuff you think you do and what to buy instead!
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Buy This, Not That!
You know those baby items that you were probably suckered in to thinking YOU HAD TO HAVE in order to survive life with a baby.
Well, I’m here to tell you that you probably won’t even use half of it!
There are plenty of things you DO NOT need to waste so much money on when you could have just used an alternative item instead that was much more economical and more useful.
1. Expensive Diaper Bag
Diaper bags can be extremely pricey, ranging from $40.00-$100.00!
Yes, they come with some neat organizational options for baby supplies, but honestly, it’s unlikely you’ll be taking the time to organize your diaper bag on a daily basis.
They are also so bulky!
Us moms have our hands full as is and adding a cumbersome diaper bag to that is just unnecessary. I purchased a traditional diaper bag and it was on sale for $60.00, which is still a lot of money!
I quickly realized, I made a purchase mistake and needed a more economical and manageable replacement for my diaper bag.
Here’s my recommended swap:
Find a much smaller, purse-sized backpack that is simple and stylish and only keep a few things you truly need in it when you leave the house.
This backpack keeps things simple and is lightweight, cute and easy to wear!
Fill it with a couple diapers, a small pack of wipes, extra pacifier, a small chaining pad and even toss your phone and keys in.
Available at Amazon
2. Big, Beautiful Crib
The need to nest when you’re pregnant is a real and insatiable urge!
Not to mention how exciting and fun preparing for baby is and getting the nursery ready and perfect for your little one’s arrival.
The crib is usually the first thing we want to invest in to complete the aesthetic of our dream nursery. However, a traditional crib may not be something you will need for quite some time.
The Swap: A play yard or co-sleeper
The DockATot was a last minute buy for me, but am I so glad I bought it!
If you would like to learn more about DockATot baby loungers, you can find everything you need to know about them in this separate review article.
These co-sleepers are an investment and are comparable in price to a crib. Hence, I would choose one over the other and the co-sleeper has been the winner for me!
You could also use a Play yard as a crib for quite a long time. My little one slept in hers until she was almost 2!
Available at Amazon
I don’t think you’ll regret purchasing either one of these products. There are plenty of cheaper options as well. Ultimately, your baby may not use their crib for a long time or at all.
However, sometimes a nursery doesn’t feel complete until that beautiful crib is in place and I completely know the feeling.
3. Changing Table
Here’s yet another baby purchase I thought I had to make, but again, rarely used.
We very quickly learned it was much easier and more convenient to clean her up where we were at the time.
The changing table swap:
Get a couple cute baskets and use them as a diaper caddie for each room you spend the most time in and stock them with diapers and wipes.
We keep a changing mat on the floor near the diaper caddie and it’s just that simple and efficient!
Available at Amazon
4. Fancy Newborn Clothes
If you’re having a girl, this is almost an impossible task I’m about to recommend!
I have a girl, I know, and that’s why I’m sharing the wisdom with you I gained from way over doing it on the frilly, fancy and very impractical newborn clothes.
I thought I was going to be dressing my newborn up like a porcelain princess doll everyday.
Well for one, it’s not easy dressing this delicate, little human who acts like she is being wrestled by a bear every time she’s changed.
But in in all seriousness, the fancy and expensive “doll clothes” were fun to buy, but most of them never got worn.
The newborn clothes swap:
Instead, opt for zip up sleepers. Find ones that zip from the bottom, I can’t stress that enough!
I had a really hard time finding these two way zipping sleepers for a while, but I just did a quick search on Amazon and found a style that is perfect!
Available at Amazon
5. Bottle Warmer
My husband saved us a couple bucks on this one with his genius thinking!
Here’s the swap:
Instead of buying a traditional bottle warmer that serves one purpose, why not use what we already have in the house to warm the baby’s milk?
You can use a thermos out of the cabinet of forgotten cups and it just so happens to be the perfect size opening for most bottles or breast milk storage bags.
All you have to do is fill the thermos with boiling hot water from your electric kettle (one of my most used Amazon buys!) and pop the bottle in.
Another nice thing about this baby gear swap is that you can reuse the hot water over and over again by keeping the lid on, which seemed to cut down on preparation time too!
Must Read: How to get Hundreds of Dollars in Free Baby Stuff
Final Tips
I hope you found this post helpful! I tried to choose from the most impactful purchases I myself have made, regretted and corrected.
Preparing for a new baby is so thrilling and the best time of your life!
If you end up with piles of extra stuff you thought you needed or wanted, that’s ok! But if I was able to give you some better ideas here too, than great!