Comments on: 10 Baby Items You Think You Need, But Really Don’t

By: Krista

Krista — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 18:15:37 +0000

I agree that in today’s society we’re told that we need a lot of unnecessary items to raise a child. I agree with the author that you have to take into account your lifestyle or life situation when purchasing items.

We were given a changing table and use it daily. We’ll continue to use to when I have twins this summer. We like having everything in one place.

We bought a travel system and I wish we would have spend the money on a Maclaren instead. They’re light and lot easier to travel with, especially in airports. We’d buy one for the twins, if they offered a front to back option.

Our son had reflux, so for the first three months he slept in his bouncy seat and I’d occasionally prop him up in his boppy after meals. When he got older we fed him in his bouncy seat instead of using a highchair.

We use our pack-n-play regularly. Our son is two and we still use it for him to sleep in when his grandparents come to visit. They own a house by us but don’t have a nursery for him. We loan it to friends to who come to visit with children. This was one of the best investments we’ve made.

We also use the monitor ($10) because while our sons room is right down the hall, we can’t hear him at night. We exercise after he’s gone to bed in the basement, so a monitor is very useful.

This comment is to one of the last posters. I’d like to point out that unfortunately not everybody can breastfeed, can afford an organic lifestyle and most of all not everybody cares. In an ideal world we would all simplify our lives, reduce waste and healthy food would be made available to all. Compassion will make change, not judgment.

By: Abby

Abby — Tue, 23 Oct 2007 17:30:13 +0000

Great post. I agree with almost everything, and wanted to add that I agree with most commenters that a changing table is absolutely unnecessary. I don’t have one, and even though I’ve considered getting one for our second child, it would serve more as storage than the function of changing baby. Many a time our daughter made messes on our bed, but I wised up and started putting a changing pad down instead of letting her ruin the sheets!

I agree totally with the last comment that we could only truly believe in the unnecessity (is that a word?) of these items if we want to cut out waste and don’t care much about “convenience”.

I prefer the use of a stroller, because I remember being a child who had to walk a lot, and it’s nice to have even a little one (cheap!) to have as a “back-up” for tired feet. But we don’t take it everywhere we go. I plan on using a sling this time around, unlike last time, and I know that this will save my back from the extra 20 pounds a carseat add to carrying baby around. (Why do people do that???)
We used our pack and play as a bassinet in our room, but had two, and the one in the living room rarely ever was used, so I agree about the play-pen aspect, total waste.

We have a nightlight in the nursery because we coslept for over a year, and my husband sleeps with the tv on, and our daughter had a harder time sleeping without some kind of light. That’s daddy’s fault! I could sleep in darkness and total silence, but neither of them can. If I had it my way, it would be different.

I think I will work on my own unnecessary list, this is a good start!

By: Aubrey

Aubrey — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 04:49:22 +0000

Very insightful post for those of us who strive to simplify our lives and live consciously. For those of you who mention yard sales and such — you are missing the point. In all reality, most people do not own their stuff, it owns them. There is just too much crap we don’t need in general, and the baby stuff is a good starting point. To all those who dispute: this makes the most sense when you live your life consciously, vs. for super-ultra-instant convenience. When you REALLY look at the big picture, living simply (which is by default more frugal) ends up making your life MUCH more convenient overall! In other words: It All Ties In. Breastfeed like your kid needs you to anyway, eat clean & pure food like you should do for yourself anyway, and you will not need bibs or have super messy diapers. Really! Spend time with your child reading and playing like you should anyway, and you will not need elaborate “educational” toys, baby monitors, playpens, daycare, god-knows-what-else. And on the radical (in a good way) side, having passive energy and water systems means cloth diapers are a much better deal than disposable. To make a long story short, this post will only appeal to those who think outside the box in every aspect of their lives and live mindfully. Bravissimo, from those of us who strive for that ideal.

By: three4me

three4me — Sat, 16 Jun 2007 03:29:27 +0000

I agree with much of what you’ve written. New parents today are BOMBARDED with all sorts of marketing being “told & sold” what they need to be “good parents”…99.9% of them fall into the trip of trying to “buy” successful parenting. Be wary of all of these swings, bouncers and gadgets desgined to give the parents a “break”…Young infants NEED one to one stimulation and eye contact..Wonder why all of these children nowadays have difficulty with reading, tracking, learning disabilities? Wait ten years from now with all of these battery operated gadgets rewiring their visual coordination/eye movement….Visual therapy and occupational therapists will be a necessity for parents who buy into this crap for their kids…
The only disagreement I have is the stroller issue and also the Boppy…that thing was amazing with having had three c/sections..I breastfed all three and the Boppy made it comfortable those first few weeks when my belly was sore…I never propped my kids on it..

By: ananomus

ananomus — Sat, 09 Jun 2007 04:02:21 +0000

ok you do need thoes things! um du!

By: Ken

Ken — Wed, 23 May 2007 21:23:16 +0000

Our baby is about a month old, here’s my take:
pacifiers/bottles - these are really a must. Case in point: My wife had a really hard time with breastmilk production and had to give up breastfeeding. After talking to friends and family, this seems more common than not.
walker - have to agree there, it’s really unnecessary.
nightlights - I bought a 3 pack of nightlights for under $10 (with leds, less energy usage - and they look cool). I wouldn’t be able to see in her room without it. Used the other two for easy maneuvering to the bathroom at night.
monitor - I can sort of see your point here, but it does come in handy when you are downstairs (we have her nap in her room during the day) and have other things going (TV, appliances), also it’s nice to bring outside. We live in a courtyard so we can socialize with our neighbors and have the monitor with us.
swings and bouncers - I’m starting to see this as a waste, but for some parents I’m sure it’s gold. We bought a high end swing, well really our relatives did. It hasn’t been used much. We did get the baby papisan chair and that has been useful due to its portability. i.e. Mom can put her up on the kitchen table while she’s doing chores.
babytub - They aren’t that expensive, and they hold baby where they need to be.
activity centers - We bought a 3-in-1 model, which starts as a tummy time type toy, then becomes and activity center, then becomes a toy for a toddler. The jury is still out, as we haven’t been able to utilize it yet.
bibs - no way! As previous poster said - they save many a piece of clothing.
playpen - earlier on it was useful, but we have decided to have her sleep in her crib exclusively, so it’s become a glorified changing table downstairs. As she gets older, it may see more use.
stroller - Just be careful what you go with. Right now we are using a snap-and-go with our Graco carseat. It’s light and folds up nicely. Getting those giant travel systems is unnecessary IMO.

By: Angie

Angie — Wed, 23 May 2007 00:29:29 +0000

All I have to say is GOOD GRIEF!

By: Esther

Esther — Sat, 14 Apr 2007 20:43:02 +0000

I’m sorry, but I disagree with most of this list. I have a 5 year old, 3 year old and a new infant.

I’ll just focus on the glaring ones:

Pacifiers - my baby likes to nurse forever. When I break the suction, he just cries and won’t stop unless he has an alternate to suck. Being able to put a baby to sleep now is worth the *possible* problems of a pacifier later.

Bibs - if your kids are big spitter uppers, like mine, bibs are required. Otherwise I would have to change their outfits 12 times a day.

Playpen - needed at times to protect the baby from others - for example, big brother has friends over

Stroller - the most absurd thing I have ever read. I live in an urban area and generally walk to local stores. Are you saying I should CARRY my 11 month old to the store and CARRY him back with all my purchases? CARRY him to the local playground and expect him to walk back after playing or CARRY him yet again? Folks, a stroller is the MOST cruical baby item you should buy.

By: Kendra

Kendra — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 16:00:04 +0000

I think you have the right idea here but you’re a little off with a few of them. Sometimes you really have to weight out to benefits versus the negatives. Everyone else has said…Oh no, I must have a stroller. For about $10 you can buy a stroller. If you are absolutely poor and cannot afford that, then yes you can live without it. But for people who can afford it, it’s a $10 well spent. I think most people could skip a trip or 2 to starbucks and pay for it.

Some of the things you have listed are so cheap that the cost is well worth it. I think any of these things could be considered a need in certain situations. For example, my children both had reflux, so they spit up constantly all day. The only way to keep from changing their clothes 500 times a day is to constantly keep a bib on them.

I was a little disappointed in the items you chose. I think there are some really wasteful baby products out there that companies market as “necessities”. But as far as I’m concerned, we live in a time where we can have some non-necessities to help make our lives easier. You can always find baby stuff at garage sales or 2nd hand stores in fairly good condition to save on cost.

By: michelle

michelle — Wed, 11 Apr 2007 20:10:05 +0000

the stroller is very useful in my case because my 7 month old is up to 22lbs already and i only weigh just over 100lbs.. i live in town and like taking him in the stroller to run erands .. meaning saving time by not having to take him in and out of a truck.. and wasting gas. plus he loves it!.. I live in canada therefore we can’t buy walkers if we wanted to. the only time that we used playpens is when my sister babysat him while i was at work once in awhile.. it was better for her to put it up when he wanted to sleep and saved space instead of having a crib set up all the time. Pacifiers are almost completely useless considering our son ever since he was born wouldn’t take one neways. i also never used a baby bath tub.( we have one) but i found it completely a pain in the butt and less convenient. We use a changetable but mostly just because its an easy and convenient way to store diapers, baby wipes and petroleum jelly. we were lucky a swing was given to us for the baby shower but unfortuneatly after 4 months broke down.