Hi mama! If you’re anything like me, when you found out you were pregnant, you fervently began searching the Internet for lists of newborn must haves. The lists were so overwhelming and, after having my baby, I found that most the “must haves” weren’t even essential for me. I like helping people save money, so I’ve come up with 12 newborn essentials that you may never use.
I found most of the lists and recommendations just assumed everyone was going to interact with their baby in the same way, therefore, we all would need the same things, right?
Nope.
We are all VERY different and will choose different parenting, feeding, and sleeping styles. A lot of those choices depend on the kind of baby you have. Oddly enough, babies are all different, too, and don’t all like the exact same things. How very human of them.
So before you run off to buy every recommended newborn product under the sun, have a read here first. You might have a very different thought process by the end of this article.
Here’s what you’ll find in this guide:
12 Newborn Essentials You May Never Use
Stroller With Bassinet Option
When I became pregnant with my baby boy, we were living in Munich, Germany. Everyone in Germany had the most beautiful strollers, or prams as Germans called them, with gorgeous bassinets for their newborns.
I thought those bassinets were just about the most darling thing in the world, and I dreamed of the day when I would prance around town with my newborn sweetly sleeping away in our Bugaboo Fox bassinet. That stroller was about the price of a very used car, so it was definitely an investment. But I was sure we would use it every day, all day.
We didn’t.
My baby boy did not care one bit about fulfilling mommy’s romanticized newborn dreams. He hated that bassinet stroller thing. We used it maybe three times, and he never lasted more than 20 minutes before having an absolute meltdown. Whenever I took him outside for a walk and nap, he only liked to be in the carrier, as close to mommy as possible. Such a mama’s boy.
Never fret. We still got some use out of the bassinet option. We used it to transport our groceries back home when we went to the supermarket. We didn’t need a car since we were living in a city, but we did need a way to get our groceries back home. That was quite an expensive way to transport groceries home, but as least we got some sort of productive use from it. At least that’s what I tell myself.
You can definitely buy a stroller set with a bassinet because they really are so gorgeous and, you never know, your baby might just love it. However, they might not, so it’s a gamble. You’ve been warned.
Crib
This is a similar situation to the stroller bassinet disappointment.
Before Isaiah was born, we bought the most gorgeous crib from a company in the Netherlands. It was dreamy, a beautiful, wooden vintage looking crib with soft curves and edges. I loved that thing.
Per usual, Isaiah didn’t appreciate the beauty of the crib. He hated it. It was too far from mommy.
He refused to sleep anywhere but in my arms or beside me. Don’t get me wrong, I definitely tried to transition him to the crib, but he wasn’t having it, and I just didn’t have it in me to go through whatever hellish process we’d have to go through to make him sleep alone in his crib.
My husband jokes with me now by saying my attachment-style parenting definitely worked. Well, he ain’t wrong. Isaiah’s attached all right. I aced that part of motherhood, I guess.
I held onto the crib for as long as possible, but after months of using it as a beautiful dirty laundry holder, I finally gave in and sold it. I still get a little teary eyed when I think about letting that thing go.
Again, you can definitely buy a crib (and you probably should). I know a heck of a lot of babies that actually do sleep in them from the start, so you might get lucky and have a baby that likes sleeping alone. Or you might not. Again, it’s a gamble.
Swaddles
Swaddles are another beautiful newborn essential you may never use. So sad, right? How many photos do you see on social media of tiny babies all swaddled up, looking like perfect little angels? They’re everywhere.
To be fair, Isaiah allowed me to swaddle him for about the first two weeks of his life. I suspect he didn’t really know what was going on for those first couple of weeks, so he didn’t care what I did to him. For that reason, I was able to get some really cute photos of him in those beautiful swaddles. Ah, I treasure those few photos.
After about the two week mark, though, he made it very clear that he did not like being confined and preferred to move freely. I tried and tried to convince him otherwise, but his mind was set. So I stopped trying to force it and just let him be free.
Don’t worry, I saved all of those beautiful swaddles and now use them as blankets for play-time, naps, and picnics. All was not lost!
Sleep Sacks
Just like the swaddle situation, Isaiah was supposed to love sleep sacks. Apparently all babies love to be snug and tightly wrapped in swaddles, sleep sacks, sleep suits, etc. Or so I was told.
I guess Isaiah just didn’t care about the baby rules, because he also hated sleep sacks. I tried a few different kinds because it seemed like every mom had a different sleep sack she swore by and they made her baby sleep through the night. In my desperation, I tried many different styles. I’m still crying about all of the money I threw away on those things.
Eventually, I just stopped trying different sleep things and accepted that my child did not like any of the things that resulted in confinement and being away from mommy.
Baby Monitor
A baby monitor is a pretty pricey investment, depending on what kind you go with. Thankfully, I was so confused about all of the choices before Isaiah was born, that I didn’t commit to any of them.
It’s a good thing. I don’t think I would have used it even just once. From day one, Isaiah has been by my side or my husband’s side. There’s never been any putting him to bed for the night and watching him sleep on the monitor. Nope. Not in my home.
Isaiah really loved being in my arms or directly beside me every moment of the day. I have bed-shared with him pretty much since the beginning. He would only nap in my arms for the first 7 months of his life, so I didn’t need a monitor for naps, either.
I was the monitor.
Now that he’s a year, I don’t feel a monitor is necessary for his nap times. He naps on a floor bed, so there’s very little opportunity for him to kill himself.
Of course, if your baby is a dream baby and sleeps independently at any time within the first year (I’m so jealous), you will probably want a monitor. Then again, you might have my situation, and if that is the case, you definitely won’t need one. Maybe wait until your baby is born to see how you go.
Electric Breast Pump
If you are choosing to exclusively breastfeed, it definitely is possible you may need an electric breast pump. It’s not 100% guaranteed, though.
Before I had Isaiah, I thought I would absolutely need one. In fact, I had added one to my shopping cart during a Black Friday sale and was just about to make the purchase.
Thank goodness I didn’t. A friend of mine saved me a bunch of money. She told me that it wasn’t always necessary to have an electric breast pump, and it’s best to wait and see how things go after baby is born.
I would suggest you take this same approach unless you know for sure that you will be needing one. For instance, if you know you’re going to be going back to work and want to continue breastfeeding, then of course you’ll need one. I knew I was staying home with Isaiah for the long haul, so I waited.
I breastfed on demand both during the day and night. Sure, it was exhausting, but it worked for us. I didn’t overproduce, so I didn’t have extra milk to get out. What he demanded my body produced. No more, no less. So it worked.
If you are unsure if you will need an electric breast pump, then definitely wait. They are not cheap, and I don’t know if you can return it once it’s purchased.
Bottles
Isaiah took a bottle one time during the first year of his life. To be fair, I made about zero effort to actually introduce a bottle to him.
I just didn’t need to. Every day, I was right beside him.
It would have been great if he took a bottle at night so my husband could get up and feed him, but in those first few months, I would have had to get up at night to pump anyway. I didn’t see the point in both my husband and I being deliriously sleep deprived, so I took it for the team.
As the months went on, I became less motivated to try and get him used to a bottle. I had also worked really hard on keeping my milk supply high, so I thought it was best to continue exclusively breastfeeding him both during the day and at night.
We also bed-shared and that meant I would just pop him on the boob whenever he woke up so he (and I) would quickly return to sleep. I know this is not everyone’s preferred method of doing things, and, to be honest, I didn’t set out with the intention of doing things that way. It just happened.
So unless you are 100% sure you’re going to be introducing a bottle straight away, hold off.
Breastmilk Storage Bags
Well, obviously, since I was feeding on demand and only produced as much as Isaiah demanded, there was no need for me to use breastmilk storage bags.
In the beginning, I did use a Haakaa (get one!!!!!) and manually expressed some milk to put in a breastmilk bag just to feel like I was a prepared mom. Prepared for what, I don’t know, but it felt like that’s what I was supposed to do.
Everyone always talked about all of their excess milk and all the millions of bags of frozen breastmilk they had in their freezer. I didn’t want to feel left out.
You might have an excess supply. You might not. I had a box of breastmilk bags on hand and used 4 bags. In fact, I still have that box of breastmilk bags just in case. Just in case of what, I’m not quite sure, but I’ve got them. If you need them, let me know.
Baby Swing
Gosh, it would have been heaven if my baby loved a baby swing. That meant my arms would have actually gotten some rest.
No such luck for me. We tried a couple of different kinds of swings because I was desperate for some kind of rest. Isaiah just didn’t care about his mommy’s extremely sore arms, I guess. He loved them too much to be away from them.
He never lasted more than 2 or 3 three minutes in any baby swing. Just to let you know, I have heard it’s actually pretty common for babies to not love every swing, so no matter how you look at it, any swing is a gamble. One baby likes one swing, and yours hates that swing. Or vice versa.
My baby, however, seemed to hate them all. We stopped trying after two swings. We’re not made of money over here.
Baby Bouncer
Another essential newborn item you might not use and will regret buying is a baby bouncer.
Once again, all the posts on social media made it seem like every baby under the sun just loved baby bouncers.
Did mine? You’ve likely guessed correctly with no.
You may be picking up on a theme here. Isaiah was a simple guy with simple needs. He liked my arms and my boobs, no imposters accepted. Gosh, he was so quick at picking up when things weren’t the real deal. No fake arms for him, thank-you very much!
Ironically enough, when he turned about 6 months old, we were at a baby store and they had all of these beautiful bouncers we could try. So we tried one after not having him in one for quite some time, and wouldn’t you know, he loved it. Granted, he was about to bust out of the thing and had nearly reached the weight limit, but I guess we could have gotten that specific one for just a few weeks of bliss.
We passed. I hope your baby likes swings and bouncers. It’s really quite exhausting carrying them 24/7. But I’m a mom. Moms do what they gotta do.
Pacifiers
Pacifiers were yet another disappointment for me and might also be another newborn essential you’ll never use.
Just like a few of the other items I listed, I assumed all babies liked pacifiers. This was a weird situation, though. Since I was exclusively breastfeeding, I was quite terrified to give Isaiah a pacifier too early on.
Apparently, some babies start to prefer the pacifier and don’t want the boobie anymore. Is that true? If you’ve experienced that, let me know because I’m curious to know if that’s actually true.
For that fact alone, I waited a pretty long time to introduce the pacifier. I guess I waited too long. He knew it wasn’t my nipple, and he didn’t like it.
I tried sneaky ways of getting him to use a pacifier because my poor boobs just wanted a break. He used my boobs to fall asleep, but I tried so many times to use the pacifier instead. It never caught on, and like everything else I tried to convince him to like, I gave up on it.
We bought really cute pacifiers, too. That one was a bummer. The two times he actually did use one, he was so stinking cute, and at least I got photos.
Hooded Bath Towels
This last one is a bonus item in the newborn essentials you may never use list. Hooded bath towels are very cute, don’t get me wrong.
They are also a massive marketing ploy.
Do you really need a hooded bath towel? You might think you do. At first, I did. I saw it on so many newborn essential lists, and I didn’t really question the lists. Would the lists really steer me wrong?
They might.
I just couldn’t bring myself to spend money on a hooded towel when our own towels were absolutely good enough to dry a baby and keep him warm. The towels are cute, yes, but don’t feel like you need one. Just because it’s on a list doesn’t mean you must buy it.
What Do You Actually Need For A Newborn?
Now that I’ve given you a good list of all the newborn essentials you may not use, you are probably wondering what you should actually buy.
It’s a great question, and one that I have an answer to! But I’ve written enough for now, so I’ll save it for another article. Stay tuned! To be continued…
Check out these other articles:
5 Undeniable Advantages Of Bed-Sharing
6 Valid Reasons For Having Just One Child
