1. Diaper Disposal Systems: Diaper Dekor? Sucks. Diaper Genie? Even worse. Not only are they ugly but they stink after one dirty diaper and who wants their baby's room (or any room in the house) smelling of fetus feces? Not me. I couldn't handle the stench. I tried placing our Dekor outside but it was still disgusting. Flies would find their ways in the plastic tie bag and when it came time to empty the disposal system into the trash I would all but throw up in my mouth.
Hark! The Diaper Dekor. It even looks like it smells like poop.
It only took me about a year and a half before I came up with a diaper-disposal-system-free alternative: tying the dirty diapers up in Nature Baby Care bio-bags (you can buy them at Target) and flinging them into the garbage pail outside. We tossed the Dekor when Archer was about a year and a half and this time around? I absolutely won't be using one. I'm a big fan of the whole "don't shit where you eat/sleep/place your child to sleep" thing, so there's also that. And so I say: Death to diaper disposal systems!!!! Besides, those pesky replacement liners? Far too expensive. Seriously, the little bio-bags cost $4 a box and they last, like, two months! And no indoor poopy smell!
Nature Babycare Bags = BFF
2. Lap Pads: When I was pregnant with Archer I was under the impression that I would need THOUSANDS of them. So guess what? I bought THOUSANDS of them and guess how often I used them? Never. I ended up donating them all to Goodwill, hoping that someone, somewhere would have some use for such seemingly useless items. Burp cloths on the other hand? Buy thousands of them.
3. That Boppy Neck Support Thing: Again, a useless item you're not even allowed to use in a crib or bassinet OR car seat... so what the hell, then? A neck support thing that can only be used, where? On the couch? When you're kid's just hanging out, resting by itself? Uh... huh? I never once used the thing and wondered how the hell they got so popular.
4. Thermometer Rubber Duckies: At first glance, these things seem brilliant. A rubber ducky that tells you if the bath is too hot by saying "HOT" on its rubber bottom. Of course, once you start bathing your baby you realize how silly they really are. Because honestly? New parents are about as paranoid when it comes to water temperature as it gets. Do we really need a plastic duck to tell us whether the water we are bathing our child in is too treacherous? I mean....
5. The Rainbow Fish Bath Book: This was one of those "classic" gift books. Why? I don't know, but we received at least three of them between Archer's infancy and toddlerhood. And WOW. Just... Wow. Talk about the worst message I could even THINK to send my child, even as an infant. If you are unique and beautiful (have rainbow scales) and someone wants your beautiful uniqueness (rainbow scales) well then BY GOLLY! Give all of your beauty and uniqueness (rainbow scales) away so that you can be mediocre (have one rainbow scale left) just like everyone else! How this book has become a classic, I will never know. It is positively the worst children's book ever.
Don't judge this book by its cover. It looks sweet and innocent but really it's the Toddler's Communist Manifesto by Marxist Marcus Pfister
6. Baby Einstein CD's: I will never hate on the Baby Einstein collective as Archer grew up digging the DVDs and prefers Little Einsteins over any and all television, which is fine with me. The show is responsible for Archer's obsession with all things instrumental including his impressive ability to distinguish Oboes from Clarinets. But those dreadful CDs playing Mozart and Beethoven with synthesizers? Wolfgang and the boys are surely rolling around in their graves. I mean, really. Children should be exposed to the REAL thing... not some knock-off version of.
....................................
I'm sure there are plenty more I could add to this list but my brain is toasted and I need to sleep
lie down with my eyes closed whilst being kicked the shit out from the inside and if I'm lucky, fall asleep after two hours of trying to get comfortable only to wake up four-minutes later with the urge to pee like Austin Powers so PLEASE! My wonderful readers, answer me this: What baby stuff do you deem unnecessary? Specifically, what items (if any) do you totally and utterly despise?
GGC
Speaking of lists, this weeks "weird pregnancy symptoms" includes talk of kooky sex dreams and bloody pillow cases! Yeah, baby.
56 comments:
I am not a blog commenter type because as your friend I prefer to email. That said, as a father of one with number two on the way literally any day now, I feel like my opinion on "shit people don't need" is not only valid but hopefully helpful.
90% of the stuff we were gifted or purchased was totally useless. My take - unless you see the immediate value or it falls into the "indians raised their babies on the prairie with this object" category, take it back or don't buy it.
That said, two MUST HAVES:
- Swing, battery or cord operated, rocks back and forth and has overhead mirror and diff't sound settings. GODSEND. Number One spent lots of time here, and Number Two will too. Do not sacrifice tools that improve your sanity as a parent.
- Bumpo seat. Depending on your baby's progress, you can use this pretty early. And it lasts for awhile. It's light, easy to carry places, and baby loves it. Trust me.
Other useful items: diaper disposal with battery-powered de-odorizer, pack n' play for the mobile parents, obviously those carseat to stroller conversion things, and most of all a car that hits 55mph. =)
Hope this was useful for you all. Bec - LYMI (love you mean it), and all best on the final phases of Number Two. We're delivering via C section in the next 10 days, I'll keep ya posted fo sho!! xoxo
We didn't even buy burp cloths -- well, not the fancy ones. Once I realized that this beautiful piece of fabric was designed to catch puke, I just went ahead and bought a stack of disposable diapers to use, instead. The ones you fold yourself, you know? They are much much cheaper, so we could have more, they are easier to clean and you can bleach them, and they're super-absorbent as well. Less leakage through the cloth and onto the shirt you were trying to protect.
We also went without any diaper disposal system, and I think it was a great idea. We live in an apartment, so no easy access to our outside trash, but if we wrap -em up tight and take out the trash every day, it's not a problem. Added bonus - the trash ACTUALLY gets taken out every day!
And I second the nomination of Bumbo seat to the must-haves category. That thing absolutely saved us when Boopie was wanting to sit up and look around, but didn't have the strength yet. Avoided numerous tantrums!
Subscribing to the idea that you don't want your baby used to something that you can't/don't want to have with you at all times - I avoided the baby wipes warmer and bottle warmer. I'd heard the wipes warmer dried out the wipes and read that a baby will be just fine if you have to give it cold milk. Save your money on the bumper pads and take solace that you're doing the safest thing for your baby. I swear those mobiles are expensive and overated. We had a CD player that played music for longer than the 45 seconds the average mobile plays and our baby was a good little sleeper so he didn't spend a lot of time in the crib looking at it anyways. The mobile on the swing was another story - he freaking LOVED those guys!! Which reminds me to reitterate what the other guy said - the swing is a MUST. If not a swing, save space and try a bouncer, but our baby LOVED his swing way more. Of course the bouncer is nice too cause you can lug it into the bathroom and take a good long shower. Also, those light up plastic toy/music things that you are supposed to strap into the crib - they never worked out with the slats in our crib - couldn't strap them in right and I just figured, do I want my baby to sleep or play in the crib? Also, I could never find a really good mirror for the car to see him while he was rear facing, so I just did without and it was fine. Every mirror I tried just ended up looking like a pie pan and I was paranoid I would wreck trying to squint to see him. Those damn Eddie Bauer disposable bag cartridges are a great idea, but the case always springs open when you go to pull the bag out. I could go on...but this is a long enough comment!
I agree with you 100% on the diaper disposal. They are completely worthless. I used mine for my daughter's first week home and then I forgot about it. Not only the poop/pee odor problem but also the trying to reload the bags to make the "genie" work properly. Too much work and completely pointless.
I also have to say I agree with you about the Rainbow Fish book. My daughter just got it for her 2nd birthday and I thought the same thing. Needless to say it rarely gets put in the nightly bedtime book stack.
hated and never used my wipe warmer--it seems to dry out the wipes at an incredibly fast pace. bottle warmers--I used one with my first but it was such a pain in the ass--I trashed it for the second.
I 100% agree that those stupid diaper disposal things suck. Who wants to open it up after 25 diapers have been dropped in there. GROSS.
Hi! I've been lurking for oh so very long...this may be the first time I'm commenting.
Someone bought us an "object tester" to see if something is a choking hazard. Seriously. It looks like a clear plastic TP roll and is positively the dumbest baby item on the planet. The store charges $5 for the thing.
I always wonder how much they would charge for common sense if it could be packaged.
Good luck with your girl!
I agree that the baby wipe warmer is a waste of money, and honestly? Unless you live in a huge house with the baby in a separate wing, you don't really need a monitor. I ditched mine with the second baby because I realized that whenever she cried I was getting it in stereo - from the monitor and from the real thing.
Things we never used:
1) wipe warmer
2) bottle warmer (used it for a week until it died, the mocrowave is much easier, and if you actually SHAKE and TEST the temperature you're fine.
3) the car seat/stroller combo. Honestly. We used them seperately, but never in combination.
4) those sleep sack things. The kids always got irritated by their feet being covered up, just like mama
There are two big factors involved in choosing stuff for your baby: your lifestyle and your baby. You know the first, but second you have to wait for. Baby's personality and size determine whether a lot of things are essential or junk.
My advice is to hold off on things you don't need right away, like the Bumbo. My son loved the Bumbo, but a lot of babies don't. If you read reviews people seem to love it or hate it. Unscientifically, it seems that thinner babies like it better. I think the best thing to do is when it comes time for you to get one is to take the baby to the store, put her in the Bumbo and see if she likes it.
I wish I hadn't bought a crib or stroller. My crib took forever to arrive (because we were overseas) and then we moved and then moved again so it followed us around the world and we co-slept with my son until he was almost 20 months old. He is in the crib now, but we could have gone from co-sleeping to a toddler bed or regular bed with side rails or regular mattress on the floor just as easily. A Pack n' Play is a good purchase because it has multiple purposes: bassinette, playpen, changing table and toy storage. We got the most use out of it as a downstairs changing table and toy storage, but it was still worth it to have it.
I didn't use my stroller until my son was 16 months old. I used my Ergo and Beco carriers instead. At 16 months old and now living in Seoul with lots of hills, I would have chosen a different stroller.
I never used my baby monitor. I used the baby bathtub a few times, but mostly bathed with my baby.
Luckily, I didn't buy many gadgets, but I think those should be avoided as well unless you find you have a real need for one.
I just have to say that I've never heard of a wipe warmer... Maybe the invention hasn't reached Europe yet. When it does, I can warn everyone :)
I have no idea what lap pads are. Really. Thank goodness no one every got me those!
And the fancy burp clothes, I agree. Useless. Why do my puke rags need to match my blankets and wash clothes? Now those I was given tons of. I never would have bought them on my own though.
Oh, the boppy head neck thing was suggested by a physical therapist for G. We bought it, AND we even paid for a PT! Because G's neck was tight on one side. He was a breach baby for pete's sake! I put up with like 4 visits and realized his neck would loosen up when he started to use the muscles and I stopped paying for the PT. So I'd add PT to the list.
I'd have to agree with the wipe warmer and bottle warmer as giant wastes of money.
How about the 7 million recieving blankets most people have? I think I got a blanket from everyone when I was having my son. I picked my favorite 5 and the rest sat in a drawer.
Must haves for me were the Bumbo seat and the Boppy pillow. My son was happiest when propped up, so these things were PRICELESS to me.
This is my first time commenting and let me just say, you are an absolutely gorgeous pregnant lady!
Funny how it differs from family to family... Every one told us that the swing thing was a must, I bought the most expensive one because it was the least-offensive looking, and my son hated, hated, hated the heck out of it. It ended up in the pile of baby junk, waiting for my sis to get pregnant. We also never really used our baby monitor, and we were horrified one evening when we did and all we could heard was a very personal conversation taking place at our neighbors' house... We shared the frequency apparently.
I had some burping cloths but he just never burped in that throwing up way, I'm not kidding, he wasn't the burping type I guess. Never had bumper pads. And believe it or not, I never owned or used a sling, although I must say it was rather because they intimidated me a little bit and I regret it somehow.
The Bumbo, however, was something no one had talked to me about but that proved to be very useful.
Yep wipe warmer and bottle warmer...total waste. Who needs warm wipes and we just used a cup of warm water to put the bottle in for a bit.
I also agree about the monitor. We only used ours for a few weeks. Our house is small and I swear if she sighs to loudly I hear it without the monitor. If you have a bigger house I can see why you need one.
each and every thing you mentioned i agree with totally... i never even had those items cause they seemed so lame. and the rainbow fish... we've been saying that from the beginning... what an a-hol-ish message... no thanks to the conforming.
Hmmm...we couldn't have lived without our pack n play.
We use the diaper champ, but it gets taken out regularly. In fact, when she was really little, we had 2 diaper champs. They fit regular trash bags, and she pooped SO MUCH in the middle of the night, it was nice to have a non-stinky place for them.
We also love our boppy and bumbo, but the bumbo is a death trap say some. http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/Consumer/Story?id=3774854&page=1 Plus, we had a fat baby, and her legs always got stuck.
Worthless? Wipe warmers, bottle warmers, and the little hand mittens. Socks work better.
life saver: long sleeve onesies with hand cuffs to prevent scratching, the swing, and my Moby wrap...the kid would only fall asleep being bounced for a while, and that way she was strapped in tight against me.
I am with you on all of it. Esp. anything Baby Einstein...I'm just not buying that crap that my kids will be dumb if that don't have that stuff.
Mine is diaper bags, I despise them. A backpack or a big purse with one of those little three diaper holder things works just fine.
I find 99% of baby gear totally useless. I truly think all you need are a stack of diapers and some sort of baby carrier or sling. (And obviously a car seat if you drive.) Of course there are some other things that are nice, but most of them are useful for about a month. And OF COURSE your mileage may vary.
I am terribly concerned. My son is five-weeks old, and I've been using the Diaper Genie since we brought him home. And so far? I haven't noticed a stench. Now I am wondering whether this has something to do with breast milk... I've heard that breast milk poop isn't as rank as real food or formula poop. So now I'm wondering if when he gets off the boob, I'm in for it. I have a killer sense of smell, I swear!
Or maybe I'm just in that new-mom phase when I think my son's poo smells like rainbows and sunshine.
I used the few lap pads we had gotten as a gift as back-up pads on the changing table. I'd rather wash a lap pad than wash the whole changing pad cover, since I only had one extra and no on-site laundry. Other than that, if you aren't prepared to deal with a little spit-up overflow, then you have bigger problems in your life than not enough lap pads, ya know?
Aw, Sta... You know what? I don't think our pail stank until Archer was out of his infancy -- maybe for the same reason but we had our pail in our bedroom because we were all three living in a one-bedroom for Archer's first 5 months and I don't recall our bedroom smelling at all. It wasn't until later when it got bad and that might have been because he was eating solids?
And re: burp cloths... Totally bought a thousand and one of those Gerber striped clothes at Target. Super cheap and the perfect size. Of course, I did splurge on a few cute ones because how could I possibly resist? I always find a use for cute. The thing is? Most baby gear is fug...
Oh and re wipe warmers and bottle warmers, I was actually warned that they were useless so I never owned one (in fact, I don't even know what they look like I don't think).
Glad everyone's with me on the Rainbow Fish. Vey.
The Bumbo was awful for our child. She hated it, and I'm glad we had borrowed it rather than pay for it. I know other kids love it, but not mine.
The baby mittens and the sleeping gowns we received as gifts were pretty worthless for us and our baby.
What's funny is I thought the duck temperature thing would be fantastic, but like you said, it really got little use and was not needed.
The thing I thought we wouldn't need but ended up loving was the video monitor. My child makes a lot of noise sleeping and can at times go back to sleep without our interference. But if she's standing up, she will. not. go back to sleep on her own. Thank goodness for the video monitor so we can look without waking her.
Diaper Disposal System...ditto...useless piece of plastic and smelly as hell!
I found that sandwich sized ziplock bags (purchased in bulk at costco) were very handy for disposing of smelly diapers...always had a handful stuffed in a pocket of my diaper bag!
I loved most of the six or so einstein cd's I bought my son, and they were the only media that caught his attention before the age of 3.5 yrs! But, I despise the commercialization of the industry...toys, themes, baby gear...enough.
Disposable diapers. Seriously. They are so advanced now that they are truly a breeze to use. Plus they save you thousands of dollars. And you never have use for baby clothing as your baby looks so freaking cute in that polka dotted pocket dipe you scored on Etsy, etc. Oh and our crib turned out to be completely pointless. Our baby refuses to sleep anywhere besides our bed. Le sigh.
The Nature's Baby Diapers are also Awesome! They are worth the extra buck. I acutally use the lap pads on my changing table so I do not have to wash the cover as often.
I spent $35 on a bottle warmer i NEVER used. I quickly got my son used to drinking formula (I am in the same boobie sitch as you) straight from the fridge or tap.
For me, the most useless item was the plastic baby bathtub. I bought one and received another one as a gift, and my daughter HATED them. She always got cold and started screaming. So, I just got one of those mesh ramp-looking thingies and put her in the regular bathtub from the time she was two months old. That way, she could be nice and warm and covered with water, and she was happy as pie.
I'm definitely with you on the diaper disposal systems. Hated ours. Never kept in any odor and we went to the individual disposal bags like you.
Also, just wanted to let you know that I finished your book this morning at 1:00am. I loved it. You're a fantastic writer.
Amen sister on all your "must-not-have's" but especially numbers 1 and 5. Rainbow Fish is the worst.
Add me to the group of Diaper Genie haters. We do the same thing with the little baggies and are just fine with it. NO stench and minimal hassle. I would like to add diaper wipe warmer. Really? Unless you live in an igloo, are the wipes really that cold?
I say "no" to changing tables. They take up valuable space and you can't really use them once the little wiggle worm becomes mobile. Just sit your ass down on the floor and change them there.
The poop smell definitely changes once they start eating baby food/solids and not just breast milk/formula. Our friends without babies absolutely thought we had gone off the deep end when my husband described the smell as a Combo #5 at McDonalds - whatever that is - but like coffee and an egg/sausage biscuit. We kept saying, The Diaper Champ rocks, we don't smell anything. But then he started eating real food and now we walk the dirty diapers out to the garbage container.
If you can justify it, buy an ERGO carrier. You can use them from infant to four!! Kids like to be carried and this is a charm to use, sits babe's weight on your hips and folds away small. Take it to crowded markets, hiking, grocery stores, bus trips, everywhere for when kid wants out of stroller/up in arms so you can be hands free! Back, hip or front carry too. DO NOT buy a MAYA WRAP. Way too tricky to tie up! Babies also don't need those light projecting turtles, 350 dollar strollers, foam side things for crib support... they do need a zillion bibs esp. when teething starts! Bibs, cheap wal-mart washcloths and Born Free bottles. I love the swing in bathroom too.
For us, the biggest waste (besides a crib) was the NoJo Baby Sling which didn't fit right. And, as much as I liked our Arm's Reach Co-Sleeper, the kids just ended up in our bed and I put books, kleenex and water in the co-sleeper. By the third child, I never ever used a bib either. But, that's just weird.
I will say though that our Diaper Genie has lasted over SEVEN years, through three kids (and non-stop use) and it is awesome. No smell at all. I've always kept it in a closet but it is still in a bedroom. Maybe the newer models no longer work? I am happy to say though, that #3 is almost potty trained and soon I can toss that sucker in the trash.
Rainbow Fish sucks. Bibs with velcro suck too.
Burp cloths rule. The Baby Bjorn rules too.
baby seat bucket thing. Outgrew it, and we never could carry it and we're 5'8" and 6'4". Got a carrier and a reversible car seat (that fit better in compact car). Also hated giant stroller that came with it. Ugly, and I can't lift the damn thing. Waste of space.
Anything with batteries, except the swing (for reflux baby). That includes anything Einstein that plays horrid music.
Owl Babies book - Littlest owl whines all the time.
We loved our Maclaren stroller, got last seasons color for almost half off. Works great for tall parents, is easy to carry on the bus, and the Quest we got reclines, so its good after head control is attained.
Have to say that I loathed the Medela Breast pump. Nothing caused more anxiety, fights and self worthlessness as a first time mother than that bad boy. And so competitive - "how many bottles can you pump in 10 minutes?" Try one-half ounce, bitches. Would rather chew lightbulbs than pump again.
On the plus side, I loved the bottle warmer - lazy goodness! Also had to pry me away from sleep sacs. A dream for spazzy babies. Bumbos, the Bjorn, the swing and Baby Einstein were also gold.
Thinking of switching to cloth for the second - anyone have any suggestions?
Some things I decided were useless so I never bought them included the wipe warmer and bottle warmer, and the Bumbo chair. Unfortunately, Pumpkinpie wasn't into the Bjorn, so it wasn't as useful as I'd hoped, but perhaps this guy will like it.
I will say though - those lap pads? Didn't know they were called that, but I used those on top of the change table and as less-bulky portable change pads, so I only washed those most often, which was nice.
I need to buy a few million more baby washcloths and see if we still have the million bibs from Pumpkinpie for the drool. We used those instead of burp cloths, as she wasn't a spitter-upper.
I despise the wipes warmer, Bling pacifiers, and the floppy seat.
The floppy seat looked like a good idea until I actually saw myself using it. I just took a lysol wipe with me and wiped down the grocery cart...or better yet, gave my child a toy while we walked around the store.
OOh, mamafeelgood has a good one there with the grocery seat protector things. I have no idea how someone puts one of those in the cart while holding a child. And god knows I have enough stuff to remember to lug into the store (wallet, reusable bags, and oh yeah, the kid).
Seems to me that the junk we've got around in the largest quantity are TOYS...they move from favorite to favorite so fast. Stuffed animals have got to be the most worthless. I can't resist buying them, but my son barely cares about them at all.
caramama, I am SO with you on the love for the video monitor. We still use one on our 2 year old, because she happily will play in her crib for hours at a time, but sometimes that playing is because she has a poopy diaper and won't nap until it's changed. And she's QUIET when she plays, so the video is awesome.
Also with the grocery store cart protector things. I think I used mine once and then was like, eh, f*ck it. Too much hassle.
I never owned a diaper disposal system, but I will cop to having had a wipe warmer that someone gave us (I swear it was a gift!), and while it was definitely not useful, per se, I thought it was a nice luxury.
So much of this stuff is kid-specific, though. My kid: loved the swing, could take or leave the Bumbo and bouncy seat, liked her crib mobile a lot. YMMV, of course. Things I love- pack and play (so easy to travel and have convenient portable crib!), Ergo carrier, snap n go stroller. Things I'm meh about: too many receiving blankets, bucket carrier (except with the snap n go), sleep sacks.
On the diaper disposal system...
I always said I'd never use one, cuz they were smelly and didn't work well (I got this info from years of baby-sitting). But then my aunt bought me a Diaper Genie 2 at my baby shower, so I decided to give it a try.
Guess what? IT WORKS! Marvelously! It's simple, stink-free, and the liners are like $10 and last at least a month. I'm still using it with my 17-month-old, and so far so good. It's not like the original Diaper Genie (you know, with the sausage-looking twisty liner?). The only time I might even get a whiff of something unpleasant is when I change the bag (before I tie it off), and that's rare and literally lasts like a second.
It's probably the best baby item I own, so you might want to give it a try.
Anyway...as for useless baby items, my worst was probably the 7 million receiving blankets (I live in Louisiana...it's hot as hell 90% of the time) and all those baby towels & washcloths (I mean, I used them for the first few months, but since then he's been using our towels and washcloths and seems just fine).
1. baby bath tubs
2. bottle sterilizers
3. receiving blankets
4. baby mittens
They sell bags specifically for throwing away diapers???
We used plastic grocery bags.
oops and i forgot one
5. mother-in-laws.
It's funny...two of the most useless things mentioned would have been heaven with my kid! Both hit the market after his babyhood. Shopping Cart Covers, as annoying as they look, would have been great since my kid was DETERMINED TO LICK THE CART for over a year! I kid you not, it was rediculous! If he could reach it, he was going to lick it! And sleep sacks, which would have saved about a million trips to his crib to put his blanket back over him...and prevented the one time I found him with his blanket over his face as an infant...very scary that was!
I can't believe you posted about that book! I got it, too, and boy, does it ever suck.
I found I never used nipple cream or leaking pads -- and I bought about 100.
Also hated the (cute) baby towels with hoodies (two small, too thin, the hood part sucks) and the plastic bathtub thingie: I bathed Reed in the sink so he could stay submerged and, well, warm. Thus, no crying. I absolutely did not use the wearable sleeping bag thingie, either.
Ah, well. I know what I want for next time.
I am kidless, but babysit like it is nobody's business when I'm not teaching. I had to comment today because I am so HAPPY that someone else hates the diaper trash can thingies! First off, I could never figure the stupid things out...graduate school did not teach me that, and secondly, you could still smell the baby poo! I always thought that was because I was using it incorrectly, but maybe not.
Have fun with Archer this week!
Crib bumpers. After the first night in her crib we found my daughter burrowing her face under them- then I went online and read about how they can be suffocation hazards. Maybe bumpers have worked for some people, but I am really confused about why crib bedding sets are such a hugely marketed part of nursery decor if the bumpers are possibly dangerous. Did anybody else experience this? Once she got bigger she started getting her feet caught between the railings so we are now using a breathable mesh crib bumper which has been perfect. Not as stylish, but safer, in my mind.
I loved my bottle warmer- it helped with defrosting frozen breast milk.
I love love love my new Maclaren Techno XT- great for city living, taking subways and busses, managing stairs. I had a Peg Perego for the first 10 months and it was just unmanagable and too large for urban life.
Our diaper champ was good and contained ordors pretty well for the first 6 months or so...until we introduced formula and solids. Now diapers go out with the garbage nightly.
And the swaddleme blankets by Kiddopotamus for the first few months!! Essential!!!!
Children's books I hate:
Guess How Much I Love You - a battle of one-upmanship with your child? I don't get it.
Love You Forever - the creepiness of the mom crawling into her adult son's window ... ewww!
Little Bear - have you noticed how Mother Bear is constantly squashing Little Bear's dreams? He wants to fly to the moon and she's tells him he's too chubby, for crying out loud.
Changing tables. I don't understand the necessity! Why not just change them on the couch/floor/bed? Why spend *another* $500-800 for 4 wooden legs with a weird cushion on top. Plus, how many times have you had to walk away in the middle of a change because you forgot somethig (or the older kids are killing each other!). You can never leave a baby on a changing table.
http://notesfromthesleepdeprived.blogspot.com
I had to just laugh my ass off at the Rainbow Fish rant. WE HATE THAT BOOK! Why the hell does everyone love it so much?? Yes, please son, give away all your beauty so you have friends. Otherwise people won't like you. Buy your friends, that's the way to do it. Rrrrrgg!! Hate it hate it. That's awesome. I thought we were the only ones, seriously!
You know what blew me away? Cool Mom Picks did a huge survey with Munchkin and the number one anxiety around bathtime for parents, by FAR, was water temperature. Like worst case scenario, make the water lukewarm. Who knew that it induced such panic!
Funny, I had the exact opposite reaction to the Dekor -- really didn't notice too much of a stink, but then, I know what you mean. I probably wouldn't buy one again. Also -- the lap pads -- we used them on the changing table, but only had a few. I bought way too much plastic stuff that I thought I "needed." And we didn't. My best advice (to new parents) is to purchase as little as possible and then see what you actually need. It is probably much less than you think. I'm sure you're already hip to this. Also, I carted around so much crap that I really didn't need, too. If there is a next time, I'll use a much smaller bag.
I actually used the hell out of lap pads. But my guy was only four pounds when he was born, and his skinny little thighs couldn't keep the pee in the diaper. but anyway. The one useless item that I received like, seven of, were those little baby sized bathrobes. Seriously? Like I'm gonna wrestle my baby into a bathrobe after his traumatic little baths? Just give me fluffy towels next time.
Yup those bathrobes don't make a lot of sense as babies don't typically hang out in their robes like adults do. I also used the lap pads on the changing table but also use a larger one in the crib. Saves me from changing the crib in teh middle of the night.
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