If I was going to have another baby – if this rusty old factory wasn’t closed – this is what I wouldn’t buy next time.
When “let’s pull the goalie and see what happens” quickly turned into “holy crap, I’m pregnant at 39”, I was befuddled, to say the least. Very happy, but overwhelmed. I didn’t know a ton about babies.
I quickly turned to SHOPPING to soothe my anxieties and get excited. I’d hit Once Upon A Child every week. I went insane on Amazon Prime Day. I quickly subscribed to Lovevery, which I’m still very happy about.
Now, retail therapy isn’t really the healthiest thing ever. You could take that money and spend it on a prenatal massage every other week. But obviously, purchases do need to be made – the sheer number of things a baby needs is astounding.
Many of the things I bought were winners. I’ll talk about that another time.
Instead, here are five things I wouldn’t bother buying again if I ever had another baby.
Infant Shoes
Sure, a baby eventually needs shoes. But even the most crushing-their-milestones-early baby isn’t walking at three months.
“You’ll never use them,” my mom told me as I squealed over an itty-bitty pair of shoes at the store. I ignored her and bought them anyways.
I never used them, or the other three pairs of newborn shoes I bought.
Burp Rags
Ok, maybe I didn’t spend a ton of money on these (in fact, my wonderful aunt made them for me!) But I did diligently collect a ton of burp cloths and store them in a cute little basket in the nursery. They got a prime location next to the changing table – I figured I’d be using them all the time, since in old photographs of me as a baby anyone holding me seemed to be using one.
I think I tried using burp cloths maybe a couple of times. Then I realized that spit up was going to be everywhere, all the time. It was a losing battle.
Maybe I should have offered burp cloths more often to people who were visiting… but if you can’t handle the upchuck, you don’t deserve to hold him.
A Cushioned High Chair
This photograph was taken about a day after I had just laundered the high chair cover. One day, and the creases are already crusted with cottage cheese and avocado. There’s a slimy sheen I just can’t get rid of, and it’s taken on a vaguely orange cast.
No offense to Graco (we have other stuff that we love), but skip the cushioned high chair. Get a hard one that’s easy to wipe, whether a cheap plastic Ikea high chair or a bougie wooden Tripp Trapp.
Dressy Baby Clothes
“You can’t keep him in pajamas all day,” my mom said.
Wrong. That’s exactly what I did.
For the first few months, it’s one-piece footed pajamas all day every day. Even now, with baby over a year old, he’s in pajamas at least half of his waking hours. Sometimes I put him in real pants and a shirt when we leave the house, but not always. Especially now that it’s winter in Alberta and baby boy wants to kick off any and all socks, footed pajamas are often the only way to keep his feet reliably covered when we leave the house.
My point? Dressy little outfits are adorable, but more annoying than they are worth most of the time – especially in the first few months when the little gremlin will be having blowout poops six times a day.
Get one, maybe two fancy little outfits if you’re planning something like a photoshoot or baptism. Otherwise, all aboard the all-day pajama train. You know that’s what you would want to wear all day if it was socially acceptable.
Nursing Clothes
This one’s not for baby, but for mom.
Tops made for nursing are weird. I always found it sort of undignified to have to stick a tit out a hole in my shirt. I’d rather just double down with my double Ds and just pull a whole normal top up. If someone doesn’t like it, they don’t have to look. And then I won’t end up with these weird shirts in my closet when I finally wean.
Some nice, stretchy, slightly oversized T-shirts work just as well, and will actually be useful later.
