Blame it on hormones, excitement or the fact that everything comes in the tiniest packages you can imagine. Everything comes in cute colors, prints, sizes, and cute sayings. There are tons of technological gadgets like blenders, bottle warmers, and coffee-machine-like baby bottle makers just itching to take up all the space on your kitchen counter. Buying for your newest addition can be somewhat addicting & exciting, but can wreak havoc on your budget if you’re not careful.
As I look back on my own journey as a mom, I realize there are some things I definitely needed and others I could have lived without. Today I’m here to save you some coins and give you the skinny on what’s what.
Skip: The multiple bottle steam cleaner.
Don’t get me wrong – when you have a screaming baby in the background, I doubt he/she wants to wait on you to boil a bottle to disinfect it. So, I figured with our busy lifestyle, I would opt for something like this which could get the job done quick & fast. This gadget was pretty handy once you got it going, but the process of getting it all set up was extremely cumbersome. I began to find it easier to wash Laila’s bottles by hand in some hot water and dye/detergent-free dish soap & let the air dry. Simple as that. This steamer took up an entire section of my counter and I never used it more than 10 times. Skip it.
Keep: The Bottle Warmer
I’ve read a number of articles that cite skipping this item, but I don’t know about your child, but Laila wasn’t down for drinking a cold bottle of milk in her early days. Some suggest to run their bottles under a faucet of hot running water. Doing this, btw, takes FOR-E-VER. A bottle warmer was so small, simple to use, & inexpensive that I’ve taken it on multiple trips and hotel rooms and it worked just fine.
Skip: The super-fancy outfits
In this post, I share my sentiments about buying all the fancy fancy for a newborn when they are going to blow through it, throw up all over it, or require at least 5 more changes that day, so why waste your money? I understand taking photos of your newborn in fancy, expensive clothes for social media is tempting, but everyday is excessive & isn’t realistic. When you find yourselves left with the option of throwing away a onesie because it’s barely recognizable and you’re unable to salvage it to wear again, it’s a hurting feeling. Save your coins.
Keep: The Diaper Genie…well, sort of.
Look. I feel some type of way about people saying this is definitely not needed. If you’re busy changing 12 diapers a day, putting all that in your kitchen garbage is just, as Laila would say, “Eww. Yucky!”
The genie was a life saver to our garbage & saved us from the wonderful smells that can permeate from a little human. It kept everything contained and covered until it was full. Simple as that.
There is a catch here though: the one you choose to invest in is key! We initially started out with this one, but moved over to this one. Why? First off, this one broke on us. However, I don’t like having to push diapers manually down in the can with my hands. I’d rather stick it in, close it, and the top sucks it down. That’s what you get with this one.
Look at me: go with this one! Save your mani.
Skip/Keep: The Wipe Warmer
This one technically depends on your child’s preference. Laila absolutely hated a cold wipe. Like despised it to the point we had to get her one to make diaper changes a lot less crazy. Sure, you can “warm” a wipe in your hand, but try that when your child has a massive blowout all over themselves, you, your furniture, etc. I simply didn’t have time for it and keeping her as calm as possible was the goal. The choice is yours on this one, but for us, we benefitted from using this one for about 3 months.
Skip: The Baby Bathtub
Okay, before you think I’ve lost all sense here, hear me out. When Laila was born, we lived in a high rise with one huge bathtub & we didn’t buy a bathtub. Why? First off, a baby doesn’t need a bath every single day. It dries out their skin & they aren’t running errands or sweating in a gym. I pretty much sponged Laila off for the first 2 or 3 months with a little bucket of water while she laid there. Around 3 months, we opted for this, which was AMAZING to put in the sink since she was still so little. She enjoyed bath time and it kept her snug and safe. When she was finally able to sit up, I put her in the regular tub. I’m so glad we didn’t waste the money.
Keep: The Travel Bottle & Food Warmer
One of the absolute best money spent was on THIS CONTRAPTION – The Tommee Tippee Travel Bottle & Food Warmer. This pretty much acts like a thermos you can take to warm up your baby’s bottles, food, or use to mix formula. The water you put in it will stay warm/hot for 12+ hours and is ready whenever you need it. I used this mostly for warming up her bottles while we were on the road, in the airport, at restaurants & any other place I couldn’t conveniently plug in a bottle warmer. Life. Saver.
Skip: Baby Laundry Detergent
Before you wash all those cute, tiny clothes in detergent that costs $20+/bottle, check this out: your baby is a human. It will have skin that is sensitive. Your child will be held close to you & you don’t wash your clothes in baby detergent. If you want delicate detergent that’s free & clear, opt for something like All Free & Clear. I’m serious. You are going wash 1,000 onesies a day. That fancy stuff adds up. My child had cradle cap and terrible eczema & her skin did perfectly fine when I washed her garments.
