As I’m sure you are finding out, having a baby can be very expensive. From diapers and clothes to food and furniture, the amount of money you will be spending in the upcoming years is just too much to think about sometimes.
All you need to do is walk through one isle of the baby department to get your head spinning. Are all of these baby items necessary though? The answer to that is simply, no. Can you imagine what the children and babies of say 200 years ago would think if they saw all those things? Think back to your childhood…did you have most of these baby items they have today? Somehow, we managed to get along without them quite fine. Yes, it would have been nice to have some of them…some of these gadgets are really neat, but they are not totally necessary.
Our role as parents is to take care of our baby’s basic needs…food, shelter, clothing, toileting and especially our love and comfort. All the rest you give them is an added bonus.
Here are some examples of products you may want, but could probably do without if you need to limit your budget or save some space.
- Changing table – These are only really used in the baby’s first year of life if you are lucky to have a baby that will sit still for you. Once they reach a certain point, you are going to have a hard time getting them to lay still on top of it. You are much better off just buying a waterproof changing pad and lying them on the floor. It will save you money and could prevent a possible mishap too.
- Bassinet – Although these are really nice and pretty, you will only be able to use it for a very brief period of time. Once the baby can roll over, you cannot use them any longer. If you want to have the baby sleep near your bed, you could place a playpen with a bassinet feature next to the bed. Once you are done with the playpen’s bassinet, at least you will still have a useful playpen.
- Jumper, exersaucer or swing – These may be useful in entertaining your baby, but you might want to try your baby in one first before you make an investment in one. Not all babies like these movement/exercise toys and if that’s the case, you are going to end up wasting your money. If you have a friend or family member that has one, ask if you could borrow it for the day to test it out.
- A fancy diaper disposable system – Some of these can be quite expensive and you will have to keep buying the special bag refills. Any plastic container with a lid will work just fine if you change out the liner regularly. Plus, you can reuse your plastic grocery bags or use regular garbage bags in them, which will save you quite a bit.
- Video monitors – These are more of a device for the mom’s and dad’s well being, than for the baby. You probably aren’t going to sit there and watch the video monitor all throughout the night, so it might be a little more than you really need. A sound monitor will wake you if the baby cries or fusses in the night.
Baby products you could do without
