A friend recently sent me a Reader’s Digest article about baby products that are a waste of money (thanks, Irene!). I agreed with every one of them, and it got me thinking that the list wasn’t exhaustive enough. Thus, I’m posting the list here, as well as adding my own additions to it. Right now I have at least half a dozen friends who are pregnant (three with their first children), so this is for you guys (or I should say gals)!
1. Diaper Genie – You have to buy specific brand trash bag refills for this. I used a Diaper Champ that allows you to use regular medium trash bags. I used it a little while for Eliza, and then realized that no matter what you do to mask the smell, you just have to get diapers out of the house on a daily basis. My kitchen trash can became the receptacle for all diapers.
2. Pee pee Tee Pees – Sure, Zach peed on the wall and on me a few times while getting changed, but you can just keep the dirty diaper over a boy’s anatomy while you change him and quickly recover the area with the new diaper.
3. bottle sanitizer
4. bottle warmer
5. wipe warmer
6. baby powder
7. diaper caddy
8. receiving blankets – I would recommend Aden + Anais swaddling blankets,
9. hand mittens – My lactation consultant chastised me for ever putting these on Eliza, saying a newborn only has so many ways to learn about the world, and one of them is touch)
10. baby food processor (I have another post about the Beaba)
11. baby video monitor – You don’t NEED to see your baby while he sleeps. An audio monitor will suffice. If you WANT to, that’s a different thing entirely.
12. Baby Einstein DVDs
13. shopping cart cover – You bring the cover home, which now has all those germs on it anyway.
And now, my additions …
14. a portable crib with any bells and whistles – the one I got was $170 because it had a changing station attached to it, a music player, a vibration machine … and I never needed any of those things. I’ll say it a million times: you want your kids to learn to fall asleep without help, so getting in the habit of putting them down with sleep crutches is just dumb. (My disclaimer here is I’ve never had a child with colic, so I’m sure if I did I would be willing to try anything.)
15. crib or bedroom ambiance toys – ocean wonders, noise makers, etc. all become sleep crutches. It depends on you if you want to have to travel with these things for life.
16. special detergent – find a scent-free detergent you can use for the whole family and be done with it.
17. backseat mirror for the car – they’re safety hazards because they can cause accidents (because they distract you) and in an accident they can become airborne weapons.
18. car seat head supports – unless you have a preemie or your baby is underweight for your car seat and your pediatrician recommends this, you do not need it.
19. sleep positioners – aside from them being ridiculous to begin with, recent research has warned they are safety hazards.
20. Special stroller organizers or umbrellas – Honestly, marketers will try to sell you ANYTHING …
21. strap covers for car seats or strollers – My opinion is car seat makers have to meet strict standards to keep your kids safe. Why add anything unnecessary to such a piece of equipment? My kids are perfectly comfortable in their seats without these.
Stay tuned for a list that’s just the OPPOSITE – all the things you just can’t live without! And I’m curious if you have any baby products you got that you found to be useless.
I can't even pee in peace 
found you through chelsea :-)…
love this post. completely agree with everything! there’s so many things people are told are “necessary” when having a baby, but, they’re not.
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TOTALLY complete agree with your additions to the list! ALL of those things are useless and don’t work at all!
Oh and PS- thanks for the shoutout. ;p