
There are so many companies desperate for a bite of new parents. They’re spending millions of dollars putting their products on billboards, in the hands of influencers, and all over ad slots on websites. If you search “best products for baby” the Google results probably reach from here to Peru.
Let us cut the hype and tell you what you can do without.
Pack N Play
Unless you need to spend several hours per week at a separate location (that has plenty of space!), you don’t need this. Pack N Plays are heavy, bulky, and finnicky to set up and take down. Skip it and buy a $20 travel bed instead.
Baby Bath Supplies
Baby washcloths, baby towels, baby soaps, baby lotion…. Completely unnecessary. Those smaller washclothes are not any softer than a normal one. The hooded towels, while super cute, aren’t any different from a regular towel. And baby soaps and lotions? Unless your baby has a medical condition, baby skin is what soaps and lotions are invented to imitate. Wash your baby with warm water, use a very mild soap for any thick dirt, and call it a day. (Also, wash your baby in the kitchen sink instead of buying a baby bathtub that you then have to store and wrangle.)
Swings, Rockers, Bouncy Seats
A swing or a rocker may have a use if you work from home and need to have your hands free for a time, but in general these are just things to trip on when you’re getting baby for a nighttime feeding.
A Mobile
This is a decoration for you. It makes the nursery look nice. It’s not going to matter to your baby.
Noise Machine or Music Player
Most babies actually have to be trained to be comforted by music or noise, and different brains are affected by white noise so differently that this is better to purchase to solve a sleeping problem rather than as a matter of course.
Most Clothes
Your baby will need 6-20 diaper changes per day (depending on whether you use disposables or cloth and how their body functions.) Do you really want to fight to get cute little pants on legs that are trying to curl up or kick everywhere that many times a day? No, you don’t. Keep your baby in sleepers until they start to crawl. Have maybe one fun outfit for special occasions.
Toys
Your baby isn’t going to care about toys very much. Most babies play with a toy for only a few days before their brain has decided they’ve learned what they need from it and move on. If you’re looking for a way to keep things fresh for baby and give them the most learning abilities, check out our boxes!
Our goal is to help you keep the first year simple, because you’ll have enough to do just caring for your baby. Don’t sweat it, parents!
Baby Discovery Box Team