Baby Items: Dos & Do Withouts

            I just loved reading other people’s online lists of baby item must haves and do withouts while I was pregnant. I mostly enjoyed reading these for the entertainment value rather than getting any useful information from them. (Ok. So some of them DID turn out to be useful.) Just for fun, I decided to share a list of some of the baby items I have found the most useful…and ones that I have found are completely useless/dumb as hell for a fairly simplistic person like me. Enjoy!

Do: Pacifier clips. To be honest, I didn’t give these much thought until recently. Myka lost her pacifier on one of the first hikes we went on after we got our backpack carrier. Honestly, I’m not surprised. I would have been MORE surprised if she hadn’t lost it. So, if your baby takes a paci and you are out and about a lot, I highly recommend you get one of these. They are super cheap. (Less than $5) They come in especially handy if you wear baby in back carriers of any sort or while they are in the shopping cart seat.

Do: Bouncer and/or swing. I swore up and down the entire time I was pregnant (and probably some before and after) that I would NEVER get a swing for my child. People too often use them as babysitters in my opinion and that was my reasoning behind not getting one. Myka started teething around the time she was 3 months old (you know, the fun stage where they are teething but usually don’t end up with anything to show for it!?) and I thought I was going to pull my hair out some days because I was so used to her being the most laid back baby in the world. I finally caved when my mom offered to buy one. At that point I was willing to try anything to get Myka to chill out. I’ve heard people say that most babies won’t like them if they weren’t put in them from the get go but she loved it!

If you still don’t want to get a swing, DEFINTELY at least get a bouncer. Myka’s monkey bouncer was THE best thing EVER. They’re easier to move around the house than a swing, baby fits in it for quite some time, and they usually have toys on them to keep baby entertained if need be.

Do: Burp cloths. Lots and LOTS of burp cloths! Why? Other than using them for their intended purpose, you can use them/make them into prefold diapers and, at the very least, reusable towels to dust, clean, or use in the kitchen!

Do Without: Hats. I have a weird love of hats and couldn’t wait to put those cute little beanies on Myka when she was born, especially since she was born in the fall. Ha! What a joke those were. 1) We live in Arkansas and it was still in the 70’s around the time Myka was born in October. 2) She unfortunately got her daddy’s head size and outgrew the cute little beanies in a month tops.

Do Without: Bottle Warmer. You can yell at me all you want, but I think this is one of the most useless inventions ever. I’m not about to sit around for 5 minutes and wait for a bottle to warm up while my child is screaming her head off. Thanks, I’ll pass.

Do Without: Wipe Warmer. To me, this has got to be one of the dumbest creations ever…in general, not even just pertaining to baby stuff. We have lived on this planet for a very, very long time and have survived until now without mommy and daddy using a wipe warmer to make sure they’re nice and warm for us. I think we will get along just fine without it…Please, PLEASE, I beg you to save your money on this silly contraption!

Do AND Do Without: Receiving blankets. This one’s tricky. From my experience, receiving blankets don’t really get used all that much for their intended purpose of wrapping baby up in. However, they have a plethora of other uses. My child happens to like a good game of peekaboo with these. You can also make them into pre-folds or fitted diapers, or even reusable cloth wipes! Use your imagination!

I hope you guys have at least gotten a laugh out of this. Just remember, everyone is different so if you don’t agree with something above, try not to get your panties too bunched up. ;)