POPULAR BABY REGISTRY ITEMS I HAVE NO REGRETS ABOUT SKIPPING
- August 6, 2024
- Baby, Family, Toddler
lets get into baby registry skips . . .
As a first time parent, creating the baby registry CAN BE one of the most time consuming, and anxiety inducing projects. So many options, so many reviews, and so many outside influences making you question if you’re making the best decision for your family or not. It was a lot. So with my second child on the way, let’s reflect on the popular baby REGISTRY items I have no regrets about skipping.
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baby registry skip | rocking/glider chair
FIRST UP, A ROCKING/GLIDER CHAIR. A NURSERY STAPLE FOR MOST, I never saw the value in obtaining THIS ADDITIONAL PIECE OF FURNITURE. Logistically, I just knew I’d never use it. Most put the chair in their child’s nursery, but infants typically spend at least the first (6) months of their lives sleeping in their parent’s room. Why have a chair available for night feedings and relaxing when it’s in a completely separate room?
Both my husband and I were totally content with relocating to the living room during those sleepless nights and setting up shop right on the couch. Which was also only a room away from the kitchen to grab a bottle. Personally, a rocking/glider chair seems like an unnecessary piece of furniture that inevitably gets little use over its lifetime. I never had one with my first child, and I feel no need to add one for my second.
baby registry skip | changing table
Similarly to the rocking/glider chair, a changing table felt equally unnecessary. I know, I’m quite the rule breaker! It is a very niche piece of furniture, but once your child is potty trained, what other use does it have? Since we were spending so much time in our living room, we opted to convert our ottoman into a changing station. The 3’x3’ ottoman space was big enough to use a large muslin cloth as a protective base layer, set a cloth changing mat down, fit a full diaper caddy, and allow the growing baby plenty of space to be changed comfortable well until he was ready to be potty trained. It was easy, convenient, and never once did we wish we had had a changing table instead.
baby registry skip | baby gates
NEXT, you’re PROBABLY thinking I’m OUT OF MY MIND FOR SKIPPING ON BABY GATES. I get it. we always said we’d pick some up once our son started crawling, but then for whatever reason, it just never happened. As a stay-at-home mom with only one child to keep an eye on, it was easy for me to keep him away from the stairs.
even more so, i used to opportunity to actually familiarize him with how to safely use the stairs. I started showing him the importance of descending the stairs on his stomach; I always spotted him from step to step; and in time I gave him the autonomy to test his our strengths and boundaries. Again, ALWAYS SUPERVISED!
I honestly BELIEVE this is one of the best decisions we stumbled upon because our son was able to learn an important life skill; he became familiar with risk; and he grew independence and confidence. Not to mention that by the time he was able to actually walk, going up and down the stairs was an even easier transition. This choice is certainly not for everyone, but no regrets from us.
baby registry skip | shopping cart cover
At first glance, a shopping cart cover seemed like an essential item to add to the baby registry. Obviously, my child would be out running errands with me, so providing him with a clean and comfortable surface just made sense in my new mom brain. But then I asked my girlfriends who were already well versed in motherhood, and they all agreed that a shopping cart cover was a total dust collector. At most the product got a handful of uses, and it just ended up being a poor investment. and thanks to the pandemic, every cart station now comes with disinfecting wipes to give any cart a quick wipe down.
baby registry skip | nail clippers
okay, these we actually do have, but I can count on one hand how many times we’ve actually used them. A newborn’s nails are so damn sharp, it’s a bit jarring! so they do need their nails trimmed down for their own safety. so I actually do advise having a set of baby clippers on standby. However, it’s so hard to get a grip on their little fingers, and keep your own hand steady on such a delicate surface.
Luckily, a lot of infant clothes, especially the pajamas, come with mitten attachments to keep your little one from scratching their own face, but of course these are only temporary solutions. Yet as our son got older, it never became any easier to give him a little manicure. And you know what, eventually his nails would chip and trim themselves. Even now at (3) years old, we continue to avoid that hygiene step. Ah well.
baby registry skip | bathtub faucet protector
ANOTHER BABY REGISTRY ITEM SKIP INCLUDED a bathtub faucet protector. Aside from our son enjoying a supervised shower every now and then, an uncovered bathtub faucet has never proven to be a threat to us. We have been lucky enough to have some bigger bathtubs in the homes we’ve lived in, and as our son became more coordinated and aware of his surroundings, it never felt necessary to cover the faucet. We keep a bathmat down to minimize slips and falls, and in my opinion that is a far better investment for his safety than a faucet protector.
baby registry skip | clothes with buttons
next, when adding any clothes to your baby registry, absolutely take not of how the clothing is fastened. I don’t care how cute the outfit is, buttons are the absolute worsE way to dress your small child. It takes far too long to snap every closure into place, and the older your baby gets, the more squirmy they become. Thus making dressing and diaper changes all the more challenging.
For me, it’s the two-way zipper all the way! The two-way zipper is the most convenient solution to getting babies changed quickly and efficiently, and whoever came up with this idea deserves a medal! Now, I didn’t completely swear off clothes with buttons, it’s always nice to have a special occasion outfit on hand, but when given the choice between buttons or zippered clothing, I’m Team Zipper.
baby registry skip | closet dividers
No offense to the Etsy sellers of the world, but this is a gimmick item that your baby registry will not miss. You will likely be gifted so many clothes before your baby’s arrival, and those clothes will include a variety of sizes and seasons. We’ve all seem the images and videos online of parents-to-be revealing their nursery designs, with the closet reveal feeling eerily similar to a celebrity revealing the contents of their fridge on MTV’s Cribs.
All those teeny-tiny clothes correctly lined up with their corresponding hanger labeled “newborn” to “18 months.” They’re super cute, I get it. I just knew it was an item I could survive without. My alternative was this: I lined everything up by size, and it if had a tag on it, it still needed to be washed and therefore didn’t fit him yet. Anything without a tag was washed and ready to be worn. Once he outgrew anything, I diligently put those clothes in a tote bin and labeled its contents to be stored away.
Now with the second on the way, all I have to do is unpack each tote bin by size, give those clothes a quick refresh wash, and hang them back in the closet to be worn. No aesthetic organizers required.
final thoughts . . .
Please believe me when I say, I absolutely love my children, and their safety is always at the forefront of my mind. And I can understand that some of my picks above can raise a couple of eyebrows. This is simply what worked best for our family. Early in my pregnancy I read about the “10 foot rule,” which basically encourages parents to allow their child at least (10) feet of space to explore at each age. So at (1) years old, allow him/her (10) feet of distance from you during independent play; at (2) years old allow for (20) feet; and so on, and so on.
I love this methodology and truly believe it has not only brought out so much confidence in my young son’s autonomy, but he has more importantly developed a solid foundation in assessing risk. Had I purchased some of the safety items above, I’m not sure if he would be as confident as he is today. I’m not a professional of anything, so please always keep your family’s best interests and needs in mind. my choices do not have to be your choices, and these are merely my opinions.
If you’re in the midst of creating your own baby registry, good luck! Every decision you make is for you and your family only. Don’t let myself or anyone else sway you from what you believe to already be true.
CHEERS BABES!
jenna
MADAME PRESIDENT AT DEPARTMENT OF DEPENDENTS