When you’re about to have a baby, it can be easy to get carried away with what to buy them. There’s so many things they need and so many different options under each category. And every parent will have their own opinions. More so, they will have a different list of baby items for what they do and don’t need. So from someone who is currently learning what is necessary and what was a complete waste of money, here are my thoughts!

1. Baby Clothing Items

Baby clothes are the most popular thing for expectant parents, as well as friends and family, to buy for soon-to-arrive little ones. Here are some things to consider when making your buying or making your baby registry for clothing.

Onesies of various sizes

Between the spit up, pee and poop accidents, and in the early weeks, umbilical cord leakage, you will want plenty of onesies in general. Plus depending on you and your partner’s work schedule, you may not have much time for laundry. So keep about 10 outfits in rotation.

You likely won’t need as many newborn onesies as you do any other size as they grow out of this size the fastest. By week three, our soon had already moved on to 0-3 month size. In fact, we could’ve done without the newborn size entirely. But we didn’t know he was going to be so big!

If you can, ask for hand-me-downs! Between this or thrift shopping for baby clothes, you can save some money since babies grow fast.

Think seasonally

What season is your baby being born in? If it’s summer, choose more short-sleeve onesies. If in the winter, choose more long sleeves. Babies grow fast and you may not need one versus the other before they grow out of it.

Save on shoes 

Don’t waste your money on buying baby shoes. Sure they are cute, but until they can walk, babies really don’t need shoes. If you want to keep their feet warm, onesies with full pants and covered feet are a great option in winter. And for summer, if needed, socks can be worn.

2. Diapering

Obviously diapers are essential. Even if you are choosing to start elimination communication for early potty training. However, there are some other accessories that are more hotly contested.

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Diapers that are most practical for you 

If you plan to host a baby shower, it could be a good idea to host a diaper raffle. In doing so, you can stock up on diapers. But more so, you will probably get a variety of diaper brands to test out!

When we did this, we got Huggies, Pampers, and Kirkland brand diapers. We found that we preferred Huggies at least for the newborn phase as these diapers worked best with our son’s umbilical cord nub before it fell off. The other two brands seemed to rub a little more than the Huggies did.

Also the type of diaper you use, cloth or disposable, should depend on what you know will be most practical for you.

READ MORE >> 6 Ways to Save Money on Diapers

Just be sure that whichever type of diaper you choose, you have plenty stocked up for use. Both for at-home use and to store in your diaper bag. This one from BabbleRoo is so functional, comes with a portable changing pad, and looks like a normal backpack.

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Wipe warmers 

While it may be more pleasant for your little one to get wiped with a warmer wipe rather than a cold one, this baby item is not a necessity. Instead, most kids will do fine with room temperature wipes. Especially because when you are on the go, you may not have a wipe warmer handy anyway.

But if you notice your little one is particularly sensitive to temperature, you can invest afterwards.

Diaper changing table

Depending on preference, you may or may not need or want a diaper changing table. For me, I didn’t just get a diaper changing table. I purchased a dresser that had the option to have a diaper changing station screwed to the top of it. This is the one I got from Graco for $220. And once our baby is out of the diaper stage, we can take the station off of the top and just use this as a dresser in his room.

I can understand why some may not get one. For us, we only use the changing station for morning and night time diaper changes. While the rest of the day, we do diaper changes on a portable flat changing mat on the ground. But the fact that it is a dresser does help with storing his clothes with ease.

READ MORE >> Where can I buy discount, used, or “open box” baby items online?

Changing Pad Covers are unneeded baby items

I am referring to the soft, possibly muslin fabric changing pad covers. These are very unnecessary. The reason being is that it’s just adding more laundry to your to do list.

When I purchased our changing pad to go on our diaper changing station, it included a waterproof changing liner. Making it super easy to just wipe down the pad with a wipe if it gets a little messy during changing. Instead of taking off a fabric cover and putting another one on.

Diaper Genie

I’ve heard from multiple people that a Diaper Genie is pointless. It’s a “specialized” diaper trash can. Or you can save yourself some money and just get a regular trash can with a lid. It will do the job the exact same and you won’t have to pay a premium.

3. Bedding 

The first thing you will have to decide on here before buying any items is how you plan on your baby sleeping. Will they be sleeping alone or will you be co-sleeping? When they are in the newborn stage, this could mean the difference between buying a bassinet to keep next to your bed or some sort of nest that goes in the bed with you.

But this isn’t the only thing you will need in terms of baby items for sleeping,

A crib that grows with your baby

Invest in a crib that grows as your baby does. In this way, you only have to invest once, and you can save a lot of money and waste.

For example, a 4 in 1 baby bed not only performs like a crib, but can be transformed into a toddler bed with a safety rail, a day bed, and even a headboard for when your child progresses into a twin or full bed.

However, if you plan on co-sleeping with your baby or having them in a bassinet to start, then buying a crib may not be necessary until a few months down the road. My husband and I didn’t even buy a crib until our baby was 3 months old.

Skip the bumper pads 

One crib or bassinet accessory that you’ll want to avoid is bumper pads as well as other soft items like them. Not only are these an unnecessary expense, but they have also been associated with an increased rate of SIDs.

4. Baby Safety Items 

Like many baby items in this blog – some items you need now and some you won’t need until later. And whether or not you need certain safety items will depend entirely on your specific situation.

Baby gates 

Baby gates are absolutely necessary if you have stairs in your home. But you won’t really need them until baby starts to crawl.

However, for our family, we needed a baby gate right away since we have a very excitable husky. We also didn’t know how our dog would react to the new addition to our family and thought it best to keep our two main living areas blocked off until he got acquainted.

Baby monitor

We’re going back to one of the main questions – is baby sleeping near you or in a separate room? Depending on when baby starts sleeping in a separate room from you, you can hold off on buying a baby monitor until that time. I recommend buying one that doesn’t have Wifi access!

Or you may not even need a baby monitor if you are living in a smaller residence and can hear them from room to room.

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5. Bottle Feeding

Whether you are formula feeding or breastfeeding, bottles and some accompanying accessories may be needed.

How Many Bottles Needed

This is going to come down to personal preference and ability to clean quickly. For example, we have 8 bottles in our rotation and that is the absolute perfect amount. Especially because when our baby was cluster feeding, he needed to eat 4 times overnight. And instead of cleaning bottles at 2am, we are able to just dirty the bottles that we needed and keep on trucking.

I know some people that want to stay minimalist in this department, with someone even telling me that they only plan on having 2 bottles total. As long as you are able to take the time to clean each bottle after use, I’m sure it’s possible to only have 2.

Glass vs Plastic

This seems to be a growing debate for parents. Do you buy glass or plastic bottles? For a full understanding of what it could mean to get one versus the other, check out this article from Bibs.

4oz vs 8oz Bottles

Some parents like to go straight to getting the larger, 8oz bottles. It’s not like it can’t hold a smaller amount for baby’s needs, right?

For our newborn, by his third week we were already transitioning to the 8oz bottles for his overnight feedings because he was eating 5oz after sleeping a little longer.

So if I were to do it again, I would not bother with the 4oz bottles.

Bottle sterilizer

Getting a sterilizer is cool, but kind of necessary. And I say that as someone who bought one. It still requires that I hand-wash the bottles as it doesn’t act as a dishwasher.

With the one that we purchased, I do like that it adds an extra layer of germ protection and dries all the bottles and parts. Plus for $65, I’m not that upset about the purchase. But again, not all that necessary.

Formula dispenser

“You don’t need that! Just make the bottle by hand.” Everyone’s situation is different. To be fair everyone has the time to make a bottle by hand. But the real question is “if something makes your life easier, why wouldn’t you choose it?”

For us, a formula dispenser, which is practically a formula Keurig machine, makes our life very easy. Especially when I only have one hand available because the other is holding the baby. Or if it’s the dead of night and my husband and I are half asleep trying to make a bottle.

Our Baby Breeza is something that we absolutely love to quickly make a bottle. And it comes with three temperature settings – room temperature, body temperature, and slightly above body temperature. To us, the ease and quickness makes this a perfect purchase for us.

Bottle Warmers – A “don’t need” baby item

No need for a bottle warmer. If you do decide to get a formula dispenser, it can heat the bottle up to baby’s preferred formula setting. But babies don’t NEED warm bottles. In fact, they can even have cold milk if that is what they prefer.

Final Notes on what baby items are needed or not

At the end of the day, buy what you think you need. You’ll always hear opinions from someone, but no one knows your situation better than you. What is necessary to one person may be completely pointless to another. So take my notes with a grain of salt! Do your own research, make your own gameplan, and most importantly enjoy your little cutie patootie!