It happens to all first-time moms.

You find out you’re pregnant and suddenly you feel the need to stock up on every single baby item you can get your hands on.

But as the price tags stack up, you wonder do I really need all of this? The short answer is NO! You do not really need all of the cute baby clothes or baby toys that you see in the baby aisle.

Trust me. Babies are expensive enough without all of the extras that these adorable baby boutique stores want you to buy.

In fact, when I was about to become a first time mom years ago, I thought the same way. I wanted all of the newborn baby things I saw at my local baby stores. And I actually purchased several newborn baby items and accessories that I truly regret buying to this day. There were several baby clothes and supplies that my daughter never used.

And it wasn’t until I was preparing for my second baby’s arrival that I knew what I truly needed to purchase and what could stay at the baby store. Unfortunately, one of the most common ways to find out what you are really going to need for your new baby is by experience. That’s what happened to me and tons of other moms.

But guess what! It doesn’t have to be that way for you. Instead of guessing what you may or may not need for your little bun in the oven, I have listed all of the products that you don’t really need for baby.

(THIS POST MAY CONTAIN AFFILIATE LINKS HOWEVER, I WILL NEVER RECOMMEND ANYTHING THAT I DO NOT BELIEVE IN OR USE MYSELF. YOU CAN READ MORE ABOUT MY DISCLOSURE POLICY HERE)

1. Cute Baby Robes

Firstly, I wanted to start off with baby bathrobes. Who came up with this? Of course, they make for a cute picture that you can keep but what baby would keep a bathrobe on.

Most moms wrap their baby in a towel and then get them dressed. Taking the time to fiddle around with a robe is just too much work after bathing your baby who had sticky and crusty milk spills everywhere (please tell me that I’m not the only mom who’s dealing with this).

Instead, if you are looking for a very useful bath towel for your little one, I would highly suggest these hooded towels that make wrapping around the baby easy and quick. The hood keeps them warm and prevents the towel from falling off.

And if you’re crafty you can make your own DIY hooded baby towels as I did here. They are so easy to make and my kids love them.

2. Newborn and Baby Shoes

Buying baby shoes is just plain silly if your baby hasn’t started walking yet. I think they are mostly just another baby accessory that is for taking cute pictures or for dressing up. But for my kids, I never even started thinking about looking at shoes until after they were fully walking unassisted.

If it gets cold a pair of socks did the trick. And since they were carried everywhere up until they were completely mobile, it wasn’t a necessity.

3. Wipes Warmer

The wipes warmer was a huge baby purchase regret of mine. It was too much trouble to mess with for us. Our baby wipes warmer had to be constantly refilled with water and it just seemed to not get used after we got a little lazy.

Seriously! we were new parents and hardly sleeping so anything that was not part of survival we didn’t worry about.

Instead, we just used wipes right out of the package. Our kids didn’t seem to care. And when I started cloth diapering, I would wet my cloth wipes as I was about to change our baby’s diaper. It just made life easier.

4. Baby Food Maker

Usually, babies around 6 months old will begin to add solid foods to their diet. And most of the time pureed fruits and vegetables are the most common foods to start off the solid food journey. And while you can certainly buy prepackaged baby food purees at the local grocery store, making them yourself at home saves a ton of money.

So if you have already thought about making your own baby food purees at home, then I’m sure you’ve seen amazing baby food blenders like the Magic Baby Bullet and Baby Brezza.

Sure you can spend a ton of money on those fancy baby food processors, but you could also use something you probably already have at home. A blender. It does exactly the same thing but is not marketed for making baby food purees. That’s the only difference.

Save your money and check your appliances. Blenders are also very cheap. Just steam anything that is not already soft and puree it yourself.

5. SwaddleMe – I just use these blankets instead

If you have been around a baby or read baby books, you should already know that most babies love to be swaddled. This is mainly because they were tightly confined in their uterine home for months where they felt comfortable and safe. So naturally, those babies want to feel that comforting feeling again which can be done by swaddling them.

Often times when you are in the hospital after giving birth the nurses will help as well as teach you how to swaddle your baby with the blanket they provide, but some parents are not the best at swaddling their little ones.

That’s why the idea for the Swaddle Me blankets came along. They are already sectioned off with velcro that attaches to itself and allows much easier swaddling.

In our case, however, I found that our little babies were able to get out of the swaddle and often didn’t care for the way the Swaddle Me felt. So for our babies, we chose these soft Muslin blankets to swaddle our babies in. It really was much easier. And we already had them on hand so it worked ours for us.

6. Baby Mittens

Baby Mittens are another cheap baby item that is almost always recommended to add to a baby registry. And it actually is something that can be useful if your baby is one that scratches his or her face often. This is actually very common.

Newborn babies do not have great motor control over their hands and because of this every time, they run their little faces they could accidentally scratch themselves.

So this baby accessory is certainly important if your baby ends up with scratches on their face, but you don’t necessarily have to purchase baby mittens for this.

I recommend using baby socks instead. Most moms are gifted several baby socks at their baby shower so why not just pop some socks over their hands?

It honestly works just as well and keeps you from having to buy anything new. Also after purchasing baby mittens for my first child, I found that they don’t hold up well over time anyway.

7. The Diaper Genie – refills are expensive

If you have not heard of the Diaper Genie, you probably don’t know how expensive it can be over time.

The Diaper Genie is a special trash can that is very narrow and had it’s own trash bag refills that you have to purchase. It’s not your typical trash can that has a ton of room either.

But the biggest downfall that the Diaper Genie has is how expensive the trash bag refills can be. And if you happen to cloth diaper as we did, it can be difficult to fill with cloth diapers since they are a tad bigger than disposables.

In my opinion, the Diaper Genie is not a baby must-have. We ended up just using our trash can when our kids were in disposable diapers and then once we started cloth diapering, I bought a cheap trash can for $10 and added the cloth diaper wet bag insert to it.

It was a one-time purchase and could hold at least 2-3 worth of diapers.

8. Fancy Changing Table

Changing tables are a typical piece of baby gear that most parents buy when they are preparing for the baby’s arrival. And I admit it is nice to have a designated place to change your baby.

But the problem with a changing table is that it is one huge piece of furniture that only serves one purpose – changing diapers. Of course, in the beginning, you will be changing diapers all the time. But it seems more cost-effective to invest in furniture that can perform more than one task.

One example I recommend is buying a long dresser that is wide enough to put a changing pad on top. And then you can create an entire diaper station on top of your baby’s dresser where their clothes will be stored. Makes sense right?

Now for our babies, we never really used a changing table. In fact, I mostly changed my babies our bed or on the carpet floor once they got older. It made it simpler for me.

• How to Create a Baby Nursery on a Budget

More Baby Related Posts

• 7 Reasons Why I FAILED at Breastfeeding My First Baby
• My Top 9 Breastfeeding Essentials
• 12 Ways to Save Money When Having a New Baby
• 10 All-Natural Teething Remedies to Soothe Your Irritable Baby

9. Too Many Newborn Baby Clothes

Let’s talk about newborn baby clothes for a minute. I was given numerous newborn clothing for my daughter at my first baby shower. In fact, I dare to say I was given too many newborn sized clothes. My daughter didn’t even wear half of the clothes she had. And many babies don’t.

Here are the facts. Most newborn babies grow quickly and end up growing out of their newborn sized clothes pretty quickly. My daughter was out of her newborn clothes within her first month. And I really didn’t need a ton of clothes for her since it was winter when she was born, so we didn’t leave the house much.

We mostly dressed our daughter in sleepers with the feet on the bottom which made life easier with a newborn. Messing with fancy cute baby clothes were too time-consuming for us and added more stress than anything.

I recommend waiting to buy any baby clothes until your baby shower to see what you are already going to have. And then once you are close to your due date making sure you have a few sleepers, onesies, socks if it’s cold, and maybe a handful of diaper shirts.

That’s really all you need to get started. Plus you can find several moms selling used baby clothes online that are perfect for using on your little one.

10. Bassinet

A bassinet is a small bed made to sit right next to your bed. This makes it where you don’t have to have your baby in the crib until they are a little bigger.

I had a bassinet with both of my kids and I thought I would need it both times but I honestly did not. My daughter slept in her swing for the first few months of her life due to her acid reflux. And after having my son, I was able to successfully breastfeed and ended up accidentally falling asleep nursing him in bed. And so our journey of cosleeping began.

You certainly do not have to have a bassinet – especially if you are already getting a pack and play that has a bassinet feature. Just use that instead and save your money.

11. Newborn Baby Hats

Aren’t newborn hats the cutest thing in the world?

It’s so tempting to purchase tons of newborn baby hats, but you really don’t have to have many unless it is really cold when your baby is born. The hospital is so great to provide a newborn baby hat for your baby right after birth and it is completely universal to fit even the biggest of baby heads.

I honestly only used the one hat that was given to us at the hospital when my babies were born. It just seemed to fit better than any other baby hat out there. But if you find that you need more, I would only get one or two to be safe.

12. Baby Humidifier

We did end up purchasing a Humidifier for our first child’s room but never used it. I myself have never needed to have one throughout my two kids being born.

They take up a ton of room and work which I wasn’t up for.

13.Baby Burp Rags or Burp Cloths

Okay after reading that you don’t need baby burp rags, I am sure you are thinking I’m crazy. Babies spit up – ALOT!

Yes, I know. Both of my babies suffered from horrible acid reflux so they were spitting up constantly. But I am certainly not saying that you don’t need to cover your shoulder with something while you burp your baby. I would just urge you to consider using something you will likely already have in your arsenal as a burp cloth.

One of my favorite things to drape over my shoulder as I burped my babies was a receiving blanket. I mean surely you were given like 50 of them at your baby shower, right? Why not put them to good use? They are super absorbent and just the right size to fold in half and catch all of that spit-up that you baby so graciously gives back.

Besides, actual burp rags are so tiny and not nearly as absorbent as a great old receiving blanket.

• How to Soothe Acid Reflux in Your Baby Who is Always Spitting Up

14. Baby Bottle Warmer

The bottle warmer is just like it sounds. You can make a baby bottle of breastmilk or formula and heat the bottle up a little to your baby’s liking.

I did have a baby bottle warmer the first time around but it took up a ton of time so I decided to start making my daughter’s bottles of formula as she got hungry and feed her room temperature milk. And guess what. She loved them. She didn’t care that they weren’t warm. It made bottle feeding a little easier.

With my second child, I exclusively breastfed so there was hardly the need to warm a bottle. However, there were special occasions where I would leave a bottle of pumped breastmilk in the fridge for my husband to feed our son if I was not back in time. We simply put the bottle of cold breastmilk into a cup of hot water and it warmed up in no time.

*Also, DO NOT use a microwave ever for heating up a bottle. It can cause hot spots in the milk and mess with the natural nutrients in breastmilk.

15. Too Many Baby Bottles

Now speaking of baby bottles, that is another common baby accessory to add to your baby registry.

With my daughter, I tried a few different bottles to find just the right one to help with her acid reflux and eliminate as much gas as possible. We ended up loving these baby bottles.

But for my son, we only used the baby bottles that come along with my breast pump since he rarely had a bottle anyways.

Another reason not to start off with too many bottles is that won’t know for sure what bottles your baby will like until they try them. So it’s definitely not a good idea to invest in several bottles right away.

16. Doorway Jumper

Babies love to jump. Or at least my little munchkins did. There are two major types of jumpers out there. The doorway jumper and the stationary jumper.

The doorway jumper is easily attached to just about any doorway and has a tether that attaches to a little seat for your baby to sit in. They can jump up and down while also having support. The problem that we had with doorway jumpers is that my kids would often jump and swing into the door frame which hurt so we stopped using them fairly quickly.

Instead, we found stationary jumpers to be so much easier for our babies. They could jump while also playing with baby toys that were attached around them.

17. Walkers and Activity Centers

There are also walkers and activity centers which are basically just like a jumper without the jumping part.

My kids never cared for the activity center and instead only wanted to jump so it seemed better to just go with the best of both worlds. I really loved this jumper with my son.

18. Baby Sunglasses

Baby sunglasses are so adorable and a little pricey as well. It is completely important to protect your baby’s eyes from the sun but my babies would never keep baby sunglasses on their faces so instead when we were outside I would just throw a baby hat on their head that had a nice brim all the way around.

This protected their heads and their faces and eyes all at the same time. I recommend getting these baby hats that have a little velcro strap that goes under your baby’s chin. That way it stays on your baby’s head.

19. Cart and Highchair Cover

Cart (or as we say in the south “buggy”) and highchair covers are brilliant. I was given one for each baby at my baby shower, however, I am adding it to this list because I never really used it.

The cover just sat in the back of my car and never got used because I am a minimalist in many ways and try to do as much as I can without adding to my mommy duties. This keeps my mind clear and makes mommyhood a lot easier.

So what baby essentials do you really need?

I actually made a list of the best baby products for surviving the first year. It lists newborn essentials and baby essentials that literally saved my mom sanity.

Did you find this list helpful? Or did you have some more baby items you regret buying? Let me know below.