 |
||||
Oh, Baby! Babies are adorable – and so is their stuff… and more stuff… and more stuff… Enough! 
Babies instinctively suckle, and while it’s mother’s milk they crave, with Hoover-like efficiency they also suck up parents’ hard-earned cash. It starts in the womb. Expectant moms and dads register for or buy all sorts of stuff months before their babies are born. Only later do they realize some of these “must-have” items contribute nothing more than clutter to nurseries and bulk to diaper bags. Just ask Meagan Francis, mother of five – including an infant – who lives in St. Joseph, Mich., and offers hard-won parenting expertise in her book, “Table for Eight: Raising a Large Family in a Small-family World” (Alpha, October 2007). When it comes to baby gear, she knows by now what’s essential and what’s a waste of money and space. Just because a baby product is cleverly engineered, cute or sold as part of a nursery suite doesn’t justify its cost, particularly if it proves to be useless, she says. So what items can the wee one do without? Changing table. “Totally superfluous. You don’t use them very long, so they become an essentially useless piece of furniture within months,” Francis says. Babies end up getting changed wherever the need arises, like on the arm of the sofa. “It makes more sense to stash diapers and wipes all around the house so you can do changes on the fly,” says Francis. Beth Keim, an interior designer who specializes in nurseries and kids’ rooms, advises clients to buy a dresser instead and put a portable changing pad on top of it. “I’m all about looking ahead to the toddler stage,” says Keim of Lucy & Co., Charlotte, N.C. Crib bumpers. They become potential launch pads, Keim warns. “They look pretty, but after six months I took mine out because my baby was standing on top it.” Hand-operated breast pump. If Mom goes back to work while still breastfeeding, a hospital-grade pump is worth the investment. “Hand-operated or battery-powered pumps won’t cut it if you’re trying to pump enough milk to feed a baby while you’re at work,” Francis says. Bassinet or cradle. “Nice but not necessary,” Francis says. “A regular crib can be scooted up close to the bed if you want to stay close to your baby at night.” Plus, there are portable playpens available that come with removable bassinet attachments, providing greater versatility. Baby-wipe warmer. New-fangled electronic devices in general are unnecessary much of the time, Francis says. “Before buying anything like that, whether it’s a device that jiggles the crib so the baby sleeps or a white noise machine, wait two weeks,” she says. “If you make it through and everything is going fine as is, you don’t need to blow more money on devices to help her sleep or enjoy her diaper changes more.” Bottle warmer. A microwave oven works fine if you use glass bottles and make sure the milk or formula isn’t too hot. (Microwaves break down the chemicals in plastic.) Rear-view auto mirror. These attach on the headrest or elsewhere in the backseat so drivers can see babies in rear-facing car seats. Problem: If you’re watching the baby’s reflection, you’re not watching the road. Stuffed animals. “People will give them to you every chance they get,” Francis says, “and pretty soon you’ll be looking at a huge pile of critters that the baby can’t play with, can’t sleep with (they’re a suffocation hazard) and that serve no purpose at all.” |
||||
|
||||
