Seven things your baby doesn’t need

As we continue our preparations for the arrival of our third child, we’ve been making sure we have everything we need. Obviously, we’ve already got most of it as we’ve hoarded our baby items for this eventuality but, looking back on how Kate and I prepared for the arrivals of Dylan and Xander, there are some that we needn’t have bothered getting straight away – or, indeed, at all. Here then, is my list of things your baby doesn’t need.

Baby monitor

If you’re anything like us, you won’t want to let your little one out of your sight for at least a few months. And as they won’t let you sleep much, you’ll get your wish! We spent around £80 on our first baby monitor, but didn’t need to use it until Dylan moved to his own room at around six months. That’s money that we could have spent on other things and it was that much closer to being out of warranty without having been used. Wait until your baby has their own room then buy one!

Changing table

Thankfully, I saw the flaws in getting one of these before parting with any cash and we’ve been fine without them. Think about it; your baby is going to get bigger and bigger and will also enjoy rolling around before too long. There will also be some explosive nappy changes, so why elevate them and increase the surface area they can ‘decorate’ when nature calls?

Baby bath

If you think about it, you’ve already got at least two of these in your home – they’re called sinks! We had a hand-me-down from my sister who’s son is only nine months older than Dylan. This shows how quickly they outgrow them. Spend the money on something more useful. Like takeaways when you’re just too tired to cook.

A ton of nappies

It’s easy to fall into the trap of bulk buying when supermarkets hold limited-time baby product events. The two main problems are that you don’t know how big your baby is going to be and also whether they’ll get on with the brand you choose. We’ve had more disasters with one of the big-name brands than I care to remember and that’s no slight on them – it’s just that they didn’t suit my sons’ shapes as well as another brand.

Fancy clothes

Seriously. What’s the point in designer clothes for babies? They’ll still puke – and worse – on them and will be too big to do so again in a matter of weeks. Similarly, gender-specific clothes – I don’t get that either. Our daughter will be wearing the same white basics vests and sleepsuits her brothers did. Spend the money on muslins – and lots of them – to protect your own clothes from baby by-products.

Cradle

We spent extra money on our moses basket because it came with two stands; one with legs and the other with rockers – curved feet that is, not half the cast of Quadrophenia. It was much easier to get them to sleep in our arms and, if that failed, the pushchair always worked.

Baby shoes

Erm, they can’t walk and they’re not Imelda Marcos. There’ll be plenty of time to put them in cooler footwear than you could ever dream of owning when you were a kid once they’re out of a pushchair and demanding to be carried. So there!