5 Overrated (and Often Unnecessary) Baby Products: From a Newborn Nanny & Mum

A few days ago I posted my top newborn must-haves, after using an astonishing amount of baby products throughout my career as a maternity nanny I can tell you from experience which are worth it and which are so not! And here’s the things I say are a waste of money and space when it comes to newborn care…

1. Excessive Clothing

Babies live in sleepers. Period. You’ll do laundry constantly and have your favourites on rotation, half the outfits will never get leave the drawers and one day you’ll open the drawer to realise they’ve grown out of them. I was honestly going to title this ‘excessive newborn clothes’ but then I realised that my kids are 5 and 7 and still wear their same 5 favourite outfits on repeat so I think the same applies for all ages.

Top Tips: Prioritize comfort, easy changes, and weather-appropriate basics. As a guide keep it to 5 babygros (full length with zips), a couple of short sleeve zip rompers (for Summer babies), 5 onesies (no legs), a pack of singlets, 2 cute outfits you want to show them off in, a hat and a pack of socks, not kidding! Utilise second-hand clothes or op shops and then go out and buy just a couple of cute outfits if you wish!

2. The Snoo

Yes, it works for some families—but it’s expensive, transitional, and not a magic solution. Some might keep the option in mind as a last resort and even hire one to try out but they are totally unnecessary to buy and I’ve ended up having to help families transition their baby out of it which causes more stress than it was worth.

Verdict: Expensive, often not needed and causes added stress when transitioning out.

3. Dock-A-Tot (and Similar Loungers)

Cute? Yes. Necessary? No. These are so short term and is no different to rolling a blanket up

next to baby (supervised, of course). And I mean, how many places do we need for our babies to lay? A bassinet, a cot, a pram, a bouncer, a play mat, on us, on a nursing pillow. I would find another way to create a safe sleep space out in the living area before I bought a dock-a-tot.

Verdict: Too pricey for how quickly they grow out of. Only supposed to be used when supervised. A safe sleep space that you can walk away from would make much better use of our time!

4. Fancy Ass Highchairs

This is one thing you’ll never see me spend my money on! A simple and easy-to-clean high chair wins for me every time. All the bells and whistles don’t make feeding easier; they just make clean-up harder. Plus, you won’t need one for months anyway.

Simple is best: A simple high chair with less nooks and crannies for the win!

5. Baby Food Makers

Personally, I think these are just another appliance that you don’t need but are marketed to be different to a normal blender. Save your money and don’t bother. This one is that simple for me.

Verdict: Use your blender or don’t bother and give BLW a go!

Final Thoughts

The newborn industry is a huge beast. Expectant parents are going to put a lot of thought and research into the things they need and I often feel like the industry knows how to take advantage of that and sell you something that you think you can’t do without when in reality it’s used 5 times. If something genuinely makes your life easier, it’s worth it but start small, you’ll be surprised how little a newborn needs… milk, clothes, nappies and love. Everything else you can get down the line when you figure out exactly what your baby needs and what make life easier for you as a parent.

Check out the items that I think are well worth it here!

Sleep tight, Danielle xx