I recognize that every Mom is different. But for me and myself, I was encouraged to buy the following items by one or more friend/fellow Mom, and they have remained unopened. My suggestion for these (and a lot of other products I’ll cover at some point) prior to baby’s arrival: wait and see what you need. Amazon Prime is a wonderful thing people. You can get it tomorrow if you really need it.

Gripe Water – An over the counter liquid supplement marketed to give babies for gas and teething pain. Gas and teething have happened to Teddy plenty of times, but I was never compelled to use it.

Vitamin D Drops – Maybe if you live in a very cold, dark climate and your baby is born in winter. MAYBE then. As long as it’s relatively sunny and you take your baby outside a relative amount, I don’t see why this is necessary. Talk to your pediatrician. Mine said no need!

Bottle Warmer – The purpose of which (write this down) is to…..warm bottles. Even at the very beginning of my milk saga when I was pumping and using bottles to supplement nursing, and at the end of my milk saga when we switched to whole milk, it was so easy to just fill a measuring cup with hot water and drop the bottle in for a minute. I also stopped heating milk when Teddy turned 1 – trying not to create another person who is as high maintenance as me.

Changing Pad Covers – Like a cute tiny crib sheet for your changing pad. One more thing that will be urinated and defecated on constantly that you have to wash and wash and wash and will still look probably look stained? Pass. I’ve already sung my praises for the Hatch Baby Grow. If you get this, or any other changing pad that wipeable (which I highly recommend), you won’t need to bother with these.

Rock ‘n Play – I expect this will be a trigger for many Moms, who SWEAR by the Rock N Play. But this is about me, sorry guys! We never used it. I think this is the type of product you can easily borrow from a friend with an older baby (because prettttty much everyone has one) and figure out if your baby will use it.

Nipple Shield – It looks like a nipple! And your put it over your sore, aching nipple. As I learned from my lactation consultant, if you’re using one of these, it could make it difficult for you baby to learn to latch properly/eat normally once they get used to it. It can also increase your chances of clogged ducts and mastitis.

I make the bold recommendation that if you’re struggling at all with nursing (like 99% of us), invest in meeting with a lactation consultant. My experience went from horrible to great in a matter of a few hours thanks to one meeting! 

Portable Changing Station – This is straightforward. Pretty much all diaper bags come with one already, so this is not necessary and we never use it. I have yet to be in a scenario that required me to bring a changing pad but not a diaper bag.

What products did you but on your registry and never use? Share with us in the comments.