Baby Monitor *

Baby monitors are expensive, so I’d recommend getting one only if you live in a large area. We live in a medium-size house with two floors, so we thought it’d be useful to own one. We did use our Summer Infant Video Monitor a lot when our baby was a newborn—you’re just so paranoid during those first few months that you want to keep an eye on your baby at all times. But we put it away after she grew up a little (three months), and now it just sits in a drawer.

Pacifiers

There seems to be a bit of controversy surrounding pacifiers—people don’t want to start using them because they’re afraid their baby will get addicted. I was more afraid of my baby crying all night, so we registered for a package of two Avent pacifiers. It turned out that they worked very well, calming my baby when nothing else would work, and at about five months, she gave them up completely on her own (replacing them with her thumb). So for me, pacifiers have brought nothing but joy and I’d definitely recommend them.

Birth Announcements *

I run a website called NewbornNotes.com, which offers email birth announcements. When my baby was born, I wanted to announce her arrival to everyone through email, but I didn’t just want to send out a regular old mass email. So I designed a little photo card that was meant to be emailed. That gave me the idea to start NewbornNotes.com. If something like this appeals to you, please take a look at the main website.

Not Recommended:

Infant Movement Monitor

I feel that these devices, which monitor your baby’s movement and sound an alarm if it doesn’t detect anything every few seconds, pray on the insecurities and paranoia of new parents. I must admit that before I had my baby, the idea of getting an infant movement monitor appealed to me because I was so worried about things like SIDS. But after your baby arrives and you get used to having a little one around, you’ll find that a device like this is superfluous. Besides, I know a mom who owns one, and it went off in the middle of the night for no reason at all, scaring her and her husband to pieces in the process.

Baby-Proofing Things

Baby-proofing things like gates and outlet covers will become quite necessary when your baby turns eight months old or so, but before then, it’s just a lot of useless equipment to store around the house. And it may turn out that your toddler is a good listener, and you won’t need to lock up every cabinet and toilet. Then again, your baby could turn out to be quite the explorer, and you’ll need to get a foam cover for every crevice of the house. I’d recommend waiting to see what the situation is before running out and buying every baby-proofing item in the book.

Potty Equipment

Your baby will not likely begin potty training until two years old. If you get potty equipment right away, that’s a long time to hold onto the stuff. You’re better off just buying it later anyway, when you know more about your baby’s needs and preferences.

Baby Laundry Detergent

Dreft and other baby laundry detergents are designed to produce softer clothes, but I feel that the extra expense is completely unnecessary. We use regular detergent, and my baby’s clothes seem soft enough to me. Perhaps if your baby has skin problems or allergies, you should make the switch. But this isn’t a product I’d register for in advance.

* Nice to have, but not necessary.

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