10 Common Baby Items You Don't Need - Minimalist Parenting

1. Stroller

When we go out, we use a wrap and wear him. We have three wraps. Or we put his car seat in a basket if we are shopping. The baby is much happier when he’s closer to me so a stroller doesn’t make sense for us. Where we live we don’t have a nice smooth walking path that’s good for a stroller, anyhow. If we go into town and need a stroller in the future, I will use one that my Mom has that’s small for a toddler.

2. Bottle warmer

When I pump, I’ll just put it in a storage bag and put it in the freezer. I put them in the fridge to dethaw a bit, then put them in a bowl of boiling or hot water from the sink to finish dethaw. It doesn’t take long to warm up the bottle this way.

3. Wipe warmer

I keep the wipes in a lukewarm area to stay warm. Wipes are not that cold. When it’s cold, I’ll warm it up by rubbing it in my hands to create a bit of heat. I also feel like a wipe warmer could attract more bacteria to the wipes.

4. Sound machine

Some of these machines may play cute music or white noise. For the first few weeks when my baby was fussy, we used a space heater nearby (but not too close) and put it on low for soothing white noise. I also used my phone to play baby white noise.

5. Nightlight

We have a nightlight in our bathroom and I prop the door open for this light. It’s a simple one that plugs into an outlet. I can still see him when I check on him. It’s not a bright light. The fancy ones specifically for a nursery are not necessary.

6. Baby monitor

We live in a very small house so our baby is nearby in our room so we don’t need a baby monitor. We are right there when he’s napping during the day. We eat outdoors in warm weather and we use a phone as a monitor. My husband will call my phone and I’ll put it on speaker and put it next to the baby so we can hear him if he cries. We’ll also crack the window so we can hear him.

7. Nursing pillow

I got one for a gift that I appreciate. I never really used it. My normal bed pillows work just fine to prop him up. The nursing pillow felt too constricting and the angle wasn’t good for me.

8. Changing table

I notice people rarely use them. People tend to use beds, floors, or sofas as changing tables because they are more practical surfaces. We change our baby on our bed. We use one of those travel changing pads that we use on the bed so we just wipe it off when we are done.

9. Bouncy seats and swings

If I had a bigger house, then I may get a baby swing or bouncy seat. But our house is too small for that. Our baby is either held, napping, or on our bed supervised, or we have a seat we use outdoors for him.

10. Diaper genie

It’s just a contraption that drowns out the smell. We use reusable diapers so I don’t really notice the smell until day four or five. But then we wash them and it’s fine. Even if you use disposable diapers, all you really need is a plastic bag to keep used diapers in. I don’t have to worry about breaking it or buying bags for a diaper genie. It’s one less thing to think about and maintain.

Baby items you don't need

You can see that we use things we already have for our baby. Our list should be called “minimalist baby essentials.” There are a lot of things the baby market tries to convince us we need but they are things you don’t need for a baby.

People have been raising kids forever and have done it with a lot less than what we have now. If they could do it then, we can do it now. All these plastic-based items are unnecessary, too. A baby just needs to be held, loved, and cherished.

Are you learning how to be a minimalist parent? How have you been more minimal in your baby products? Let us know in the comments below.

For more minimalist ideas, check out my previous post on 50 things I don't buy anymore.