Things I Bought for My First Baby That I Never Used!

Preparing for a second baby is so exciting! You get to go into this new journey with a lot of experience under your belt and you feel less overwhelmed by what’s ahead. The best part is getting to prepare for the cuddly newborn stage all over again! One of the many perks of becoming a second time mom is that you probably already have most of the gear you’ll need. Better yet, you have a really strong idea about what products work for your family and which ones don’t.

When I was preparing for my first baby, I did all of the research on baby carriers, strollers, and all of the newborn accessories. I was sure we had everything we needed. It wasn’t until I started to actually use those things that I realized that what works for one mama definitely doesn’t always work for another. There are TONS of products I thought we’d use constantly that I can confidently say we will never use for baby number two!

This post is all about products I bought for my first baby that I definitely won’t be using for my second.

RELATED: The Most Practical Hospital Bag Checklist for Mom and Baby
RELATED: Here’s Exactly What to Do Before Baby Arrives
RELATED: 30+ Perfect Gifts for Baby Sprinkle That Mama Will Love

1. Regular Nail Clippers

My pediatrician warned me about how sharp a newborn’s nails are and suggested I bring mittens to the hospital so she wouldn’t scratch herself. I never realized how stressful it would be to cut someone else’s nails! It took one attempt at cutting my daughter’s nails with traditional baby nail clippers to realize I simply couldn’t use those things.

Luckily, there are so many options on the market now that address this exact problem. This baby nail trimmer was a lifesaver with my first baby. It is the one thing I am positive we will be using from the start with our second!

2. Baby Changing Table Topper

Along with all of the expensive furniture you think you’ll need for your new baby comes all of the accessories you need to buy to go with it. This baby changing table topper is the perfect example. When I was pregnant with our first, I was sure I would just excuse myself to go change my baby on the changing table each time she needed a new diaper. 

Then you realize life is still happening all around you and you don’t always have time to rush off to another room to change a diaper – especially in those newborn, blow out days! Instead it makes much more sense to have a stash of diapers close by so you can conveniently change your baby anytime you need to.

This portable changing mat was used SO much more than that baby changing table topper. 

(RELATED POST: Wondering What to Put in Diaper Caddy? 14 Essentials)

3. Changing Table

While we’re on the subject of our changing table, I’m actually surprised how little we used ours. I am pretty positive we could have lived without it all together. Now that life will be even crazier with a second baby and a toddler running around, I have no hope our changing table will get used at all.

If I could go back to when I was pregnant with our first, I would probably save the money and space in our nursery on the changing table and just skip it entirely. You live and you learn.

4. Anything With Added Fragrances

This will obviously depend on how sensitive your baby is to fragrances. In my experience, once you realize your baby can have a reaction to all of the fragrances that are in so many baby products, you will naturally gravitate to unscented options. The pretty smell just isn’t worth the worry and stress that might come with it. There are unscented options for almost everything now, so my daughter must not be the only one that had negative reactions. This is our favorite laundry detergent that worked best for us and this is our favorite baby body wash that we swear by.

5. Bulky Baby Bathtub

I was sure our big baby bathtub would be a staple in our nighttime routine. I quickly realized that juggling this thing and reaching awkwardly into it to bathe my daughter wasn’t ideal. Instead, we bought this lightweight option.

6. Fancy Baby Clothes and Anything White

This one breaks my heart since I love to buy all of the cute baby outfits while I’m pregnant and dream about what our new baby will look like in them. It just takes one blow out in one of those adorable baby outfits to realize that fancy baby clothes aren’t all they’re cracked up to be. 

Don’t get me wrong, I will absolutely still buy the fancy baby outfits for special occasions and pictures. I have just learned that the cuter an outfit is, the more likely a blowout is to happen in it.

The same goes for white onesies. As a second time mom, I realize these are so popular because you can sunbleach the yellow baby poop out of them. Not because they look so crisp under those cute overalls and rompers.

7. Diaper Pails

When I bought our Diaper Genie, I thought it was the answer to our stinky diaper problem. We placed it right next to our changing table (see above). You can guess what the problem is here.

We hardly used our changing table so we were hardly ever near our diaper pail when we needed it. Instead, we bag up our diapers and throw them in the regular trash can. For the really bad ones, they go straight to our outside garbage bin. 

In my opinion, this is one of those “nice to have” products that works better in theory than in real life.

8. Wipe Warmers

I’ll admit that we did use ours for the first few diaper changes. It felt cruel to use cold baby wipes on our tiny newborn. Then I realized that I was changing her diapers while we were out of the house without ever using our warmer.

When the baby wipes ran out of the wipe warmers, I just never replaced them. Now I hold the wipes I’m about to use in my hands for a few seconds before using them on the baby. This does enough to make me feel less guilty about the cold wipe situation with the added bonus of not being tethered to the wall with a cord.

9. Baby Wraps

My baby carrier is one of the things I absolutely cannot live without. I used it so much for our first baby, I know I won’t be able to live without it for our second. 

Our initial baby wrap purchase never got used and, looking back, was a complete waste of money. I bought the baby wrap other moms were using without really thinking about the fact that there would be a learning curve.

My best advice to new moms now is to go with a baby carrier that isn’t a complicated wrap. Buy one with snaps. We switched to one of these with our first born and will be using the same one when our second arrives!

10. Baby Shoes

There is nothing cuter in the baby department of any store than the tiny little shoes! I think almost every mom ends up with a pair of these. Then you quickly realize that baby feet aren’t meant to wear shoes, they repel them.

Unless you want to spend every outing looking for one tiny baby shoe that has inevitably fallen off, you quickly learn to skip buying the adorable baby shoes and instead just ooo and aww over them while you’re at the store.

11. Pacifier Wipes

Lots of babies that we know use pacifiers. Our daughter has never loved them, so we have ended up skipping pacifiers altogether. In my group of mom friends, no one that has a baby that uses pacifiers still uses the pacifier wipes.

If your babies typically do use pacifiers, a pacifier clip is a way better investment, in my opinion. Then there’s only so far the pacifier can go and almost completely eliminates the need for pacifier wipes.

12. Nursing Covers

With my first baby, I took a nursing cover with me everywhere and used it religiously. As time goes on, you realize that nursing covers really aren’t necessary and make relatching baby during nursing sessions harder than it has to be. Eventually I stopped using our nursing cover and noticed that our daughter nursed for longer periods and actually seemed less distracted without it.

I don’t even know where our nursing cover went, but I definitely don’t plan on replacing it for baby number two!

13. Bulky Stroller

This one is going to completely depend on your lifestyle. When we bought our first stroller, I thought storage was the most important thing. I wanted pouches and cupholders and under the stroller storage…then I realized that I would be opening and folding this stroller myself while also juggling a tiny baby.

Now, having a lightweight, compact stroller is so much more important to me. I’ve realized that if I can minimize what we take with us on outings, I don’t need the bulky stroller with all of the storage compartments. Instead, I throw a few diapers, wipes, snacks, and an emergency outfit in our diaper bag and we’re good to go.

Plus, I’m way more likely to get out of the house when I’m not worried about wrestling our stroller in and out of the back of the car. The freedom our lightweight stroller has given me is worth every bit of storage that I’ve had to give up.

If you shop through this link, use code “maisonette_22ql9u” for 10% off.

14. Fancy High Chairs

I registered for a high chair with our first baby, not even considering that it would be months before we actually used it. I ended up dreading meal times and having to clean the pad inside of it after every meal. Now, this is my favorite high chair. It is designed with smooth surfaces that are super easy to clean.

15. Irritating Clothing

My daughter’s skin was easily irritated by certain fabrics and outfits with lots of embroidery. Now, we steer clear of all of that and look for clothing that is good for babies with sensitive skin. I love anything made of bamboo and cotton. This is our favorite brand for clothing!

Other Posts You May Like:

Things to Know Before Welcoming Your Second Baby

Second Trimester to Do List (Week by Week Guide)

Your Complete Third Trimester Checklist: Ready, Set, Baby!