When you’re pregnant (and even when you’re not!), shopping for a baby can be overwhelming. We live in a world of choices and options, but when you’ve never had a baby before, how do you know what you need?

This was my dilemma seven months ago. We were pretty conservative with our purchases, but we certainly made a few that we wished we hadn’t. Below are my top five baby items that didn’t work for us along with my honest experiences of them.

1. A million soothers

I purchased the most stylish soothers that money could buy, only to discover that my baby wasn’t into them. To make matters worse, after my babe was born, I went out and bought more soothers in different shapes and styles with the hope that she’d find interest in even one (spoiler alert: my baby still hated all of them). If you want to give soothers a try, I suggest buying two or three different styles and brands to test the waters first. Then, if your baby takes to them, you can invest in some stylish (translation: more expensive) ones.

Stylish Soothers: Ryan and Rose.

Photo: Ryan and Rose.

Basic, but tried, tested, and true soothers: Avent

Photo: Avent.

2. An expensive bassinet with all the bells & whistles

Like most new parents, we were terrified of SIDS, so we threw money at the problem. We went out and bought the most expensive bassinet we could find with lights, music, vibration, and even a remote control. Too bad our baby was so loud that we had to kick her out of our room at two weeks. She would grunt, kick, burp, fart, and make this shockingly loud noise that sounded like a deflating balloon all night. These noises disturbed the very little sleep we were getting, so we had to evict her from our bedroom. Our baby slept a grand total of 14 nights in the bassinet, which translates to approximately $35 per night. Oh, and all those expensive bassinet features? We never used them because they just seemed to upset her more.

If you’re in the market for a safe sleep space, I suggest getting a basic, safe bassinet that’s made for safe sleep and save the rest of your money for some earplugs just in case. Note: in many countries, it’s suggested that babies sleep in your bedroom with you for a set amount of time to prevent SIDS. Before purchasing a bassinet or sleep space, consult your doctor and/or the appropriate sleep safe guidelines applicable to your country of residence. Moving our baby out of our room was right for us given our circumstances, but it’s not recommended.

Affordable Bassinets: Ingenuity Foldaway Rocking Bassinet and the Chicco Lullago Nest Portable Bassinet.

Photo: Ingenuity.

Photo: Chicco.

3. Clothes with Buttons

Cute outfits with tiny little buttons, elaborate details, and adorable ruffles seemed like a great idea while I was pregnant, but in reality, our baby lived in sleepers with zippers for the first five months of her life. Between the sleepless nights, endless diaper changes, the steep learning curve of nursing, and everything else parenthood threw at us, we didn’t have the mental energy or patience to put her in separates or anything that didn’t have zippers. Even snaps were too much for us to handle! We loved BONDS sleepers, but anything with a zipper makes life so much easier.

Zippered Baby Onesies: BONDS and Old Navy.

Photo: BONDS.

Photo: Old Navy.

4. An Infant glider

Most moms will say that an infant swing is a must-have, and I completely agree. Unfortunately for us, we purchased a soothing (slow) glider for our baby instead of a classic style swing. We heard so many great things about swings, so we were confused when we realized that she hated it. We tried all the different settings, only to realize that it was too slow for her. When she was about four months old we broke down and purchased a huge, clunky swing that had a fast motor and it was a total game-changer. Baby girl loved it immediately and from that day forward, we ate our dinner hands-free (and happily ever after…).

Fast Swings: Graco and Fisher Price.

Photo: Graco.

Photo: Fisher Price.

5. Nursing Pads

I purchased multiple boxes and styles of these because I heard horror stories about engorgement and that your breasts can accidentally leak in public. As it turns out, not every new mom has this problem and it’s not nearly as awful as it sounds if you do. I’m glad I had reusable nursing pads on hand for sleeping, but I never even cracked open the boxes of the disposable kind. If you want to have some on hand, I suggest buying some reusable ones because it’s more economical in the long run and better for the environment.

Reusable Nursing Pads: Bamboobies and Kindred Bravely.

Photo: Bamboobies.

Photo: Kindred Bravely.

What Do You Think?

There are a lot of expenses that occur when you’re a new mom, but these ones were unnecessary for me. I’d love to hear some of your regretful purchases as well. I hope my experiences help you with your purchasing decisions and maybe even save you some money! If they do, you have my full permission to spend the savings on yourself because as a new mom, you certainly deserve it.