Having a baby opens your eyes to a whole new market of products, gadgets, gizmos and contraptions. It can be so very confusing, with some parents left wondering what they actually need to buy and what is truly essential.

With this in mind, I asked BellyBelly members to share their top 3 products they didn’t need! Here are some of their responses.

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Kathryn

Kapoochi Baby Carrier – when my first born finally arrived he was too small to begin with to sit in it as his head kept going out of the side of it, then by the time he was old enough I found it too awkward to get a child in and out of it and then get comfy with having it on.
Baby Bath – my son absolutely hated the baby bath, so after a couple of weeks of having him home with us we bathed him in the laundry tub which he loved. I also found the baby bath hurt my back when using it and I would use it on a sturdy table so it was up high as well.
Change Table – When I was pregnant with my first-born I was looking at buying a change table but then decided against it. I think that was the best decision I made. I just found it so much easier to change both my boys on a change mat on the floor, and like any table in our house I knew a change table would eventually get cluttered with other stuff and not be used for what it was designed for.

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Kelly

A baby bath – it was so much easier and quicker to shower with her or use the normal bath. Bathing with your baby is so special!
A cot – such massive expense and ended up co-sleeping. My first born hated the cot and rarely used it, then my second born would use it sometimes but co-slept a fair bit too.
So many newborn clothes – they grow out of them so quickly, and I spent far too much on cute clothes not realising it.

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – glenny_c

A special “tummy time” mat – used once.
One of those padded things for her to sit in in shopping trolleys – never used.
Newborn clothes- she was a summer baby so just ended up in nappies and a singlet

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Taurean

A steriliser – we were told there is no need to sterilise bottles OR dummies anymore. Used it only a few times
A bassinet for our pram. It looked lovely but DD wasn’t a fan – at all. We did use it but a capsule would have been a far better investment as we could still attach it to the pram and there would have been no need to wake DD when transferring her from the car.
Tizzie Hall’s book ‘Save our Sleep’. I know some swear by this book but I read only the first chapter and knew it wasn’t going to work in our family – ever!

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Starrysky

Baby bath – only ever used it 2-3 times, then it got stored. My partner would have a bath/shower with him or I did, much nicer!
Bottles/steriliser – I breastfed, only ever used bottles 2-3 times on the odd occasion that I did express.
Nappy wrapper – I though this seemed like a fantastic idea in theory, but the $$ for refill cartridges were prohibitive as was the fact that BF baby poo doesn’t really smell that bad anyway didn’t get used after a few weeks.

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Nai

A bath seat – both kids used the baby bath until they could sit properly and then transferred into the big bath
Bottle warmer for the car charger – seemed like a good idea but only used it once
A recliner/rocker – neither of the kids liked it and wouldn’t lie in it

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – honeybee

The cot definitely, cost something like $700 and barely used it. My second born hasn’t used it once.
A bouncer, my son wouldn’t go in it
Close baby carrier – both my boys hate it, which is very annoying. My first-born also disliked the ergo, am hoping my second-born will accept it, otherwise I’ve wasted a lot of money on carriers.

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – RhiChiChi

Breast feeding pillow – my GF bought it but it is really hard and plain uncomfortable to use.
Lots of baby blankets – I tended to use to same few but I ended up with heaps
Singlets – I used body short sleeved suits (although I use singlets/tank tops for my daughter now, but she is 4 years old).

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Cassius2

Baby bath insert seat (newborn type one)
Baby monitor (a.k.a. anxiety-ridden stress machine in our house lol)
Nappy bucket (MCNs are so cool they dont need soaking).

My Top 3 Things I Didn’t Need For Baby – Traveller

Baby bath seat – impossible to use and so much less fun than just getting in the bath myself with baby
Baby monitor – we lived in such small houses we learnt to use our ears instead, and they don’t require the wasting of electricity!
Nappy Bag – I got a fancy one that matched the pram and had a pull out nappy changing mat, but ended up using a backpack which was so much safer to carry whilst juggling babies/prams/etc.