My Least Favorite Baby Gear

As a new mom I did not know what I would need or what products would actually work for our new baby. For instance, the NoseFrida SnotSucker completely grossed me out when I first heard about it, but it wound up being my favorite baby product ever and I use it daily! I recently wrote a blog post about my favorite baby gear, and decided to write a Part II to that post about my least favorite baby gear.

As I mentioned in my previous post, all babies are different. For instance, Daniel loved the 4moms MamaRoo seat, but I know plenty of other babies who hated the MamaRoo seat. These are just a few products and gadgets that did not work for us.

• The Boppy Pillow 

The Boppy Pillow is considered a new-baby necessity. It is on every registry and some mamas swear by this pillow. It is useful for breast feeding, tummy time, and sitting. However, Daniel does not like the Bobby Pillow at all for anything. When he was born I initially tried breast feeding and he hated laying horizontally in the pillow. He also disliked tummy time with it, and still refuses to sit up in it.

Why? I honestly have no idea. This was just a product that Daniel disliked greatly even since he was first born. I’m disappointed because the Boppy Pillow has such great reviews and I was so excited about using it when he was born. Being I have the pillow and all the covers for it and, again, some mamas love the Bobby Pillow, I probably will try to use it with our future babies. However, Daniel is one little babe whom the pillow did not work at all for.

• Philips Avent Soothie Pacifiers 

The Philips Avent Soothie pacifiers are another item that some babies love and some mamas swear by. However, Daniel had an issue keeping these in his mouth. Pacifiers that wrapped around his lips such as these ones  worked better for him and helped him sleep at night. The Soothies were even used in hospitals, so I understand that they probably work for other babies, but not for Daniel.

With all that being said, I actually really love other products by Avent. Their bottles, for example, are the only bottles I will ever use. I tried Dr. Brown’s bottles, and even some other bottles that came with gift packages from our registries, but the Avent bottles worked best for us. They did not leak and the nipples worked best for every stage of his eating development.

• WubbaNub Pacifier Dolls 

While on the subject of pacifiers, Daniel was not a fan of the WubbaNub pacifier dolls. I think these are so cute, and I have about four of them. However, I found the doll to be too heavy. The pacifier kept falling out of his mouth due to gravity and heaviness of the doll. This, also, is another product that works well for some babies.

• Owlet Smart Sock 

The Owlet Smart Sock is a heavily debated topic among families, doctors, etc. When I was putting together my registry a friend of mine came with me to help me. Again, I was soon to be a new mother with absolutely no knowledge about baby care. I did not know anything, but insisted that the Owlet Smart Sock (and entire system for that matter) was a necessity. I received the Owlet Smart Sock and monitoring system as a shower gift and I was overjoyed. This was the #1 thing I wanted.

However, once Daniel was born, I quickly realized that the Smart Sock was not for us. I genuinely believe that all mothers and families have to do what they believe is best for their children. From my experience though, I was more paranoid with the Smart Sock and whether or not it was working properly. Also, the reviews for the Smart Sock are not stellar. Apparently the product glitches frequently, has Bluetooth problems, etc.

It is a very expensive product that just did not work for our family. Even further, our pediatrician did not believe in the Smart Sock’s abilities, and neither did the pediatrician in the hospital who had three small children at home.

Again, the Smart Sock is a heavily debated topic and I have no interest in preaching to other mamas what they should and should not be doing. For us, this product was not ideal and we wound up returning it.

• Balboa Baby Adjustable Sling 

Some women love the baby slings. I had this item on my registry and I was so excited about it. I love the way the slings look and hang, they are stylish, and allow mothers to get stuff done while keeping their babies close.

Honestly though, I kept worrying that Daniel was going to fall out of the sling! I also found it very uncomfortable around my shoulders and thought he looked very constricted in it.

Well, that’s my list and I’m sticking to it! Again, this post is not my attempt to persuade other mothers. Every mama has to make decisions about their baby that they believe is best. I truly believe that. The effectiveness of these products is my opinions only. Most of these products are super highly rated and loved.

Let me know what you think. I’m very interested in learning about what worked for you and your families!