If you\u2019re expecting your first child, you\u2019ve likely started a baby registry. This can be both a fun
\nand daunting task. Without having your baby here, how exactly are you supposed to know what
\nbaby gear is needed and which products you\u2019re better off passing up? Look no further. I\u2019m going to
\ngive you a list of five very popular baby registry items that truly are unnecessary, some are even
\nconsidered unsafe.<\/p>\n
Baby-Specific Laundry Detergent<\/strong> Bumbo<\/strong> Large reclining high chair<\/strong> Bucket Car Seat<\/strong> \u2018Smart\u2019 Monitors<\/strong> If you\u2019re expecting your first child, you\u2019ve likely started a baby registry. This can be both a fun and daunting task. Without having your baby here, how exactly are you supposed to know what baby gear is needed and which products you\u2019re better off passing up? Look no further. I\u2019m going to give you a…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1683,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"","_seopress_titles_title":"Baby Gear You Can Do Without | The Nurturing Root","_seopress_titles_desc":"Without having your baby here, how exactly are you supposed to know what baby gear is needed and which ones you\u2019re better off passing up? Look no further.","_seopress_robots_index":"","_kad_blocks_custom_css":"","_kad_blocks_head_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_body_custom_js":"","_kad_blocks_footer_custom_js":"","_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[124,129,14],"tags":[156,157],"taxonomy_info":{"category":[{"value":124,"label":"Childbirth classes"},{"value":129,"label":"Doula"},{"value":14,"label":"infant care"}],"post_tag":[{"value":156,"label":"baby gadgets"},{"value":157,"label":"baby gear"}]},"featured_image_src_large":false,"author_info":{"display_name":"Carmen Calvo","author_link":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/author\/carmen_admin\/"},"comment_info":"","category_info":[{"term_id":124,"name":"Childbirth classes","slug":"childbirth-classes","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":124,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":28,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":124,"category_count":28,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Childbirth classes","category_nicename":"childbirth-classes","category_parent":0},{"term_id":129,"name":"Doula","slug":"doula","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":129,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":32,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":129,"category_count":32,"category_description":"","cat_name":"Doula","category_nicename":"doula","category_parent":0},{"term_id":14,"name":"infant care","slug":"infant-care","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":14,"taxonomy":"category","description":"","parent":0,"count":19,"filter":"raw","cat_ID":14,"category_count":19,"category_description":"","cat_name":"infant care","category_nicename":"infant-care","category_parent":0}],"tag_info":[{"term_id":156,"name":"baby gadgets","slug":"baby-gadgets","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":156,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"},{"term_id":157,"name":"baby gear","slug":"baby-gear","term_group":0,"term_taxonomy_id":157,"taxonomy":"post_tag","description":"","parent":0,"count":1,"filter":"raw"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3494"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3494"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3494\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3494"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3494"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/thenurturingrootsa.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3494"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\nIf you\u2019re seeking a gentle detergent for your baby, it\u2019s likely your favorite brand has a
\nhypoallergenic, fragrance-free laundry detergent available. Most brands of laundry detergent
\noffer this option and all are less expensive than brands like Dreft that sport a much larger price
\ntag solely because new parents are willing to pay more for what they believe is \u201cbest for baby.\u201d
\nSimply by avoiding baby-specific detergents, you can save quite a bit of money while still
\nproviding a safe washing alternative to conventional, highly-scented, often high-allergen laundry
\ndetergents. Truthfully, the \u201cfree & clear\u201d detergents are actually a better choice<\/a> for the whole
\nfamily since artificial fragrance has been linked to a wide variety of health issues no matter
\none\u2019s age.<\/p>\n
\nThe Bumbo seat and other brands like it allow baby to be in an upright-seated position before
\nbaby is naturally able to sit unsupported on her own. Many parents may view this as a positive
\nthing to help baby learn how to sit upright or to develop the muscles necessary to reach this
\nmilestone more quickly. However, it seems the opposite is true. Propping a baby into this
\nposition at a time when his body has not organically achieved the muscle tone to do so, could
\nhave a negative effect on baby\u2019s core strength<\/a> and in some cases could even delay or hinder baby\u2019s natural trajectory to meet this milestone. A better and free (yay!) option is to allow baby ample time on both back
\nand tummy so that all muscles are getting a solid workout in a natural way, allowing baby to
\nreach this development in her own time.<\/p>\n
\nThis common-style of high chair is not only large and awkward, difficult to store, and often in the
\nway, it\u2019s also totally unnecessary. The main purpose of a high chair is to facilitate feeding solids
\nfoods to your baby. The latest recommendations for introduction to solids<\/a> include waiting for
\nbaby to show signs of physical readiness, one of the most important signs<\/a> being the ability to sit
\nupright unsupported. If one is waiting until baby is physically capable of doing this, the reclining option on the seat is negated, leaving this type of seat largely pointless. A simple booster seat with a tray that straps to an
\nexisting dining chair or a seat that latches directly to the table are both far less expensive and
\ntake up far less space than does a traditional stand-alone, reclining high-chair.<\/p>\n
\nI know, I know, this is a tough one for people to swallow because it seems like such a high-
\npriority item. However, with convertible car seats available that are made to hold brand new
\ninfants up through older toddlers, if money-savings is at all a thought for you, skipping the infant-
\ncarrier\/baby bucket type car seat is a great option! Many people lean toward this handled car
\nseat because babies sleep so much in the first few months. It\u2019s thought to be a no-brainer that
\nyou can just carry baby from car to destination and leave baby sound asleep without
\ndisturbance. However, the latest information and recommendations warn against babies
\nsleeping in this type of seat other than when in-transit since the positioning is not ideal and can<\/a>
\npose a risk to baby. Taking away the convenience of keeping a sleeping baby asleep once
\nno longer in a traveling vehicle, really seems to greatly decrease the appeal of this type of seat.
\nYou may now wonder what one would do with a baby in a grocery store for instance or out at a
\nsocial event if there isn\u2019t a car seat to keep baby contained. This is where babywearing<\/a> really
\ncomes in handy and is often less cumbersome than lugging around an infant in a heavy car
\nseat.<\/p>\n
\nWith all the hoopla surrounding the many smart-monitors available now, it seems parents are
\nflocking to these pricey products in the hopes of preventing SIDS or other potential health
\nissues. The problem with these is that they haven\u2019t been shown to reduce or prevent either of
\nthose scenarios nor have they been approved by the FDA. A study done in 2017 shows that
\nfalse alarms are common while actual potential issues for oxygen saturation or heart-rate were
\nsometimes not detected at all. Doctors are warning parents not to rely on these physiologic
\nmonitors since their effectiveness is questionable and could cause parents either undue distress<\/a>
\nor an assurance everything is fine when perhaps it is not. It seems that outside of a true medical need for
\nconstant oxygen\/respiration monitoring, which should be done with only hospital-grade
\nmachinery prescribed by a medical professional, this type of monitoring is not needed at all and
\nshould not be viewed as a guaranteed accurate measure of baby\u2019s state of physical well-being.
\nWith baby items, like anything else, most of what is sold is unnecessary. Babies, particularly
\nyoung babies, require very little in the way of material goods and a great deal in the way of
\nphysical nurturing and emotional support. If you don\u2019t have the desire for or cannot afford all the
\nlatest gadgets marketed to new parents, take heart, you and your love for baby are what is
\nneeded most and that cannot be purchased!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"