5 Hyped Baby Items I Didn't Need

Congratulations! You're expecting a baby. That is so exciting! Now register for a bunch of stuff you have zero clue about.

I remember when we registered for wedding gifts I was completely overwhelmed. The baby registry process is no different; maybe even worse. It was incredibly hard for me to figure out what I needed and there were just too many options.

There are so many ads, websites and mom blogs pushing for different hyped up products, and I definitely fell into that trap once or twice. Below I have shared five products I wish I hadn't registered for/purchased as I didn't find them useful.

PLEASE NOTE: Every baby is different. What works or doesn't work for my child might be completely different for yours. Take everything you read with a grain of salt, as all babies have different wants and needs. None of these products are bad per se, they just weren't useful for me or my son, Zac!

1. The Boppy

I thought that the Boppy was an essential. It is a registry favorite and claims to be great for lounging, bottle feeding and breastfeeding, Unfortunately, my son did not love lying in it as it doesn't really provide a lot of head support and the angle for feeding was difficult. It was impossible for me to use for breastfeeding as it sat awkwardly around my torso, and therefore couldn't fully elevate my son to my breast. I mostly ended up using this as a seat cushion (which was nice for my post-partum bottom!) but it just wasn't highly utilized and was a pretty expensive seat cushion when a pillow is available. Alternatives: My Breast Friend Pillow

2. Dock-a-Tot

Some people swear by the Dock-a-Tot. A lot of my friends liked it for their babies. However, it is not safe for sleeping and my son never enjoyed just laying in it flat. You can't elevate it in any way, so it really is just a little mattress with a heavy price tag ($195!). Alternative: MamiBaby Lounger (similar effect, half the price)

3. Blooming Baby Lotus Bath

I wouldn't say this was a bad product, it just wasn't feasible for us. This baby lotus bath is really cute. The idea is that you place it in your sink and wash your baby in the flower when they are very little. However, our sink was a bit too small for our son to fit comfortable inside the flower easily. Also, the flower absorbs the water and takes a VERY long time to dry. They recommend using a dryer after every bath, but that was too much of a pain for us and felt like a waste of energy. This would be fine for bigger sinks, but a lot of people don't have the space for it. Alternative: AngelCare Baby Bath Support

4. 4Moms MamaRoo

OK. This thing looks COOL AS HELL. My office gifted this bad boy to me and I was so excited to pop out my kid and put it in this magical, baby rocking spaceship. Flash forward to Zac being born and he absolutely HATED this thing. He cried endelessly every time we put him in it. Now, other parents will tell you their kids loved it and slept for hours in the MamaRoo. That just wasn't the case with my son who really just wanted a good old swing. He needed a lot more motion than what the MamaRoo provides (it's a very gentle motion). I would say Zac spent about 90% of his early life in his swing and I wish I had registered for it from the beginning. Alternative: Fisher Price Sweet Snuggapuppy Dreams Cradle N' Swing

5. BEABA BabyCook

Before I had Zac I had every intention of cooking my baby delicious, nutritious, homemade baby food and thought the BEABA BabyCook would be my savior. In reality, this thing caused me more stress than it was worth. First of all, it comes with an app that you can download but the app is CONSTANTLY stuck on French (you see, BEABA is a fancy French invention). So it was impossible to read about how to actually make the food. Additionally, it turned out that Zac HATED mushy foods and skipped over them completely to crunchier treats., rendering the BabyCook unusable. Overall, this isn't a bad product, I just think that the window of time between when you would puree foods and when babies eat real solids is very short. For $150, this is a pricey registry item and doesn't really do more than pureeing your baby foods through traditional cooking methods. Alternative: Use your microwave.

Parents out there! Do you agree or disagree with my assessment of the items below? Comment below!