Baby Products: What I Had vs. What I Used

When I started planning my baby shower, I was super excited about putting together a registry, but I had no stinkin’ clue what to put on it!  I read a lot of blog posts on the subject, took some advice from friends, and finally came up with a passable list.  Some of it was awesome (Avent Orthodontic pacifiers, Sophie Giraffe teether, Safety 1st Easy Saver Diaper Pail, and the Graco Pack n Play)!  But some of it didn’t get used much.  I also found that I wished I had more of certain items that I ended up using often.  Don’t get me wrong, I was grateful to all my friends and family for their generosity, I just didn’t find uses for everything I thought I needed.  Let me tell you all about it…

• What we got:  Receiving blankets  
• The deal is: They aren’t big enough to be swaddles.  They aren’t absorbent enough to be burp cloths.  They aren’t warm enough to be real blankets.
• What I’d like instead: Toddler prefolds.
• Why?: Because they are the perfect size and absorbency to use as burp cloths.

• What we got: Many, many muslin swaddles.
• The deal is: We used a few for swaddling, covering while nursing, and covering the bassinet for naps, but we didn’t need more than 3-4.
• What I’d like instead: Summer Infant SwaddleMe Original Swaddles.
• Why?: They’re easy to use in the middle of the night, and ain’t NO baby gonna break out of those things!

• What we got: Tall bottles.
• The deal is: We never have to feed her more than 4 oz at a time, so an 8 oz bottle is silly.
• What I’d like instead: Just two-three short bottles are plenty.
• Why?: They take up a lot of room in the kitchen, and we rarely use them anyway, since Alice comes with me to work.  She really only has a bottle while I’m at karate.

• What we got: A superfluous amount of baby towels.
• The deal is: I do laundry regularly.  She bathes twice per week.  We don’t need ten towels!
• What I’d like instead: I can’t think of anything bath-specific to replace the towels, but I could use more warm blankets.
• Why?: I’m starting to use them in lieu of coats unless it’s freezing out.  So much easier than putting her in the coat, taking her out to strap her in the car, putting the coat back on, then taking it back off when we get inside.  What a pain!  I prefer to wrap her in a blanket, then drape it over her lap in the car.  Add a cute hat, and we’re rocking!

• What we got: A gazillion cloth wipes.
• The deal is: We just don’t need as many as we have.
• What I’d like instead: More changing pad covers.
• Why?: The Free Pee.  Alice likes to pee as soon as I get the nappy off of her butt.  I’m constantly having to find something else to cover the changing pad.  This is the only use I’ve found for the receiving blankets (see above), but they bunch up and fall off, so they’re not ideal.

• What we got: Sleeveless Sleep Sacks
• The deal is: I’m sure they would have been fabulous in the summer, but they’re not warm enough on their own right now (in February).  It’s inconvenient to have to pull them all the way off, then undo the jimjams, change her, redo the jimjams, then put the stupid blanket back on, so I don’t like them over Sleep and Play outfits either.
• What I’d like instead: Sleep Sacks with sleeves.
• Why?: We use them as jimjams right over the nappy.  One zipper = easy nighttime changes.

Did you have anything like this?  Do you actually have a use for receiving blankets?  Are you out there?  Please like and subscribe if you found this helpful!