Are you a first-time parent making a baby registry checklist by scoping out all the baby registry items online? Yeah, I did too!

I love planning and making lists as much as the next mom, but here’s the thing, you don’t need a lot of the stuff people say you need. And many things don’t even work the way you need it to work (I’m looking at you Baby Brezza!).

But you don’t have to take my word for it. In fact, I encourage you NOT to. I personally like a consensus when making decisions, especially consumer decisions. I love good Amazon product reviews! Am I right, or am I right?

In the end, you need to decide what works best for your particular child and situation. So check out this list of items I wished I hadn’t bothered with and my The Quintessential Baby Registry Checklist for First Time Parents and my posts explaining it (it’s a five-part series!).

1. Diaper Bag

I know this seems crazy to say that a diaper bag isn’t essential. But you truly do not need a bag that is designated and sold as a “diaper bag.” I have way too many diaper bags that I received as gifts or that I snagged at baby consignment shops (which, by the way, is the way to go if you’re still bent on getting a diaper bag). And none of them quite fit the bill! They weren’t big enough, lacked pocket organization, or cut into my shoulder. The biggest complaint is that they LOOK like diaper bags.

You’ll find that your diaper bag becomes your purse. And when everything else about you screams “I’m a new mom” (think milk stains, messy hair, and bags under the eyes), who wants a diaper bag that says it too?! And I don’t care how cute it is, it still looks like a diaper bag!

See my note under “tote” in my post “The Quintessential Baby Registry Checklist for the First Time Parent – Part 1” on what to get instead of a traditional diaper bag.

2. Diaper Pail Liners

I don’t even know why they call it “diaper pail liners.” They’re just trash bags for your diaper pail, people!

Just use trash bags. I never bothered with the “special” diaper pail liners that they try to sell along with the pail. EXCEPTION: If you cloth diaper, then you’ll need pail liners. Since I didn’t cloth diaper, I can’t really talk about cloth diapering. I had the best intentions to cloth diaper but since the first few months of motherhood were let’s say…less than pleasant…cloth diapering went by the way side.

3. Scratch Mittens

You don’t need to get scratch mittens, which they can easily take off anyway. Just use socks to keep weirdly sharp and long baby nails from scratching their delicate skin, and you.

4. Swaddles

Don’t bother with regular swaddles that cover their whole body. They grow out of them incredibly fast. Get arm swaddles that only keep their arms down and let their legs be free. This way, you can put it on over a wearable blanket for sleep time.

5. Receiving Blankets

Yes, there are some adorable receiving blankets out there. Receiving blankets are just not really useful as anything but a blanket, and a small one at that. Don’t even register for them! Someone is sure to give this to you as a gift anyway.

6. Changing Table

I never got a changing table because my kid’s nursery really didn’t have the space for one. But I’m glad I never did because we just used the top of the dresser as a changing table. Plus, my baby got too big for any changing tabletop by the time he was just six months old! Then we moved the changing pad to the floor so we wouldn’t have to worry about him falling off.

Your baby will likely outgrow a changing table LONG before their out of diapers. You’ll be changing them on the floor before you know it. Then you’ve got this all-but-useless changing table collecting dust. And no one’s got time to dust, especially a new parent!

7. Formula Dispenser

I bought the Baby Brezza and it never worked quite right after the first bottle of the day. It’s what one friend called, the “Baby Keurig.” I really wanted to like it too because it’s sleek and looks oh-so high-tech. However, the baby formula would get clogged up and prevent the right amount of formula and water into the bottle. So I’d have to make up a bottle by hand on top of wasting the formula in the Brezza. And formula is not cheap! Note: I had to give my baby Alimentum formula because he had GERD. But maybe a different type of formula would have worked just fine in the Brezza (at least according to the reviews on Amazon, it appears to be the case).

8. Sippy Cups, Plates, Bowls, Utensils

Yes, you will need these eventually. However, should it go on your baby registry? No, because the earliest your baby will likely have solids (as in puree) is six months. You’ve got a lot of other things to put on there that people should actually get you instead of these things.

9. Bottle Warmer

“Every creature deserves a warm meal” is what my husband said to me which caused me to get a bottle warmer. I used this bottle warmer maybe a handful of times before realizing that our baby didn’t care if the bottle was cold. That made things MUCH easier. If you can get your hands on one for cheap, then, by all means, try it out. But definitely also try out just giving the bottle to them cold because they just might take to it.

10. Large, wooden, or heavy toys

Basically, wooden, large, or heavy toys hurt and the baby will inevitably drop this toy on their own face. Also, some wood toys splinter and you certainly don’t want to mess with that!

11. Water Thermometer

You can just use the inside of your arm, old-school style. I had a great thermometer until it needed new batteries. It was so incredibly difficult to open to replace the batteries, that now that it needs a second change, it’s just another floatie toy.

You’ve probably seen most of these items on baby registry checklists. I know I did, which is how I ended up getting them. People will give you whatever they want to give you. And that’s just fine! But when it comes to spending your own money, think twice before buying any of the above and check out my baby registry posts starting with “The Quintessential Baby Registry Checklist for the First Time Parent – Part 1.”

Comment below if there’s anything that you got, baby registry-wise, that you wished you hadn’t bothered with and why.