I was in your shoes once, new parents.
Shopping for the perfect diaper bag, pruning baby gear lists down to the true essentials.
Three kids later, Im here to tell you: Youre overthinking it.
Most of your shopping decisions dont really matter.
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Lets start with the diaper bag, because its a microcosm of the whole baby gear experience.
You want to carryeverything you need, butnot too much.
Or maybe you aspire to be the minimalist who has ahandmade roll-up changing padwith just the essentials tucked inside.
I started out thinking Id be the minimalist.
But when my son was just a few days old, I was afraid to leave anything at home.
What if he needed a change of clothes?
What if he needed some toys?
What if he needed a blanket?
What if he barfed all over that one and neededanotherblanket?
Why would I want to carry an eight-pound baby and a ten-pound diaper bag?
So I started carrying the minimalist changing pad roll-up I had picked out before he was born.
Id always use up the two diapers Id packed inside, though, and forget to replace them.
I was carrying around an empty changing pad.
What was the point of that again?
The truth is this: there are only two ways to pack a diaper bag.
you’re free to carrytoo much, or you’re free to carrynot enough.
There is no perfect middle ground.
By baby #2, I knew not to bother packing a diaper bag.
By baby #3, I sometimes forgot the diapers.
My preference now is this.
I keep a box of diapers in the trunk of my car.
Like, I just buy them, and never bring the box into the house.
This way I am never without a diaper.
Stick a handful in whatever purse or bag you already carry.
Just like you wipe your own butt with toilet paper.
In many cases, thats just not true.
Cribs are great, butbabies can sleep safely in cardboard boxes.
Baby cereal isnt a necessary staple, justone food option of many.
Car seats, for example, are all required to meetfederal safety standards.
The pricier ones arent necessarily safer, justprettier or more convenient.
Likewise, all infant formulas arerequired to provide the nutrients babies need.
One brand might be handier or cheaper than another, but therearent meaningful differences.
If your doctor prescribes something for a specific reason, like allergies, follow her instructions.
Otherwise, it doesnt matter.
you could readreviewafterreviewof thebest high chairs, which tend to be in the $150 to $300 range.
Or you’ve got the option to findsomething at Babies R Usin about the $80 range.
If not (pro tip: you wont), you have two options.
Conveniently, theyre both affordable:
IKEAsANTILOP,which costs $20.
Hold the baby in your lap.
Its what they prefer, anyway.
Get used to it.
Does itmatterwhether you buy the wipe-down high chair or one of the fussy ones?
If you never knew ANTILOP existed, you would buy that $80 chair and be fine with it.
But now you know, and I hope Ive informed you while you still have the receipt.
This makes any baby advice, including mine, obsolete at least some of the time.
You may becomeaddicted to receiving blankets, while your friend has never used a single one.
Your first baby may love something that the second cant stand.
No amount of preparation, or experience, will let you get everything right.
For example, I laughed at the concept of awipe warmer.
When I saw these in the store, I shook my head.
After I had my first baby, I confidently rolled my eyes at the idea.
Babies dont care what temperature their wipes are.
They certainly dont need a dedicated appliance.
We could not reliably sleep until we purchased a wipe warmer.
The baby thought he needed the warmer.
He may have been wrong, but there is no way to argue with a baby.
So I offer this advice.
Most of the rest doesnt matter.
Illustration by Sam Woolley.
