What not to buy for a baby: the list nobody selling you things will write

Skip because guidance advises against it

Wheeled baby walkers. The AAP has pushed for a ban for years — they let a baby reach a stove or a staircase before judgement catches up with speed. A stationary activity centre gives the same contained entertainment with none of that.

Inclined sleepers and crib bumpers. Both were banned from sale under the federal Safe Sleep for Babies Act. Current guidance treats sleeping at an incline of more than 10 degrees as unsafe, and that does not change for babies with reflux.

Sleep positioners and wedges, for the same reason. If you were given one, it is not a matter of preference.

Anything second-hand where you cannot establish the history: car seats especially, since a seat involved in a crash should be replaced and you cannot verify that from a listing.

Skip because you will barely use it

Newborn-size clothing in quantity. Some babies skip the size entirely, and the ones who don't are in it for a few weeks. Two or three items, not a wardrobe.

A changing table, as a dedicated piece of furniture. A changing mat on a chest of drawers you already own does the same job and outlives the phase by a decade.

Bottle warmers, wipe warmers, and most single-purpose gadgets. A jug of warm water does the first; the second solves a problem most babies do not have.

Shoes before walking. Bare feet or grippy socks give better balance feedback than any 'first walker' shoe, and pre-walkers do not need the protection.

A full set of bottles before you know what your baby accepts. Buy one or two of a couple of types, then commit.

Borrow or buy used instead

Anything with a short window and no safety-critical function: bassinets, bouncers, playmats, carriers you may not get on with, maternity clothes.

The obvious exception is car seats, and anything with a recall history you cannot check.

This is where a second-time parent has an advantage worth using deliberately: much of the list is already in your loft, and a good checklist should subtract it rather than ask you to buy it again.

Where the money actually goes

The genuinely expensive items are few: a car seat, somewhere safe to sleep, and — if you are pumping or formula feeding — the equipment that goes with it. Almost everything else is optional, deferrable, or borrowable.

The most useful question at any point is not 'is this good?' but 'what happens if I wait?' For most of a registry, the answer is nothing, and you will know far more in a month than you do now.

How we decide what to recommend

Product picks here are distilled from thousands of real reviews, and every pick shows what parents complain about alongside what they praise. A recommendation that lists no drawbacks is not a recommendation, it is an advertisement.

No brand pays to appear, and no link earns us anything. That is the whole reason this page can exist.