Oh, wouldn’t life be boring without the ability to purchase unnecessary things that make it fun and exciting? Here are my favorite items that you will not need, but may want. I certainly did. First and foremost: with anything that is NOT a survival essential, I strongly recommend to ask friends and family before any purchase if one of them has the desired gadget/item at home and if you can try it out with your baby. Why? Because it saves you money and frustration to make sure your baby likes it and that it works for your family first. That might be less necessary with stuff that is relatively cheap (like baby sunglasses), but with bigger purchases like a swing, it definitely makes sense.
One fun thing for most babies is being in the water. Whether it reminds them of their time as belly inhabitants or it’s simply the fact that everything is all cozy and warm in the bath, it seems like the little munchkins can’t get enough. One way to enhance that is with the Floatie (click here). This is a cute neck ring that ensures your baby’s head stays afloat while s/he is swimming in the bathtub or when you take them to the pool or a lake. While it ain’t something for the first months, it is certainly a fun gadget as soon as your baby is more or less able to hold up his or her head. It is also a great thing for bonding time with dad. In our family anything water related is dad territory, as we see it as important that each parent has their own personal time with our daughter and since dads can’t breastfeed, swimming and bathing are great, positive activities to bond.
A shocking truism is that no matter how much we love our babies, even the most dedicated mom needs to take a shower or prepare a meal so that she doesn’t starve. At least from the perspective of your little munchkin, this can be a big no-no. This will be less the case in the very first weeks, but as soon as your mini-me is getting a little more active around week 4 or 5, you will want a strategy to soothe and occupy your baby. Enter the portable baby swing into the equation. This will gently rock your youngest family member while you borrow a couple of minutes for yourself. We have this one by Ingenuity and so far our baby is as smitten with it as we are. Since it is portable, you can set it up wherever you currently are – kitchen, living room, nursery, etc. I recommend getting a portable one, as some options are set up being fixed to the ceiling or are not really mobile. They are usually only good for the first six months, so you might want to look into getting one second-hand.