By this point I’ve been through three babies. My youngest is a toddler. So I find myself at times asking the question, “who on earth thought this baby (or toddler) product was a good idea, and why have they not made amends for their error?” Read my list, and then let me know if you agree, or if I missed any.
Tie shoes
Why does a baby or toddler need laces? Do they know how to tie their shoes? It looks cute. Yeah. I look cute with kids screaming at me when I’m running late and it’s taking five times as long as it should to wrangle a squirmy kid into their footwear. DUMB. All baby and toddler shoes should be Velcro.
Pajamas with snaps
If you love someone, or even mildly don’t wish them pain and suffering, DON’T give them baby pajamas with snaps. With a newborn, you’re changing their diapers several times in the middle of the night – do you really want to deal with eighty snaps at 3AM? Does it get better as they outgrow their nightly feedings? NO! What comes next is squirmy toddlerhood. Do you think they’re going to sit still and patiently wait for you to snap all 1200 snaps, realize you missed one, unsnap them all and then resnap them again? By this time they’ve pulverized your internal organs with their flailing feet and pulled your hair out by its roots. If there be any love or compassion in you at all, give zippered pajamas at the baby shower.
I love Target. It’s close and quick. Therefore I buy 99% of my stuff there. So I was always frustrated that ALL their bibs featured Velcro. Do you know how useless that is? The baby will wear that bib for maybe a month or two before he figures out that he can rip the hated thing off in a heartbeat. Do you think your newly-minted toddler is keeping it on? Ha! Why don’t they only make bibs with snaps or strings? Too logical, I know.
I’ve sampled enough wipes to know what features are important to me, and top amongst them is the ability to separate easily. When I discover that the diaper I thought housed pee is hiding poop instead, I want to be able to make that nastiness disappear ASAP before Crafty Toddler or Curious Baby starts exploring the poop with their fingers. If I gotta struggle to get my next wipe, I may not finish this thing in time. My LEAST favorite are the Target Up & Up brand wipes, while the ones I like the most are Pampers.
Nose Bulbs
Unfortunately, I did not discover the Nose Frida until my third baby. Zac was always congested, and addicted as he was to the paci, he needed to breathe through his nose. I’m telling you, even the hospital-issued nose bulbs do next to nothing. The Nose Frida, or Snot Sucker as I call it, was 5x as effective.
This is a no-brainer. You know how hard it is to remove a poopy pull-up that doesn’t disattach at the sides? I literally just rip the pull-up off my child. Another example of a product that must not have been made by a parent who actually uses it. Luckily, Huggies makes a pretty decent pull-up with the side Velcro.
Musical toys without an Off button
I think pretty much all modern toys now come with Off buttons; some are even smart enough to have two volume choices. Although this still doesn’t solve the problem of your kid activating a sound that doesn’t stop manually and then walking out of the room ???.
You’d think after all these years someone would figure out what works and what doesn’t, but no … they leave it to us moms to sort everything out.
If you like this post, you should read: Must-have baby products for new moms.
My favorites:
OMG YES. YES TO ALL. These are all terrible and shouldn’t exist! I have a Melissa and Doug sound puzzle and it’s light sensitive so if we’re missing a piece and someone’s shadow crosses it or you turn on or off the lights you get COCKADOODLE DOOOOOO!!! or other various animal sounds. Of course there’s no off switch.
OMG we have that one! My autistic son figured out he can make the sounds work by turning the light switch on and off
I think you have heard my inner voice and released it’s fury! Haha, excellent post. And so, so true. As far as pajamas with snaps, I think I spend more time wrangling the loose twin than I do dressing the other when I’m dealing with ALL THOSE SNAPS. 😉
I know, right? The snap pajamas I save until last
Good point! Some of these are useless! I’ll also add the Bumbo to that list. At least one of my babies had thighs that didn’t fit into the little leg slots. 🙂
Lol! I never tried Bumbo, but all the therapists say you shouldn’t use them
I would like to add soppy cups that aren’t spill proof. They are out there. Why?
OMG yes!!!! This is good. You should be able to throw that puppy into your purse without the leakage destroying your phone!
*sippy
Love this list!! Ok so we’re not at the pull ups stage yet but seriously being able to remove a diaper (or put one on) without de-pantsing is a must-have. Looks like I’ll be checking out those Huggies one day.
Pampers needs to get with it!
I love your blog! I have nominated you for a Liebster Award. Thanks for writing!
https://babycostsmoney.com/2016/10/14/award-season/
Thank you!
Definitely, agree with no off button on toys. Like why? Did the toy company set out to torcher parents? HA. I will admit, though, I preferred snap pj’s with my little. Yes, I buttoned tons of them but I was scared of the zipper and I felt as if they were uncomfortable. As for bibs, I like the idea of the over-the-head ones but they can cause more of a mess. I’m okay with velcro because Ella does okay with keeping them on, but I know lots of other family that hated them due to their easy release. Pretty true list though 😉
I think the string tie bibs aren’t over the head but are a bit more secure. I literally gave up bibs with my boys and just dealt with dirty clothes.
One person told me they liked the snaps because they only had to undo half of the outfit. She’s wrong on every level, but an interesting point.
I see where she’s coming from, but half of 800 snaps is still 400 …
YES TO ALL!!!
Haha, glad you agree!
HAHAHA so funny! Especially the musical toys that don’t have an off switch! SO true!
I know, right?
OMG I hate pajamas with snaps too! Once I discovered zip up sides the snaps were burned…well not really but you know what I mean.
Yes! I know some mamas are worried about the zipper snagging skin, but I never had that problem.
So much “yes”! Especially #’s 2 and 7! I thought I was the only one who loathed snap pajamas. 😀
You are a smart person! Haha
LOL, musical toys without an off button! SO annoying! If I remember correctly, I used to hide those.
Or take out the batteries! Fortunately, those wear out soon enough
Although my kids are all adults now I would have to agree with you on all of these. Apparently, people are STILL buying them so the manufacturer is still producing. Does anybody get their baby shoes bronzed anymore?
I remember mine!
I agree with this list ?. I am pretty sure that every bib with Velcro has now been thrown out. My biggest pet peeve is the music toys without an off button. Those end up at grandmas house lol.
Lol, good move!
Haha those are all great, but amen sista to the snaps and Velcro!
Yes!! We’re on the same page ?
Agreed, all of these product should not exist! Especially the shoes that need to be tied up, thats a no brainer! You are funny while paying attention to detail!
Haha, thanks!
Ha ha! I love this post! I agree totally with all of them. The snaps would drive me CRAZY when my kids were little. Love the Nose Frieda, even though I never thought I would use it, it is the best. Also, hate Target wipes. I use Huggies, but actually Costco has some pretty good ones. And those musical toys…ugh. It’s the worst when they randomly go off in the middle of the night.
OMG! Costco is actually my favorite, I just was looking for Amazon links
LOL what a great list! I have to agree with pajamas with snaps… WTH. Zippers are enough a pain to change a diaper. Who invented this stuff ;p
And who keeps making and selling them?!
Hahaha! Totally! I had to hide some musical toys without an off button just yesterday!
So annoying!
Hilarious! These are great observations!
Thanks!!
I hate it when wipes don’t pull apart.
I know, so frustrating!
I totally agree with this list. I love the Nose Frida. Noisy toys are the worst! I am very picky when it comes to toys. The less noise they make the better.
Yeah, unfortunately the noisy ones keep them occupied the best!
OMG, I am laughing!!! This is funny. Seriously, yesssss to all of these! Before my son was even born, my mother-in-law sent us a TON of those little baby gowns and told us we’d thank her later. TOTALLY did! The snaps and buttons are absolutely impossible in the middle of the night, haha. Thanks for sharing! <3
Yes! Moms know!
And pacifires for kids who are past 6 months! messes them up!
Really? I haven’t had a bad experience with that
I have to disagree on the footies- I live in a COLD climate. I prefer snaps because then I could leave his little top half snuggled in all warm and cozy while we took care of the inevitably poopy diaper down below. I don’t understand those cart covers that require a degree in engineering to put on. All I need is a quick slide on that baby can chew on instead of the cart rail… 🙂 Thank you for the fun article!
Good point!
Love this! Especially about the bibs with velcro. I so wish they were easier to find with ties or snaps.
Right? Who designs these things?!?!
Oh YES!! To all of these- especially the buttoned pajamas! ? I’m in the squirmy 10 month old phase with #3. Oh geeze I hate button pajamas!!!
Aha! Yes! I have to admit, at times the tie shoes come in handy. Although I regret the need for them.
I love all of these… Except velcro shoes. While I agree with typical babies this is a must. However, my son was born with Spina Bifida and wears braces on his feet. The only shoes that go over his braces are those with laces and unfortunately because velcro shoes are more popular it’s super difficult to find lace shoes.
Yes, that would be a problem!
Walmart brand (I believe Target brand as well)pull ups have velcro sides. I love them. Plus they’re cheaper than Huggies. I never could wear Huggies on my son. They caused diaper burn.
Yikes! I don’t get to shop at Walmart, but I bet their diapers are great
I agree with you on all but one of these. My baby girl has a feeding tube and snap pjs are the only way I can keep her feet warm at night. (She refuses to keep socks on) many stores only carry snap pjs up until 9 months and we are in 12 so I had to search pretty hard to find any. If they didn’t exsist I would have to modify zip pjs on my own. Not easy.
That makes sense! I had a friend with a little girl with a G tube and she kept pulling them out, so I gave her some of my son’s inescapable pajamas, but they’re expensive! Hopefully she outgrows the G tube soon. If not, God made parents creative!
This is so accurate! The bumbo was useless with our children as well. We invested in the ingenuity booster seat instead. That worked wonders! Our child is on the smaller side so she will be 2.5 next month and because you can take the inside seat out of this chair (for toddlers) and strap it to a dinning chair she eats as a big girl at the table with us and is safe. As for when you have the inside on the chair it’s perfect for babies!!
Yes! That’s a great idea! I believe the bumbo was warned against by pediatricians and therapists
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