Day 243: Baby stuff I could live without...

It's been snowing for the past 24 hours and everything is white and quiet. I'm actually not a big fan of the snow, and the fact that we got locked out of the house in it yesterday didn't help its reputation any in my books. Poor Mads, her little fingers were so cold and red we eventually had to go take refuge with a neighbour for a while. I don't think I've locked myself out of the house since I was a kid - wouldn't you know it has to happen during the first snowfall of the year while I've got a baby in tow! Maddie isn't quite as entranced by the falling snow as I imagined she would be. She was far more interested in her bottle than in the changing weather patterns. Go figure. I guess we can scratch meteorologist off the list of future careers.

What Mads doesn't realize is that falling snow signals that Christmas is just around the corner. I'm not particulary religious, but I do love Christmas. I like that it tends to make people a bit nicer than they normally are, and of course it gives us one more excuse to go shopping. And so, in honour of this wonderful season of over-consumption I thought it would be a good time to pay tribute to all of those baby products that have turned out to be entirely useless. So here it is, my completely subjective top 5 list of things I wish I hadn't wasted my money on:

#5. Burp pads. While often very cute, I quickly learned that these are not very practical. Maddie's spit ups tend to require something more along the lines of a beach towel, so these itsy bitsy little cloths have been sitting in the dresser growing mothballs for the past 8 months.

#4. Breast pumps/pads/packs/etc. So it turns out breastfeeding isn't for everyone. Who knew? After several weeks spent pumping and crying, I packed up my cracked, infected nipples and guilty conscience and called it a day. Mads and I have been much happier since. My opinion is, if it works for you, that's great. If not, don't torture yourself over it.

#3. A Bumbo chair. I read rave reviews about this thing, which we paid around $70 for - an outrageous price, if you ask me. Fernando had high hopes for it, but Maddie sat in it about 3 times total before she figured out how to flip out of it and wind up lying face down on the ground. And the 3 times she sat in it she really didn't like it - she hated the idea of being forced to sit still in one place for more than 5 seconds, she spent her time grunting and straining and complaining. I guess it works for a lot of folks, but not for us.

#2. Baby powder. Does anybody use this stuff anymore? Through my own purchases and shower gifts I wound up with about a dozen containers of it. And then I read that you shouldn't use it because it could cause respiratory damage - and oh yeah, possibly cancer - so I threw it away. I hear it's good to put on the soles of your sandals, though.

#1. Cloth bibs. By far the most useless invention ever are those silly little cloth bibs that cover about 2% of baby's body. The makers of these things force you to buy them against your better judgement by writing things like "I love my mommy" on them. When Maddie eats, she requires an all-over poncho. She winds up with food somehow stuck in her hair, ears, under her chin, her armpits, the rolls of her thighs, in between her toes. It's a total disaster and those bibs are a laughable defence in the face of such an onslaught of slop and crumbs.

Stay tuned for the much-anticipated list of things I couldn't live without!

Only 28 sleeps till Christmas...