Hot or not?

After being a parent for a few months and looking at tons of baby gear, I have a pretty good idea of what's great and what's great only if you have extra dust to collect. Of course some things can come in handy but overall these are really parent gear more than baby gear. I'm only including the things that we have at home. These are some of my choices, in no particular order:

Hot

• Bumbo seat - for a baby that has a bit of head control, it really helps keeping the body upright. It looks like it could be uncomfortable but I think babies like it because they can sit like the grown ups.
• Jumping station - Aside from the toys connected, the ability to exercise the legs is great. Baby definitely needs head control but it looks like it helps develop torso and leg control as well. 
• Newborn mittens - prevents scratching the face. 
• Sleep sack - No more worrying about baby getting cold overnight, and it's cute. If there was an adult version...
• Baby carrier - Wearing baby frees up both hands to do things and lets sore arms rest. Keeping baby close is also great and keeps both of us warm.
• Snot sucker - Imagine your nose was stuffed and couldn't blow your nose. Now imagine mommy or daddy coming to your rescue with the snot sucker. 

Not

• Bassinet - Only used once in a while, I would say she probably didn't like it because it blocked her view.
• Pacifier - not entirely a flub, but it's not absolutely required. Baby will figure out something else to do. There is some discussion that it harms a baby's growing mouth.
• Infant swing - only useful while the baby is stuck in one position and not all infants like the swing motion.

While a lot of these help the parent more than the baby, the baby's preference will steer choices more than anything. After all, a baby that hates some gear will be an unhappy baby no matter how much you might like the design and features (oh, all those extra pockets). I'll be sure to review some more gear in upcoming posts.