It’s probably a great sign of age to think life was just simpler when you were young. But I look at some of the things teenagers are dealing with today and I can’t help but wonder what happened to old-fashioned social anxiety and just worrying that you didn’t have the right clothes or had too many freckles.

There are stories in the news about young girls with bright futures killing themselves because they passed out at a party, were sexual assaulted, and then photos of their violation and humiliation went viral.  For these girls it’s impossible to see that their social and public humiliation is only a horrible and devastating blip in time, not their entire future (though this is different from the ramifications of emotional and physical abuse, which can leave scars– seen and unseen– forever). They end their personal agony via suicide which only begins life long agony for their families.

With iPads, iPhones and a limitless Internet, I think how much easier it was when I was young and drank too much at a party, because there was no one snapping digital photos that could be uploaded immediately to Facebook, yet alone before the hangover even set in.

Teenagers today are dealing with pressures that were unthinkable when I was in high school. I remember a bully taunting me on the bus everyday. What if he could have targeted me online for all of my classmates to see, instead of just a few kids snickering at the back of the bus? How would I have handled that kind of pain in an even more public fashion?

I recently found myself in a coffee shop, drinking a latte and taking advantage of free Internet when my quiet table was suddenly deluged with teenagers. They were on lunch break and didn’t even seem to notice my existence.  I couldn’t help but listen to their conversation.

They were talking about gum.

“Sara doesn’t like gum. Isn’t that weird? Who doesn’t love gum?” one girl said.

“Gum is the best,” another agreed.

“I hate having to butter my own bagel,” another teen interjected as she tried to spread ice cold butter over a luke-warm bagel.

A few other girls were talking about a Spanish test they had coming up after lunch. “I am so scared of that test!” said one.

“Me too. It’s going to be really hard,” another chimed in.

And as I sat there, middle-aged and invisible, I thought to myself, this was probably the same conversation I had when I was 16-years-old. Because I loved gum, hated ice cold butter and did not easily learn foreign languages.

And yes, the lives of teenagers are remarkably different now but in some ways they haven’t changed at all.

And I look at the teenagers in rural Georgia who said enough is enough to segregated proms (yes, that’s right, segregated proms in 2013) and proudly held the first integrated prom in Wilcox County.

And I think of the high school senior I recently interviewed for a part time mother’s helper job and all the volunteer work she has done from collecting donations for a local charity to helping serve hundreds of meals to Sandy hurricane victims.

And I realized that yes, teenagers are dealing with a whole new overwhelming world of technology that we’re still learning how to navigate. But they are also brave and kind and still love gum. And there is comfort in knowing that.

My 8-year-old daughter recently came home, pointed to her boots and said, “Two of my friends told me these aren’t real Uggs. I want real Uggs.”

Oh man. My daughter’s knock off Uggs are from The Children’s Place. I don’t remember what I paid last fall but it was probably 20 or 25 dollars.

A pair of Uggs? About $120 – $140. That’s a big difference.

And then my 6-year-old chimed in. “Yeah, I want real Uggs too.” (Luckily, my 2-year-old twins were mum on the issue.)

Spending between $200 and $300 for two pairs of boots is not in our family budget. But I understand the longing. I remember as a child wanting a Ralph Lauren Polo sweater so badly I thought I would just die if I didn’t get it. I didn’t get one. I also didn’t die.  But the longing was so real, I can still feel it decades later.

Kristin Kutscher, a Manhattan mom, says her daughter wears Ugg knock offs. “I wouldn’t buy my daughter real Uggs because I can’t afford them – plain and simple.  And I have no qualms about telling her they are too expensive. If I can afford something, and she wants it, then I can try to buy it for her.”

Colorado mom Daphne Biener’s 12-year-old daughter longed for a pair of Nike Free Runners which can run as high as $100. “We did consider it until I saw the insane price tag,” Biener says. They found a look-alike pair for $40 and her daughter was fine with it because they were very similar in style to the Nike’s.

But sometimes it’s not about shoes or a certain clothing brand. Karen from Brooklyn says for her 8-year-old daughter, it’s all about American Girl dolls and they don’t come cheap. For example, Saige (the so-called girl of the year) is $110. “My daughter is obsessed with American Girl (she has one), and obsessed with which friends have which dolls, and she knows exactly how many her friends have, and which accessories. It’s insane,” says Karen.

So what do you do when your child is begging for an expensive item that you simply can’t afford?

Experts says that it’s important to not just say no but explain to your child that the money needs to be spent on food and other needs for your family. Your child will be disappointed and it’s important to listen to their emotions. They should feel heard and loved which is ultimately far more important than any object.

Sometimes a compromise can be reached. If there is some “must have item,” give your child some options.  They can wait for a sale, request it for a birthday or save up their own money.   Some parents will chip in what they were willing to spend and the child has to make up the difference. Once a kid realizes they have to invest their own money, the item can become a whole less desirable.

And another possibility is that sometimes a coveted item can be found second hand through families with older kids or online, which also teaches eco-responsibility.

My children’s desire for Ugg boots seems to be on the back burner for now since it’s spring.  But come autumn, I will likely be dealing with this again. My inclination is to let my daughters have them if they can figure out a way to buy them for themselves and I’ll chip in a small amount.

But enough about my kids. Who is going to buy me that Polo sweater?

During my first pregnancy, a woman heckled me on the street. “That’s horrible for your baby!” she yelled from across the street.

I wasn’t smoking cigarette. Or chugging a bottle of Colt 45. Or eating 6 day old raw fish from the garbage dumpster behind The Sushi Palace.

I was eating a frozen yogurt. Yup. That’s it. And that’s when I came to understand that once you get pregnant and bring children into this world, there are a lot of people out there who feel obligated to protect your child. The whole, “It takes a village” except these villagers can seem a little judgmental.

I have encountered some sort of shaming during every pregnancy. Except it’s not about frozen yogurt this time around.  It’s about tennis.

I have always tried to stay physically active during my pregnancies because it’s prevents major weight gain and just makes me feel better, physically and mentally.  I’m not out training for an Ironman. I’m attempting to stay active and healthy.

(DISCLAIMER: Any pregnant woman should talk to her doctor before starting any kind of exercise routine. I am not a doctor. Although I can rock a white lab coat and stethoscope.)

In my previous pregnancies, I did a lot of prenatal yoga. But then I somehow burned out on downward dogs and just couldn’t find the time anymore with kids to get myself to a yoga class. Tennis seemed like the perfect replacement. I love the sport and my doctor said, continuing throughout my pregnancy was not a problem as long as I felt up to it.

I’m now 35 weeks and still playing.

I’ve gotten a range of different reactions.  Some people are in complete shock and their jaws drop open as they stare at me with bewilderment. Others make comments like, “Wow.  You’re playing tennis?! My doctor told me it was not a good idea to play tennis because you could easily fall.”  And some reactions have been more mild like, “I can’t believe you are still out on the tennis court. When I was pregnant, I just took nice walks.”

And sometimes I get the idea that people would prefer all together if pregnant women would just lounge around, only getting up to prepare the hearth for the new arrival.

But the reality is, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), exercising 30 minutes daily can benefit your health during pregnancy. It helps reduce symptoms like backaches and swelling, prevents and treats gestational diabetes, increases your energy, aids in sleeping and may improve your ability to cope with labor.

However, ACOG does not recommend activities in which there is a high risk of falling, such as gymnastics, water skiing, and horseback riding.  Now, I guess there is a risk to falling in tennis but I feel like I have the same risk when I’m rushing down the stairs in the morning, while stepping over toys and trying to shepherd my four kids out the door.

ACOG also suggests avoiding activities that call for jumping, jarring motions, or quick changes in direction that may strain your joints and cause injury. Hmm… that does start to sound a lot like tennis.

But I have never felt like I was putting my myself or my baby in danger. I am careful when I play tennis. I play doubles because it requires much less running, I always move balls out of the way and I don’t push myself too hard.  Plus, I have the approval of my doctor.

My baby is doing great. And my best pregnant days (of mind, body and spirit) are after I’ve had some time out on the courts.

I’ve always been a bit scared of fire. Mostly because my dad’s house burned down when I was a kid (I wasn’t there) and he engrained a healthy– or perhaps borderline paranoia– fear of fire in me.

When I lived on the 2nd floor of an apartment, he bought me an escape ladder. Even once I moved to Manhattan, I kept that ladder as a safety precaution until my boyfriend pointed out that it really wasn’t going to help me on the 14th floor. “Well, at least it will get me to the 13th floor! That’s closer to the ground.” Not great logic but it helped me sleep at night.

Once I had children, I took the threat of fire even more seriously. I own fire extinguishers which I’ve actually had the opportunity to use.  Like when my 5-year-old and 3-year-old decided to make popcorn in the toaster oven while I was nursing my newborn twins upstairs.

For the record – I sent them to get pretzels out of the cabinet.

It’s quite terrifying to hear your young children scream, ““MOMMY!! COME DOWNSTAIRS. THERE IS FIRE!!”

I ran downstairs to find our toaster oven engulfed in flames. Thankfully, using a fire extinguisher is very intuitive and the blaze was out in seconds.  No one was hurt except the toaster oven.

Afterward, I explained to my daughters that they are NEVER, EVER, EVER to use the toaster oven and the 5-year-old asked, “What about when I’m an adult?”

“I’ll think about it,” I responded.

I also make sure to have batteries in all my smoke detectors but then I found out this might not be enough to protect my children. Why?

Because many children can and often do sleep right through the piercing sound of a smoke alarm.

I have seen this with my own kids when our home security alarm goes off accidentally. Despite the fact, that it jolts me awake immediately, my own children (now ages 8, 6 and almost 3) will sleep peacefully through it for minutes. That is SO SCARY.

Studies show that children are often likely to sleep through a fire alarm because they spend more time in a deep sleep than adults do. And we all know that every second counts when it comes to escaping a fire.

Research also shows that children are more likely to wake up to a recording of their parent’s voice instead of a standard smoke alarm. Voice smoke alarms don’t appear to be available on the market right now but manufacturers may develop them in the future.

So how can parents protect their children from a house fire?

– Keep fire extinguishers throughout the house like in the kitchen, garage, near fireplaces and other high risk areas.

– Check rooms for wiring that looks frayed, broken, blackened or overloaded.

– Review an escape plan with your kids.  Practice it. According to the U.S. Fire Administration, children as young as three years old can follow a fire escape plan they have practiced often. (Although as a mother of nearly 3-year-old twins, I can not imagine my toddlers getting out of a burning house unassisted.)

– Adults should have a designated child to wake up in the event of an emergency.

– Teach children not to hide from firefighters, but to get out of the home quickly.

– Show children how to crawl low on the floor, below the smoke and get out of the house as fast as possible and stay out.

For more tips on preventing and surviving fires, click here.

Would love to hear how you speak to your kids about fire safety and any advice you can share.

A lot of us are very good at making that first baby book. We carefully write down every milestone and memory. We take a ridiculous amount of photos. We lovingly arrange everything into a beautiful keepsake that we will always cherish.

But by the second or third kid, we are tempted to just give him or her the login information for our Shutterfly account. I mean, that laundry is not going to fold itself.

But I remember my second daughter Summer asking me for a baby book for two years.  She would constantly pull out her big sister’s album and one day I overheard her tell our babysitter, “My mommy is still working on my baby book.”

It crushed my heart.

I was making too big of a production out of this. This was more important than laundry. And that night, I sat down and put together her baby book.

And so can you.

Here are the easy steps to creating a Baby Book that will document your child’s first year:

First ask yourself, does it feel easier to create a baby book using an online photo book service or using an off-the-shelf baby book, which we’ll call “offline”? There is no right answer. Whatever feels easier for you. You can create gorgeous albums on Shutterfly, Mixbook, through iPhoto on your Mac or a variety of online sites. In fact, if there is a baby book site that you absolutely adore, please share!

Many of these album websites will have premade templates that you can use to make your book and include fun spaces where you can note your pregnancy cravings, when your child first crawled and baby’s first words. You think you won’t forget any of this stuff. You will. You’ll forget to pick up your kid from school once too. Hopefully only once.

If you go digital, make sure you order a hard copy of your album. Kids love looking at photos online but there is something magical about a baby book you can hold in your hands. And make sure it has a hard cover. Those soft covers don’t last long.

Choose Your Photos Quickly. If this is your second or third baby, you will have far less photos which is a big help. Don’t spend time adoringly staring at every photo and lamenting over the passage of time. (You can do that later when you pore over your magnificent baby book.). If you are ordering photos for an offline baby book, just click through and order any photographs you think you might possibly use. Once you are looking at them in person, you’ll be able to weed out a lot. And big kids love to create collages and cards from the discarded photos.

How To Create an Offline Baby Book.

For the first year, just throw any keepsakes in a drawer. This might include a copy of your child’s birth certificate, a baby announcement, a lock of hair in an envelope, your dreams and aspirations for their lives, their first birthday party invitation, etc. Then you can easily pull all this stuff out after they turn one and create an album/ scrapbook.

It is also helpful to keep a small notebook where you write down any milestones or things you want to remember. I would focus less on his or her height at 4 months and more on things like… how did you come up with your baby’s name, the first smile, favorite foods or funny stories.

If you didn’t do any of this and your child is already in preschool or even grade school, don’t panic! Just sit down with your partner and write down as much as you can remember about your pregnancy and the baby’s first year. This, along with some cute photos, will get the job done!

To create a baby book offline, go to A.I. Friedman, Target or anywhere you can buy photo albums and pick out a book.  You can also order online.

You can either pick out an official baby book that includes prompts to share different memories and stories or one that just has blank pages like Kolo scrapbooks. I really prefer blank pages. That way you can include whatever you want and there’s no guilt if you don’t feel like documenting how you and your partner met or your baby registry list. (What kid will ever care what you registered for anyway?!)

I also like albums without photo sleeves. This way you can cut and arrange photographs however you like and add any keepsakes. Buy double-sided tape to attach the photos. Tombow is my absolute favorite adhesive for albums.

Feel free to write notes in the margins and add anything that helps personalize the book.

Remember, You Aren’t Writing The Odyssey. This does not have to be a comprehensive book about every detail of your child’s first year. It’s just a sweet keepsake so you can remember something other than being tired and overwhelmed.  Your kids will love their baby books (no matter how short and simple) and you will love that you made them.

Really, I Just Want Something Super Digital.

Okay, okay, I’m a serious paper gal but if you really just want an online baby album, try a site like Limetree where you can safely store messages, photos and videos for your child. You can pick a date in the future when your child will be able to access all the information in chronological order. 

So whatever you decide to do, now it’s time to get started and check Baby Book off your to do list.

A few weeks ago, I ran into a friend at the grocery store. I took one look at her son in the shopping cart, with his swollen, red eyes and said, “Pink eye? I’m so sorry. Please stay two aisles away from me at all times.” And then I backed away.  As quickly as possible.

Well, karma came back to get me for my insensitivity because guess who got pink eye a few days ago? Oh yes. Me. None of my kids have it but according to my doctor, I could have picked it up in any public place.

Pink eye (also known as conjunctivitis) is common and often quite contagious. It’s an infection of the outermost layer of the eye and the inner surface of the eyelids.

So how do you know if you have pink eye?

Because your eye will start to feel funny, then turn crusty and pink and you’ll look in the mirror and say to yourself, “Oh crap. I think I have pink eye.”  And you probably do. Symptoms also can include swelling of the eyelids, itching, burning, tearing and a whitish or yellowish discharge from the eye. I know. Very sexy.  You don’t want to get this right before the prom. Luckily, I went to prom 25 years ago.  Now I’m depressed about my age and I have pink eye.

How do you get pink eye?

Pink eye is commonly caused by a viral or bacterial infection or an allergic reaction. Viral infections will go away on their own without medical treatment but bacterial infections need to be treated with antibiotic eye drops. Allergy medications will help those suffering from an allergic reaction.

How do you treat pink eye?

If you suspect that you or your child has pink eye, make an appointment as soon as possible with your doctor. Early diagnosis and treatment will help stop the spread of the infection.

My doctor put me on a seven day antibiotic. No contact lenses during the treatment which is tough for me because I don’t look nearly as good as Isabel in glasses. Plus, my prescription is not exactly up to date. My doctor also instructed me to wear no eye makeup and throw away any eye makeup that I used in the days leading up to the diagnosis.

As a woman who would rather drop her kids off a minute late for school, then show up with no makeup, I did not take kindly to this new fresh face look of mine. But I just focused on sporting fabulous red lips (which as a bonus match my eye!).

So how do you prevent pink eye in the first place?

Pretty much how you avoid a lot of infections. Wash your hands as often as possible. Also, don’t share wash clothes, towels, tissues, contacts or eye makeup.

So far, I have not spread pink eye to my children. Yay! I am really careful to not touch my eyes and wash my hands constantly. But if your kids do contract the infection, don’t panic. It is easily treatable and just be grateful that you don’t have lice. Because I’ve been there too and it’s way worse.

Many years ago, I found myself facing an ethical dilemma. I was attempting a career transition. As a local TV news reporter for many years, I had burned out on the daily grind of covering murders, fires and snowstorms. I wanted more meaning in my life and believed the nonprofit world would make me feel inspired and give me more career satisfaction.

I found a wonderful creative nonprofit that was improving the lives of inner-city kids. I knew the minute I heard about it that I wanted to work there. They had a position open and I began a lengthy interview process.

And about half way through the process, I found out I was pregnant. My husband and I wanted to have a family but hadn’t expected it to happen so fast. I planned to work full time after the baby was born. But what should I tell my potential employer?

If I told the organization about my pregnancy, I was certainly risking not getting hired. Despite the fact that pregnancy discrimination is illegal. (An employer cannot treat a woman differently because she is pregnant, may become pregnant or because of a pregnancy-related leave of absence.)

But I’m a realist. I was convinced I would not get the job if I admitted the truth. So I remained silent. By the time I was hired, I was 4 months pregnant. By the time, I started, I was 5 months along and definitely having trouble concealing it. Plus, the mental anguish of keeping the secret was overwhelming me. I had to divulge the truth. Before my belly completely popped out.

It was worse than I ever imagined.  My new boss was angry. Really angry. And I couldn’t really blame her. This was not how I wanted to start a new job. Plus, this dream job turned out not to be so dreamy. In general, my boss was erratic, extremely demanding and difficult. On the upside, I loved helping the kids, I excelled in the position and my co-workers were wonderful.

Then I had my baby. My full-time working plan vanished in a moment. How could I leave this incredible little being five days a week? I ended up going back part-time which was a good compromise for a few years. I eventually left because I couldn’t handle my boss and I wanted to return to my journalism roots.

I have always regretted the decision I made to keep my pregnancy a secret for so long. I am a very honest person and it never felt right to me. If I told the truth, maybe they wouldn’t have hired me. But perhaps something else would have worked out that would have been a better fit.  Or maybe I wouldn’t even want to work for a company who I suspected would discriminate against a pregnant woman. Perhaps another company would have even been impressed with my integrity? It’s impossible to know.

In the end, any pregnant woman facing this dilemma needs to choose the best path for herself. A woman desperate for income and a job may find it’s just too risky to come clean before she is offered the position. And I wouldn’t judge her for that. Because given the choice between two-equally qualified candidates, wouldn’t an employer always chose the one who won’t be going on maternity leave? I think this is a fair assumption for any expectant mom in the current U.S. workplace culture. Hopefully, one day this might change.

But for me, this decision is on my list of regrets. And, the lesson I learned is that staying true to my moral compass is more important than any job.

I’m not very good at making my kids do chores around the house. Because I find it draining. Take setting the table for example. First, you nag them to do it. They eventually do but they are screaming at each other about who gets to take out the forks. (Why are forks so coveted anyway?!) By the time they are done, it looks like a tornado threw napkins and flatware all over the table in some kind of bizarre, haphazard pattern. It’s just quicker and more efficient to do everything myself.

Except that my kids aren’t learning anything from that except that mommy is really good at setting the table. And didn’t we know that already?

Enter my savior Choreganizers.

Don’t let the awkward name scare you. I first read about this book on Pioneer Woman. It’s a way to organize chores for your kids and reward them once they complete the tasks.

I was a little hesitant to try this out because I don’t really believe in “paying” kids to do chores. I think children should be helping out around the house because they are part of a family not because they are getting some kind of reward. But I figured, since my kids weren’t really helping out around the house anyway, what did I have to lose?! Family Experiment Time!

Here is how Choreganizers works. Each kid has a chore chart and every morning she will wake up to find 5 chores in a pocket at the bottom of her chart. As she completes the chores, she puts the card into the completed section of the chart.

The book comes with lots of pre-made cards like Making Your Bed, Personal Grooming, Doing Homework, Setting the Table, Wiping Counters, etc. It also comes with blank cards so you can add your own chores. For instance, we added, “Making lunch” and “Putting School Library Book in Backpack.” I resisted adding, “Give Mommy Foot Rub.”

At the end of the day, if the child has completed ALL five chores with a good attitude, then he or she gets one fake dollar (of either dad dollars or mom money). The child only gets the fake reward dollar if all five chores are done and there has been no whining about it.

Then every Friday, the Chore Store is open for business!

This when your little helper can redeem her money for some kind of reward. The book gives you ideas for how to stock your Chore Store. I hate junky items filling my home so I made sure it was stuff my kids would really want. (The price of an item at the Chore Store does not reflect the actual retail cost.)

My 8-year-old daughter took her five dollars of mom money and bought a small box of Junior Mints for $2, a half hour of jumping time on the trampoline with her daddy for $2, and extra hugs with mommy for $1. (The hugs weren’t actually in the chore store but my daughter came up with the idea and I thought it was ridiculously sweet.)  Her younger 6-year-old sister decided to save her money because she wants to buy a $10 Yummy keychain which is all the rage at school. I also offered things like a pedicure with mommy, decorative duct tape (which the kids use to make bracelets), extra iPod Touch time and some of their favorite treats.

I’m now on my second week of Choreganizers and I have to say, to my surprise, it’s really working. There is no sibling fighting because they each have their own separate jobs. And there has been virtually no complaining because the kids just want to get their chores done and see all the completed cards on display.

“When I finish all my chores, I feel really proud,” said 6-year-old Summer who is by far the whiniest of my four kids.

It fills my heart with joy to see my kids dust busting, wiping counters and helping their siblings. But I love the most how proud they are of themselves! Plus, I don’t feel like I’m paying them to do chores. I feel like they are being rewarded for helping our household run more smoothly.

You can purchase and learn about Choreganizers here .

A few weeks after I gave birth to my second daughter, I looked at that precious little girl and thought to myself,  “I love you so much and I really don’t like your name.” There was nothing wrong with the name exactly. I just didn’t love it. And it wasn’t her.

During my pregnancy, I never paid much attention to our choice of girl’s name. Because I just knew in my heart, I was having a boy. It just felt like a boy and how could a mother be wrong? This mother was very wrong.

I didn’t tell anyone about my baby name regret. But I never called my daughter by her name. I mostly called her “the baby.” I would bristle when others called her by her name which is ridiculous because what else were they supposed to call her? My hope was that I would just get used to the name and I was too exhausted from taking care of a newborn and a toddler to figure out what to do.

But after 6 months, I burst.

I finally confided to a friend, “I really don’t like my daughter’s name and I don’t know what to do about it.”  And then I started crying.

I looked for signs that she thought I should be in a mental institution. But she was very supportive. I was relieved. Maybe I wasn’t crazy after all?! Telling my husband was more difficult.

“What do you mean it isn’t her name? Of course it’s her name! That’s what I’ve been calling her,” he responded completely confused.

But it wasn’t her name. And I should have spoken up months earlier. He finally agreed to change it. We renamed our daughter Summer and I knew it was perfect.  Was it awkward to change my kid’s name at 8 months?! Hell yes. But I never regretted my decision. Not for once second.

Not every mom makes this choice.

An online acquaintance, Melissa Banks (name has been changed), told me how she regretted her daughter’s name the minute she announced it. By six months, she was convinced they needed to change it but her husband loved it. “A part of me also believed only ‘crazy’  people change their kid’s name so I felt totally trapped. I had to remind myself there wasn’t a right or wrong choice, just a different road to be taken,” Banks says.

By the time Banks and her husband came up with a new name, she felt like her daughter had grown into her original name so they decided to stick with it.  But Banks does think moms should be given more time to hold, feed and get to know their baby before being pressured into picking a name.

“The hospital comes in with the paperwork before you even get a second to shower after labor!”

Not only should you take time to get to know your baby a bit before settling on a name but make sure you love the name. This can be difficult when moms and dads disagree on what to call a child. Now that I’m pregnant again, my husband texts me with the most ridiculous ideas for names so this could once again be a challenge.

And if you do have feelings of baby name regret, open up about it to your spouse and friends as soon as possible. You are not crazy (I promise!) and you will find the right answer for you and your family. Feel free to contact me and I will assure you that it is perfectly normal to feel this way and you will find a solution.

As for Summer (who is now 6), her old name is part of her history.  In fact, her siblings get jealous that they don’t have a former name.  She loves to tell people that she wasn’t always named Summer and I just know that as a rebellious teen, she’ll probably threaten to change it back.  But for me, she’ll always be my Summer.

It can be terrifying to try to prepare for your first baby. And anyone who has had a kid can still laugh at some of the ridiculous things they registered for or bought for someone else.

In the hopes of saving you some cash, here’s my list of the absolutely most useless baby items ever.  (If you love any of these items, please speak up because these are only the opinions of me and my friends.)

The Wipe Warmer (and it’s cousin The Travel Wipe Warmer): Babies don’t need warm wipes. I swear. They don’t. And someday when you are on the floor of some grungy bathroom that doesn’t have a changing table and you are using your standard room temperature wipes, this will all become clear.

The Peepee Teepee: I am pretty sure I gave this as a gift to someone who had a baby boy.  Because I thought it was so cute! (I mean, the name alone is irresistible.) It is supposed to prevent a baby boy from peeing on you but in reality, it looks ridiculous, you can just use any cloth to try to prevent this kind of thing and if you have a baby boy, you will be peed on anyway.

Pacifier wipes: You baby will drop his or her pacifier and I promise you do not need a special pacifier wipe to clean it off. Run the pacifier under water, use a regular wipe or if you already have a few kids, you’ll wipe it off on your jeans. You also do not need a special case to hold your pacifier. (You can shove pacifiers in a diaper bag pocket or your own pants pocket).

Slip Proof Baby Knee Pads: I actually bought these when my first baby started to crawl. That’s tough to admit. But I didn’t want her knees to get hurt. Babies are a whole lot tougher than we think. They don’t need knee pads unless they roller blade and I’ve never met a roller blading baby.

Plastic Disposable Placemats: These are for a more hygienic restaurant experience for your baby or toddler. Except you will never have these placemats with you when you need them. And they tend to not adhere properly to the table which causes them to wad up. Just clean off the table with a wipe. No one will judge you.

Laundry Soaps Especially for Babies: It’s just marketing folks. You see the pink box with the happy newborn and you think, “Man, that baby must love his or her laundry detergent.”  Instead, pick up a bottle of your favorite natural laundry soap and you are set.

Stuffed animals: Oh my gosh, these will multiply! Everyone loves to buy stuffed animals and you know what, they don’t do all that much except clutter up your home. So for the love of babies, don’t register for any. Ditto for blankets. You will end up with a million of them.

Baby Food Maker: Guess what? You can just use a food processor which you probably already own. Or just mash up the food. Or if you are super lazy like me, buy it in jars. You don’t need a special baby food maker unless you like things to collect dust in your cabinets.

Shopping Cart Cover: Don’t buy one of these unless you want to take a photo of your baby in it so you can laugh at yourself years later. There are germs everywhere. It’s actually good to expose your kid to germs so they can build up their immune system! This cover is not going to protect your child from the universe.

Bumper Pads for the Crib: They are often expensive, can be a breathing hazard for your infant and are completely unnecessary.

Bumbo: This is a seat for babies who can’t sit up on their own yet. You will use it for 3 minutes. A lot of kids don’t like it. If you really want to try it out, I promise one of your friends has one down in her basement. Borrow it.

Diaper Pails: I can’t end this list without mentioning those trash cans (like the Diaper Dekor or Diaper Genie) especially made for diapers. I happen to love my Diaper Dekor and have been pretty much using it for 8 years straight. But lots of moms think they are a waste of money and don’t control odors better than a typical garbage can. Plus, you have to keep buying expensive refill bags. Hmm… they might have a point.

So what did I forget? Please tell me if there is a really useless baby item I missed. And take our poll! What’s your top pick for the most pointless infant product?