More Baby Gear - The things I thought I didn't need/want

Having a baby = so much stuff.

There are so many things that I thought wouldn't want or need with this baby, and on some of them I was right, some of them I was SO wrong!

A couple of the highlights:
bebe au lait nursing cover (my aunt gave me one.  didn't want one, but whoo boy do I love it now!)
carseat canopy (I thought it was unnecessary but got one anyway)
Summer Infant SwaddleMe swaddles
bouncer/baby seat
breastpump 
Boppy (Again, didn't know that it would be necessary but wanted -and got- one anyway)
Baby Monitor
Toys

• bebe au lait nursing cover - I totally thought "i'll just use a blanket" on this one!  HAH.  D pulls the blanket off, gets too hot, fights it the whole way.  The cover is hung around your neck and is so much easier.  worth the money!

• carseat canopy - This is great!  we used it to keep stranger faces out when he was a newborn and now use it to help enforce naps and protect from the sun.  LOVE this. am planning on trying to make some and see how it goes

• Summer Infant SwaddleMe - I thought "Blankets do this job just fine, why would I spend more on something as goofy as this?"  Answer?  Because baby's are mini-Houdinis.  In the normal blanket, his arms would get out and wake him in seconds and that made for an unhappy baby!  Now we find that it also helps signal to him that it's nap time when he's fighting sleep.  we don't care if he stays in it all the way anymore, because he's not waking himself up as much, but they are still great!
• Bouncer/Baby seat - I didn't think we'd want one, but now that the boy wants to be up and looking around, I can see that it would be a nice thing to have! he tends to get really frustrated and upset when he's stuck on the floor or in a crib.
• Breastpump - Since I wasn't planning on going back to work at first, I didn't worry about a breastpump.  Within a week of having him, my husband had to make an emergency trip out to the store to get me one!  Part of this is because I'm a little bit of an overproducer and when my milk came in I would feed him, then get 8-12oz with most feedings and still feel full.  I tried to only pump 1-2 times a day to minimize the backlash of pumping a lot (even higher production), but I had to pump at least that much to be comfortable. Now that I'm working one night a week and in the process of interviewing for another job (more on that later), I'm thinking we should have splurged and gotten an electric pump.  The one I've been using, which I like for a hand pump, is the Medela Harmony.  I'm looking at getting the Ameda Purely Yours. Do any of you have this one?  what do you think of it?
• Boppy -   This funny looking pillow.has been awesome for nursing, supporting the baby during playtime, and comfortable cuddling in awkward situations.

• Baby Monitor - we haven't gotten one of these yet, but as he gets older, we're realizing that one would be helpful since we aren't sleeping in the same room anymore.  Does anyone have any suggestions for a monitor they really like (that's not too expensive)?  We are starting to lean towards video, though we were only going to do audio at first...
• Toys - obviously we need toys, but I was trying to keep THINGS at a minimum since our house is really small and we'd like to keep the clutter down in the house.  (Probably means its time to get rid of some of mommy and daddy's stuff!) 

I'm sure there are more things (one came to mind then eluded me before I could get back to the computer) and I can update as I remember.  Hopefully these help those of you who are wondering what you need!

~Errant Soprano