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Marjorie Taylor Greene Hit A New Low By Appearing In An Unimaginably Cringey MAGA Rap Video

Did you know “MAGA rap” was a subgenre? You do now. On Sunday, amidst this weekend’s far right Turning Point Action conference, Marjorie Taylor Greene did more than make an appearance. As if to make the whole conference all the worse, she popped up in a rap video, which you can watch above, if you dare.

The video is from Forgiato Blow, aka Kurt Jantz, aka Mayor of Magaville. Blow’s a pioneer of what he calls MAGA rap, which touts conservative lyrics about Donald Trump and whatever culture war issue the far right is harping on now. His latest song is called “MTG,” a paean to the ever-shouty ex-bestie of Lauren Boebert, but it’s also about that whole anti-LGBTQIA+ “grooming” nonsense a slither of conservatives keep harping on about.

As Blow goes on about the “deep state” and “RINOs” and (of course) AOC, Greene can be seen sitting on a golden throne with angel wings (why not) and making rap video facial expressions. Blow sings her praises about protecting kids from an uprise in school shootings — sorry, we meant from learning about the existence of gay people, which is not a problem:

She’s fighting for our children.
She’s fighting for our freedom
She’s fighting for the Jan Six-ers
She’s fighting good versus evil

You can watch the video above. Or you could just go on living your life.

(Via Mediaite)

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Several Of Lil Baby’s ‘It’s Only Us Tour’ Dates Were Canceled, So Fans Have Flooded His Social Media Comments To Demand An Explanation

Although fans’ live show etiquette has been on a decline lately, the number of tours, festivals, and more are on a steady incline. Lil Baby is just one of the dozens of artists hitting the road for a national tour. However, several of his It’s Only Us Tour dates were quietly canceled, which sent impacted ticketholders into a frenzy.

In Lil Baby’s latest post on Instagram, where he’s been marketing the tour, ten tour dates were noticeably missing, including the previously planned stops in Phoenix, San Diego, Las Vegas, Sacramento, Salt Lake City, Denver, Minneapolis, Pittsburgh, Indianapolis, and Louisville.

Fans flooded the comment section of the post to demand an explanation for the canceled shows.

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That wasn’t the only thing new about the tour flyer. To make up for the canceled show, two new dates were added. In August, his tour will stop in Philadelphia and New York. Pre-sales will begin on Tuesday, July 18, at noon ET. Find more information here.

View the updated It’s Only Us Tour schedule below.

07/26 — Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
07/28 — Austin, TX @ Moody Center
07/29 — Dallas, TX @ American Airlines Center
08/05 — Los Angeles, CA @ Crypto.com Arena
08/06 — Oakland, CA @ Oakland Arena
08/12 — Seattle, WA @ Climate Pledge Arena
08/17 — St. Louis, MO @ Enterprise Center
08/18 — Milwaukee, WI @ Fiserv Forum
08/23 — Detroit, MI @ Little Caesars Arena
08/24 — Chicago, IL @ United Center
08/26 — Columbus, OH @ Nationwide Arena
08/29 — Philadelphia, PA @ TBA
08/30 — New York, NY @ TBA
08/31 — Washington, DC @ Capital One Arena
09/02 — Boston, MA @ TD Garden
09/03 — Baltimore, MD @ CFG Bank Arena
09/07 — Memphis, TN @ Fedex Forum *
09/09 — Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena *
09/11 –Raleigh, NC @ PNC Arena
09/12 — Charlotte, NC @ Spectrum Center
09/15 — Tampa, FL @ Amalie Arena
09/16 — Jacksonville, FL @ Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena
09/19 — New Orleans, LA @ Smoothie King Center
09/22 — Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ FLA Live Arena

* – No GloRilla

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Drake & J. Cole’s ‘It’s All A Blur Tour’ Surprise Performance Might’ve Just Kicked Off The Duo’s Next Collaboration

The It’s All A Blur Tour with Drake and 21 Savage has been filled with a few uncomfortable onstage moments, including a huge floating sperm appearing in the concert’s displayed visuals to Drake being pelted with objects while performing. However, it’s also offered a wealth of information about the “Search & Rescue” rapper’s next moves.

After he brought out fellow rapper J. Cole for a surprise performance in Montreal, Drake had one special request for the Dreamville boss. While praising him for his dedication to the hip-hop culture, Drake had one special request for his friend: “Hopefully, there’s an album? Hopefully, there’s an album I can actually get on.”

Cole tried not to let anything details slip, so Drake tried again, this time flat-out asking, “Can I get on the album? I’m going to ask in front of Montreal. Can we get on your album?”

Cole thunderously replied, “Say less, goddammit!”

Before Cole left the stage, Drake showered him with one more round of compliments. “Montreal, I want you to understand something. It takes someone that not really only loves the art of this shit but really loves all of you to get on a plane to come here for two nights and represent for Montreal,” proclaimed the entertainer.

J. Cole hasn’t shared any details about his next album’s release. However, if the collaboration with Drake does come to fruition, it will make the duo’s first collaborative track since the 2021 song “Pipe Down” off of Drake’s album Certified Lover Boy.

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Maria Bartriromo Gave Trump A Hard Time For Not Draining The Swamp Like He Promised

Donald Trump wants his old job back bad, and it’s obvious why: Being president again would protect him from all those legal woes that could throw him in the clink. Besides, he needs a Mulligan. He didn’t follow through on a number of his campaign trail promises. Among them was “draining the swamp” — getting rid of the supposedly corrupt old-timers who’ve kept the country from being its best. Upon his leaving, the swamp was still very much there, as even one of his biggest cheerleaders has noticed.

As per Mediaite, Trump went on Fox News’ Sunday Morning Futures, where he had a sit-down with Maria Bartiromo. She asked him about anything he’d try to do better in his second term, any mistakes he made the first time. Trump acknowledged that he screwed up with certain staffers — a lot of staffers who he fired or has since turned on.

“ I mean, I wouldn’t have put a guy like [former Attorney General] Bill Barr, and he was weak and pathetic. I wouldn’t have put [former Attorney General] Jeff Sessions. And there are some people that I wouldn’t have put in. You know, most people were good, but I had some people… we had [former Secretary of Defense] Mark Esper. I didn’t like him. He was incompetent. I thought we had other people I didn’t like.”

The list of failed personnel was so long that Bartiromo had to ask the big question: “Why did you put them in the job then?”

“I didn’t know the people,” Trump replied. “I know the people now better than anybody has ever known. The people I know, the good ones, the bad ones, the dumb ones, the smart ones.”

Then Bartiromo made a brave interjection. “You didn’t drain the swamp like you said you would,’ Bartiromo declared. You didn’t drain the swamp.”

“I did,” Trump claimed. “I fired [former FBI Director James] Comey. I fired a lot of people. A lot of the people I had, I fired. I fired Comey very early. And, you know, there was a question as to whether or not you could. But I fired Comey. If I didn’t fire Comey, I don’t think I would have been able to serve out my term because that was a plot.”

Bartiromo has been getting unusually testy with GOP candidates. Earlier this month she came right out and asked Ron DeSantis why his campaign was doing so badly. The network is reportedly souring on the Florida governor and may be thinking of going back to Trump, the guy who got them in so much financial trouble. But if so, calling out his bull is a strange way to kiss the ring.

(Via Mediaite)

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The Suns Are Trading Cam Payne To The Spurs And Signing Bol Bol

After trading all of their second round picks to Washington to acquire Bradley Beal, the Phoenix Suns have been working to restock future second round picks in order to have some draft assets available to them in the future. They picked up three second round picks in a trade from the Memphis Grizzlies, offering Memphis a pair of future pick swaps in exchange, and on Sunday they made two more moves to land future seconds from San Antonio and Orlando.

The first was trading Cam Payne to the Spurs, with San Antonio bringing Payne’s $6.3 million deal into space with the two teams swapping future seconds, via Adrian Wojnarowski and Shams Charania.

The Suns also agreed to a deal with the Magic similar to what they did with the Grizzlies, sending Orlando the rights to swap 2026 first round picks in order to get another three second round picks.

All of this shuffling of picks and cap space was done with another move in mind, as Woj brought word they were signing Bol Bol to a deal as well.

Bol averaged 9.1 points and 5.8 rebounds per game a year ago, and is a bit of a lottery ticket for Phoenix, as they are a team without much young talent and Bol provides an upside play without a ton of risk as they won’t be dependent on him for big contributions should he not pop.

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Goldie Hawn Had A Not Bad Reason For Why She And Kurt Russell Have Never Married

On a list of the best celebrity couples, up around the top would undoubtedly be Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell. (alongside folks like Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney.) They’ve been together for 40 years. They clearly adore each other. They’ve even made fun movies together. But there’s one catch: They’ve never gotten married. Why not? Chris Wallace dared ask Hawn that question, and the response he got? Not bad!

“Why should we be? Isn’t that a better question?” Hawn replied when Wallace asked why they never tied the knot.

Hawn then went on to offer a practical reason for never making their union legal: What if they ever broke up?

“When it doesn’t work out, it ends up to be big business,” Hawn explained. “It’s always ugly. Somebody actually has to take a look and say, ‘How many divorces actually are fun? How many divorces actually don’t cost money? How many divorces actually make you hate the person more than you did before? How many divorces have hurt children?’”

Hawn also said she likes technically being independent.

“I like the idea that I can wake up in the morning and make decisions every day if I want to be here,” said Hawn. “I mean relationships are hard. They’re not always easy. There’s all kinds of hurdles we go through. There’s things that we believe in, things we don’t believe in, we agree on.”

“So I think ultimately staying independent with independent thinking is important, so you can hold on to yourself, and you can actually have that feeling,” she concluded.

So good for them! May they just keep on keepin’ on.

(Via Insider)

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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Denies That He Spouted That Wackadoodle COVID Claim, Despite It Being Caught On Camera

Last week, during a fart-ridden press dinner, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said some things. Most alarmingly, the wacky Democratic presidential candidate spouted a conspiracy theory bizarre even for him: that COVID was “ethnically targeted” to spare Jewish and Chinese people. The whopper was caught on camera, but that’s not stopping Kennedy from making the tall claim that he never said it.

“I have never, ever suggested that the COVID-19 virus was targeted to spare Jews,” Kennedy wrote on Twitter after the story, first published by The New York Post, blew up. He went on to cite a study he claims shows that certain groups have been disproportionately affected, namely Black and Caucasian people. “I do not believe and never implied that the ethnic effect was deliberately engineered.”

Except he did:

“There is an argument that [Covid] is ethnically targeted. Covid-19 attacks certain races disproportionately,” Kennedy said at the dinner. “Covid-19 is targeted to attack Caucasians and Black people. The people who are most immune are Ashkenazi Jews and Chinese. We don’t know if that was deliberately targeted or not, but there are papers out there that show the ethnic and racial differential in the impact to that. We do know the Chinese are spending hundreds of millions developing ethnic bioweapons and we are developing ethnic bioweapons.”

In other words, the noted conspiracy theorist has offered yet another conspiracy theory that he didn’t say the words that one can easily watch on video.

When he launched his campaign in April, Kennedy offered himself up as an alternative to current president Joe Biden, who is as of now the party’s presumptive 2024 nominee. Instead of courting Democrats, he’s spent most of his time talking to Republican reporters. His presence in the field has riled up many, not the least being his wife’s on-screen ex-spouse.

(Via Mediaite)

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What’s Popular On Streaming Now

Every single week, our TV and film experts will list the most important ten streaming selections for you to pop into your queues. We’re not strictly operating upon reviews or accrued streaming clicks (although yes, we’ve scoured the streaming site charts) but, instead, upon those selections that are really worth noticing amid the churning sea of content. There’s a lot out there, after all, and your time is valuable.

TIE: 10. The Witcher (Netflix series)

This show will soon drop the second batch of Season 3, and a return to the series’ initial heights (when Henry Cavill first grunted into your soul as Geralt of Rivia) is likely not possible. Next season, if it still happens, Geralt will be portrayed by Liam Hemsworth while Cavill moves onto the Warhammer 40,000 franchise for Amazon Studios. Still, Joey Batey will apparently still be around to deliver Jaskier’s bangers, and we’ll see if Liam can convincingly swashbuckle whilst wearing a long blonde wig, too.

TIE: 10. I’m A Virgo (Amazon Prime series)

Boots Riley doesn’t miss. Here, Jharrel Jerome portrays a giant (you read that correctly) teenager, so obviously, get ready for some surreal action as he decides not to listen to his parents and introduces himself to the world. This show dabbles in sci-fi, but mostly, it’s trippy while also relishing the satiric spin that Riley loves to deliver. Walton Goggins portrays “Hero,” and the man never ceases to be an absolute delight to witness onscreen, even as a super-suited billionaire who will remind you a bit of Stan Lee as well as Tony Stark and Bruce Wayne. It’s a larger-than-life series and too much fun.

9. Foundation (Apple TV+ series)

Lee Pace fans rejoiced (and Jared Harris followers weren’t mad, either) at the gorgeous first season of the Isaac Asimov adaptation, but the substance of the show delivers, too. The production spares no detail in bringing classic literature to life, and sci-fi addicts finally got to see Asimov’s battle to rebuild civilization, which became a necessary burden after Harris’ prophet was declared heretical when he predicted that humanity was on its last legs. If you dug the first Dune installment and can’t wait for the second one to arrive, this TV show will go miles to tide you over in the interim.

8. And Just Like That… (Max original series)

This franchise still has viewers hooked even if Miranda Hobbes is no longer even a tiny bit like her original self. She used to be such a take-no-garbage character, but now, she’s still hooked on Che Diaz even though she did pay a visit home so that the audience could see Steve Brady’s “revenge bod.” As well, Carrie Bradshaw has turned into a much more modest character than we’ve seen before now, although the same cannot be said for Charlotte York Goldenblatt. No Samantha Jones cameo yet, but hang tight.

7. Asteroid City (Focus Features film for rent on VOD and Amazon Prime)

Wes Anderson fans came out for this film in cinemas, proving that big-budget isn’t always where it’s at for summertime audiences. Anderson’s 11th film follows a 1950s fictional desert town that will never be the same again after it’s “spectacularly disrupted by world-changing events” that may or may not be accompanied by aliens. The occupants of the town (including Junior Stargazer/Space Cadet convention attendees) must all cope with the unpleasant aftermath of first contact. The stacked cast includes Jason Schwartzman, Scarlett Johansson, Tom Hanks, Jeffrey Wright, Tilda Swinton, Bryan Cranston, Edward Norton, Adrien Brody, and Margot Robbie.

6. The Blackening (Lionsgate movie for rent on VOD and Amazon Prime)

If you’re looking for fun and spooky, this horror comedy will hit the spot. Seven friends shall embark upon a weekend getaway together, but they end up in a remote cabin where a murderer is naturally afoot. The killer might, however, be no match for the group’s street smarts, not to mention the face that they are very familiar with horror movies and the tropes that have been a pain in the ass for groups like these since the dawn of slasher films. This film’s wicked humor spares no mercy for filmmakers who haven’t considered the Black perspective, and the cast includes Antoinette Robertson, Dewayne Perkins, Melvin Gregg, Grace Byers, Jermaine Fowler, Yvonne Orji, and Jay Pharoah.

5. Full Circle (HBO Max series)

Oddly enough, not too much promotion of this Steven Soderbergh series unfurled, but the show sure speaks for itself and has attracted a crowd. As well, here’s a nice appetizer for Timothy Olyphant’s impending return as Raylan Givens in Justified: City Primeval. Things do get more serious here (although still with some villainous forces) in this crime drama series. Claire Danes and Olyphant portray parents who will do anything to find their kidnapped child, so expect this to be a tense watch. Zazie Beetz makes everything better, and she plays the lead investigator who is unraveling clues and, unfortunately, the secrets that comes with them.

4. The Walking Dead: Dead City (AMC series streaming on AMC+)

Soon enough, unwashed boo Daryl Dixon will wash up on a French beach with no idea how he got there or whether he’ll be able to return to the Commonwealth. Before that happens, Maggie and Semi-Old Negan will continue survival mode in Manhattan, where they are attempting to rescue Hershel Rhees, the son of Maggie and Glenn. At this point, Negan has let guts fly all over a fancy New York building lobby and took out a foe with a cheese grater, so he really is embracing city life and death. The show brings two unlikely partners together, and whether or not they will get out alive seems surprisingly secondary to the character layering as well as this franchise harkening back to what made it a blast in the first place.

3. What We Do In The Shadows (FX series streaming on Hulu)

Those vampire roommates are still up to their wacky escapades. Nandor, Laszlo, Nadja, and Colin are all still relying heavily upon Guillermo, who is beginning to enjoy his time with Laszlo more than Nandor would prefer. Meanwhile, Nadja is sort-of reconnecting with her family (make that a random family), and Colin decides to pursue politics because that’s what energy vampires do. Can The Guide ever find her place amid this madness? That’s part of the challenge this season.

2. The Bear (FX series streaming on Hulu)

This second season keeps the door wide open (or rather, closed, but you’ll see what I mean) for a third season, but before that happens, there’s a superior soundtrack and a ridiculously impressive assembling of guest stars for the taking. Carmy is still center stage and terrible at relationships of several varieties, but fortunately, Sydney, Marcus, Tina, and Richie are here to pick up that slack. Maybe Carmy will eventually get his head together, but there’s so much joy (and stress) to be found in watching these journeys happen.

1. Mission: Impossible – Fallout (Paramount movie streaming on Paramount+)

Never fear, movie theaters. Tom Cruise is preparing to save the box office with Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One, in which he will drive right off the side of a cliff like it ain’t no thing. Ideally, this daredevil feat will help resurrect the summer box office so that Barbie and Oppenheimer have a nice lead-in after the superheroes underperformed. At the forefront, wild man Tom is here to keep this franchise as adrenaline-fueled as always, and if he has to run to the moon next time to do it, you can bet he’ll enjoy the challenge.

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LeBron James Will Once Again Go Back To Wearing 23

LeBron James has worn two jersey numbers during his NBA career: 23 and 6. The former was his number during both of his stints with the Cleveland Cavaliers, while the latter was his number with the Miami Heat, both because it was his number with USA Basketball and because the franchise retired 23 to honor Michael Jordan’s career during the 2002-03 season.

As a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, James has worn both, as he wore 23 for his first three seasons before switching to 6 for each of the last two years. And now, according to comments that his agent Rich Paul gave to Dave McMenamin of ESPN, James is once again going back to 23.

Back when Anthony Davis first joined the Lakers, James was all set to let him wear 23, which was his number with the New Orleans Pelicans. However, there were rules in place that prevented that from happening, so Davis took the number 3, won a ring in his first season, and just kept wearing that in L.A. As such, James kept his original number until he decided to change it after Space Jam: A New Legacy came out — he wore 6 on his back during the movie.

Now, James is heading back to 23. It comes a little less than a year after the passing of the great Bill Russell, who wore the number during his career. The NBA announced following his passing that the number would be retired league-wide, although players who currently wear it are allowed to continue to do so. Last season, James was one of 18 players to wear the number.

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Nine things new parents think they need and the more practical alternatives.

There’s nothing like preparing for a new baby. The excitement and anticipation take hold and before you know what’s happening, your baby registry is five pages long full of things you’ve probably never heard of. I’ve been there before, and now, four kids later, I can tell you with absolute certainty that there are tons of things you actually don’t need. It’s easy to get carried away when everything is so tiny and cute, especially ’cause marketing around baby stuff is bananas. The following offers some alternative items to the ones you’ll likely only use a limited number of times before practicality takes over.


Many of us have been there, standing in the baby aisle looking like we’re smuggling an oddly shaped beach ball under our now-too-small maternity shirt contemplating between the many styles of pacifiers and different types of bottles. You’d be forgiven for spending an insane amount of money on bottles shaped like a deflated spaceship that guarantee your baby will never burp, when two weeks after they’re born you find out your baby actually prefers the $0.98 ones from Walmart. Figuring out what you really need is tricky enough, so let me help you out. Hold on to your bellies or shiny new babies folks, this list might blow your mind.

1. Put the Pee Pee Teepee down and back away slowly.

Aside from the word “teepee” being highly inappropriate for non-Indigenous people to use, you can go ahead and take this bad boy off your baby registry. If you’re not familiar with a “pee pee teepee,” it’s a cone-shaped item that goes on top of your little guy’s business so he doesn’t accidentally pee in his eyes or on the unsuspecting diaper changer. Here’s the thing, baby wipes or a baby washcloth work just as well. When my boys were little I’d just throw a wipe over their baby business while I changed the diaper, and once the dirty diaper was off, it’s easy to toss the used wipe in before trashing the diaper. Easy peasy and it’s one less thing to put on your list.

2. Diaper Genies are unnecessary and it’s easy to forget they exist.

I had such high hopes for my Diaper Genie as a first-time mom. They’re so cool, you shove a dirty diaper in there and twist. That’s it. It locks in the odor and makes a weird-looking segmented snake of dirty diapers. Alas, when your diaper pail is in one room and you’re changing a diaper on a wiggly baby in another, most times the diaper just winds up in the closest trash can. So just buy some small cheap trash cans to put in different rooms and then empty them at the end of the day. There’s only so much odor a diaper genie can hold and they only take special expensive trash bags. Save your money. Get some small trash cans and those little smell good bags to toss the smelly diapers.

3. You can buy a swaddler but you don’t actually need it.

I know this might be a controversial statement, but honestly those swaddlers are really expensive and babies quickly outgrow them. You can do the perfect swaddle with a receiving blanket for a fraction of the price and just as much energy. You know how babies come all bundled up when the nurse brings them in from the nursery? Yeah, that’s a really good swaddle that will give your snuggle bug the same coziness as an expensive swaddler.

4. You don’t have to be fancy and get a Baby Brezza.

Honestly, I had never heard of a Baby Brezza until I had my youngest, so I’m assuming its a newer invention. They’re certainly cool and also really expensive and unnecessary. These little doodads are like baby Keurigs but for formula. They hold powdered formula and water, you press a button and it supposedly perfectly mixes up a warm bottle of sustenance. The price tag on these things are about the same as a larger much more needed baby item, like a car seat-stroller combo. There have also been some concerns raised by pediatricians due to some bottles not getting enough formula added.

Take the guesswork out of it and just fill the bottles by hand. You can even put water in the bottles in advance and leave them out at room temperature and use a portable formula container to put premeasured scoops in. I know it’s no Baby Brezza, but you’ll be $200 richer and know exactly how much formula is going into your baby’s bottle.

5. Your baby doesn’t need fake grass to dry their bottles on.

Don’t laugh, a fake grass bottle dryer is something that actually once sat on my kitchen counter. That’s about all it did because I dang sure didn’t use it for more than the first week. When you’re sleep deprived, you want the easiest thing available and oftentimes that’s the top rack of the dishwasher or the dish rack that’s already on your countertop. The things we get suckered into buying is laughable sometimes. Besides it being esthetically pleasing, you don’t actually need it and a regular bottle rack, in fact, works better because there are no removable trees holding the nipples.

6. Side eye anyone that says you need embroidered burp cloths.

Don’t fall for it. Yes, purpose-made burp cloths can be super cute but they’re literally used to catch baby puke. These things are too small to cover the area needed to prevent your back and shoulder from becoming a casualty of a little guy eating too fast. Remember those receiving blankets we talked about earlier? Yeah, they are much more absorbent and cover more of your body to spare you having to change clothes. Those flannel blankets are versatile. You can use them for swaddling, to cover a car seat or stroller, for burp cloths or even a clean area to change the baby on. There’s no such thing as too many receiving blankets. I’ll make it easy for you, grab a pack here.

7. Skip the bulb syringe and splurge on the NoseFrida.

The hospital will give you a useless bulb syringe that only the nurses know how to work, because I swear no matter how hard you squeeze the bulb you barely get anything out. Bulb syringes even come with many newborn essential sets. I’m sure they work, but they seem to take way too much effort for the little bit of mucus they pull out. Get the NoseFrida—yes, it’s a little more expensive but it’s worth it, even though it seems gross. I promise the hygiene filter that goes in the tube will spare you from getting baby boogers in your mouth. You can literally use that thing well into the toddler years until your little one learns to blow their nose. Can’t speak highly enough of this thing and here’s a link to it here.

8. Do you really need a Pack ‘n’ Play that turns into a rocket ship?

OK, maybe it doesn’t turn into a rocket ship but some of those things are so outrageous that you might need to be a rocket scientist to put it together. Pack ‘n’ Plays are really convenient and a great investment for new parents, especially if you like to travel or have family out of state. You can use it so your baby can sleep in your bedroom until you’re ready for the switch to sleeping away from your little one. Just try not to get distracted by all the bells and whistles and stick to the basics. A Pack ‘n’ Play with a bassinet is really all you need. It’s much cheaper and you’ll use the bassinet piece much longer than the ones that come with other parts.

9. Expensive teething jewelry is overrated.

Fancy teething jewelry is cute and has become quite popular lately, but babies don’t really need it. They are perfectly happy with the normal water-filled teething rings or rubber ones that can be thrown in any diaper bag. They’re tried and true, plus they’re designed specifically for teething. While the jewelry is marketed for teething babies, doctors have warned that they’re not safe enough to use for that purpose. Besides, having a baby is expensive enough, no need to add to it when you can pick up teething rings at just about any store for a reasonable price.

The idea that everything for babies has to be the most expensive top-of-the-line things is just marketing. When it comes down to it, babies need very basic things: a safe place to sleep, food, diapers and lots of love. Everything else is extra and you can be as extra as you’d like but it should never feel like it’s a necessity. Your baby will love you whether you have the Baby Brezza or mix their bottles by hand, promise.

This article originally appeared on 9.16.22