Which baby paraphernalia have you found actually worth the money, and which do you think is a waste? Please share!

[detachablehoof]

There's so much baby stuff available (and new parents like me are definitely vulnerable to throwing money at problems to make life easier!). I was very determined not to spend money on things which I wouldn't actually use so have tried to be restrained in what I've bought. I'd be interested to know what other people have bought and feel is (or isn't!) worth the money?

For me.... the things which I would 100% buy again are:
Perfect Prep machine (literally cannot understand how you could FF without it!!)
BabyBjorn bouncer (bought this second hand as they are SO expensive but I can now see why. Very well designed)
White noise machine (we have Ollie the Owl but TBH I might just buy a plug in one!)

And the things which I didn't buy / wouldn't buy again:
Nappy bin (why on earth would you not want to get nappies out of the house ASAP?!)
Stretchy sling (just a huge piece of jersey which wasn't comfortable for me or baby)
Baby bath (kitchen sink did the job initially, and now I would like a seat really)

I appreciate this will be different for everyone but interested to know :)

Stacks of facecloths to place under bottom when changing them. Saved a load on laundry.
Baby changing mat - I put it on top of dressing table and had nappies, cloths, creams etc in top drawer. Did not need or want a changing table.
Muslin cloths. Great for everything...
A really good buggy, that I could push with one hand, close with one hand and turn on a pin head.
But by far the best buy was a small thin sheepskin rug. The slept on it, cuddled it, rolled on it and all round loved it. We still have them and they love putting them on their pillows at bedtime!

Changing table was a waste of money. It was in baby’s room and only used first thing in the morning and st night. Could have easily used the floor or bed though.
The baby Bjorn was useful for about a month when my baby (over 10lbs at birth) got too heavy! I never had a Moses basket as baby too big and used....
Travel cot invaluable for naps downstairs and also if I just needed to contain the baby when the doorbell rang or I needed to nip to the loo.
The child seat you attach to the table with screws? Can’t remember what it’s called but that was really useful.- got the baby right to the edge of the table and saved space and was easy to transport to other houses/restaurants.

I never understood the point of Baby Monitors. Can they not hear their baby crying without one? Surely that's a problem in itself.

I'm the same as you -

Prep Machine - yes its frivolous and not "needed" as such but at 3am I was very great full!

Didn't get on with my stretchy sling either, I joined a local sling library where I was able to try different slings out and that was a god send!

White noise machines had zero effect on my little sleep thief though!

I wouldn't both with a moses basket either, we were given one but DD was out of it by 10 weeks!

Wouldn't bother with a bouncer (reclining chair thing either) DD refused to be in it.

A jumperoo on the other hand was brilliant! She loved it in there. Picked one up second hand of FB selling pages and sold it on again after.

As for baths, when baby is a bit bigger we bought a "bath damm" where you can turn your bath in to half the size and reduce your water consumption. We use ours all the time and must have saved loads of water.

2nd a travel cot - we used it a bit like a playpen. Great to pop them in if you need a minute or 5.

Could not have survived without the video monitor or the changing table. The monitor in particular allowed us to adopt a wait and see approach to crying/noise.

Most stuff was a complete waste of money eg Moses basket & cot - never used, pram - didn't fit in boot so bought a buggy, changing bag - preferred a normal bag, bottles - never used, nursery - never used

@Harriedharriet, what make and model was this magic buggy please?!

Trolley insert was fab!!! Dc licking the bars is yuck!!
Glo in the dark dummy!! Def a must.

I didn’t buy any of those at all but I was given a baby bath that I thought was useless so I wouldn’t advise on those at all!

I inherited a baby bassinet and loved it.
Buggy I made sure was light and fit in the car!!loved my buggy!!
Used normal monitors.

Bibs with sleeves on - saved loads of washing.
Most other things specifically designed for babies are a waste of money imo.

Perfect prep and the right pushchair! Mine folds with one hand, has a strap so you can carry it on your shoulder, turns in the smallest circle and can be pushed one handed! I also love our video monitor.

White noise machines don't seem to do anything for our LO, the en suite fan seems to have more of an effect

Stretchy sling... Although it's taken til baby #3 to get the knack. It needs to be very tight or it won't do rhe job. I love mine and my 5wo has only been transported in that or car seat. Later on a Tula would be my choice.
Muzzies... Millions of 'em!
Bath seat by Angelcare, I use it in the shower and stick a wet towel over baby... He's happy as Larry and is quicker and more eco than a bath. Better for my back too.
Fairy washing liquid.... Smells amazing 😂

Don't bother with a moses basket or crib(have a side sleeper but we bedshare so could do with a bed guard) and didn't get a pram this time as need my hands free to wrangle 2yo!
Ourfits for very young babies, sleepsuits alllllll the way. Comfort and ease rule.

I couldn't live without my changing table. I stored all the nappies, wipes, clothes etc on it so felt more organised. My dd is 18 months now and I've never changed her nappy downstairs l have always gone upstairs to do it but I understand that probably makes me weird.
As a newborn dd was always really hot and lived in long sleeved vests with built in scratch mits and a pair of socks. I had to go out and buy more of them as never realised how useful they would be.

I never found bibs very useful. I got bought lots of them but ended up just using muslin cloths most of the time. The bibs are still sitting nearly folded in a drawer.

Perfect Prep- Genuine life saver for screaming starving baby at 3am.

Ollie the Owl- I'll miss him when baby goes in his own room. I enjoy the white noise now

Baby nest with mesh insert- Makes him snuggly and stops me panicking as much when he's sleeping face down.

Funny how we all value different things. I've found the baby bath really handy. And he's still in his Moses basket now, coming up to 16 weeks.

I have a Velcro baby so rockers, bouncers don't work as god forbid I put him down

Perfect prep, definitely!!
More muslins than you think you need.
Sleepyhead
Isofix for the car, we didn’t have it for the first DC but did for second and it was a game changer!
Gro egg, more for my piece of mind, checked it religiously with my first, not so much with my second..........

Sleepyhead

Arms up sleep bag

We've got loads of use out of our £40 Moses basket

RockIt

Baby grow bags. DS loathed then with a passion (he is a hot little bunny) and would scream the place down.

Stretchy sling - godsend for newborns. Connecta sling.
X2 bouncers (I honestly don’t think brand matters. We have a bjorn (upstairs as it folds away) and one for toys downstairs.
Snuzpod (or similar) if BF
Buggy that you can fold one handed / with foot
White noise machine
Baby jail (play pen)

Wouldn’t buy: bin, huge pram, hand pump, steriliser if bf,

Olive oil and wet (warm) cotton wool. Best thing for cleaning bums. None of these wet wipes!

The Chicco Next 2 Me has been great. Also the Baby Bjorn bouncer: I love that it collapses quite flat so we’ve been able to take it away with us. It’s a useful place to put the baby during meals and she’s very happy in it.

I have a BB Hug Me feeding pillow, which I love when I’m feeding the baby in bed. It has made breastfeeding much more comfortable.

And another vote for the Angelcare bath seat.

Oh, and also the Ergobaby Omni 360. Can be used from newborn without an insert. We were all out for a walk together by day five and she’s loved it ever since.

The thing I use the most is the stretchy sling. I have a velcro baby who screams the second she’s put down, so I would literally never get anything done without the sling. Because I can’t put her down, the bouncers, play mats and Moses basket haven’t really been used at all.

I bought a perfect prep, steriliser and a whole cupboard full of bottles because I wanted to bottle feed. My baby has a tongue tie and won’t take a bottle for love nor money and so I ended up breastfeeding as she seems to manage that ok. Does mean all the formula etc I bought was a bit of a waste of money though as it’s never been used.

See I breastfed so didn't need the formula thingy, I used a phone app for white noise, but the stretchy sling was one of my best buys! It just goes to show that all mums and babies are different. It is probably best to buy pretty much nothing until after the baby is born and you can work out what suits you.

If I had my time again, I would buy :

Stretchy sling for newborn days
Structured baby carrier for slightly older baby
Cheap maclaren buggy or similar for toddler
Super king size bed

That's probably about it. I would spend the small fortune I saved on travel systems, nappy bins and all that stuff on a nanny

My best buys were:

• car seat adapters to click onto pram base
• Baby Bjorn bouncer with toy bar
• Tommee Tippee nappy bin
• Snuggle (upright) baby bath
• curved changing mat from John Lewis
• lots of baby flannels from Ikea
• baby sleeping bags from Sainsbury’s
• Braun ear thermometer
• high chair from Ikea

The things I bought and didn’t use:

• Snuzpod (expensive mistake! Never used, as baby slept in our bed instead)
• Tula carrier (preferred Ergo 360 quite quickly)
• Medela breast pump (and bottles/steriliser, as I’ve always direct latched)