What was the most impractical baby gift you were given?

[LolaNova]

Was just in the kids bedroom looking at a blanket DS was given shortly after he was born by a friend of my mum’s. It’s absolutely stunning. White, hand crocheted, really intricate, very fine yarn, took hundreds of hours to make. It’s also massive, heavy, and wholly impractical for use as a blanket by anyone, let alone an infant! You could probably use it as a gorgeous beach cover up or a christening shawl for photos. It’s hung on the bannisters in DS’ room for the last 2 years.

What gifts were you given that never got used?

A relative came to visit when my baby was a month old.
She brought a pack each of white new born size vests and baby grows.

It was something I and I imagine most parents to be would stock up on anyway........but then bring them at 4 weeks old .

No harm done I managed to exchange them

DS had loads of baby cashmere. I used to pick it up on ebay for next to nothing. You just shove it in the washing machine on the handwash cycle! No harder than washing any other baby clothes .

The worst baby gifts were definitely out of season clothes. My Mum bought my DS a huge fluffy pram suit in age 12 months. He's a June baby. Likewise my in-laws bought him a designer t-shirt and shorts set in age 18 months, so it would have fitted him the the depths of winter.

It was the fact the swaddles were size 3-6 months I found baffling. By that age you have to stop because they are learning to roll so it's dangerous. Also by that age you know whether you want to swaddle or not - newborn sized ones give you the chance to try it and see if you like it.

We were gifted so many toy comforters. I refused to use them as I once found our baby with it over her face.

Baby shoes - pointless and they kept on falling off!

I disagree with COOK vouchers not making a nice gift. They have been a lifesaver over all the lockdowns when things got too much with 2 young children. However, I had vouchers for £100 so it would be enough to cover delivery and I live a minute walk from a shop. I agree if you got a £30 voucher it might not be great due to the minimum spend.

As someone child free I wouldn’t imagine shops would sell stuff like swaddles in older sizes if they are not used at those ages (maybe for babies that wouldn’t fit younger style). I wouldn’t buy it anyway though.

I stick to books (with a receipt) one for now/soon card book/bath, one maybe a few years away and if I’m close one hardback such as Lear poems. Would these be ok or is it just clutter at that stage with a part who won’t have time to return something? I wouldn’t be offended at all if gifted on and say so.

Parent not part

Oh god shops sell all kinds of inappropriate unsafe baby tat.

Basically it has to kill at least five children before anything actually gets banned and until it gets banned they will keep churning it out because people buy it without realising that it's unsafe. Profit profit profit.

Just look at cot bumpers. They've been subject to dire warnings for decades now yet every reputable company sells them, includes them in displays, you'd be forgiven for thinking they are a perfectly normal baby item, yet they aren't recommended at all and can be deadly.

Although I would imagine the actual reason age 3-6 month baby swaddles are sold are for babies who are wearing age 3-6 month clothing at 2 months old - they do exist, mine wasn't one of them though.

Books are nice. They can be put away for later and they don't go out of style :)

My mum got all three of my boys special children’s china sets - we still use them at age 12 and 9 - why wouldn’t you use them? They’re so handy to make sure you’re not handing out massive portions to kids!

I also had no issue with the masses of clothes we received - although my twins were tiny so the 3-6 items either didn’t fit until they were 18 months old or were exchanged for better sizes. But I got lot of Next proper clothes which were nice - DS3 lived in babygros but the twins I made an effort with .

My most baffling gift was two bath chairs. Like a frame with a mesh sling in them. The trouble was, if you fill the bath enough for the water to even touch the child, then it’s really deep, and I felt it was a bit dangerous (even if of course I was right there). If you don’t, the baby is just suspended above the water getting cold whilst you splash them and don’t really get into the arse crevices. Much easier to was them in the sink.

Matching bikinis for me and my newborn.
Looked great with her nappy and my maternity pads poking out

^^that one’s my ‘favourite’ what ab utterly stupid gift. I’m putting together a gift box for my sister who’s due in the summer time, so far I’m sticking to useful stuff for her not stuff I like for the baby!

Huuuuuuurhgghhhh fancy dresses hate those!!!

You should see a photo of my DD with a lovely velvet dress. It's so small with the thick fabric it can stand by itself!!! All photos looks like she has negative neck!

You know what, I feel reassured by this thread. I actually know people who dress their kids in fancy clothes all the time!!! It must be so uncomfortable for the baby would you have a good night sleep in a fancy ballgown or tuxedo?!

My kids lived in babygrows. Glad to hear other people are reasonable too

I also never filled out baby record books. Probably a shame but I was mostly focused on survival for at least the first 24 months .

I received a weird silver birth certificate holder thing. Like a silver tube to roll the certificate up and place it in. So weird, I never used it.

Agreed with baby jeans, dresses, tights, shoes etc being a total waste of money. Also newborn clothes for me, I only had one baby who fit in newborn size.

@LemonDrizzles

All star baby boots for newborns. Totally impractical for my dress sense as I never really did "dress newborns in outfits." My dcs stayed on onesie until about 3 months....

We had All Star booties (soft sock thingies, not shoes) super cute

I will say with the bath, the best thing I found was at a NCT sale.

It was like a fabric lilo and dd loved it. Made it so easy to bathe her and she actually fell asleep a couple of times on this lilo. Not that I blamed her. It looked comfy

A Christening gift for my baby - An ornamental dummy. Neither use nor ornament!
Didn't give anything else with it either to make it more of a 'proper' present that could actually be used. They cost approx £1.99 from Card Factory. From know cheapskate but they are close family friends!
The uselessness of it did make me giggle though.

Travel cot that had been kept from DHs childhood. Arrived the week after DC1 born when we were still getting the hang of having a baby at all, let alone packing up and going somewhere overnight.

Presented with an air of great Importance as being super Special and Really Really Useful- thus lots of expectation that it would be kept Carefully as an Heirloom and returned in due course.

Was filthy and stank of the loft, broken-zipped, one wheel missing (“I’m sure you can find a spare somewhere”) plus now I come to think of it the sides were airtight plastic canvassy stuff that would have suffocated any small baby who wriggled their face against it. Oh, and it had no mattress- fair enough but was a weird imperial size that needed a special ordered replacement and a brief google told me this would be ££££.

It hung around getting in the way until I got over the surprise and found the balls to firmly return it with fulsome thanks (as it was clearly so Special) and got a simple fold up modern one that actually worked for a tenner on the local selling site.

Nowadays when things arrive from the Past I have learnt to store them carefully until the dcs have grown out of them and then give them back. It’s easier and keeps everyone happy.

Also work sent a massive bouquet of flowers to the hospital. DH brought them home and as I had pre eclampsia (got worse after the birth) and ended up in hospital for nearly two weeks they were almost dead when I got home and I'd much have preferred €50 in a card or a voucher as they were such a waste and I know they were expensive

Most clothing tbh. It’s just hard to gift. It’s either hideous as others prefer different styles, totally impractical, wrong size for season or too small by the time you get it.

We have snowsuits that’s fitted in summer, another one just arrived in post that will fit him this summer... thick winter jumpers in summer, a raincoat for newborn, trainers for newborn, 101 bibs that he never worn as newborn and by the time weaning would have suffocated him as so tight on neck.

Also toys. Every single toy in laws send in post. It’s always made in China. So by the time it arrives, it’s a hazard for baby with chipped of paint, sharp wood, snapped off wire...

Why do people have an aversion btw to buying anything you actually suggest? People always ask, and usually due to above I say books. Pick a book you liked and that would be grand. Books are £5-10 new, and about 50p secondhand. I’m happy with any kids books. They end up sending an inflatable flamingo or something

When DS, our first child, was born - PIL gave us two big carrier bags full of children's books. All brand new, and mostly hardback. Which is lovely, but they brought them to the hospital. We don't drive. We'd been planning to just get the bus home and honestly that would have been fine except we then had so much to carry due to the extra bags that my parents had to come and give us a lift.

Why oh why would you bring two massive heavy bags of books to new parents in the hospital?! Did they imagine I'd be reading bedtime stories to my newborn They only lived 20-30 mins drive away and visited us at home regularly enough to have dropped them off another time!

A baby bath that leaks, all over the living room carpet before I realised

Newborn size snowsuit for May-born baby.
Go figure 🤷🏻‍♀️

Yes soft toys are absolutely no use. DC may have one soft toy favourite later but what do you do with the others? And the giant ones are just a giant waste of money, cluttering up their room.
And I don't know anyone who has used baby shoes, though booties or thick socks can be useful.

Crochet flip flops.

Clothes are really only OK as gifts when you can tell the giver exactly what you want, or put the receipt in with the present.

A huge teddy bear when we lived in a very small central London flat and could have done with some practical baby items.