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Original poster

best and worst buys!

30 replies

Bazoo23 · 16/07/2013 18:25

Hi all!
My daughter is 7 months old and I am having a major clear out of baby equipment!
Got me thinking about What was worth buying and what was a waste.
Best buy was pink bouncy chair that she has used everyday fron around 3 weeks and still loves!
worst was probably scratch mitts which she never ever used.
What was your best and worst buy for the first year?

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Notsoyummymummy1 · 16/07/2013 18:48

Good question! Best buy was the Tiny Love Gymni Bouncer and the Fisher Price Laugh & Learn Nursery Rhymes CD player - both were a big hit with DD. Also thr Angelcare monitor was brilliant!

The door bouncer we got was a waste of time - she only used it a couple of times and didn't seem that fussed! Also the moses basket was an epic failure - by the time she finally started settling in it she was too big for it!

Did anyone else get presents that were a waste of time? We were given a tummy tub - awful thing and dd hated it, we use it for storing toys now!

HearMyRoar · 16/07/2013 19:07

Best thing we got is one of those changing mats with pockets for nappies and wipes. Means I just fling it in whatever bag I fancy and have everything for changes.

Our cot turned out as a bit of a waste of money as dd co-slept and then moved to a mattress on the floor. Still, I bought it second hand and then made a nice profit on it on eBay so not all bad :o

Original poster
Bazoo23 · 16/07/2013 19:36

All my relations bought gorgeous outfits but in newborn size, she lived in babygrows for 12 weeks so most have still got the tags on!
You live and learn, if I have another baby I'll know how much stuff is unnecessary...For some reason I thought I should stock up on Johnsons Baby Oil, all 3 HUGE bottles of it are still sat untouched, as is the massive box of talc!

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monstergoose · 16/07/2013 19:39

Best buy was our manduca sling. After a shaky start with it dd now loves it and will happily sleep and just look around in it.. Joint worst buys are the bumbo which she hates and a m&p bouncy chair that has flat seat that she just leans out of constantly

nancerama · 16/07/2013 20:21

Best buys - door bouncer. DS loved being hung up and as he was an early crawler (5 1/2 months) it kept him out of mischief.

Moby sling, when he was tiny and clingy and colicky.

Mothercare cheap bouncy chair - loved more than any expensive, padded vibrating job.

Washable nappies - saved me a fortune with my 5 poos a day baby.

Isofix base for the car seat - saved much fumbling with the seatbelt.

Huge cotbed. It's the size of a skip and even my incredibly adventurous 2 year old who can scale anything is totally contained.

Worst buys - breast pumps, sterilisers, bottles. He wouldn't take milk from anything but me.

Fancy changing mat with a towel attached. Towel was always in the wash. Cheap plastic one would have done the job.

Sit up ring - he escaped from it and tipped it up immediately.

GwendolineMaryLacey · 16/07/2013 20:24

Jumperoo. Bloody marvellous.

Cot, £450, two children down and neither of them spent a single night in it. Hmm

Original poster
Bazoo23 · 16/07/2013 20:39

Lol at escaping from sit up ring!

Its funny to see how different babies are, something that some mums cant do without wil sit unused in another mums house. They are very unpredictable!

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MiaowTheCat · 16/07/2013 21:19

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Mama1980 · 16/07/2013 21:23

Ds1 worst waste of money was the cot beautiful thing cost over 500£ he never once slept in it. We co sleep. And a pushchair, there was hell to pay if he went in it! Used a sling all the way.
Best buy: a baby mat/ gym he loved it.

Ds2 worst buy, baby bath, he hates it.
Best buy: wrist rattles, keep him amused for hours.

FeckOffCup · 16/07/2013 21:43

Best buy, bouncy chair, DD loved it and used it every day until she was so big she was actually riding it across the room while bouncing, and the vibrate function always managed to get her to poo when constipated for some reason.

Worst buy, bumbo, ok for about 5 minutes before she figured out how to escape from it. Also grobags, she hated them from day 1 and I had to go and shell out for cellular blankets instead.

ananikifo · 16/07/2013 21:49

feckoffcup how old was your dd when she escaped from the bumbo?

FeckOffCup · 16/07/2013 21:56

Around 6 months I think (she's 2 1/2 now so it was a while ago) she would arch her back and pop herself out of it, preferred to try sitting unaided on the soft playmat instead.

redwellybluewelly · 16/07/2013 22:16

Best buy. Sling for DD1 and still figuring out for DD2

Worse buy was NCT bednest, neither ever spent a night it it. They hate it. Interesting thay when myself ans a friend attempted to leave a polite but realistic review on the seller's website it was never published...

ananikifo · 16/07/2013 22:17

Thank you. I'm wondering of they're a bit better for younger babies who can't properly sit unaided yet, although I'd only ever consider getting one used because I find them really expensive for what they are.

redwellybluewelly · 16/07/2013 22:17

Othee bwst buy - aden ans anais massive muslins. Each DD has a set of three, used eveey single day in some way

FreyaKItty · 19/07/2013 01:08

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mrsmartin1984 · 19/07/2013 07:02

Best buys- fisher price rocking motion soother and jumperoo

Worse - moses basket and sterilizer (never use it)

Nevercan · 19/07/2013 07:18

Worst buy - Moses basket - the carrycot on the pram was much better and comfy
Best buy - baby bouncer

Purplecatti · 19/07/2013 09:35

Best:
Jumperoo - for the first time in five months I could sit and eat a sandwich and have a cup of tea. That thing should be on the mandatory list for new parents.
Moby wrap - dd loved it. I couldn't put her down for the first 12 weeks so it meant I could hoover etc with her happy. Plus it didn't hurt my back at all.
Stacky cups- cheap, washable, one of dd's favourite games is to bang them together and in years to come they can be bath, paddling pool toys, dolly's cups etc.
Mobile with wind up chime music in. Dd LOVES tinkly music
Bouncy chair - we got the cheapest in mothercare. Dd loved it from 3 to 7 months.
Massive ancient silver cross pram - if dd wasn't on me she would only be happy whilst wheeled about in it. It's still the only thing she will nap in. And it holds all the shopping!

Worst:
Angelcare monitor - after a week I unplugged the damned sensor mat as it kept going off when I picked dd up every hour in the night. I should have just got a sound one.
Crib- by 6 weeks she was out of the moses basket and was only in the crib for another month before we bunged her into a cot bed. Waste of money.
Play mat with dangly things - dd not interested in toys of any kind until she could sit up. She just went mental when placed on it.
Breastfeeding pillow- wrong height, wrong angle and dd would go nuts on it. Much better to just prop a cushion under my arm.
Any kind of teething granule - can't get the stuff in. Calpol a godsend.
Baby booties and socks - they don't stay on.

MiaowTheCat · 19/07/2013 09:48

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changechangechange · 20/07/2013 21:20

Worst: moses basket, pram. The child would not be put down. [grim] A bottle from practically every brand, which he wouldn't take. (Luckily the attempts were only so occasional I expressed by hand and didn't waste time or money buying a pump.)

Best: any one of the five zillion slings we went through. Doorway bouncer - for a few blissful months, he would go in that for five whole minutes at a time so I could wash without anyone crying.

changechangechange · 20/07/2013 21:22

Oh, and ridiculous breastfeeding cushion was a godsend, after trying to make do with a pile of normal pillows for a fortnight! I had to eat my words on that purchase. Grin

FluffDragon · 20/07/2013 21:33

best - playmat, bouncer,rainforest swing, all have given me half an hour to eat breakfast or she has fallen asleep on/in. stokke mini cot with the sleepi extension. love it!

worst - booties, socks, mittens - never stayed on
half the clothes I got off eBay. She's a hot baby and has not worn any of the 0-3 babygrows yet and as she's 16 weeks old I don't think she ever will!

mummy2benji · 20/07/2013 22:46

Best buys:

For ds1 - jumperoo, chicco bouncy chair with lights and dancing teddies, Baby Mozart dvd (hypnosis for babies)

For dd2 - Fisher Price lullaby seahorse which gets her to sleep every night and naptime

Worst buys:

For ds1 - reusable nappies - once he was born I couldn't be bothered with the faff and sold them all unused on eBay

For dd2 - bumbo (escaped from it), play ring (escaped from it)

MillionPramMiles · 22/07/2013 09:04

Best:
Jumperoo (and good resale value too)
Plastic cups from pound shop - dd has played with these in hundreds of different ways and still isn't bored of them
Dummies - saved our sanities
Moby wrap sling (for a particularly difficult few months) and baby bjorn carrier (as dd loved being carried forward facing by dp and that meant a break for me)
The very particular kind of comforters the grandparents bought, which dd is wierdly attached to and have helped her sleep.

Worst:
The same comforters as they're not made anymore and are irreplaceable so are now much washed and manky.
Baby Bjorn bouncer chair - dd hated it (managed to sell it though)
Carrycot attachment for pram - used about twice and dd cried the whole time.