Best and worst baby item?

[MrsLilac]

So there are a million baby items that companies try to persuade new mums are a necessity. Just thought it would be great to get a list of the best things you used as a parent to a new baby and what are the things you bought and didn't really use? I am due in 5 weeks and haven't really got that much stuff. I'm trying to keep it to a minimum but is there anything you couldn't have lived without? Best and worst - GO!

Best: babybjorn carrier, babybjorn travel cot light - incredibly small and light, very practical.

I had a brilliant foldable baby bath which was useful - again, could travel with it.

Playpen was extremely useful - often used in the garden too, to keep the baby safe and clean while playing. Had one with a zip-up 'door' at the end so as she got older I would leave it open and it became her den.

I preferred trousers to babygros - easier to pull on and off.

Completely pointless for me was a baby changing bag, and 'totseat' portable high chair - basically a cloth harness to attach child to an adult chair. Used about 5 times. Much easier to sit them on your lap. Also no good for me - reins. Definitely needed (my DD was a bolter) but once the reins were attached she would just lean forwards and stop walking so that I would be forced to lift her bodily off the pavement with the reins! Hopeless!

Best - sleepyhead (cot refuser, great for co-sleeping when he was tiny and I was scared of squashing him) plain white baby grows, muslins, Ewan the sheep, skip hop pronto changing mat, ergo sling, 'my Brest friend' feeding pillow, video monitor (summer infant touch), decent camera for lots of photos, battery operated swing seat, rechargeable batteries!

Worst - any fancy outfits for under 3 months, cranial osteopathy.

DD is only 4 months, but so far:
Best - Manduca sling (used daily to walk dog)
Cot mobile (she loves to watch it)
Vibrating rocker
Nursing chair (so comfy and supportive for my bag and dodgy shoulder)

Worst - Gro egg (don't use it as monitor now in use which has night light and thermometer)
Top and tail bowl (I also don't get why sections are needed)
Breastfeeding pillow (just got in the way for me)

Grolight - awesome, can't praise it enough.

Bumbo - complete waste of space.

Best: Sling (should've got one first time round). Grobag/sleeping bag. 2nd hand McLaren pushchair, £35. Survived 2 kids and still going strong.

Worst: TRavel system (see above). Clothes other than babyrgros for tiny babies.

Best: baby bjorn bouncer, caboo dx sling, mamas and papas baby snug (bigger and more comfy version of bumbo, dd likes it), merino kids sleeping bag (less worries about the right tog rating and overheating)

Worst: swaddle pod, baby bjorn carrier (dd hated it)

We found Sleepytot really good as DD liked her dummy a lot but we didn't like getting woken up every time she lost it!

Best - BabyBjorn bouncer, moby wrap, jumperoo, swaddle pods, iCandy Peach Jogger pushchair/carrycot

Worst - nursing pillow, white noise apps, Ewan the Dream Sheep, babygros with poppers on the back

Worst: baby wipe warmer. What was I thinking??

Best - bug in a rug ( blanket swaddle can use in sling/ car seat/ pram)

• sheepskin liner

Worse - baby bowls etc. Why? We just used regular stuff

Ps : we used top and tail bowl loads. Used reusable nappies so had clean water in one side, and empty side was where we put dirty nappy whilst we finished changing baby. So used every changing time until potty trained

Dd is only 2 months, but so far:

Best
Lots of muslins
Fisher price rainforest mobile - she loves watching it go round
"White noise" app on mobile phone
Nasal aspirator - for snotty baby moments
Changing stand/chest of draws - saves my back!

Worst:
Mamas and papas two in one bath. She hated it, much prefers being free in a normal bath tub
Mamas and papas baby carrier - it hurts our backs and is a pain to use

Best: tummy tub, bumbo, jumparoo, didymos wrap and sock-ons

Worst: top and tail bowl, over the bath bath, bjorn carrier, buggy.

Can anyome recommend anywhere for Jumperoos a bit cheaper? Cheapest ive seen it is £70 and my parents want to buy it for ds and I dont want to ask them to spend that much.

Best- chicco padded adjustable portable carry chair.

Worst/most pointless- sleeping bags with dungaree style shoulder straps.

And any item of clothing with buttons/poppers DOWN THE BACK. The baby lies on its back for months! How painful is that going to be?!

Best- ergo baby carrier, jumperoo, love to dream zipped baby swaddle, ikea changing mat covers- terry towling ones.
Worst- baby bath- we just put ours in the big tub, swaddles, top and tail bowl. Cotton wool- just used cheeky wipes or aqua wipes. Clothes for 0-3 months - they are more comfy in babygrows day and night and far less faff.

Best - ring slung then ergo.
Worst - Bumbo. Just looked so wrong on the rare occasion I managed to wedge the little chubby thighs into it!

Best : Ewan the Dream Sheep, made her sleeping a breeze until she learnt that if she cried for more than 30 seconds daddy would come and give her a cuddle then the big round walker thing with play stations on, I admit that she spent a lot of time in there when we were decorating the new house, it was too big for doorways so we cold keep her in the anointing room and let her race round without her climbing into paint pots!

Worst: the door bouncer, by the time she was remotely interested in using it she'd learnt how to swing herself into the door frame >.>

With the top and tail bowl ours had 2 big sections and a removable inner bowl, so you put water in the inner bowl, clean cotton wool balls in one section and dirty ones in the other section, it has it's uses but I could have coped without it.

Best- perfect prep, jumperoo, isofix base ( husbands car doesn't have isofix points and its a compete pain doing the seat with just a seatbelt) baby bath seat thing.

Worst- bouncer chair that mother in law insisting on buying, daughter hated it and screamed every time she was in it. Cot mobile, phone ap works better and lasts longer than the 1 minute music from mobile. Muslin cloths, never used them just used bibs and wet wipes.

Best: old McLaren from NCT sale (the best £10 spent in my life), Trip Trap high chair, paediatric hospital thermometer (from USA) and Arm's reach cot.

Worst: wash bucket which was supposed to provide womb like environment, Le petit bateau onesies (just needed millions of them, nothing fancy), Teutonia pram (from birth to 3 but soo heavy).

Best: Moby sling when tiny, then Manduca; MN in the middle of the night; blue cashmere baby blanket at the very beginning, it was so sweet.

Worst: another vote for the bumbo, clothes for 0-3 that do up down the back, especially the ones where the legs are all in one section, no poppers. I understand how to get the legs on when you put it on the first time, but never managed to get the baby back into the bottom half when changing except by basically completely undressing . Dry clean only outfits, just why?? Also any baby clothes that need ironing not to look like rags.

Best

Fisher price swing
Summer infant video monitor
Cheeky wipes
Tula carrier
Isofix base for car seat

Worst
Baby Bjorn carrier
Any proper outfits for ages 0-6 months
Bumbo (no good for chunky legs)

How did I forget Ewan the dream sheep!

Best

Fisher price rain forest baby gym

Bloom coco lounger

Seat with plungers for bath

Worst....

Stokke changing bag

Bottle warmer never used

Playpen never used

Best: stretchy wrap and co-sleeper crib

Worst: baby Bjorn, baby monitor ( ds still in our room at 15 months and tiny house means we can hear him)

Best: Fisher Price jungle bouncy chair with vibrate mode- sent DS to sleep every time

Worst: Jumperoo and Bumbo. Phew to the fact that I borrowed rather than bought.