Things you didn't bother with the second time round

[SausageSimon]

I saw a great thread about this ages back but can't seem to find it.
What did you not bother to buy the second time you had a baby?
And what things were better than you thought?

With DS I found I barely used his baby bath and he soon grew out of his Moses basket so I think I'd look for an alternative for downstairs naps.
I don't think I'd get a high chair again, it took up too much room and he outgrew it so second time round I'd get a mamas and papas seat that you attach to a chair that does the same job but adapts as they get older

I found muslin squares more useful than I thought they'd be!

Change table with chest of draws underneath and sleepyhead are the best things second time round for me. We are just about the take the changing part off the top too as she's nearly 7 months and getting a bit big for it. So itll just a decent chest of drawers for the baby.

Agree on the changing table :)

I'd try a second hand sling. Then u can see if it works for u. If it does maybe try a new one.

And Gumtree is brilliant for solid wood chest of drawers change tables as well as sleepyheads if you don't mind a second hand. In fact my whole travel system except the car seat was under 100 pounds on gumtree, mountain buggy swift stuff that would have cost nearly 1000 pounds new

I borrowed a moses basket and was glad I had as DS hated it and outgrew it within a few weeks so even if he had have loved it we still wouldn't have gotten our money's worth from one.

I didn't have a sling with him but will get one this time around as he was nicknamed the Velcro baby and I can now see one would have been handy for when I needed to prep meals for example.

I agree baby "outfits" are pointless, I didn't buy any for DS and won't for new baby either. You always get a few as gifts and I use those for if we are doing something that requires something nicer than a sleepsuit but otherwise it's sleepsuits all the way!

I think muslins and bibs it depends on how sicky and drooly your baby is. Mine wasn't at all, my sisters were the opposite. I barely went through many bibs or muslins were she constantly had a pile of them to wash.

I've never bought a nappy bin, a changing table, a sit in walker, a door bouncer, or a baby bath! Also never bought a baby monitor, I can hear a baby crying in my house without a monitor, haven't seen the point in them really.

@elbbob we used an angelcare bath support seat. Didn't buy it with DD1 until she was 6 months but second time round used it from a few weeks old straight into our big bath. I second the Moses basket and far too many clothes! Babygrows for as long as possible

I never bothered with a moses basket - just used a travel cot instead.

Never had a nappy bin.

Had an Ikea changing table/chest of drawers that was soooo useful for both - masses of people change their babies on the bed or the floor - changing table is MUCH better!

Used Ergo baby carrier loads with DS1 (who was light and insisted on being carried all the time). Used it once or twice with DS2, who was heavy and didn't really like to be carried all the time (thank god!)

Baby bouncer was great with both when I needed to put them down. Ditto play mat with hanging things to look at.

Huge, expensive pram was a waste of money. A basic pram for the first six months is fine and then an easy to fold, lightweight pushchair is so much more convenient. I ditched the Buggaboo really early on with DS2 and just used a McLaren umbrella-style - so much easier to fold one-handed and didn't take up the entire boot every time we went anywhere.

As for clothes, I never bothered with outfits - just vest + babygro and layers for outside.

Oh yes and masses of bibs and muslins - both my DC dribbled loads when teething so without bibs their clothes were soaked.

Elbbob--for the bath I just took a bath with her. Handed over to her father for drying off, filled up with hot, glass of plonk, few minutes off.

I agree that expensive prams are a huge waste of money. Pushchairs are so much lighter and take up less room in the car, on public transport - literally everywhere.
I think most baby paraphernalia doesn't get used much. Babies don't need much at all during the first 6 months or so. I bought loads of useless stuff, the worst was an expensive pram bag. Wtf was I thinking?

IKEA crib = waste of time, as soon as we had to use the lower setting I couldn't put DD into it because I am a right shortarse and she just sleeps in the pack and play now. With mattress obv.

Baby bath? Total waste of money. DH bought a storage box to bath second child in!

Muslins were not used.

Pj's are the way forward, a small baby shouldn't wear an 'outfit'

We never bought a changing mat and we didn’t miss it - but I kept thinking I should buy one so may do if we have a DC3!

Didn’t buy a crib, fine just to go straight into for (we actually used a travel cot with proper mattress, best tip we got from a friend, so easy to move around bedroom or move to own room when the time comes).

Never bought changing bag, didn’t need it.

Did use water steriliser (for 2 DCs) and DH still grumbles should have just gone for the microwave one but I kept reading on here how useful water sterilisation was!

Bought special milk bibs and regular ones, but they weren’t helpful, muslins were by far the best.

Wouldn’t do a massive high chair again, would go for a chair that can come to the table or attach to a normal chair.

I didn’t see the point in the carrycot on our buggy, I really liked the idea but in practice was inconvenient - depends on the buggy, we had a hard carrycot so had to remove to fold and awkward to store. For DC2 we just went straight into the buggy seat with a cocoon/wrap (was suitable from birth anyway).

I bought the fussiest bottles, I read far too many reviews and got carried away - should have just tried some standard Avent or Tommee Tippee and changed if I needed to.

Bought a normal baby carrier with DC1 but a lot of the standard ones aren’t ergonomic/comfy so we didn’t use it much - got a Caboo with DC2, big difference, used that loads.

Bought a big footmuff for the stroller, never used it! DCs were always happier with blankets which were easy to stash in the basket. Same for pram liner, got one for DC1 and never bothered for DC2.

This is helpful thinking as we’re thinking about a possible DC3!

Baby bath- used once then he just came in with me (sometimes for almost an hour to get him to stop crying)
Bassinet- he was in a sling or carrier mostly for first 6 months and after 12 weeks old wouldn’t lie down flat in his pram so had to move to chair.
Cotton baby hats- got heaps as presents and still can’t work out when I was supposed to put them on.
Muslins- piles and piles of them as gifts never out the packet.
Cot- slept in the lullago until 4 months then a mattress on the floor.
Baby changing bag- two nappies and a pack of wipes and a dummy shoved in whatever bag I have. I can’t stand going out with a big heavy bag full of stuff.

I thought my pram attachment was a waste for us. My baby never really liked it. The pushchair attachment went on a 8 weeks and luckily had a lie flat attachment so was safe to use from newborn. Wouldn't bother with the pram top next time.

Have to say I wouldn't be without my nice travel system tho. Use it all the time and it doesn't really take up that much room in the house or car. It's a mamas and papas ocarro.

I do like a play mat but would have got a really colourful gaudy exciting one rather than the pretty grey and white one I chose mainly for aesthetics!!!

I loved my fancy changing table with inbuilt bath (we only had a shower). I didn't like the idea of changing the baby on the bathroom floor on a mat, the changing table seemed 'cosier'.
Plus DM and MIL found it easier than the floor.
Plus lots of storage.

Also loved the fancy travel system. Still used daily in pushchair mode with a 2 and a half year old. So much comfier and easy to manouver than the 2 cheap buggies bought for holidays.

In hindsight I wish I'd got a bedside cot after DS outgrew the snuzpod. He hated the cot and didn't like his toddler bed much either.

I never got the hang of my fancy wrap sling, cheap mothercare ownbrand one was much better!

Ah, forgot pushchair! It has a carrycot attachment as well but both DC hate it. Dc1 is nearly 2 and still won't go in for more than 20 minutes! I use a sling and a hip seat instead.

We haven't had a second one yet buy my Mother told me "After the first child you don't worry about things like sterilizing bottles, with the second one."

I was the second born child.

*but my

Elbbob
I'll find a link to what we used in the main bath.

Though I did have an awesome bath for the newborn stage that sat on the bath so less bending

EAIaIQobChMI0vD96o7H3QIVj813Ch1yWg8cEAQYCCABEgLBcDBwE

Summer infant bath support

An over the cot changing table thing is a good alternative to a changing table.
Third time around I have the cot downstairs with one of those on and a sleepyhead in it. Protected from the other littles. Baby currently sleeps in a side cot upstairs. Barely used a Moses basket with any of them. THey just felt wrong.

I still use the Ikea baby bath for all of mine! Even the 5 year old if any of them are bathing on their own for whatever reason. The angel care bath support fits in it just nicely for the baby. Saves water and means I have to use less of the expensive eczema bath stuff.

I don’t really use Muslims apart from the extra large ones which I chuck over the sleepyhead or in the bottom of the pram.

Waste of money items are top and tail bowl. All gadjets related to weaning. In fact most gadgets that are baby related. All posh weaning toys. Homeopathic nonsense such as teething necklaces and teething granules.

Dribble bibs were a waste of time for my second. She never dribbled so don’t buy them until you know if you have a dribbly one.

*All posh teething toys that should say.

I have to say something in defence of nappy bins . I live in a top floor flat and my street doesn't have proper wheelie bins, so there's no way I can bung a nappy sack into the outdoor bin after every change! Nappy bin is therefore a godsend rather than blocking up and stinking out my kitchen bin.

I was lent a Moses basket and DS hated it, so won't bother getting one second time round. Sleepyhead was another mistake, he outgrew it in 6 weeks when it advertises itself as for up to 8 months!

Finally, my biggest waste of money was the all-singing-all-dancing baby swing with a motor, music and vibration settings. Cost £80 and used it maybe 3 times as DS much preferred the £20 bouncer I picked up in Tesco. Aargh!

There's 2.5 years between them, I'd kept cot, travel system & baby bath as we knew webwould have another. Travel system barely got used (only car seat part of it) and my dd would rather sit in the shower than sit in baby bath! This time around I did more BLW rather than pureeing foods and buying the few ready made bbaby food jars and pouches like I did with m ds. She's 9m now and eats literally everything from meat, veg, fruit, crackers ect. Where a my ds is fussy and has only just decided to eat chips! (He's 3yo)