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!

Baby bath
Moses basket
Crap bottle warmer that didn't warm anything ever!

Bath wise I just used to run a shallow bath, lean over and hold his head and splashed him with the water, washed him and got him back out again it killed my back at times but he'd only be in for a few minutes to wash his milky neck etc when he was little and then when he was sitting it was much easier.
I can't wait to do this all again!! Let's hope it's next year

Yes to all of the things mentioned!! I remember I got loads of baby toiletries before DD was born. I mean loads! From work colleagues and neighbours etc. It was a shame as I didn't use any of it because we discovered DD had very sensitive skin. And the beautiful little doll like items people gave us like dresses and patent shoes! For a new baby! We appreciated the thought but it all went to waste.

I love my nappy bin! Also love my changing table (on top of drawers) but DD's bedroom is on bottom floor so I don't have to go upstairs to use it.

Next time (if there is one!) I wouldn't bother with:

• Full travel system
• Baby bath
• Bottle warmer
• All the dresses she has that it's too cold to wear!
• 3 in 1 baby chair - as simple bouncer would have been fine

The best things I have are:

• Perfect prep machine
• Feeding pillow
• Nose aspirator
• Bath support
• Muslin cloths
• Tutti bambini co sleeper crib

I don't understand the nappy bin hatred, not everyone has an outdoor bin easily accessible to toss them in and that even seems like a hassle vs a bin next to where we change her. The bin does a a good job of locking in its inner reekiness too.

The concept of the nappy bin is great, it’s the cost.

Ours was a fiver with a tub of liners included. Brilliant! thought pregnant me.

Then baby arrived and I realised how much plastic was wasted actually installing the liners and when I went to buy more the were £15 for a pack of three. Total con.

Oh and my backpack changing back from China - it's amazing and wayyy better than the Silver Cross bag that came with my pram that's £50 to buy!

We lost part of our baby monitor when we were away when DC1 was 10 months old, and never bothered replacing it with DC2 or 3 - we live in a flat and could hear them perfectly well if they needed us!

I never got on with slings either - I paid a ridiculous sum for the Ergobaby 360 for DC3 and used it about twice - I have quite narrow shoulders and the straps just kept falling off! Plus I couldn't do anything while I was wearing her - I have no idea why people have so much love for them (plus I had to carry all my shit as well as the baby - give me a buggy any day and I can stuff everything in the base).

Yes to the baby monitor- we have a brand new Angel Care sitting in its box which we were gifted. Never used.

We live in a three bed semi, not Kensington Palace- it’s quite obvious when the baby is crying regardless of where we are in the house.

Slings still had with DC1 and didn't use with DC2 wasn't paying out on months of osteopathy again!

Not a purchase but the biggest thing I wasted time on with my first baby was expressing milk. Endless sterilising and faffing to end up with a freezer full of milk that never got used and a massive oversupply issue. Obviously it’s invaluable for some people but for some reason I thought it was an essential obligation.

Second baby never took a bottle which was slightly inconvenient on one isolated occasion but that was far outweighed by the time I saved not pumping.

Oh, and for everyone with bad backs, this us the bath we got when #1 Was about 2 month old.

Wish I had found it sooner!

m.ebay.co.uk/itm/Safetots-Dinosaur-Print-Baby-Bathing-Supabath-White-Blue-Large-Bath-Tub-/311750706487?ul_ref=http%3A%2F%2Frover.ebay.com%2Frover%2F1%2F710-53481-19255-0%2F1%3Futm_source%3Dtwenga%26utm_param%3DeyJlcyI6MCwicyI6OTcyMDIzNywiY2kiOiIwMzNiNDA4NWYzYjNjOTEyNDk4NDA1NjBhNTU3YTJkMyIsImkiOiI5Njc3Nzc4OTA4NzEyODU1MCIsInRzIjoxNTM3MzY2Mzg2LCJ2IjozLCJzbyI6MTUwMCwiYyI6MTEzODE0fQ%3D%3D%26utm_campaign%3Dtwenga%26utm_medium%3Dcpc%26ff3%3D4%26pub%3D5574631662%26toolid%3D10001%26campid%3D5338243305%26customid%3D033b4085f3b3c91249840560a557a2d3%26mpre%3Dhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.ebay.co.uk%252Fitm%252FSafetots-Dinosaur-Print-Baby-Bathing-Supabath-White-Blue-Large-Bath-Tub-%252F311750706487%26srcrot%3D710-53481-19255-0%26rvr_id%3D1673838017811%26rvr_ts%3Df22d6cd01650ab14d137202dffefb60f&_mwBanner=1&_rdt=1&ul_noapp=true

I'm not bothering with the IKEA antilop high chair. I bloody hate that thing, constantly tripping over it's splayed legs and no where to store it away. Buying booster seat or a foldable highchair this time.

I loved the changing table with dd but probably won't use it this time. We were in a flat so walking two seconds to dd's bedroom to change her was no bother but now I'll have to go upstairs and can't be arsed with that (plus it's in dd's bedroom so won't be able to use it at night).

I'm actually buying different stuff for dc2. I regret not buying a co-sleeper crib so have purchased one. I also didn't have a pram the first time round but want one this time so I can use it for daytime naps and keep the baby safely away from its sister (dd napped in my arms, puschair or in her baby chair thing)

Newborn outfits. Nothing wrong with baby grows and mine were big so DC1 only wore hers once! Didn't bother with DC2 just vests and grows.

I got rid of everything between babies 3 and 4. Changing table and nappy bin were well off the radar by then, as was a steriliser (I just used cold water in a huge Tupperware container). I didn’t bother with the crib or Moses but did have a bouncy chair for the day time.

I also just bought a birth to age 4 seat as my back was well and truly knackered at that point and I knew I wouldn’t be able to lift the car seat in and out of the car anyway.

I also didn’t bother with a pushchair and just used the sling for the first 9 months or so until dc4 could go in the buggy (I took the bouncy chair to the 6 week appointment check so that the doctor could do what she needed).

We also didn’t have a baby monitor, bath thermometer, actual thermometer, scratch mits (we just used socks instead), hats because they were summer babies and despite what I’d read I knew they didn’t need them.

Oh lord, where to start?! I can't bear to think of the money I wasted!

• Sling - DD was a big baby and I never used it. I guess we might still use it as a back carrier when she's a bit older, but I used the buggy everywhere.
• Moses basket - would use the pram for daytime naps to start with now.
• Clothes - I would keep the second in baby grows for at least the first 3 months, cute and practical.
• Swing - DD never liked it and it cost a bomb.
• Bumbo - I had TWO and they were both pointless.
• Playmat - she never really stayed on it for long, would have been happier on cushions
• Posh bassinet pram - I'd choose based on the buggy next time (luckily mine is great)

Thanks for all the bath links / suggestions.

Funny how there is so much love or hate for the same things. If I have another I would borrow / buy second hand as much as possible because everything is used either for a few months or not at all!

I used my sling every day for at least two years, it was the single most useful thing we bought. I found it so handy for doing supermarket shopping, walks on rough ground, nipping in and out of shops... Using it again now just as much with DC2. Conversely, the buggy was only ever pulled out when the grandparents wanted to take her for a walk.

I also found muslins indispensable; not for dribbling/sick, but for tucking under baby's chin when breastfeeding in the early months. I seemed to have plenty of milk and a forceful letdown, and if I fed without a muslin in place we'd both wind up soaked through. Supply settled down after a bit and I could do without.

I never saw the point of muslins or lie down baby mats. I would also never go to ‘singalong’ type group before at least 6 months, if not a year. They couldn’t give a shit. You just want to weep in a corner not sing if you’re happy and you know it while losing the will to live (quite literally in my case, my most suicidal moment was at one of these sodding groups)

The best things I bought were:

Manduca sling - super comfy from birth to 3.
Baby jogger City Mini pram - I still get an attack of smug every time I fold it one handed
Baby Bjorn baby bouncer.
Got all 3 second hand and were worth their weight in gold.

DD1 loved her door bouncer.
DD2 hated it
DD3 I didn't bother.

DD1 had a high chair
DD2 I got a clip on table seat thing and then a Stokke chair.
DD2 inherited the last and it was all she used until about the age of four.

Had Moses baskets for all of them. Only difference was that I went second hand for subsequent babies with new mattress only.

Different babies use or enjoy different things. You never quite know if you'll need or use something again.

Biggest waste of money? A Bumbo.

Bouncer and swing - she wasn’t interested in either of them. Toiletries, she’s got sensitive skin so can’t use any of it, it’s just cluttering up my bathroom.

I didn’t use the sling much, but expect it to be great when/if I have another dc and she’s dd is still young. Btw if you’re not sure what to get, don’t want to spend a fortune etc on one find a sling library near you, there are nct ones but also others that are easy to find on Facebook.

We just have a normal pedal bin for nappies so we don't have to have the nappy lying around or carry child to proper bin. The cartridge ones are a bit of a con.

Bath definitely. I have back issues so used to spread a shower curtain over dining table and put baby in a washing up bowl (bought new and used only for that purpose). When they were older we used it in the kitchen sink. Here's my (now 9 year old daughter!?) enjoying bath time.

Also dd hated the baby gym but loved the Fisher Price swing. She would tolerate the high chair for 30 seconds and refused point blank to eat. But she would sit on mine or dh lap and eat from our plate. So we'd take it in turns to feed her and leave space on our plate for her food. So in that respect special table ware for babies was useless even though they received it as gifts. They all just used what we used. We got through a few dinner sets in our time as parent and even now all our stuff is mismatched. My mum bought ds a bowl with a picture of a bowtie wearing cat. It was clearly a pet food bowl and my mum didn't realise. Ds insisted on using it anyway.

For some reason I couldn't find muslins in the Giant Shop of Baby Gear website, so I just got a stack of new tea towels instead. Now they're in with the other tea towels, less sorting laundry