What gadgets were you convinced you couldn't live without and actually they're a waste of time and/or money..?

[bigredtractor]

There! I threatened to do it so I'm starting this thread.

Mums Netters - come and tell us preggers ladies what not to waste our dosh on!

I'm going to start with.... A top & tail bowl - oh PLEEEASE!!! Just wash your baby's face first - then the rest of them. Voila!!

Baby bath - when they are little bathe them in the sink; when they get bigger use the bath and avoid getting water splashed over the carpet.

Nappy wrapper bin - they stink. No amount of cleaning/bleaching/essential oils will get rid. Put nappy in plastic bag and walk to the outside bin.

Moses basket - use the carrycot that goes on your pram or put them in their cot

Cot top changer - always felt awkward height. Put changing mat on floor and bung mat under cot when done thus saving £50.

Sling. Bought one for about £35 and never used it. Not once! Don't know why, just didn't!

Agree - top and tail bowl and baby bath were pointless. One bowl is all you need! DD hated the baby bath so I just washed her with cotton wool for months and then she went in the big bath!

Also bought a Mothercare baby carrier/sling which we couldn't get on with. Still like the idea of a sling but couldn't face spending more money at that point! (maybe next time!)

Baby chair with dangling toys and a vibrate setting. DD hated it and prefers her carseat to sit in.

We did use the moses basket to carry her round the house at the beginning but she was only in it for 3 months.

Agree -

Nappy Wrapper - cartridges are expensive, they stink when you empty them. Just use nappy bags and straight to outside bin (or back step until you next have your shoes on!)

Changing table/cot top changer - just use a mat the floor. Much safer and more comfortable.

Not sure we really got our money's worth from the baby gym either.

Disagree -

Moses basket - no room for a cot in our room so needed this for the early months.

Also glad I bought the Easy Base for the car seat. Yes, you could just use the seat belt but every time I just click the seat into place I feel glad we shelled out the extra money.

Oh and anyone who buys a baby wipes warmer needs their head examined

Ah, the fun DH and I had arguing over whose turn it was to empty the sodding nappy bin.

Moses basket - grew out of it in about 3 weeks. With DS2 we just popped him into a proper cot from day one.

Sterlizer - ended up exclusively BF.

Breast pump - used once, really didn't like it.

Expensive weaning spoons. Ikea sell all the plastic tat you could ever need for a fraction of the price.

Expensive high chair from Mothercare - it broke and we ended up buying one for £11 from Ikea. It was far superior.

Agree

Steriliser, just not necessary.

baby weaning equipment - ikea as crackfox said

ditto highchair

hard plastic pelican bibs. Really uncomfortable adn get caught on the highchair,

Disagree

Sling, was a godsend for clingy dd2.

Agree with highchair. My DS (6) still uses the Stokke we got him at 6mths.

YY to babybath and top and tail thingy. We went straight in the big bath on one of those floating things. Though those plastic ones are very good too.

TBH, you really don't need to spend £60 on a changing bag like I did. Just a bag big enough to hold all your crap. You get plenty of rucksacks with a pocket able to accomodate a bottle should you need it.

Re steriliser, I BF until DS was 6mths but used it for bottles until 12mths. But he was never much of a 'mouther' and I was a little PFB. Didn't use it with either of the girls as they were both eating dirt etc by 5mths so didn't see the point.

I used a moses basket for DS but wished I had put him straight in a cot. Both girls went straight in the cot and slept much better from day1.

The best money I ever spent was the breathing monitor. Not necessary of course but for me it allowed me to relax.

Oh and grobags are fab too. Didn't use them with DS and he was forever kicking his blanket off and I constantly worried about him wriggling down the cot. With grobag they are toastie and you don't need to do the feet to foot thing or worry about where in the cot they are.

Ah, one person's white elephant is another's best friend!

Moses basket - politely accepted friend's kind offer to borrow one with no intention of using it. DD cried nonstop in her cot and we hauled the damn basket out of the garage pretty sharpish. She slept in it till we practically had to cut holes in the bottom for her legs to fit through.

Cot-top changer - saved my back. Used it till DD was too heavy for it to feel safe any more.

Baby bath - another loan consigned to the garage which ended up being quite useful. Although now would probably only ever bath a newborn in dire poo-explosion type incidents.

Breast pump - saved my sanity when my cosy breastfeeding plans went completely awry.

But totally agree with top-and-tail bowl!

And not a gadget but I really regret accepting EVERYONE'S offer of second-hand baby clothes. It was so kind and I didn't want to say no but I ended up having so much to sort through and a lot of it was really well past its best! We live in a small place and every cupboard and drawer was overflowing with clothes!

Oh, yes, x-posted with myredcardigan but completely agree with changing bag. Really wish I'd just got a decent rucksack.

echo nappy wrapper-they are completely gross, also this time won't be bothering with: changing bag, baby bath or toys and will be waiting and seeing if needed before buying breast pump and steriliser

Oh yes changing bags are a waste of time and TBH if you are taking the baby out in the pram it is easier to shove what you need in a canvas bag in the basket - all fits neatly that way

DC4 is arriving in the NY and I wont be buying a steraliser this time - everything will just go through the dishwasher (although I do understand why people like the 'security' of something 'made for the job')

Crapweasel - NO! I was going to buy one of those, is it a sign that the hormones are sending me crazy?!

Abi - yes! Just don't keep your babywipes in the fridge and you'll be fine

Eugh obviously that is a steriliser!

A proper traditional pram which my mother insisted we had. It was huge, clunky, I could hardly wrestle it up/down the front doorstep - and dd1 hated it. Best buy? Baby Bjorn sling

so a steriliser is not absolutely essential? I am umming and aahing about buying one, but plan on breastfeeding anyway so it is just for back up.

daisy even if you BF it is fairly likely that you might use the ocassional bottle of EBM so being able to sterilise is useful.

However since a dishwasher is basically just a huge steriliser that IMO is fine. You can buy great little baskets which keep all the teats upright and the rings/lids in place. The only downside is that sometimes the teats pick up the colour of the previous nights bolognese......

I can live with bolognese coloured teats...

I look upon that as bohemian customisation nancy.

Didn't buy change table/change top for Dd1, thinking floor safest and cheapest etc etc. That killed my back so bought one quickly with advent of DD2.

A bumbo!
Utterly useless. Ds either folded in half forwards or wriggler and topped the damn thing!

Breastfeeding cushion - widgey one. Never got on with bf. Ds was huge so hard to hold and never really fitted on cushion. Pointless.

Expecting dc2 now and rather pleased to have learnt from my mistakes.

Travel cot. Have used it about 3 times. Most of the people we visit have children and usually have a travel cot we can use. Occasionally we fly to London to visit some friends without children, but we usually end up hiring a car seat so just hire the travel cot at the same time for only a few £ extra.

Expensive high chairs are also a definite no no - and a bugger to clean ime! The ikea one is fantastic.

Re: changing tables - we ended up buying one because I had lots of trouble with my back after the birth, but we went for the cheap ikea one. Did exactly what I needed it to do without shelling out £££££

I wouldn't waste money on 'nursery furniture' either. If you want to spend £300 on a set of drawers fair enough - but get a set of decent regular ones, not some overpriced, poor quality, flat pack 'nursery' ones. We looked at loads of 'nursery' drawer sets and on close inspection, the drawers themselves were about the same standard and quality as drawers from ikea (which is what we bought in the end).

Oh no I think our travel cot is great!

Excellent for putting a toddler in in front of Cbeebies so I can get a quick and peaceful shower while his dad is away with work.
Or when I needed to clear up sick in living room and clingy ds wouldn't be left on his own upstairs while I did it (or stay out of the mess!)

Waste of money things

• Bumbo seat
• top and tail bowl
• swaddling blanket, bought one for £25 and didnt use it once, am hoping the next one will like to be swaddled
• bouncy chair

Worth their weight in gold things

• muslin cloths - we had about 12 which was perfect
• rucksack instead of changing bag
• baby gym - DS liked this from a few days old even though he couldnt see far!
• highchair which has extra padding so a 3 month old can go into it - DS loved sitting with us at dinner time

Grobag Egg. Ridiculous object. Just keeps them awake with its silly colour-changing light.