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!!

I keep thinking of more:

The pop up travel cot - dreadful: it rolled around like a giant hamster ball as soon as DD could move.

Waste of money - baby bjorn sling. Bought a proper sleepy wrap sling & wished I had it from the start.

Worth the money - swaddle blanket (miracle blanket), peke moe then gro bags. Baby gym was great as was activity centre from 4 months.

oooh, 3rd time around I think I have mastered all this - in fact, walking around Babies r us the other day I couldn't find a single thing I 'needed' (already know which cot and pram I am buying - from elsewhere)

Waste of money:

• baby bath - a pain to fill, carry then empty - nowhere to put it when bath is in use. This time I have a foam support for the main bath.
• baby monitor - unless your house is that big that you can't hear baby
• changing table - I never fell for this. Just changed baby on my lap or on a mat on the floor
• bottle warmer - a jug of hot water works fine (or microwave if you shake well to get rid of hotspots)
• swinging crib - both DC's hated this and wouldnt sleep in it
• manual breats pump - hand gets very tired if you don't manage to express quickly

Life savers:

• microwave steriliser - quick, no limescale build up, no need for solutions
• vibrating bouncy chair - DD loved this

This time I will try a moses basket - but only because I will use my sister's, and a sling, which I am borrowing from a friend.

Agree with the Bumbo seat - complete waste of money, will soon be heading to an NCT sale if I can find where I threw it in the loft.

Disagree about the baby bath - 3 yo DD has had great fun using it as a paddling pool this summer without any of that blowing up faff

I disagree about the baby bath, DS screamed in one of those plastic seats that go in the big bath and leaning over the main bath was very uncomfortable but then I don't use the bath myself so couldn't hold him in their with me.

Loved our bouncy chair, easy to carry around the house with me and DS loved being able to see what was going on.

Also found my nappy bin very useful and had it next to the changing table which allowed everything to be kept together. The tommee tippee nappy wrapper only smelled when you emptied it which was about every 3 days and really didn't smell before he was weaned. Much better than a pile of nappy sacks on the door step in my opinion.

Never used a moses basket, steriliser or a monitor. Used my breast pump a lot and it was manual but I think you need to try them out if you can to see which one suits you.

Loving the advice ladies - thanks!!

Opposite to baileysismyfriend, I find muslins completely rubbish in the absorbency department, and they also come out very poor in the wash. Much better to go for several large handkerchiefs! Now these are worth their weight in gold. Plus I can use them as makeshift bibs - great for DD who is a serial dribbler!

I got a baby carrier as a gift last Xmas - never used it and DD hates it, so that has been consigned to the garage.

Oh dear, find myself disagreeing with people!

Pointless:

Bouncy chair
Bumbo - complete crap!
Manual Breast pump - hand cramp
Breast feeding pillow - DH ended up using it for his back - worked a treat!
Baby walker - she only used for a month
Baby bouncer for the door frame - she just dangled
Moses Basket - we just used the pram from the cot and it came with a stand so was brilliant

Life savers:

Fisher price aquarium swing - baby sleep magic
Changing unit (am so tall changing on the floor was painful)
Leapfrog spin and groove - DD loved standing in it and watching everyone from about 4 months

I have just remembered another one - a baby monitor.

We lived in a tiny 2 bedroom flat, why i thought I wouldn't be able to hear the baby scream from the next room is anyone's guess. Hormones, perhaps?

Agree about the changing bag being a waste of money, any big bag will do really.

Useful:

Grobags
Baby bjorn (baby with reflux so spent lots of time upright)
Bath - our bath is huge and deep so hard to bend over with a newborn.
Changing unit - really saved my post delivery back in the early days and useful for storage later on
muslins - for constant wiping up of vomit
bouncy chairs - but with the vibrate switched off as DD hated it
Urban Detour 3-wheeler - still in great condition for DC2
Microwave steriliser

Not for me:

Lightweight stroller - just felt flimsy and couldn't push one handed.
Baby monitor - could hear DD instantly where ever I was in the house without one
Door frame bouncer - DD just twirled on the spot and cried getting her in and out
BF pillow - found a normal pillow or cushion perfectly adequate

The best thing is to get second hand or borrow where ever possible as one person's essential item is another's waste of money.

Rubbish
Mothercare 4in1 (or 3in1?) carrier. It was so fiddly to get DS into that I never bothered. Should have got a proper sling

Mothercare (are we spotting a pattern here!?) jungle swing. Noisy, jerky, the music was horrific. And it never soothed DS like I thought it would. Basic bouncy chair was much better

Doorway bouncer - it took two people to get DS into it safely so it got very little use.

Brilliant
Top n tail bowl - the only piece of baby equipment that I've used every day since DS was born (he's now 2.10). We use washable wipes so I fill it with water and it sits on the changing table. Of course, a normal plastic bowl or tub would work just as well but the t&t bowl only cost £2 so on a price per use basis, it's done well.

Bumbo - used it until DS was 11 months old. Even when he was capable of sitting by himself it was useful to take into the garden while I hung out the washing so he has somewhere comfy and dry to sit.

Breathing monitor - totally worth it for the peace of mind.

The thing with a changing unit is that if your babies roll reasonably early like mine did (about 15wks) then it's a lot of money to have spent for such a short amount of time as obv once they start rolling it's not recommended you use them.

All 3 of mine were crawling before 6mths so they would have been lethal.

Even though some posters have said their DCs didn't like the thing you put in the bath, you cound always try that first and if no good resort to a baby bath. You can pick them up quite cheaply at NCT nearly new sale.

I cannot stop laughing at the idea that you can buy something to warm up baby wipes! Re baby wipes though, don't forget how good they are at getting spills and marks out of clothes and furniture. You'll be amazed at that-or at least I was!

And yes, bumbo pretty useless too but maybe because mine rolled and crawled fairly early. Though I did sell it for close to I paid for it at a NNS!

Swings- DS and DD2 hated the swing. DD1 loved it so I'd advice trying your baby in someone elses before making this purchase.

Baby gym- all three of mine loved it!

Don't buy any cuddly toys!!!! You will get hundreds and your baby will have no interest in them whatsoever.

All 3 of mine loved the Woozit toy.

As I was BF, I quite liked those disposible, ready sterile bottles. I think they come in a plastic bag and you stick them in the microwave for 3mins.

Regardless of whether you are BF or not, keep 2 of the ready made cartons of newborn milk in the cupboard. Don't listen to your MW or HV telling you that it will damage BF. I used one on day2 with my first because my milk hadn't come through properly yet, he was starving and I was exhausted. It gave us both a few hours sleep and next day my milk was flowing and he was then exclusively BF until nearly 8mths. You may never use them/need them BUT it's hard to describe the utter sleep deprived feelings at 3am when it's not working. Hopefully, you won't need to use it but best to have it in just in case.

last thing Like the milk, I'd have a newborn dummy in the cupboard. Even if you don't want to use one, get one in just in case. If I had a pound for every pg friend who said no way to dummy then by the time their baby wa 5wks they had one, I'd be very wealthy. Again, no need to use it if you don't need it but they are truly amazing soothers-honestly. Also, don't believe the rubbish that it hinders speech or damages teeth. That may be the case if they get to 3 and it's in their mouth constantly. But a newborn having a dummy to induce sleep or to help them settle causes no damage.
(I know 2 dentists and both their DCs have had dummies)

Wow BTF! You used the bumbo until 11mths! Can I ask, was he not just getting out of it? Or was he just using it like a seat to get in and out of?
You obviously got more use out of it than most so I guess it was worth while for you.

Yep - and he's a chunky little fella and a real nappy user too. He just got wedged in there!

I think it's a personality thing. You kids sound like they were mobile fairly early whereas DS wasn't. He was late to roll (about 7 months I think) and never properly crawled (just commando style at around 9 months). He just loved to sit and watch and the Bumbo was a comfy place to do that - it never occurred to him to try and get out! He's still in a cot now for the same reason...never tried to get out.

That's the thing with all these baby gadgets though - you never really know what your baby is going to like before you try it out.

My recommendation to anyone would be to borrow (or buy very cheaply) as much stuff as you can - especially things like Bumbos, swings etc as it all comes down to personal preference.

Yes, you're right, it is personality of baby. Two of mine were walking at 11mths and the other at 12mths so they would of had none of it!
With my 1st I was so excited that he walked early but by the time you get to your 3rd, you're just jealous that everyone else's baby stays put!

I agree about borrowing and buying second hand from places like NCT sales etc.

how does a wipe warmer even work? Do you plug it in??

And what is a bumbo?

as a mum of 2 kids (with one on the way) haven't bought stuff we didn't need because our rule has been just buy essentials (helps if husband has non-hormonal veto on daft purchases) then if we need something else we can buy it. everyone is different so:

bumbo: dd1 wasn't comfortable in bouncy chair (borrowed) for weaning (she kept doing sit ups to get at food) so bought her a bumbo. worked for her as we used it at home, at restaurants etc when she was too small for high chair / to be on same level as us. didn't work for ds as he kept pushing himself out of it so could only keep him in it for a brief feed, then had to take him out. friend has borrowed it and felt it was useful for theirs. only get it if you need it / try to borrow one first.

cot top changer: didn't have one for dd1 or ds, have now borrowed one for no.3 and am using it with ds (2) as it saves my back and grandparents prefer it to kneeling on the floor. previously though, I gave grandparents a towel under the changing mat and they changed kids on the bed/ worktop to save their backs. your choice.

slings: we like walking where prams can't go so did use baby bjorn. also bought a cheap black ring sling(freedomslings from scotland £25) for breastfeeding ds as dd1 was only 2 when he was born so I had to do it on the move and sling was useful cover up. didn't need it for dd1 though. ring sling also doubles as sunshade / blanket / mat etc.

moses basket: found it useful to have a bed for the baby that we could move around the house / downstairs during the day. ours fitted into them until nearly 6 months so all depends on size of baby. also, we didn't have a cot on the pram (if i had, wouldn't have used moses basket - but ours was only £20 from argos) also, if you have more babies, they may still be using cot when next baby is born. ds is 2 and still in the cot, so we need the moses basket!

nursery furniture: as we always moved house just before / after kids were born (good timing i know) both children had clothes in plastic boxes for at least 3 months until we sorted out their rooms. they just needed clean clothes, me (breastfeeding) a place to sleep, car seat and a pram.

baby bath: not unless you want one. we used a spare washing up bowl / sink with towel liner then big bath.

steriliser: used it for dd1, not for ds who refused all bottles until he was over 1 and then we just washed them in the dishwasher. got mine through saving up boots points.

main advice is that the shops will still be open when you have had your baby, so get what you know you will need now, you can always order more online / go out again in a few weeks.

another thing i learnt from dd1: 2nd time around i did get a breastfeeding pillow / support (one that is shaped to wrap around your waist) and found it much easier to breastfeed in different positions (rugby ball / different sides etc) than with just a cushion / pillow. It also doubled as support for when baby is learning to sit up. Different positions for breastfeeding were helpful when I had mastitis (a few times with both) as you need to feed from different positions to ensure baby is emptying the breast fully.

sorry, just remembered

rucksack instead of changing bag: we bought the phil & teds one that also clips onto the pram easily) have used it every single day since birth of dd1, as rucksacks are easier to wear when walking / taking them to days out / clips back onto pram. also husband doesn't feel embarrassed wandering round with girly changing bag.

baby monitor: didn't use with first 2 kids as could easily hear them in small house. will use for no.3 as kids noise downstairs could easily drown out noise of baby upstairs.

anyone recommend a good basic one? all I need is one that i can hear the baby on - none of this parent talk back / plays tunes nonsense. (imho none of these tunes on things have soothed my babies - i will still need to go up and sing talk to them if they get upset)

Definitely agree with -

• top and tail bowl
• nappy wrapper - smelly and replacement cartridges are expensive; this time round we just got a bumper bag of nappy sacks!
• hard plastic rimmed bibs
• bumbo was a novelty and DS loved it for a few weeks but then hated it and was always struggling to get out...luckily we borrowed ours from a friend
• fancy change bag - I indulged, reasoning that it was the one bit of kit that would be 'mine' but in reality, a good sized rucksac does a much better job....carrying it across both shoulders means the weight is distributed better and DH doesn't mind carrying it too!

Agree totally that if you can try things or borrow them first, then do that! I'm always happy to let friends try bits of our kit and will give reviews on what we've bought! It's expensive enough without making too many mistakes!

But really could not live without -

• muslin cloths (have found larger ones from Ikea that double up as a cover up when b/fing in public and as a makeshift sunshade when the sun has caught us out!)
• gro-bags - brilliant when baby is in the cot, really gave me peace of mind as DS is a real wriggler!
• changing table - saved my back...admitedly in the early days we used the dining table as a temporary change station but as baby got older, the changing table came into its own!
• breastfeeding pillow - really helped in the early days as had an emergency cs so the pillow meant my scar was cushioned.
• baby bjorn - very easy to put on - after seeing friends struggle with a mothercare one and a Tomy one, I was glad I paid a bit extra.

Things we haven't used:
Changing table. When we got DD home from hospital and put her down to change her nappy she immediately rolled onto her side which freaked me out. So we have always changed her on a mat on the floor.

Moses basket. DD did sleep in this for the first few weeks, but she is a wriggler and it was beginning to wobble so we switched to her cot at about 8 weeks. We've taken the side off and clamped it to the frame of our bed so it works for co-sleeping and this is a far easier arrangement and would have worked just fine from day one tbh.

Pram. DD never ever settled in the pram. We live on a cobbled street in a hilly town and she just rattled around in it and cried. She will sleep strapped into the car seat instead and I'm figuring we'll carry on with that until she is ready for us to convert it into a pushchair. And I'd read all about how important it is for the little sausages to be lain flat and not squidged up in a seat. Unfortunately she hadn't.

Bouncy chair. Actually at 3 months she began to accept sitting in the bouncy chair, but she still cries when it bounces!

Scratchmitts. We put socks on DDs hands instead because the scratchmitts never stayed on.

Socks. Except for use as scratchmitts (see above).

About 90% of the clothes we were given both bought and secondhand. We were given loads of summer dresses in 3-6m size which DD has never and will never wear because she is titchy and won't fit into them until October or November. And I take her most places in a sling which means that tops and trousers and sleepsuits are more convenient anyway.

Things we've used loads:
Sling.
Baby gym.
Rucksack as changing bag.
Folding changing wallet thingy with pockets for wipes and nappies.
Flannels instead of wipes