Stuff you never bought or bought and never used

[GnocchiNineDoors]

Thought it might be handy to put on here all those things you bought when pregnant / with new baby but never once used or stuff that you never bought (even though bloody money grabbing shops convinced you you should) and never missed.

For example, I never owned a baby bath. I simply put three inches of water in the big bath and dunked DD in. Or, even better, she came in with me

I also never bought a child sized wardrobe. DD has a big chest of drawers and a bookshelf. I cannot be chewed hanging bloody sleepsuits.

I was bought numerous pairs of baby shoes. Oh my word. I feel sorry for those shoes as DD is barefoot or in just socks or tights religiously. She'll get shoes when she's cruising.

Anyone else? (thought it might be handy for PG ladies as to what not to buy, hence why it's here)

We didn't get any baby furniture ie wardrobe, change table etc. we got a normal chest of draws to put all his sleep suits, blankets etc in and it's all we've needed so far (DS is 7mo) don't see the point in a changing table, a mat on the floor is fine and once they start rolling you can't really use the table anyway.

We didn't have a baby bath to start with but got one eventually we found it easier to keep him comfortable when he was more submerged, we use a bath seat for him too.

The bath seat is brilliant! Much better than baby bath as you have two hands free.
Put scratch mitts on during the first night in hospital as he was born with super long nails. After that they have never been used again. The babygros with fold over cuffs are great if you want to avoid getting scratched while you are breastfeeding. Scratched nipples are not good.
Bought the expensive Lansinoh nipple balm and it has not been used. Also have had no need of Sudocrem so far despite having a stash of it.

The top and tail bowl is useful for storing your bottles of shampoo and conditioner etc at the end of the bath. That's about all it is good for.

Top and tail bowl - I have a six week old and have used it once. I do like the baby bath though, as I'm short and would find it very difficult to bend over the big bath, and I plan to use it as toy-storage once the LO has outgrown it.

Just be wary of "friends" that say... "do you want X? It's practically brand new, we never used it." 99% of the time they are things you don't need, which is the reason they are brand new!! They end up clogging up your spare room/nursery until you decide what to do with them (give them back/pass them on) These things tend to be the stuff on this list already... Baby baths, nappy bins etc

I've got to say I use my top and tail bowl still (somebody bought it us with stuff in it) but a normal bowl would do...in fact, we have a cheap washing up bowl upstairs which serves the same purpose. We put a few nappies, nappy sacks, talc, wipes, cream in there and when it's bum change time, it's easy to take to wherever bum will be changed (ie we keep in downstairs loo and change bum in living room and ds's bedroom upstairs) just neater than full pack I nappies etc.......also limits the damage when your toddler gets hold of them!!

I don't get why most people didn't use baby baths. I used mine all the time until DD was too big for it. I put it into the bath and it meant I used a lot less water than if I had put DD into the bath.

I bought loads of breast pads and didn't need to use them at all. I bf DD for 6 months but never leaked once.

Thought of something else...baby lotion!! Bought loads of that and bubble bath when on offer during first pregnancy and, whilst sorting out for dc2 found 8 (that's EIGHT!!) unopened bottles of the damn stuff. And one half used one.... what a waste of bloody money!

Agree with:
Baby dressing gowns
Scratch mitts
Baby shoes (& trainers)
cruising shoes
top & tail bowls
bath thermometer
Moses basket/crib (just keep them in bed with you then straight into a cot)
swaddling blanket
baby-specific furniture (just use normal size stuff, or get some old-fashioned stuff off Freecycle, it's a bit smaller sized)
fabric bibs (get Silly Billyz, they're fab)
jeans (or any outfits really) for teeny babies

Disagree:
reusable wipes - not for bums, but great for faces later!
nappy bin
baby bath (but not for long) - also handy for small paddling pool in the summer

Also don't bother with

washable breast pads, if you leak you'll go straight through them. (if you don't then lucky you !)

Surprised that a lot of people don't use the bath thermometer - I use mine as I'm rubbish at telling the temperature, and would end up using water that was too cold!

Baby Monitor, never had one. Nor any special baby furniture. The one thing I wish I'd had was a bouncer seat, found it invaluable with DC3-4.

Only used baby-bath & thermonitor with DC1, none of the others.

Agree that nappy-sacks stink to high heaven, give me poo smell instead.

The local hospital has top-and-tail bowl on its list of things you need to bring in for the baby, so we did buy one - but for £1 at an NCT sale rather than £5+ in a shop! Anyone know why they might require this? I think it's a new thing, as the local mums I know with slightly older children say it wasn't on the list for them.

Thanks for this thread, OP and everyone else, it's very useful! DC due in August, which seems both very soon and a long time away ...

Never used a baby bath or nappy bin. Have a loft full of cellular blankets and muslin cloths, used a couple of times, never again. My son was born in Dec & I'd bought him a lovely snowsuit for him coming home from hospital in . . . Subsequently got given 11 as gifts!! Best part was most of them were for 3-6 months old. . At what point would I be putting my son in a snowsuit in June???! LOL!

We didn't bother with a changing table - always changed DD on our bed or floor

Didn't get a baby bath - but did get one of those wire frames with a Terry towelling sling so DD can lay in our big bath propped up a bit. Looks a bit like a deckchair. Dead cheap and is great when you want to wash with two hands!

No top and tail bowl either

Didn't bother with a Moses basket. DD slept in her pram top (bugaboo) until we put her in mini cot at 6 weeks.

Didn't bother with a changing bag either. I just used a large zip up wash bag with two compartments (one for fold up changing mat and spare clothes and the other for nappies, wipes and nappy bags)

stupid tiny baby sized towels with hoods, they're thin and nasty, wrapped DS up in big warm fluffy bath towels instead

babygrows that only open at the bum - ew to pulling poo streaked babygros all the way over his head! only used ones that buttoned right up the front

top n tail pointless, use any old containers. barely used baby bath

Didn't have a change table, didn't miss it, just put a change mat under him wherever we happened to be

never used a moses basket or crib, used cot from the start

never used a specific nappy bin, regular bin gets full SOO FAST with a baby somehow so got taken out every single day so never festered

cotton buds - WTF! bought a bumper pack just because there was a shelf of them in babysrus and we thought they must be there for a reason (and we should know the reason . There is no reason! people like us who buy them are the only reason!

Blankets - got so many bankets as gifts! some lovely ones never even got used!

presents we didn't use:
babybooks
anything trinketey (erm home has already been taken over by little person explosion, don't need extra useless clutter!)
babygrows with hoods or buttons that go up the back!

teddies...... useless at first, but then he started taking them all to bed at about 24 months

oh and even now (at 3 years) we only use soap or shampoo on DS if he's been swimming in chlorine, baths are just water

Whoops i'm expecting my first baby in December. I should have read this thread before i started shopping.

Thanks so much for this thread! DC#1 not due until december and we're overwhelmed with the stuff the shops are saying we need. (a brand new digital camera? a necessity? really? whats wrong with the one we've got?) We're trying to decide about moses basket as half the people we ask said they had one they never used (unfortunatly they've already passed them on) and other half found them invaluable. We got told we couldn't use gro-bags till after 3 months so we'd need blankets too. Is that right?

Gro bags are on the weight not age. think some stary at 9lb.

I had a moses basket and used it till dd was 4mo ebery night so it got its worth. We then put her in the travel cot. nezt time around ill buy a travel cot with bassinette in as itll do from birth to toddlerdom and travel well.

There are lots of people who co sleeo thoufh so dont need a bed for the baby

we used grobags sooner but DS has a big head, you shouldn't use them till the can't be pulled over their heads, the age thingies are a very vague guide, go by weight and if it can be pulled up over face/head

prior to gro bags we used swaddle blankets, but not the faffy folding ones, the ones that are pre stitched so easier to wrangle the baby into, mothercare ones were good, the ones from boots (which was just a blanket with faffy folding instructions) were USELESS with a wriggly colicey baby

Blimey...you're oganised, ninja

I'm due in just over 2 weeks and haven't yet got a cot or moses basket/crib. I finally packed my hospital bag today and realised that we own exactly one blanket, 3 packs of nappies and 5 newborn sized vests and babygros. I guess I'll be sending the family out shopping if baby decides to put in an early appearance.

Room thermometers. WTF?
Baby baths (I used the kitchen sink or did the kids with me or DH).
Most toys
Nasal aspirator
Baby lotion

oh yeah our gro company room thermometer was accurate when first turned on, the over the course of the night the light part heated it up and it kept saying it was hotter than it was, being sleep deprived new parents who didn't trust ourselves we kept stripping poor DS off in a panic in the middle of the night before working it out and ditching it and telling each other that if we're not too hot, he's probably not too hot! poor wee freezing naked mite!

No pram
No pushchair
No cot
Scratch mitts used once (useless get sleepsuits with fold over sleeves)
No musical mobile
No cellular blankets
No special swaddling blankets
No top n tail bowl
No baby bath
No disposable wipes (use them now though)
No special baby wash/shampoo

Poor deprived Dd

used the nasal aspirator loads (bunged up CS baby)

I think its best to be aware of whats on the market, but don't buy in advance (apart from essentials that you KNOW you'll use)