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)

Never ever buy any clothing for newborns that does up at the back! Poor DS as I tried to hold him on my knee, support his head and try to dress him that way very pfb

Another one here who loves the bath thermometers, mainly because I am rubbish at telling what's too hot/ cold as I like my showers almost scalding. DS is 16 months and I still use it as i said very pfb.

No scratch mitts, booties, special wardrobe (we have a hanging rail that can be adjusted in height and cost next to nothing), umm, will try to think of more.

I do cold water sterilising - no microwave here! Much easier as I can just wash and drop things in it throughout the day.

We did cold water sterilising also, but ds was mainly bf.

We didn't have a stand for our Moses basket, just put it in the floor with a couple of blankets underneath.

Once we discovered baby sleeping bags, blankets were pretty much sidelined.

We have a normal sized built in wardrobe in ds room so we got those canvas shelves to hang up which have been great.

Don't bother with buying coathangers as you will get loads along with clothes that you buy or are given.

Baby shampoo and other toiletries also a waste of money. They are simply unnecessary. Ds is 13 months and the baby shampoo has been used once.

We waited until nearer weaning time to get a high chair as I wasn't clear about how our parenting ideas/styles would work out and I wanted to get something that would suit our family.

I love the baby toiletries and admit to using them myself as I love the smell

baby coat hangers only fit 0-3 and some 3-6 months! useless! keep underware hangers instead they work better and last longer

Never bought:
moses basket
bed bumpers
"going out" bag - had a bag that mum had given me that I wouldn't use otherwise, used that.
top-n-tail bowl
"baby size" furniture, other than cot (freebie from a friend-of-a-friend)

Given but never used:
bath thermometer (used my elbow as per olden days)
bath anti-slip animals - had a full anti-slip mat, much safer
Infacol - he didn't ever need it (Phew!)
a baby duvet for the cot - wtf? MIL made it - I'm sure she meant well but seriously?
Babygros that didn't do up the front - I may have used a couple because they were beautiful but only once, when I realised how fecking annoying they were!
Baby powder - dangerous stuff and unnecessary, IMO.
Snow suit - DS was a high temp baby, would overheat at the drop of a hat, so even though he was born in Dec in the UK, he still couldn't wear one.

Used very little:
Baby wipes. I think I have just finished up my second pack and DS is now 4.6
Cotton buds - good for cleaning the cord stump but not much else
Cotton wool - I started dunking DS almost immediately, couldn't be faffed with cotton wool, which dragged on his skin anyway.
Muslins - DS wasn't a sicky or possety baby, so didn't really need them that much.

Used a lot:
Change table. Kept all the stuff on its shelves, had a bowl of warm water on it when needed but NEVER used the bath-under-the-tabletop - too faffy!
When he got bigger, baby bath that hooked over the sides of the main bath. Back was too bad to be able to reach down into the main bath with him, and it was easy to fill and empty using the bath.
Brewing bin (30L) for nappies - washable. Perfect for a single wash, and an excellent seal on the lid!
Waffle blankets - see temp issue - had to be cotton ones as well as the synthetic ones just made him boil up.

Think that's it!

Like Thumb, I was told to get lots of muslins but I've only just started using my first one and DD is 7mo! I used it last week in the hot weather as a lightweight blanket when she napped in her nappy. She was occasionally sick as a baby but had a really small cotton facecloth or tissue on hand.

Muslins were a must-have for me. My DD was a really sick-y baby, up-chucking all the way down your back ages after a feed type thing. Had muslins all over the house, she even slept with one under her head, as it was easier than changing the whole Moses basket/cot every time she vommed. I still use them now, even though DD is 2yo, for running noses, protecting laps from weetabix spills & so on.

Used top & tail bowl, as it was easier to use 1 side for water & 1 for cotton wool etc but equally, if I hadn't bought it, the nappy pail & change mat as a set, a normal bowl would have been as good.

Can't think of much I bought & thought 'I've never used it' as most things I had were dirt cheap (love Primark, Asda & Tesco) or were gifts, with the massive exception of scratch mitts...

I would totally recommend waiting-&-seeing or borrowing/getting it cheap as much as possible. It is definitely horses for courses. :)

Must disagree with some of these. We have no bath, so our tomee tippee one is fab (baby can't slide down in it). I also live my washable wipes and breast pads. The pads are waterproof and breathable and the wipes are way more effective for sticky poo than cotton wool or wet wipes. Plus you can use them as face wipes later on. Just put them in with other items or with the towel/bedding washes if you want to hot wash them.

I never bought baby sized furniture, special sterilising equipment (used tupperware and milton) carrycot. I never use any kind of baby shampoo or lotion. I wash him with oats in a muslin (also useful) and moisturise with sunflower or olive oil if his skin requires it.

There's little point in buying much stuff before as you don't know what you'll need. Like me with the hundreds of muslins and two breast pads! :o Assuming you don't live in the Arctic or somewhere with poor internet delivery service, then you'll be just fine. :)

I breastfed so bought a microwave steriliser which was £11 well spent. (They are frequently on sale half price, so never buy one if they are not on sale)

I'm not sure if a microwave steriliser would be as convenient for a formula fed baby. For me it was perfect, as we used it to sterilise expressing equipment, the odd bottle, and dummies. We were fairly light users, and still only use it once per day now that she's at nursery and I'm expressing every day.

Once she is weaned, it's the perfect size to carry cakes around in so it may acquire new uses. ;-)

This is brilliant! I'm also expecting my first in December (unplanned and terrified) no idea what to buy!
Friends of ours who have a pfb (don't know any friends who have been allowed to touch this pfb, she is 10 months old) have a baby monitor for when the DD is sleeping in the next room.... I'm just hoping we're a bit more relaxed!

Finding this so useful and I really need to think about a list... the only thing I've managed to buy so far is maternity bra..... :)

washable breast pads are great if your nipples crack badly and bleed, but then you don't need to buy them in advance (its just worth knowing), I found that all kinds of disposables sort of stuck to bleeding nipples but washables were nice, although at night I had to layer disposables over that

BF and used the steam steriliser loads for dummies and all kinds of other little bits and bobs I can't remember now, didn't like the idea of using chemicals to sterilise. I plan to get another steam steriliser for no2, it was used so much

do LOADS of window shopping but wait to see what you need at the time
kiddicare deliver next day

same goes for weaning, I bought loads of gadgets in advanced, all I needed was plastic spoons and TT flip cup (didn't use doidy or any of the other "kit" that looked like a wonder product)

At least half of the items in the "essential" kit from argos of baby acoutrements like thermometer and hairbrush(!) and weird thing supposedly to suck snot out of their nose!
loved -baby towel with head bit though, had a great plastic baby "chair" for use in big bath; very cheap very thin gro-bag from tescoes which cost £3!

No baby changer- used wooden coffee table with towel on top while sitting on settee in front of it, then floor.

Nappy wrapper I agree, totally useless as it stank way more than just putting them in the bin- waste of ££!

Great thread! We are expecting bean#1 in Sep / Oct and just starting to buy stuff. So far got bedding, sleep bags and nappies! :o Picked a buggy and cot. Are Moses baskets useful or better to get a little crib which will do a bit longer?

We had a crib which DS was in until he was 6 months corrected.

A lot of people said to us that their DC had grown out of the Moses baskets very quickly. We also know people who put their DC in a cot immediately.

I did use:

Loads of muslins (refluxy baby - invaluable)
Infacol (for same reason)
Baby bath (due to no bath in house, just shower, but poss could have used the sink)
Room thermometer (not bought though, just the free one in my Bounty Pack)
Changing table (very useful right up to toddler-age)
Moses basket
Electric breast pump (until weaned age 2, at work, and before that sometimes at home)
Loads of disposable breast pads
Intercom system

I did not use:

Special breastfeeding pillow - not comfy
Cot (except as a playpen later on - baby co-slept or slept in moses)
Bottle warmers (breast fed)
Hardly any baby shampoo/ lotion etc (did use chemists' olive oil for dry skin)
Weird and wonderful gifted clothing that I couldn't squeeze baby into (only get stuff with poppers on!)
Nappy bin (just use normal bin and nappy bags)
Towels with hoods (ridiculous IMHO! and also not soft towel)

We did get given a towel that hooked around your neck like an apron. Use it every day. Great as you can popper it up around your neck and just pick LO up and lay them on your chest and wrap towel up and round. My DP bathes our LO each night and found it too diddly trying to hold towel, pick her up, keep her warm etc. Really soft and fluffy too. Not like our scratchy bath towels!!!

We were given a £180 high chair and it never got used . Went from bumbo to regular child table and chair. Our house has no dining table and there isn't enough space in our kitchen. We sold it on and kept quiet to our relies that bought it.

Baby bath, waste of money and took up too much space. Dirty nappies straight into small tin bin outside.

One blanket for bed if swaddling, one for push chair and a spare was more than enough for us. DS was a winter baby so summer babies could probably get by with two.

DS was swaddled in lovely thin blanket in hospital. Was perfect size and material, hospital very kindly let me take two home which were fab for swaddling him. Cellular blanket on top and he was nice and cosy (when he did sleep!) through the cold months. Now just pop him in grobag and never use a blanket in bed.

My current theory on toys etc is go to a nursery or crèche and see what they have. Very rarely is the stuff expensive or all singing / dancing but the babies love it and prove you don't need to spend much to make baby comfortable.

Buying in bulk for nappies / wipes / sacks online can save lots of money in the long run.

Agree big swaddle blanket / muslin is great for laying on floor / sun shade / blanket.

We've got lots of toys from NCT nearly new sales at a fraction of the cost of buying from shops.

And babies generally aren't interested in toys for the first few months anyway.

I know this isn't exactly in the spirit of this thread but wanted to add this - this cot toy was the best thing in DS's eyes ever. From really very little, he liked to reach for its feet, and it was the first thing he tested his strength on, learning to pull on it so it jiggled. I love this toy - bought one for every new parent I knew afterwards - and thank the parents who gave it to me, it was one of the best presents. :)

Buttonboo where did you get that towel thing that goes round your neck? Sounds quite useful!

Very cute toy Thumbwitch!

We also didn't really use baby bath, we lo's nought a travel bottle warmer which wasn't used. Dd1 did like bouncy chair a all so it didnt get used but I think that depends on the baby.