which vitally important baby purchases turned out to be a complete waste of time and money for you?!

[Ilovekittyelise]

having just seen the thread about the uber-pointless top and tail bowl, it reminded me of the first time mum frenzy of buying so much rubbish that never got used. thought it might be fun to start a list, which might even save a few pennies for a few first time mums!

im going to kick off with newborn hat * 3. my son had so much hair he had a sweaty baby head.

[Flisspaps]

Baby lotion.

Was bought gallons of the stuff by friends and relatives when DD was born.

She's nearly 4, and we've still got 8 full bottles or so.

[SweetTeaVodka]

My big one is going to be considered essential by most, I'm sure: pushchair/pram - rarely use it and any attempt to has been preceded by massive battles. Beyond a few weeks of age she would only lie in it if asleep and once she was sitting she started refusing to go in it at all. It's only used by the grandparents and for transporting shopping now, and it's always a massive hassle.

Luckily I didn't get the £700 one I originally wanted, but still a significant amount of money could have been saved if I'd known that it would be slings all the way.

Also, baby bath seat, top and tail bowl and baby washes/shampoos. DD has also flat out refused any attempt to put her in a bath seat, and we soon found it was easier and much more fun to share baths with her. Plus she has eczema, so no baby wash etc as it's awful for her skin. I think I used the top and tail bowl twice. In the hospital.

[IneedAsockamnesty]

I gave up and just bathed DD at the same time as I had a bath, she lay on my legs and I passed her back to DH once she was bathed. We've done this ever since whenever we have had another baby

This is by far the easiest way to bath a baby, even if your a lone parent ( just have a cheap rocking/bouncy chair in bathroom chicco rockers go for about £5 on those fb sites even a iobo one goes for about £8 or a new not so ideal one from amazon for a tenner) lay towel over chair put baby in it wrap baby up clip safety restraint then do your hair or what ever and get out of batch dry yourself.

If your bathrooms freezing or your not keen on going in bath with baby the kitchen sink is fine after dinner when dishes have been done is a good time as its usually toasty warm then from the cooker being on.

[Thurlow]

YY to the slings and carriers. They're talked about as if they are the second coming so I can only assume most babies like them, but mine hated them with a passion. Wasted a lot of money on those.

ananikifo, we gave DD her comforter in bed when she a bit older than your baby and she loved it, now as a toddler she can't sleep without one and uses it to settle. Luckily she's not bothered by the bear stuck on it, so we just cut a fleece blanket into lots of smaller ones so we'll never lose it!

[ThereIsNoEleventeen]

My very worst purchase was a huge plastic fantastic changing table with a built in bath...bath time was carnage, you were meant to fold back the changing mat base and use the bath underneath.

I gave up and just bathed DD at the same time as I had a bath, she lay on my legs and I passed her back to DH once she was bathed. We've done this ever since whenever we have had another baby.

The top and tail bowl and nappy bin were also pretty useless...DD's bedroom was south facing and she was born in the summer, there was no way that any nappy bin (except perhaps a refrigerated one) was not going to smell.

[ananikifo]

Bears, not beats.

[ananikifo]

Starballbunny it sounds like dressing up the build a bears is fun but I doubt my son will ever play with six large undressed beats and gorillas. They are just traditional-looking teddy bears.

I also have no idea what to do with a "comforter," ie a tiny blanket with a bear's head in the middle. I'm really curious about how a baby gets any comfort from this. At almost three months my baby still won't look at it.

As a mother of a baby, drowning in baby clutter, I find this thread so cathartic.

[NoComet]

Yes to soft toys, they each still take one to bed and we have six build a bear animals between us (ones mine) who got played with loads and bought clothes and used as school pupils etc.

Even with the DDs being 12&15 they get changed now and again and the snowman finds his way into DD1's bed.

The rest of the huge soft toy mountain gathers dust

[Longdistance]

A fecking sling. My dd's never liked them. It was bought by mil, and quite frankly, as both were bf I was glad of the break from being attached to them, and putting them in their pram.

The baby bath didn't get used the second time as we bought an angled bath seat to pop in the bath. Was so much better as you didn't need to hold the baby whilst bathing.

[ananikifo]

Soft toys is a good one. I have a pile of bears and gorillas, each as big or bigger than my baby son. I know he'll never play with all of them but it would feel wrong to get rid of them.

[Bloob]

That's interesting. Mine never really bothered about things going over their heads. Well... They usually screamed throughout the whole process but things over their head never intensified things! :o
I was completely incompetent at doing up the poppers still am and I hate having to undo them all and start again. I must be the minority though :)

Soft toys is another one! Why do people buy them?! We have so many and I feel obliged to keep them as auntie x bought it for them when they were born...

[NickysMam]

I used baby oil on DS hair after washing it, made it very soft and moisturiser. MIL and DM both suggested it too so I assumed that it was a normal thing.

I had my mother around when I was buying things so I didn't buy anything that I'd class as a waste of money.

»I didn't purchase a changing mat.. any bed will do with a towel down.
»I had a bath with a stand which I loved as I bathed DS in my warm room as the bathroom was too cold. I wouldn't buy one again, looking back now it was a lot of hassle!
»Bibs! I went and bought a ton more. The ones that went over their head.. he was a pukey baby so the bibs were lifesaving. However, the plastic back bibs on the other hand were irritating!
»Bouncer was a waste of money. He hated it.
» Cot. We co-slept up until he went into his own toddler bed, which is a single bed (he's 2).
»Socks. They'd get lost and he was in sleep suits anyway.
»baby blankets. Too small to wrap him in properly so he had normal blankets from Matalan. lovely and soft.
»Muslin cloth. What are they for? I had and still have new ones yet I don't know what to use it for.
»Night time toys. instead of sending him into a deep slumber he'd cry when the song finished. Binned in frustration let me tell you.
»Baby bowls. use normal ones, what's the difference?
»Baby grooming set. His hair is afro Caribbean so there wasn't any way for that comb to go through. Also, I was far too scared to clip his nails I used a soft nail file instead.

I think that's it. Definitely spent a lot less on DC2.

oh scratch mittens. I used socks instead, they stayed on. I did get looks at mummy and baby groups only to find others started doing the same after a while.

[MakeTeaNotWar]

For me it was a bumbo and muslins - just didn't seem to need them!

[NoComet]

Yes, don't buy many of anything and borrow things like snow suits, baby baths, bath supports, bouncy chairs and swing seats if at all possible. Don't buy a swaddling blanket until you've found DC likes being swaddled in a cheap sheet.

Different babies and different parents find different things work for them.

If you have a huge,deep, cold, enamel bath, baby may feel safer in a small one and the hot water bill will thank you. In our tiny bathroom a bath seat in the fibreglass bath was much better.

Because DDs room has a double bed (with a waterproof sheet in case of rolling off the mat) a changing table was pointless.

A DF with twins swore by the floor, because you simply couldn't guarantee not being interrupted by DT2 and DT1 rolling off.

[SaggyOldClothCatPuss]

Cotton Wool!
I used it in hospital and then switched to wipes when we got home. I was given loads. There are still 2 of the original rolls under the sink in the kitchen. DS is 18!

[Headlikeafuckingorange]

ilovekittyelise Manduca or Boba are great soft structured carriers. Stretchy wrap like Moby good for newborns around the house.

[Quodlibet]

I agree there's too much marketing to new parents. I have been trying to buy as little as possible but the very first world problem has been other people insisting on buying things for the baby. I have had to fend off well intentioned gifts of big things like play mats/snow suits/changing tables/baths/bouncers which I doubt we will use, and an currently trying to stem the tide of small clothes - despite telling grandparents that we have more than enough to get us past 6m, MIL insists on buying more in the sales. There are too many babygros in the world in my opinion.

[KongKickeroo]

Bloob it depends on your baby - mine screamed blue murder if anything had to go over his head, and was uncomfortable with waistbands (even soft stretchy ones) so sleepsuits were great. Also he was a winter baby so with sleepsuits I didn't have to bother with socks or separate scratch mitts (got integrated ones). But I guess it's another reason not to stock up on too much of any one thing until you meet your baby and get to know their likes and dislikes

[IneedAsockamnesty]

I preferred sleep suits because there easy to get on and off I found trousers to much faff. Never found poppers to be an issue (other than bhs ones as for some reason the poppers on those are a bit crap) there warm and comfy look cute and if you tend to get the ones in packs are so cheap that a poo explosion that stains resulting in item being binned does not feel like a waste.

[Bloob]

Can anyone explain why sleep suits are the holy grail of small baby clothing? I just don't get it! After 2dc I still think they are a MASSIVE faff! All those bloody poppers! And if they poo / are sick you have to change the whole thing! My preference was soft cotton tops and trousers - Preferably with feet. They were much quicker and easier to put on and also more sleep deprived mummy proof!

I loved our muslins and baby monitor. Both still in use now 4.6 years later! Dd uses the monitor to call us and I like to listen out when she's playing in her room. I also wouldn't feel comfortable about hearing them quickly if we've got the tv on or something. Also loved the bugaboo bee, still use now. I love that its easy to steer and you can have it parent facing. It's as light as a stroller though.
Changing table with ikea mobile over the top. Ds still loves it now at 18m! I Use it all the time!
Morrck baby hoody. Again still in use now with ds at 18 m. It's so useful!

Bottle warmer that dh insisted would be really useful - used once. Reusable nappies. Used for 6m never went back!
Baby bath - pointless, just use the main bath!

[NoComet]

Vests and snow suit, given a DD who screamed if one degree too warm both were useless. Despite her being born in January.

She never changed her mind about vests. DD2 got a lot of unworn ones, she did like for primary school.

[CrispyFB]

I never used any breastpads, but all my babies are sicky and I got through a ton of muslins as a result (and they also doubled as pads for the occasional leak on the other side in the early days too!)

Which is the exact opposite of several posters here

Such a minefield! I'm so glad this is DC4 and not only do I know exactly what we need now based on previous experiences and our preferences, we already have it..

[yellowsnownoteatwillyou]

Ilovekitty mei Thai slings are very comfy.

[JayneJam]

I'm pg with dc3 and have found muslins essential with all three.

Fab for leaky boobs, covering yourself while bf'ing, using as a sun shade in unexpected hot weather, as giant bibs while BLW and so on.

DD2 also used them as a comforter and wouldn't move or sleep without them.

I've bought a lot less this time round, for every baby the list of 'essentials' gets smaller and more refined to my needs. So nipple cream is an obvious buy this time, wheras I was clueless to the joys of nipple pain the first time round.

A bouncer with a vibrate function is essential in this house. Its somewhere safe to put the baby while I rush round in the mornings getting ready dd1 and dd2 ready for the school run. It also means I can grab five minutes to shower.

[Ilovekittyelise]

exactly thurlow. i think its the kind of over-zealous over-the-topness that a lot of new mums/mums to be throw themselves into.....this is a criticism of myself just as much as anyone else!!! although several yearson members of my nct group still behave like this