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.

Sangenic Nappy Wrapper. It seemed like a good idea whilst brain was addled with pregnancy hormones but the fake perfume it gave off was boak-making.
I did get good use out of the top and tail bowl though. It's still in use, actually, 13 years on from ds1 and nearly 7 years from ds3: it's our sick bowl for vomitous emergencies.
As a point of interest which I've only just remembered, it was bought for ds1 by the person who played the baby in the On The Buses film (as a grown-up obviously). Claim to fame!

Baby monitors-a fortune and my ears and intuition did a better job. Never even plugged them in! X

Just a few inspired by previous posts- nappy bin, baby bath, changing station, cot mobile, bootees, change bag.

The worst purchase for dd1 was a bottle warmer. Bought thinking it would be quicker and easier than boiling the kettle, such a waste of money! That was nearly ten years ago mind so maybe they are better now?

I was considering getting a Sangenic but after seeing the stories here I'm not so sure. We only have a small flat and I'm paranoid about it smelling of nappies! We do have a roof terrace that I could put a bin on I guess, so might do that instead.

A good use for baby lotion - removing hair dye off skin

ordered dungarees off h&m for DD(4mnths) and they had no poppers in nappy area , just a small zip at the back god knows how they're practical

Bottle warmers. What a waste of time, just boil a kettle and fill a flask, instant hot water. I nipped in Mothercare the other day, they were selling a machine that mixes formula - idea being that it mixes the powder with water hot enough to kill bacteria and then adds cold to get it drinkable temp. Lots of money. Or just do it yourself? Free.

I loved my wipe warmer! Friends in states sent it over. Had a winter baby and was great for night time dozy nappy changes...without it the wipes were freezing!

baby lotions/oil/shampoo etc babys dont need it
nappy bin waste of space

Bottle warmer....never used
Baby humidifier thingy used twice then Ebayed

Numnum the perfect prep formula machine is really popular because making formula according to current guidelines (one bottle at a time, 70 degree water) is such a faff. If I ff I would almost certainly have bought one.

The bottle warmer, on the other hand, got sent back, and we have away our tommee tippee microwave steriliser in favour of one that can be used as
a cold water steriliser as well, which is what we do.

I'm the only mum in the UK that doesn't mind the babygros from France with poppers on the back, although they're not as nice as the ones with zippers.

A friend gave us an expensive feeding pillow that I've never used. I did use the pregnancy pillow I already had for feeding in bed, but if I didn't already have it I wouldn't have bought anything. Like almost all bf supplies, I think mums should wait until after baby is born and feeding established.

I wish we'd spent less on the pram and more on slings. (A soft one for the house and maybe an ergo carrier for DH and I both to use).

Snow suits and hats. Baby is either in the car or in a sling so has already grown out of the one we were given.

And only at 6 months will he wear a hat grudgingly.

Things I wouldn't have been without, sock ons, cot monitor, Muslins, bean bag, and steriliser.

Not got a baby yet but I can already add:

What to expect book - full of negative dross which either becomes apparent as you suffer from the affliction, or all the info exists already on the Internet.

Maternity pillow. Hate it. Pack of cheap pillows from Asda are more flexible and are more helpful.

A baby bath. The normal bath was just fine.
A breast pump. I formula fed.
A changing station. Pointless.
Bath thermometer. No, that's what elbows were made for!

On the other hand, the bedside bottlewarmer I bought was invaluable for night-time feeds and I've no idea how I'd have managed without it. We were at the top of a three storey house, the kitchen on the ground floor.

Tummy tub. We used it twice outside when it was hot over the summer, but at bath time we just always got in with him in a full bath of water- he loved to be "floated" in it and he got lots of lovely skin to skin time. So much more fun for all 3 of us.

Baby shoes- given so many as gifts. His monster feet won't fit in a single pair now and he is only 7 months old so still a long way from needing any shoes.

1st baby... All the paraphernalia, changing bags with compartments and shit.
2nd baby, shove a nappy in handbag with a pack of wipes and you're good to go.

I'd also say the sangenic nappies bin and the munchkin feeder later on. YY to the piles of baby shoes so kindly given as gifts but just never used.

Best buys were the Lamaze space themed playmat and Aden & Anais swaddles.

The father

Oh, and any form of cot mobile- too far away for them to see it when they are tiny, and too tempting to try to haul into the crib once they are bigger.

Reusable nappies

I used them dilingently, but reluctantly with DD1 until I bought a pack of disposables to take on holiday when she was seven months old and never looked back

Baby bath, Moses basket. Luckily they were given to us! Oh and cotton wool, ridiculous.

Fitted sheets for moses basket, just use pillow cases instead, much cheaper and fit perfectly.

and loads of sheets. My child simply doesn't leak. On the upside the BEST thing ever for any style of weaning is a hand held Dyson.