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.

My hugely expensive travel system from Mamas and Papas - waste of £800 - I gave it away and the person I gave it to thought it was shit too! In fact anything I bought from mamas and papas - especially the nursery furniture! And the sling I bought, hate slings.

Best buy was my monitor, was fab in a 3 storey house and the fisher price swing that I was given by some kind friends, saved our lives with DD1 in the evenings!

Bibs. We got given 3 multipacks of bibs and have been trying to give them away ever since.
Invariably no matter how artfully you arrange the bib the baby will vomit/drool elsewhere - so the bib is just another pointless thing to launder which the baby tears off its neck anyway.

Baby bath,moses basket,and (back in the dark ages) baby walkers nowadays its those and those thin material squares.

polyethyl bibs used to be very useful items when mush and spoon feeding was the norm for mealtimes but these days are a bit redundant.

Angelcare baby monitor
More than a couple of muslins - bought tonnes on MN advice
Tummy tub
Weaning bag thing that just looks horrible and mouldy after one use
Dummies

sock- Yes! Muslins- I was just gonna say that!

Also: Thermometers. I had a thermometer next to the cot and a little chart to tell me how many blankets were needed for different room temperatures. Ridiculous. Having a baby doesn't deplete your ability to tell when its got a bit chilly or destroy your common sense.

Out of the list so far. I have found useful-

Moses Basket- DS was tiny. We used this for 6 months
Things with hoods- An invaluable 2nd line of defense against pulling the hat off. DS wears a hoody everyday.
Baby Shoes- Not necessary if your going the babygrow route. But I found shoes good for keeping socks on and feet warm, especially in a baby carrier when his legs were dangling.

Yes, agree with Athrawes - handheld dyson in wonderful!

Useless - breast pads, top and tail bowl, baby shoes, baby socks, anything with buttons (seriously..WHY!?), tommy tippee bottle warmer, tommy tippee bottles (so badly designed), Johnson's baby lotion and baby oil (baby oil?! Just why? When? )

Brilliant - Baby Bjorn bouncer, moses basket (DD was in it until 6 months old), muslins (brilliant for sooo many things), baby monitor (not for the sound, for the video screen!) Dr Brown bottles (stopped reflux overnight)

Due 2nd baby. Have bought nothing. Agree this baby will have a nappy whacked in handbag alongside bag of wipes and we'll be good to go

Pretty much all clothes except babygrows for the first 6 months at least. We didn't buy any but were given loads. Apart from the odd cardigan we didn't use anything.

purplebaubles Why are Tommytippee bottles badly designed? I ask because DS was a bottle refusenik. Ours were Tommytippee.

I found several of these things invaluable - muslins with DS1 who would posset/ be sick frequently. So useful for mopping up baby-related bodily fluids, popping over your shoulder when holding baby etc. Didn't use so much with DS2 as he was rarely sick.

I got through stacks of breastpads - used to leak milk a lot - even when my supply 'settled down'. I had to wear them until both babies were a year old...

Sling was a godsend - settling for the baby and saved my sanity and back!

However, baby baths and top and tail bowls were a waste, as was the nappy disposal thing. Easier to just bag them and sling them in the outside bin. Tried to get along with washable nappies both times, failed both times. Will not be trying for a third time (sorry, environment)

Baby oil and lotion also a waste - most of the products made by the company who do the most obvious brand of these are pretty bad for babies' skin, so will not be buying them this time round - fell hook, line and sinker for all the marketing guff and freebies from them in Bounty packs in previous pregnancies.

New baby clothes which aren't really easy to get on/ off - was given quite a few and the tags never came off most of them

dash They just were for my DD, could be fine for other babies!

But basically, the way the teat is on them, when the baby is sucking, their whole face gets covered by the entire rubber base of the teat. Basically giving them no room to breathe!

She literally changed overnight on Dr Browns (was recommended on here actually!) and immediately was much happier.

We now cringe when we see little babies with Tommy Shittee Tippee bottles!

(although, TT bottles with a lid are FANTASTIC for making the milk up in, shake and then put into the Dr Browns! As you can't shake to mix in a Dr Brown's bottle!)

Thanks purple

its too late now, for my hulking 18 month old. But good to bear in mind for next time

Baby lotion. And cotton wool. 2 years in and I still don't have a clue what they are for.

Out least useful purchase was the baby bouncer. Everyone said you HAVE to have one but we rarely used it. Not sure why people pay a hundred quid for the Baby Bjorn ones.

And ditto the travel system. I can't recommend enough to people to not spend so much on one, almost everyone I know had swapped to an umbrella stroller by the end of the first year.

Scratch mittens - did not stay on.
Shoes - she's never needed to wear a pair yet and she's 9 months
Any clothes that weren't a bog standard vest or baby grow for the first 3 months at least. Why make it difficult for yourself?

Oh I just thought of another one - baby socks. I should clarify - they always fell off, with the exception of Baby Gap ones. However I see that now they do those little things you put over baby's socks to hold them on. Don't think they had those when mine were little!

Some of the waste of time things are useful in conjunction with other waste of time things.
E.G: Baby shoes keep baby socks on

Thurlow Cotton Wool! Still got a massive bag. Whats it for?

Hooded baby towels. Pointless.
Special changing table/unit. Just use a cheapo may on the floor or on top of drawers. In fact any 'nursery' furniture apart from something to sleep in.

Moses basket.

He'd grown out of it by 4 weeks. (big baby!)

Useless items - baby hats (ds had a full head of hair), scratch mits (never stay on), baby oil (what the hell is it for??)
Oh and the 3 baby cribs/Moses baskets I tried to get him to sleep in. He hated them all, thank God they were hand me downs. He ended up sleeping between me and dp. And then went straight into a cot in his own room at 11 months.

Things I couldn't live without - bumbo, baby gym, muslins, breast pads and sock ons.

A buggy board - makes pushing a buggy insanely uncomfortable. Also a sling - I always thought I would find it useful but hated both of them.

I love muslins and snow suits and find those silicon spoons very handy!

Cotton wool. Never used it much. Used wet wipes or flannels. Same for baby lotion.

Agree with everyone who's said baby clothes with buttons on.
The three snow suits my mother insisted on buying and never used.
Baby monitor. We were in a one bedroom flat, did have fun freaking the cats out though.
I used one muslin once, as a duster.
Breast pads, even though I breast fed. Must not be leaky!
Maternity paper pants, got huge primark ones as recommended by mumsnet!

Also, used baby lotion for taking my make up off.