The WORST thing you bought for baby? (What can I cross off my list...?)

[PallasCat]

Really finding the 'best things' thread useful, but I'm equally keen to cross anything off the baby shopping list that I'm not actually going to use!

So what did you buy for your baby that you've since decided was not worth the cost/space/hassle?

I'm not so much looking for bashing of particular products, more guidance on which generic items you found unnecessary in the end.

Oh yeah, snowsuits, agree with that!

And hats for newborns. The ones that go with babygros. You'll get told off by every midwife you see!

Just thought of another one. Cot bumpers. They're dangerous. If you must, get breathable ones.

And yes, agree with cot mobiles. FGS you want the baby to sleep, not be entertained in there

Seconding the bottle warmer. Often made the milk too hot then I'd have to cool it down again...at 3am...with baby under arm...and sleep still in the eyes.

A Chico rocking swing. The kid hated it. Ugh. Took forever to resell on eBay.

The nappy bin. £13.00 for the refills and my kid crapped like no ones business.

Baby bath to much faffing easier to put them in the big bath.

Swings-neither of mine are fussed.

Door bouncer. Our door frame is too high so DS was just suspended there slowly rotating in a totally hilarious way, his feet not touching the floor, confused expression on his face. By the time he was tall enough for feet to touch the floor, he was walking and then you're not supposed to use it anymore.

Baby booties, didn't stay on, no real need for them. Shoes for pre-walkers even more pointless.

Ugly 'practical' looking changing bags. Easier to just sling a couple of nappies and a pack of wipes in a normal handbag when you go out. I realised you don't actually need to cart around that much stuff for short trips out the house. Even now DS is a toddler I went out for a couple of hours and had a small bag which contains 2 nappies and 2 nappy sacks, one pack of wipes, 1 thin portable changing mat folded up small, my purse, keys, phone, small sippy cup and a tiny pack of raisins as a snack. Okay, when I write it down it sounds like a longer list than it looks when you see it packed but it all fits in a fairly small handbag.

(With a younger breastfeeding baby it would be the same list minus the sippy cup and raisins, but I'd bring along a muslin cloth.)

Pre-walker/cruiser shoes were really useful for us! DS has worn them for ages because he's cruised for months without actually walking.

A fancy travel system. In the early days it is handy to put the car seat on the chassis if popping in somewhere. But within a few months the car seat is too heavy to lift with the baby in it. The pram part was rarely used, unless walking from home, as it was so big to fit in the car and once baby was alert he wanted to see out round him and not be laying flat on his back. By 4/5 months you're using the buggy seat and the other bits are basically useless. The chassis is heavy and takes up so much boot space.
My mum got a stroller for about £100, DS is really comfy in it, it is super light and folds up really small. Just noticed it said 'suitable from birth', wish I'd realised that before shelling out £££!

A bumbo. Total waste of money IMO.

Other people rave about it though so get other opinions before you rule it out entirely.

Also expensive high chairs, the £15 IKEA one is the best I've come across and you can even buy an inflatable insert for it.

I use my baby bjorn nearly every day, handy for dog walking or nipping in somewhere like to pay for petrol, saves struggling with a car seat or baby in arms.

Babies rarely need really heavy clothes. You are generally going from house to car, or they'll be tucked up under a blanket in their pram. Maybe one snow suit type thing, but mainly stick to clothes you can layer.
Also blankets, people will buy you more than you'll ever need, it's a bit ridiculous!

Baby shoes, until he started crawling/cruising, they were just annoying useless objects that kept falling from his feet.

I didn't use a massive changing bag, just a normal back pack or handbag, but I know lots of people like to be more prepared for emergencies then me.

Never had a baby bath.

Love the bath thermometer though. I get in with DS quite often and I want the water as warm as possible for my own comfort and enjoyment.

I use the 'changing unit' (drawers with a mat on top) every day as well. Keeps them in one place for dressing once they start moving about.

Travel System - Wish I'd bought a City Mini instead. We ultimately ended up buying one.

Scratch mitts, booties, hats, bibs

Changing bag - second the idea of a small pouch.

I loved our nappy bin though - we got an Ubbi bind, smell contained, takes regular cheapo bin bags, and saved the trek up and down to the bin (our house is tall and narrow).

Bouncer / rocker chair thing - I'd borrow one first if possible, some babies love them, but ours loathed it.

Baby bath has had a second lease of life when filled with ice and beer for BBQs so we got our money's worth in the end.

Oh and those very soft mittens that you can find everywhere. Useless stuff, if you don't want them to scratch themselves, keep the nails short.

I love my changing table and bath thermometer but that said the latter has broken now and dd has survived bath time since without being scalded.

3 months in I have never used scratch mittens and baby coats are a f**ng faff and a half.

I've also never use cotton wool. I used reusable wipes/water wipes from birth and bought some cheap flannels to top and tail baby.

Nappy bag - all you need is a rucksack. Vibrating chair (although we were actually given it) - both babies were ambivelent to it and just as happy in the basic bouncy chair (which cost a fiver). Baby bath. That thing was a millstone.

And although this is a don't-get list, can I advocate a couple of £5 bouncy chairs? One upstairs, one down. Best to always have a safe place to fling a baby nearby in my experience!

Hooded towels, baby bath, cot mobile, any stuffed toy (you'll get given millions, all but one or two of which will be ignored) - all pointless.

A Baby Bjorn is pointless, but a decent sling is an absolute godsend, and may even render a pram pointless.

In our particular case a cot was pointless, as neither of mine would sleep in it, and bottles in general, in addition to the bottle warmer, were pointless. DS1 refused them completely and with DS2 I just gave him a sippy cup from four months.

In hindsight, I'd have bought some babygros, nappies and a wrap sling for DC1, then nothing more until he was born then I could work out what else I actually needed rather than being guilt-tripped into all the useless crap baby shops try to push on you.

I couldn't have managed without my changing unit. It really saved my back. I agree with baby baths and bottle warmers being useless. Snowsuit will depend on how much you are outside. I would be out for hours with DC in a pram in the winter so snowsuits were well used!

Scratch mitts & booties. They never stay on!

We did use snowsuits but both dcs were winter babies born in cold, snowy winters and we walk a lot. I think they were passed on/given to us though.

In fact, loads of stuff was given to us, so what we didn't use was not really wasted.

Moses baskets- both mine just slept badly in them and ended up in cots by 4 weeks perfectly happy.
Baby bath
Nappy bin - just use a bin and take out each day

Moses basket , DD despised it
Scratch mitts just get the baby gros with them
Bottle warmer

Loved my changing unit with inbuilt bath and my nappy bin

Nappy bin, lots of outfits and expensive travel system - for 2nd child we bought a from birth simple buggy.

I loved my nursing chair, it was unbelievably comfortable and great for rocking DD to sleep. I didn't pay £170 for it though. I got it for £35 on eBay!

Likewise we also used sleep suits with built in scratch mitts - I agree that most scratch mitts are rubbish (and one always get lost when you wash them) but DD was a nighttime ninja and managed to scratch her face all the time no matter how short we kept her nails.

I barely used my muslins, but I think I'm in the minority with that.

Fucking cot that she's never come close to sleeping a full night in and has never ever napped in.

Bottles and dummies of every imaginable variety - if it wasn't my nipple it was POISON, poison I tell you.

Baby bjorn carrier - uncomfortable for me,she screamed the place down in it. There are loads of brilliant slings and wraps out there but the (unfathomably successful) baby bjorn isn't one of them.

I love the nappy bin for when we use disposables and have two tripp trapp table top trays - they are fab! Means our nice kitchen table stays, well, nice...

Never used snow suits here either.

Pretty basket container for the baby stuff - ended up buying a more practical plastic one.

Changing bags with matching mats - you just need a fold up mat and a sensible bag.

Push chairs and prams - ended up with 5 - none of them did the job right in all situations (one of the perils of having a single, then twins). So they weren't a waste of money in that I needed different ones for different reasons at different times and even the one I gave up on early came in useful later

I used snow suits a lot for the twins - put them on over their pyjamas to take DS to playgroup, then got them dressed afterwards.

Baby bouncer - was lent one, thankfully. Used it about twice.

Towels with hoods in the corner that got too small too quickly and the hoods in the corners were no good anyway. I thought they were particularly cute. Normal size towel is fine.

mixed feelings about baby baths - they were useful when they were too small for the bath in a very inconvenient way.

With a pukey long slim baby I'd say change bag is a definite no - I just use (fill) a rucksack with a change of clothes for both. Several nappies also crucial (fussy madam). DH likes baby bjorn, I don't - have close caboo. Have not used travel system - just use car seat and sling. Moses basket good for us, change on floor. Also love vibrating bouncy chair.

Tbf most borrowed rather than bought and pretty minimalist so far. (Or disorganised/tight)