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.

[reni2]

Dummy thermometer, bath thermometer. Clothes that are fiddly (slim arms, tight head-holes, non-popper buttons...). Nappy twister bin. Shoes before walking. Baby duvet (used sleeping bags until aged 2).

[ACatCalledFang]

We didn't go mad before DS was born (now 7 weeks) but have been given an awful lot of things, both gifts and hand-me-downs.

Least useful for us:

-Baby coat. Worn once. DS seems much more comfortable with a cardigan and blanket under his newborn cocoon. I have a feeling I may soon be saying the same about the snowsuit I bought in 3-6 months size...

-Newborn outfits - sleepsuits are so much easier.

• Booties and scratch mitts. Little Mr Bigfoot has long thin feet and never fit newborn booties (given as gifts). He's already busting out of size 0-6 months socks! The only scratch mitts which stay on are the kind which are elasticated.
  

• We bought almost all his newborn clothes (and some 0-3/3-6 months clothes like snowsuit, coat, etc) on eBay. No regrets, especially as we cut the feet off most of the sleepsuits early on due to an unexpectedly long baby!
  

Since he was born, we've bought bottles, a breast pump and dummies (ended up combination feeding due to weight issues).

Best buys for us: co-sleeper crib, changing table (with shelves, not drawers, for ease of grabbing stuff), baby sleeping bags with zips at bottom rather than poppers, bibs and muslins x lots, bouncer.

[zen1]

Yup, agree with nappy wrapper bin. Just gross! However, as someone who doesn't drive and walked and bussed everywhere, we got good use out of snowsuits and all 3 of my DC lived in them in their buggies in winter months. I can see the irritation if your baby travels by car most of the time though.

Also, bumbo was pretty useless. My 3 month old got stuck in it once (legs too chubby) and I had to wrestle him out by holding the bumbo between my knees and yanking. Didn't put him in it after that!

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Zen - I didn't drive often with DD1 or 2. But I had a buggy cosy thing and I still never understood snow suits. I never worked out what you were meant to do when you arrived somewhere nice and warm and the baby had fallen asleep in their snowsuit

[DisneyMillie]

Agree with all the comments on smelly nappy bin - yuck.

Also dresses - I got bought a very beautiful but completely not practical dry clean only dress for DD at 3 months - no way was I paying to clean it - she wore it once.

[Runningupthathill82]

I used snowsuits all the time - winter baby who spent most of his time being carried around in the hills. Totally depends on your lifestyle though!

[wtffgs]

Bumbos only work for chunkier babies (DC2), slender ones (DC1) don't have the width.

Moses basket - waste of space. Door bouncer - cranial injury anyone? Cat nets - have they been banned? All those cords are not great!

Get it all second hand bar the cot mattress - Gumtree, NCT sales etc.

[zen1]

Libraries, I wrapped mine in buggy snuggles as well (I feel the cold, so I hated the thought that they would!). My DC either woke up as soon as the motion of pushing the buggy stopped (so no issue in removing snowsuits), or were so sound asleep, I could remove the snowsuit and lay them on a rug on the floor to carry on their snooze. (I always had snowsuits that fastened right to the feet though, so easy to undo and remove without causing too much hassle to baby)

[AngelBlue12]

I love my changing unit :) Wish I'd got one before baby number 5!

[timealone]

Bumbo definitely, but lots of these are available second hand so its not necessary to spend a lot. Also clothes for the first 5 months, they are much better in sleepsuits when they are all scrunched up. T-shirts under 1-year old a bit pointless if you are using vests as well - once it's warm enough to wear the T-shirt it's too warm to have the two layers! Better to use rompers or vest+shorts.

I didn't have a baby bath. I do have a changing unit though and have always used it (DS now 14 months).

My best buys were a bouncy chair, jumperoo and door bouncer.

[BeeMyBaby]

Like others have said - baby bjorn, really uncomfortable and there when I used a moby then a mai tai for dd2 I finally understood why people enjoy baby wearing.

Hooded towels

Clothes other than baby Gros or vests prior to 3 months old- far too much faff particularly when they are still all curled up the month or so after birth.

[LibrariesGaveUsP0wer]

Zen - ah I see. Isn't it funny how you can have the same lifestyle and yet find different products useful. A good reminder in not going mad in advance.

[MrsHenryCrawford]

One of those squeezy things that are meant to suck the snot out of the baby's nose. Useless.

[KatharinaRosalie]

oh god the dresses for non-walking babies. I have been given so many really gorgeous ones. But they are just the least practical item ever. Bunch up under her back when she's laying down, bunch up in the carseat and I'm not even talking about sling.

And non-walking/cruising babies don't really need shoes, no matter how cute.

[jessplussomeonenew]

The thing is that pretty much everything (except car seat, nappies and basic clothes) you can manage without, so I suggest not getting much to start out with and then working out what would make your life easier. Everyone's different - the baby bath was great for us as filling the big bath takes too long and uses too much water to do every night. When my husband started doing occasional middle of the night feeds we picked up a second hand bottle warmer that was great because it meant he didn't have to go downstairs. You'll also get given loads of stuff.

Some things seem fairly consistent on these posts, e.g. babygros with foldover cuffs are much better than scratch mitts. I'd definitely say get a stretchy wrap as having two free hands and a baby who's happy because they're close to you is a sanity-saver in the early days!

[Redberrypie]

Snot remover as mentioned above, useless.
I had a big stock of baby shampoo, hairbrushes etc. Ds was completely bald until aged 3!
Fancy monitor, so long as you can hear them, don't bother. We didn't use any of the other functions ever.
Baby swing, vibrating bouncer and Moses basket all detested by ds.

However he did love his bumbo.

[ppandj]

1.Scratch mitts totally annoying

1. Booties/socks also annoying (used sleepsuits with feet and built in mitts)
2. Obaby vibrating chair - DS hated it
3. Lindam door bouncer - not bouncy enough, DS just hangs from the door frame! Jumperoo is more space consuming but far more useful.
4. Moses basket

[CityDweller]

This is the snot remover to get. It's brilliant, and satisfyingly gross.

[scarednoob]

Work bought our monitor as a gift and got the all singing all dancing one that you can start playing music through and other fancy feature. I'm a Luddite and will never work it; OH thinks it's brilliant.

After it arrived, I was feeding DD on the bed one evening, when a hoarse voice came from the corner of the room.

"I can see your nipples," it said.

Men!

[carbolicsoaprocked]

Going against the grain on a few things here too!

• We found scratch mitts good - found it so tricky to cut his teeny tiny nails and he clawed his face day and night. We folded over the elasticated bit to keep them on.
  
• Chest of drawers had changing table on top but never used it as floor was safer. Can see the point though if you've had a c-section.
  
• Baby bath was useful as even though he was a big baby he didn't like the big bath for the 1st couple of months, he loved bathtime in the baby bath though. We bought this bath support and it's been great.
  
• Bottle warmer was used only twice.
  
• I love our travel system, DS used the carrycot to sleep in downstairs (he grew out of it at about 4 months, but he's tall) and we walk for about 2-3 hours everyday, so have had a lot of use of it! The carrycot is approved for overnight sleeping (Silver Cross Wayfarer) so was great for going to PILs as he was used to sleeping in it.
  
• Agree with baby coats, woolly cardigans much better.
  
• We live in a cold, windy coastal town so snowsuits are great, but get the ones with the 2 zips right down the front, no problem getting them in or out.
  
• DS hated vibrating bouncy chair at the start but we tried it again at about 1 month old, it was then a Godsend, slept so well in it! He didn't like the arm over it with toys, was fine when we removed it. Now he's big enough to like the toys he prefers it with the arm on.
  
• Bibs with plastic backing - worse than pointless - puke just runs right off them
  
• Bibs with velcro instead of poppers - the velcro collects fluff and stops working after 3 washes. M&S do nice ones with terry backing, poppers, good size and decent price!
  
• Don't get too many blankets, grobags much better and safer when baby big enough.

[NewBallsPlease00]

Top and tail bowl hahaha wipes second time round or bath (in sink...not baby bath)
Bottle warmer was given one by someone who never used theirs which I passed on unused too
However disagree with snow suits thought they were great, and used loads

[chipmonkey]

Breast milk can't be microwaved and when I expressed for ds1 we had a really good bottle warmer which worked faster than the kettle. The only thing about it was that it took 5ml of water to heat a bottle. A teaspoon. NO-ONE ever listened to me on that. MIL when she looked after s4 and SIL, when she used it to warm her dd's bottle insisted on putting a cup of water in it. Used to drive me nuts because they would say it took ages. Er, no, if you put a teaspoon of water in it takes two minutes. It was made by Bruin.

I used the top and tail bowl to put things in to organise them. I only discovered afterwards that it was supposed to be for washing the baby.

My Mama's and Papa's changing table was lovely, Solid, sturdy and the right height. I only wished we had got it when I had ds1 becausee the two rubbishy ones we had in between were a total waste of money.

Travel system. Get a Maclaren and save your money!

[MagickPants]

Hooded towels?! Useless?! They are designed for adorable photo opportunities! What is wrong with you?

Also: bumbos. I think there was something about them being bad for babies' backs or bums or something, so take this with a pinch of salt (I found out too late so any damage to my dd is done) - but I found it really useful for dd2 because dd1 who was 2 at the time wanted to be so busy. It was a really good way for dd2 to be propped up and able to see / feel part of the action and it meant I could put her on surfaces that would have been completely unsuitable otherwise while she was still very little. It felt like we could go anywhere, without having to hold the baby all the time. We also used it in pizza express and similar when she was too little for their very open unstructured high chairs. she was too little to eat the pizza but she loved being at the table with us and looking around and I had two hands to eat.

If you think it might be useful, once the baby is at that point, get a second hand one and if it doesn't work out you can give it away. they are very light to carry about in a bag hooked onto the pushchair handle

[reni2]

MagickPants- that is truly the only use for hooded towels and we probably all have the EXACT same 2 pictures. Lying on back wrapped up as newborn, then sitting up in said towel looking over shoulder at later babyhood. And since babies do all look a little bit similar, we can just stick these on mn so everybody can download a baby pic of a similarly aged kid of the same ethnicity and glue it into their album, done. Hooded towel sales collapse.

[reni2]

Breast milk can't be microwaved? And you're telling me now? It's years too late, how much will I have damaged them, aargh! Still, they lived even though I did microwave the breast milk.