What did you find a waste of money?

[BabyMadwithBump]

Just wondered what you find a waste of money and will not be buying this time round!? Could be items that were for the baby or you, before baby (PG) and after!

I agree with the following being a waste of money...

Baby bath, you can get a little seat to put in the big bath to put them in which gives you extra hands to wash with.

Baby carrier, bought one, tried to use it once, never again, will be getting a sling this time round.

Bumbo, luckily never bought one but tried ds in a friends, utterly useless for him.

Cot bumper - didn't fit the cotbed I bought properly, so it just hangs on the wall as decorations as I threw all the packaging away.

A changing bag that had pockets for everything, what a pain to use and not actually that much space to work with, just get a nice big bag to throw everything in.

Bottle warmer - I actually breastfed for the first 5 months but then used the microwave, much quicker and perfectly ok if you shake it well enough.

Ditto about Mothercare bras, ugly and unflattering. I went and bought a couple of really good ones from John Lewis too, and I wore and wore them.

Also talc, far too messy and not needed.

OTOH I have used and used the chair I bought for ds's room to feed him in, depends on your set up though. Also use the travel high seat (that fits on a dining chair) mainly because it has a tray with it and ds gets to feed himself quite happily wherever we are, (can't reach a table when they are under two very easily)

ooooh changing bags universally hopeless!

Why would i want something a) that big b) that pricey c) that ugly d)shoulder bag that'll unbalance me as i juggle dc and buggy!

i found and am finding the bumbo invaluable although i agree they are expensive.

My DD loves her bumbo but at 20lbs and in real nappies, it's a bit of a squeeze now. So I agree they are overpriced.

Top and tail bowls are the dogs biscuits for the cats water though.

Oh where do I begin? (ex precious first born mum here )

-"mum to be" pack of labour oil, face mist, bath salts, etc. In the heat of labour, none of the little jars, tins, bags were opened and later found them taking up space in my wardrobe. What an idealist I was!!

-bumbo. Used it once then DS ejected himself and refused to sit again in it. Ever. Best buy: Ikea Antelop highchair. Cheap, modern, lightweight, suited DS 6mo till now.

-avent super pack of bottles, warmer, steriliser, cups, caps, teat pincers (WTF??) etc etc. I never used 80% of the stuff that came with it and DS rejected the Avent teats anyway so it was all a giant waste. Agree microwave instead of bottle warmer and dishwasher instead of steriliser!!

-blankets. DS would not be swaddled and still kicks them off at 1yr old. Enter the glorious grobag...!!!

-Annabel Karmel cookbook. Tried some recipes but DS preferred jars. Me too, must admit.

-Hand blender. FFS. Like I needed more plastic bits to wash...

-cheap pajamas or socks. They shrink and/or fall apart and/or feel horrible. Buy quality for things that you need to wash or wear often! (Gap socks are my fave, grobag sleepsuits)

Other best buys: baby gym, play nest, vtech walker

Grobags - my best buy. Ds is 20 mths and still sleeps in his every night. Swaddled him till he was 6 months, he loves it.

tinkerbell - agree! i meant to ask that, how you get a cloth nappy into one!
ds2 is 20lbs andincloth. he has managed to pop himself out a few times this week! being 20lbs though he doesnt seem to feel it! lol
if i put him in a slim tie-on or something i can squish him down in far enough! lol

nappy wrapper!! never used it once it is stuck in loft! someone bought it for me and the thought of keeping smelly nappies in the house was yuk! they went straight outside!

LOTF - I think they should make a 'big bumbo' for larger tushies (one for six yr olds would be popular too

I have everything you could possibly need and more, but I find so many people ask the question, what do I need for my baby? ect? but I thought it would be easier to start with things that we've thought we needed brought them never used them and are now sitting in the cupboard somewhere. I found that my baby bath, mosses baskets and NEW born baby clothes were a waste of money due to the fact that my DS's were 8lb 4oz and 8lb 14oz, and the others thing I found a waste of money were them dam 4oz bottles never ever did they get used, But on the other hand some of the things mentioned were either a god send to me (changing bag I lived out of mined with DS#2 and a swing that really was a god send) or someone else so it swing in roundabouts LOL. With DS's I wish that I would have brought as little as possible kept the money a side and brought the things I needed as and when I need them IYSWIM.

Spent a ludicrous amount of money on an enormous donut-shaped beanbag when pg so I could lie on my stomach with ginormous bump. Once in, realised I couldn't get out...

bottle warmer - was convinced I needed one when we started giving ds one bottle a day as I assumed it must do something fancy with bottles - but they do nothing that a pan of boiling water doesn't do! Then when I got over myself I started just using the microwave when I discovered that modern ones don't cause hot spots and no idiot would give a baby a bottle without swirling it and testing the temperature.

Also a baby walker and baby swing which my ds hated and never used - but I guess thi sdepends on the baby

Just sitting here smiling about the Mothercare bras comments. I went to get measured for a maternity bra and normally being an F cup I was cringing what the size would be. Well imagine my surprise when the 'trained' fitter measured me as an A cup!! Needless to say I went else where!!!

Products I wouldn't buy again:

Top sheets & blankets - have basically used grobags all the way

Bottle warmer - the nights of my poor screaming baby waiting 20 minutes for the bottle to heat when the microwave does it in 20 secs flat!

I will be back with more

I agree with sheets and blankets - never really used them and don't buy shoes until they are walking.

Bumbo seem to be like baby walkers - they either love them or hate them - I got lots of use out of mine but many others seem to put them top of their most useless items lists.

Bumbo - DS just needed to arch his back and he was out of it! I will keep it to see if the next one gets more use out of it as it is clear from this thread that some find them very useful.

Getting measured for a bf bra when your milk has only just come in - they settle down and you are left with a bra that is too big! Next time I would buy one that is very adjustable - so it accommodates various sizes - as my boobs went up and down the cup sizes!

with regards the bumbo, ds1 never popped himself out but ds2 does - very odd!
and all you guys love grobags but ds1 hated not being able to move about very well ie: stand up in the morning and he gets hot and likes to be able to kickhis blanket off and ds2 even at 6 months still loves to be tightly swaddled for bed.

he looks like a little grub!

Grobags were no good for the first 6 months when DS was possiting all the time and needed night time nappy changes - just a pain then and he didn't wriggle under his blankets anyway. Since then and still (now just 2) they have been brilliant.

I never used my curved breast feeding pillow which i spent ages hunting down on the internet.

the mouli as recommended by Annabel Karmel was useless too - I did like her early weaning plan though so would recommend the book.

Any disposable breast pads other than lansinoh ones were useless

I still use my changing bag loads - maybe I need to cut down on kit

DS loved his mobile before it became a hazard

Have been thinking about this - love the thread:

scratch mits - just don't stay on - no point - I saw a baby grow with fold round arm ends though - they look good

For pregnancy:

acupuncture sessions for morning sickness (at £25 per week probably the waste of the most money)

the hypnosis for labour CD - although probably my fault for not listening to it regularly

I am suprised that noone has said that the baby monitor was a waste of money because it was the one thing we didn't buy for that very reason - could have done with it a few times in hotels but otherwise haven't missed it

I got a mountain of second hand baby stuff from a friend. She was clearing out her loft and gave me the lot. The following items are still in my loft and have never been used:

• nappy wrapper
• baby walker
• door bouncer
• frilly moses basket
• pram (only used until I was able to carry ds after cs)
• mountains of baby clothes
• seat with suckers for in the bath. Ds was really good at sitting quite early and went straight from baby bath (which I wouldn't have bought, but used since I was given one) to big bath

I'm sure there are others, but I would say that there is no definitive list of what is neccessary and what's not. There are a couple of things on this thread that I have got and have used loads. Are you referring to a Totseat type thing LadyoftheFlowers? I have one and have used it loads and loads. Also, the baby monitor is great in the summer. I can be in the garden when ds is napping, or after he is in bed and still be able to hear.

I'd forgotten about the flimsy AK mouli - that was used twice (max) and is now at the back of the cupboard! I don't like her weaning trays either. They are supposed to make it easier to pop out the puree because they are flexible but they bulge so it is actually more difficult! You can't put them in the dishwasher either.

agree that the bottle warmer was a total waste of money!

Argh, second hand prams, DH thought we'd save money by buying a second hand Quinny pram, but the hood kept popping off, so in the end I used a very cheap plastic buggy to push DS around town - so much lighter and easier to manoever (sp?!). Now we have to buy a whole new one for our next baby, at least that will have a guarantee on it. We never used: a nappy stacker thing, lots of clothes, a tummy tub bath (he took a bath with us), the grow-bags were useles after a few months as DS loved to stand and kept tripping in them, and various ugly plastic toys and teddys given by relations. Best buys were a baby bjorn, lots of very soft flannel sleep suits from M&S, a lamb skin for the pram, a gifted lovely wool blanket, lots of cheap small hand towels for wiping puke and laying the the sofa to change DS. Hope this helps!

Boppy

Baby Monitor

i had loads of stuff bought me that i didn't use, but lots that i did aswell. i have copied this from a thread that i posted on a few days ago.

WIPE CLEAN changing mat
crib - couldn't fit the big cot in my room
sling
baby gym/nest
pushchair with a carrycot. would have used the sling full time but have you tried trying on clothes with a newborn attached to you!!
cot bed
baby beanbag seat
push along walker
high chair
baby cutlery that changes colour when the right temperature
doidy cup
avent magic cup/tommee tippee easiflow cup/normal sippy cup but take valve out
insect net for cot/pram
travel sleeping bags with zip off arms
swaddle blankets
lots and lots of cot sheets and blankets
cot bumper (to stop baby getting stuck between bars!!)
dreamshow thingy
cot mobile
baby monitor with camera
respisense breathing monitor (but i am over cautious cos my brother died of SADs)
plug in night light
books - to tilt the cot when baby has a cold
sleepcurve mattress
vicks vaporiser
tomy aromatherapy soother - found this great for calming ds down before bed.
prince lionheart slumber bear
top and tail bowl
nappy stacker, cot tidy helps save space in drawers and wardrobes.
fisher price cot piano and various cot toys keep
my ds amused in the morning when i want to get things done upstairs
nice toy boxes you don't mind being on show in your living room
drawer tidy for keeping little socks and hats and gloves etc in
net for washing machine for above items
UV sun shade for pushchair and car seat
pram/car seat toys
cool bag for bottles and ice packs(an ordinary one will do)
electric breast pump
v cushion
bottle brush, rack for drying bottles on, silicone orthodontic variable flow teats
tiny scratch mitts
elasticated bootees so socks don't fall off
snow suits
large handbag for nappies, clothes, small toys etc (and don't forget the obligatory carrier bag for all the wet bibs and clothes you will collect)
vegetable steamer (but we had one already)
ear thermometer (i have the nurofen one that plays music)
comb if your baby has masses of hair like mine (i just use an ordinary one for 15p as opposed to some stupidly priced baby one. wouldn't bother with a brush as babies hair is generally too fine)
cotton wool
bath thermometer
bar of baby soap
baby shampoo

things i didn't bother with:

any other baby toiletries other than those mentioned above
matching nursery furniture and wallpaper. just buy ordinary chest of drawers, wardrobe, bedside table etc, paint the walls in whatever colour you fancy and buy accessories to make it look nice for a baby, then change accessories as child grows up - does anyone like decorating? much easier this way!!
pram/moses basket sheets - just use normal ones
anything that is meant to stick on to a high chair
blender - do baby led weaning
sun parasol
changing table
baby bath
bath support
moses basket
cat net
sun blinds for car
electric swing
baby walker, exersaucer, door bouncer, bouncy chair
play pen
stair gates
baby toiletry box
baby scissors
dummies
buying a standard sized cot - mine wriggled so much it wasn't big enough after a few months!

just realised how long this is .... whoops!