Useless baby-related equipment

[Umberta]

This is a light-hearted thread... just want to ask for examples of things you don't recommend that parents buy!

My DH and I are slightly worried that in trying to be prepared, we will fill the house with useless junk before our baby is born, and then never use it haha. So I'm consulting the collective wisdom of MN

Eg an ex colleague received a "baby wipe warmer machine" as a gift and hardly ever used it, turns out cold wet wipes are fine 😂

...there's so much you guys have mentioned that I hadn't even heard of before but I'm going to go look up 🥰 thank goodness for mumsnet... like the baby bath sponge thingy! And many more! I'm so grateful for MN! 🥰

YY to Shnuggle or Angelcare bath support - get no other bath products but these two. (One or the other).

I loved my baby bath they now use it to play outside and bath their dolls and the poor dog in in the summer,
Top and tail bowls are pathetic and gimmicky
I also bought and used and loved flannels and didn’t use cotton wool much at all
I used an angelcare breathing monitor with my first two not my third as he never went in a cot but doing them useful.
Changing unit is dangerous imo

A basic bouncer chair is great

I actually loved the bumbo seats and all three of mine did, they came in really handy.

Definitely no fancy outfits. By the time you get them in one they’ve either done a wee a poo or been sick on them.

It depends on your lifestyle.
Changing table- used all the time when I lived in a flat, but wasn't so useful when we moved to a house and did nappy changes in multiple places
Nappy bin (although it was just a normal bin, nothing fancy) again useful when I lived in a flat, but when we moved into a house they went straight outside to the bin
Baby bath- used loads with DD1 as we didn't want to fill a massive bath for one baby. Didn't use with DD2 as they went in together normally
Big pram- we walked a few miles a day. We needed something good.

We didn't use...

• cloth nappies- they always leaked
• any bottle feeding stuff, they both refused
• DD2 refused spoon feeding, so stuff related to that- but the baby food blender has come in very useful for making marinades over the years.
• decorating a 'nursery'. They shared with us

I've been wondering this about 'cellular blankets' - necessary? Or are the knitted /fleece etc ones we already have fine? ( I know you shouldn't use duvets). Vaguely planning to use sleeping bags mostly anyway as seem handier.

I used cellular blankets when she was too small for the smallest sleeping bags. They are breathable so prevent overheating. I really liked them

Baby bath is the one that always seems to come up, however I had a C Section and our changing table with a built in bath was honestly a life saver. There's no way I could have managed bending over the bath or sitting on the bathroom floor whilst I was recovering.

As a PP mentioned its all incredibly personal.

Things I found useless were:
-Jungle gym/play mat thing - my DS just wasn't interested and screamed. He preferred his electric rocker swing
-Body pillow
-Muslins
-Teething toys

• baby blankets
• baby shoes

The absolute best thing we had was the changing table (if you have space) and the jumperoo

Such useful ideas thank you guys! I've been enjoying browsing Amazon especially for some things I'd never heard of before! Definitely taking on board the advice not to buy until it seems we need something, but research and wish list it ready for if we decide we need it. 💙

Pram/pushchair - I know most people wouldn't be without one, but I hated mine. Baby just screamed so I always ended going home holding baby in one arm and pushing empty pram with other. Kept trying every so often with first DC, but for me a sling always worked much better.

Snow suet - was given loads but never worked out when I was meant to use them. can't wear in car, and baby would probably get colder while you put them in it the just bundling them in a blanket and taking them inside. Didn't wear in sling as they are under your coat anyway. And if we were using pram, always had blankets and cosy toes instead.

Moses basket - depends on size of baby but DC1 outgrew it by 8 weeks. DC2 went straight into full sized cot with no problem.

Changing table.. Save the cash and have a change matt on top of their chest of drawers.

Baby bath, baby sponges etc

Baby wardrobe.. There are more important things in life than spending hours neatly hanging outfits that they'll have on for all of 5mins.

Mittens of any sort, just get vests and sleep suits from M&S or next which have them built in.

Anything that does up round the back