have you bought anything that was a waste of money

[pud1]

i am now 23 weeks and am having to start to think of all the things i will need and the cost. has any one got any tips on things they thought they would need but didnt. i feelt hat there are so many things that you could be fooled into buying.

I've not read all of this, but inspite of much dissing if changing tables...they are invaluable if you have had a section....no crawling on the floor for the first six weeks, or if you have back problems.

but in answer to the OP....

sratch mits.
tiny baby bibs
those little bootee things with cuffs...they just don't stay on
little feeding bottles, if you are FF....just get the big ones.
proper looking clothes...like jeans and skirts (i put a skirt on DD when she was 8 weeks and spent all day pulling it down from her armpits); babies need babygros or rompers or leggings and t-shirts.
definately those no-smell nappy bin things that make a sausage of dirty nappies. they are fine for a week or so, then they honk...very highly, and no amount of disinfecting will make them un-honk.

Would not advise a birth to potty pack of re-usables yet -instead try some of the sample packs to see which suits you (twinkle on the web are usually quite good).
I STILL use my top and tail bowl at 21/2 years! Never use baby wipes and have saved a fortune! Also still use expensive i'coo pushchair (lovely to push and DS very comfy) and only stopped using cctv monitor as I broke it! Great fun watching DS go off to sleep and much better than any TV!

baby towels, just use a normal one

Sainsbury's do 'Basics' white flannels for 20p each - they'd be great for wiping puke.

I would say do buy a pair of scratch mitts - how much do they cost? About a quid and some babies do scratch their faces to ribbons - one of mine did and I wouldn't have appreciated the stress of hunting round the shops to find some. You can always pass them on to someone else if you don't need them.

I had a nappy disposal bin and it was great till we moved on from breast milk only - then it STANK.

Baby baths might seem like a waste of time, but if you get a stand or otherwise buy one that sits on the top of the big bath then you will be doing your back a big favour. Baby baths make a great little paddling pool when they're older and you haven't got time to fill a big one! On that subject - use a raised surface for nappy changing, too, or you will knacker your back.

So... I would say just be wary of expensive gimmicks - if you spend a tenner on a baby bath and a pair of scratch mitts and you don't make much use of them it doesn't really matter, but why spend hundreds on a flash pushchair, cot, etc.

Haven't read the whole thread but here's my thoughts:

don't bother:

scratch mitts - John Lewis, among others, do babygros that have sort of fold-over ends to the sleeves that serve the same purpose, and won't fall off

crib - seems like such a waste of money. We used the carrycot bit of our travel system for the first 12 weeks or so and then into the cotbed

those tiny food processors - a stick blender is much more practical as the processors hardly fit any food in them, so preparing
stuff in bulk is a right faff

blankets - we were given kerjillions and have hardly used any, as both dss used grobags as soon as they were big enough. I'd get a couple of cellular blankets (useful for swaddling in first few weeks) and something fleecy for the buggy/pram. With ds2, I got a lovely flannelette sheet from the hospital and used that for swaddling

Useful:

For us, baby bath was essential as we only have a shower, no bath

sleeping bags

best toy was a cheap set of stacking plastic cups - ds1 is still playing with them and he'll be 2 in a couple of weeks - they can stack them, put them inside each other, pour things out of them in the bath and just look at them when tiny.

Gap socks stay on better than any others

something exciting for a laid-flat baby to look at (mobile, baby gym, rattly string across pram) can buy you 20 precious minutes to shower or dress from about 3wks.

I always bought babygros without feet - they last so much longer than the other sort. Probably nice to have 2 or 3 with feet for cold nights when baby kicks the covers off.

Essentials the second time round (DD2 is now 4 weeks old):

Moses basket or carrycot
top and tail bowl (any alternative is vile)
Lansinoh if planning to bf (you can use it as handcream if you give up)
thermos flask for boiled water, water for night-time changes, even to make yourself hot drinks)
20 muslins (use to pad changing mat, mop up, swaddle, etc.)
changing mat
across-the-body sling, e.g. Coorie
steriliser - if bf-ing you will need it for breast pump, little cup, containers, etc.)
MP3 player for when baby screams in your ear after feeding at 3AM...

Good stuff:

Bath seat for baby - they lie back in it - much easier than trying to hold tem.

Baby monitor with motion sensor - I was paranoid in the first few weeks about ds and could not sleep for worrying about him. This solved the problem - usefulness depends on personality though.

Baby grows

Sling to carry baby in whislt doing other things

Changing mat

Waste of money:

1. Nappy bin
2. Clothes other than baby grows
3. Loads of toys - dcs liked keys best
4. Baby bath
5. Muslin cloths - used maybe 2 and wondered what to do with the rest - get some but not too many until you work out whether you will use them or not.
6. Blankets - dcs slep in grow bags.

Not read the whole thread but thought I would throw my twopenn'orth in, with the caveat that my indispensibles have already appeared on other people's "waste of money" lists!

Indispensible:

Muslin squares
Moses basket (bedroom a bit small for a cot)
Baby bjorn sling (the old style one, used it for all four and lent it out in between,still going strong!)
Ikea flannels, cut into quarters and hemmed - great reusable wipes
Baby bouncer chair - got a very basic one and it does the trick!
Baby gym - ds2 loves it and I've got one that folds away when he is asleep which is a godsend

Useful:
Over the bath baby bath (had a bad back with ds1 so it meant no leaning over)
Pram (again, needed it when I had ds1 but have managed without this time; ds2 just been in a sling then will go into a stroller at 3 months)

Waste of money:
Proper clothes for 0-3m
Loads of blankets - take up so much space and really I only need a couple
Cot mobile - I want ds2 to go to sleep, not be stimulated! By the time he is old enough to be playing in his cot he will be old enough to grab and pull at a mobile, so a waste of money IMO. Better to have a mobile that hangs from the ceiling out of reach if you really want one

Liz79 ? you sound so like me I?m 27 weeks but have the same view on shopping around Christmas especially as I don?t start mat leave until 21/12. I?ve bought most of my family?s Christmas presents too and have ordered my Christmas cards hope you don?t have time to get bored

Am buying for dc4 atm, mainly because wore out most stuff with other 3! Finding I am a lot mroe suss about what I buy...

a Chico stroller from birth unit, under £100 on babies r us and compact- far more sensible than the structured pram we had;

no changing tbale, you can use the chest of drawers with baby clothes etc in- pop velcro on base of mat and top of table- voila! (Although we tend to use the floor)

Sleepsuits are best and easiest for forst weeks, so just lots of thsoe tbh

Nappies- Lidls are outstanding! (they're an expensive brand relabelled apparently- cant remember which). Loads of threads about them on here.

HAte hate hate moses abslkets- cat nearly knocked one over on stand once. We ahve a crib but carrycot is fine (as longa s you dont ahve boisterous children with SN as we do likely to step on the thing! hence the raised crib....)

Lots of pillows for feeding worth remembering if you are planning to BF, if nto obv bottles / sterilsier- I swear by the cold water variety, have melted too many microwave ones and with the heat ones you have to resterilsie once opened if you touch anything- cold water (miltons) you amke up once a day then just pop items in and retrieve randomly

Proper cot or crib size bedding good, as therwise you have to double over etc and that makes it fiddlier working out temps for baby

I personally like Baby Bjorn carriers, but there you go- still have our old one to use.

Oh abths- first few weeks I use the bathroom sink, after that I love those moulded bath seats that you just pop in the normal bath. HATE baby baths with a vengeance!

hug-a-bub (for getting jobs done, including washing up and going to the loo!)

blanket/quilt for baby to lie on

king-sizebed for mum and dad and baby

car seat and pram combo (for shopping)

cloth nappies (tots, motherease and flat terries), wraps, bucket with lid

breast pads, bravdo bra and washable cloth towels for post-partum bleeding!

baby sized towels with hoods

think i'll copy this list for my kids when they're older!!

oh, no that's a list of what i would buy - sorry

Spookybearisthespookybear - can you let me know where you got the very firm breastfeeding cushion? Also, can you breastfeed on the move without a cushion?

Thanks.

I've heard the Breast Mate is a great breast feeding cushion which straps on to you. I know you can get them in Mothercare but they are probably cheaper elsewhere

yes, it's called My Breast Friend - I couldn't function without mine!

I found bf cushion rubbish - am currently managing to bf as and when neccesary eg on park benches, while making breakfast, walking round Gap, in restaurants etc without any aid at all. Only problem was in a hotel that had those tub-shaped chais as there was nowere for my elbows.

a v-shaped pillow for sitting up feeding in bed, however, was indispensible

I need a cushion or similar to lift baby to my tiny norks- i think it depends a lot on your size / posture etc

Hi, just chucking in a thought, that there is simply loads of good quality second hand stuff to be had in charity shops (eg I just got a brand new Ergo baby carrier for £7.99 at Oxfam), boot sales, Mumsnet, ebay etc. If you know what you're after, you can find virtually all of it going cheap. Also, borrow, borrow, borrow. Nearly everything you need for a newborn will be finished with by six months (lots of things even sooner than that) so don't waste the pennies!

My must haves were: muslins, (borrowed) moses basket, baby bjorn bouncer (which lasts till they are two) sling (Wilkinet and now Ergo). You can make a perfectly decent pram blanket with a metre of fleece fabric - doesn't need a hem or anything as it doesn't fray. Oh, and I've just got into washable wipes (from babykind.co.uk) - much nicer to use than either cotton wool or wet wipes and you're going to be doing loads of washing anyway so won't notice a few extra of these. Washable breast pads are good too.

On feeding cushions, I didn't like the firm one which I had for DS1 - much preferred the soft one that NCT sell. Don't use it much now but v useful for first few months.

Oops written more than I thought I would!

Any other first timers started a spreadsheet noting down details of all of the above ?

Anymore advice on this?

also are those cot bumper things worth it?
or would they increase the chance of baby over heating?

the bars on a cot make me think that a baby could stick his/her arm or leg out when rolling around. or bump head on hard wood bars. iyswim.

Hee hee tyaca, I LOVE this thread - but this first timer is not organised enough to start a spreadsheet; just four big post-it notes (so far!) stuck together.

Essential - go to Nearly New Sales before buying anything new. Take dp/dh and a list.

We got a bargain baby bjorn active sling (£7.50) which was absolutely essential for us - dd had mild silent reflux and was much happier held upright so we ended up carrying her round loads - still use it regularly at 10 mths (she is a light little thing!).

Never had a baby monitor - never missed it.

Managed without a baby bath for 6 months (used the largish washbasin in our bathroom) - but ended up buying one (which we will be using for a while longer yet) as we didn't want to waste water filling up the big bath and she had outgrown the washbasin . Ikea do some good cheap baby basics of this type.

We had a second-hand travel system and used the carry-cot as her bed for the first 3 months than into the big cot.

For clothes just buy half a dozen plain white bodysuit and sleepsuits (e.g. Tesco - very cheap) to start plus something warmer for outdoors (we had a little fleece jacket with a hood plus a couple of cotton hats) - people buy loads of things which hardly get worn. Dd pretty much lived in sleepsuits for 3 months.

Grobags are superb - dd was a wriggler from the start and was big enough to go into them very quickly.