Baby items waste of money?

[Littlebean23]

First time mum with no idea 🙋‍♀️

On the back of a fantastic thread for essential items to buy, can I ask which items were a complete waste of money/bought but didn't use/to avoid?

For me Moses basket, she hated it
Think because her arms kept touching the side - she was very wriggly and was waking herself up then crying when she did. As soon as we went into her cot she slept so much better so this time I have a bigger style cot before her cot bed but I think Moses baskets are a wast of money but they look lovely!
Unless you have a smaller size baby

Didn't see the need for a nappy bin - won't her using this time

I prefer cold water sterliser to microwave
Found it too faffy and forgot to full water reservoir up once and it burned so when I got a cold water one for my baby niece who often stays with us I personally found it soooo much easier!

Anything for an easier life when you have a new born especially being a first time mum

I found they grow out of things really quick and had wasted clothes I couldn't return or sell as new as I washed it all! So this time I've bought very little and will buy as I go.

X

Oooh good thread! Looking forward to the replies since we're trying not to go overboard, especially in the beginning when we have no idea what the baby will like/dislike.

Anything where it's sold as a "baby x" but really is just a small version. Eg "baby towels" are often more expensive than just a regular small towel, which is all they are. A "baby jug" for bathtime is just an expensive plastic jug, buy a cheap basic one for pouring water, washing hair etc.

I also personally never found much use for a big changing bag. We now have a fold up changing mat that has a pocket for nappies, pocket for wipes, pocket for spare clothes, and has a handle when folded. It's small when folded and gets put in the bottom of the pram, and is much more convenient than the bigger one we had for DD1. (Caveat for this is that I'm breastfeeding so don't need to carry bottles around). Even if you want a bigger changing bag, I'd still recommend getting a regular bag/backpack with compartments rather than something sold specifically as a changing bag. It will be cheaper.

For everything that one person loves, someone else will hate 🤣 so this will probably have loads of the same stuff on it as that thread!

Unlike pp, I LOVED my moses basket - but DD was only 5lbs 12oz so we used it well up to 6months for her to sleep in downstairs. So worked well for us. I also liked our nappy bin - i find nappy bags dont hold the smell in as well.

I could never get on with our ergobaby aura sling. I found it too faffy to put on and I was never confident that it wouldn't all unravel. I much preferred our structured carrier. I still like the idea of a sling, so for DC2, i might invest in one of those ones that you put on like a t-shirt so you dont have to worry about fastening it properly.

We combi fed - Tommee Tippee anti-colic bottles just leaked everywhere. I switched to nuk, which were a dream.

Single breast pumps - if you are only doing the odd pump, then they are fine. I had low milk supply and for 3 months i pumped 6-8 times a day. I ditched the single pump about 3 days after buying it and instead rented a hospital grade medela double pump for £47 a month. Was faster, more powerful and quieter than any home pump i could find.

As pp has said, you will end up with loads of clothes that you don't get round to using. And if you have a girl, cute dresses are absolutely pointless between the ages of 6months - 15months. When they are crawling but not standing, they just trip over themselves in them. My DD favours an army crawl style and dresses are just so frustrating for her. There's a reason why leggings and dungarees are so popular!

Things that were useless for us:
Grow egg thermometer
Sleeping bags- he hates them
Moses basket- next time I'd just go straight into the cot
Microwave steriliser- we melted it 🤣
Buying dummies/ bottles in Bulk in advance - he hated the ones we bought

I'm a FTM, these are obviously just my non use items but some people love them!
Smallest size nappies and newborn clothes - DC over 10lb so didn't even fit!
Shoes before they need them
I didn't really use bibs but had loads, I used them a few times so good to have some but not loads
Mittens as most sleepsuits had them built in and we trimmed nails regularly
Nuby food/bottle warmer - we got a prep machine instead
Blender - we did BLW but blender is handy for milkshakes for me!
Nipple shields, got when I was struggling with milk supply and never used
Dummies - didn't use
Milk collection shells - prefer haakaa

As someone else said, anything labelled baby that is over priced compared to the "non baby" one!

Moses basket
travel cot
sleeping bag

It's not quite what you've asked but things like bumbo seats, jumperoo etc are very expensive new and get used so little so best to buy secondhand!

I think outfits for under 3 months are a waste. Mine stayed in sleepsuits until 3 months.

Nappy bin
Changing table
Grow egg room therm - I became obsessed and was no need.
Steriliser - we used mam bottles so can do themselves in the microwave

I did love our Moses basket though.

Things are a waste of money when they don't fit your lifestyle. A massive pram on public transport can be a pain, but if you walk dogs on bumpy paths it might be a necessity. A bin for nappies is more necessary in a top floor flat than in a house where its easy to pop them in the outside bin. I've seen a few of those car seats with pop out wheels (not a separate pram- doona?) On the school run and they look perfect for that, just out the car for five minutes, not extended periods.

I'd look at what you expect to do with the baby and fit your purchases around that.

For us it was the tutti bambini side sleeper cot! Honestly I think he slept max 3 nights in there and then it became a place to dump clothes lol. He mainly slept in my bed for a while before going into his own room. Also a bouncer was gifted to us but he barely sat in it either. Both were wastes of money but I'm determined the next kid that may come along will like them :) so subjective though as I'm sure these two will be on someone's essential list.

Oh and the ergo baby carrier! DC used it only handful of times. He walked very early and prefers the pram/to walk.

I brought far too many long sleeved vests- not a major item I know but could have saved a bit there as only used 1 or 2.
Breast feeding pillow- brought 2 (1 was 2nd hand) and just never got the hang of using one.

Moses Basket - neither baby would sleep in it.
Manual Breast Pump - it took forever to pump just a small amount of milk and hurt my hands with all the pumping. Sold it on Facebook after one use!
Bottles & Steriliser - As a SAHM I decided not to bother pumping and just feed. Sold them as "never used".
Sheets & Blankets - Both babies used to kick them straight off so I ended up getting sleeping bags.
Rain Cover for the Car seat - never took it out of the packet.
Sun Parasol for the pram - drove me nuts with the wind blowing it out of position or off the pram, constantly having to adjust it. Sold that and got a Snoozeshade.

A lot of things are baby dependent though, my first loved his Jumperoo but my second hated it. My first sat in the highchair until he was three, my second refused to get in it ever again at 18 months. My first slept in a cot bed from 6 months to age four, my second is now 3 and still co-sleeps with me!

We found it depended on the DC tbh! Like one DC used Moses basket all the time. Other DC hated it etc

I think we've used everything we bought and got most secondhand so got our money's worth, even on the Snuzppd which only got used for 3 months before my DD decided she needed to co-sleep 🙄

Stuff we've done without but would be on traditional lists include nappy bin, room thermometer, changing table, dummies, bottles and associated paraphernalia (EBF and never bothered trying to introduce a bottle) She is now 10 months and have also done without a some of the nice weaning items like a fancy high chair, specific baby Tupperware and food prep machines and sectioned plates.

My thought is, with Amazon and shoes being open extended hours, if you find you desperately need something you can order it and get it the next day.

The sleeping bags, mine hated them.

Not an expensive one, but baby bath was utterly pointless - used it once, and realised what a waste of money it was, and it actually made it harder to wash them than just using the sink. The only thing it was fabulously useful for was when the flat roof started leaking, it came into its own then! If you’ve no ancient flat roof, I wouldn’t bother.

Things that were wonderful:

Baby rocker
Bouncy chair
Euan the dream sheep

One thing I discovered on here once my babies were basically out of wearing vests is that they’re actually designed to be pulled down the body instead of up over the head in the event of a poonami. Total game changer!

Oh, another pointless one, bath thermometer. Just use your elbow!

There really isn't a definitive list op, it depends too much on the baby you get! My advice would be to think about your own space, budget and lifestyle for the expensive stuff and remember that you can easily get things delivered as needed for the smaller bits. My dc were particularly unobliging by liking very different things-one loved the moses, jumparoo, bouncy chair, the other wouldn't tolerate any of those!

My dcs are teens, but our waste of money was the baby bath, dc1 hated it would scream the place down. Totally fine going in the bath as a newborn with dh.

This will vary because one person's must-have is one person's waste of money. In fact the same items occupy both lists.

IME a good question to ask yourself is how would we fulfil this need if this product didn't exist? That exposes the superfluousness of a lot of stuff marketed for babies. OTOH it shows you that sometimes something does fill a niche and make something a lot more convenient than not having it.

Another question to ask is could we wait 2 weeks for this item? If so, just don't buy it (yet). Do research and choose which one you would buy, then wait and see if you feel you need it.

But for me:

Pram with carrycot not necessary - lie-flat seat from birth was fine.
Top and tail bowl, pointless. Never did a top and tail wash and those bowls are annoyingly shaped. In fact do they even market those any more or am I old fashioned?
Baby bath and bath seat - no use. Bathed babies with DH until they could sit up AND understand instructions.
Sleepyhead/other expensive baby nest - didn't exist with DC1 so didn't bother with DC2/3 and didn't miss them. Also think they are potentially dangerous.
Purpose built co-sleeper cot - nowhere near as good as the one I converted with DC1.
Cloth nappies - wanted to love them, hated the bulk of them and wanted to just chuck them in a normal wash, which makes them smell after a while. Other people love them.
Modern baby bouncer recliner - all useless except the Baby Bjorn. Get a swing instead.

We ended up with far too many bibs, socks, mittens and blankets. Most of which we got as gifts.
My babies were very different. DC1 loved the bouncy chair and play gym. we used the changing table and baby bath a lot with them. They hated the moses basket and loved being in the big cot.
DC2 hated bouncy chair and play gym, we hardly use changing table or baby bath with them and hated big cot.
Both of mine hated swaddles but liked sleeping bags.
I hated using a sling but liked baby carrier.
I wish I'd bought a second hand Tripp Trapp high chair for my 1st (doesn't seem worth it now) as I hat the floorspace our highchair takes up.

Nappy bin. My husband was so into the useless overspecced tech solution, he forgot we could just take nappies straight out to the bin.

Never saw a single nappy. He had bought two.

Here's a controversial one, I hate muslins, we've never used them, I just never found that they absorb anything. Ikea do ten packs of little white cloths, we have hundreds of them. Also cloth bibs, pointless, the dribble just goes straight through and soaks their clothes, bibs need to be plastic backed.
Also like a PP said, a fabric sling, used it when he was really tiny tiny but stopped at about 3 months, such a faff to put on, I could never breastfeed him in it. They're also so expensive for what they are.

Thought of some more

Silicone breast pump - no use as I had barely any excess. A normal hand pump my friend gave me was better when I was engorged.
Snot sucker - another thing that didn't exist with DC1 and I found I didn't miss
Baby tracking apps - total disaster for mental health and breastfeeding confidence. Avoid like the plague.
Zip sleepsuits - poppers are absolutely fine. Zips make weird bumps in the middle and don't seem comfortable.
Swaddles - my babies didn't like being constrained.
Scratch mitts - I was horrified at the idea of preventing them using their hands to feel/touch things and sucking their fingers! I might have been being ridiculous XD I just bit the sharp bits off their nails.
Movement/breathing monitor - total con, predatory marketing and potentially dangerous in the same way as dopplers. Gives you a false sense of it being OK to take higher risks than you otherwise would.
Teething powders - waste of time, a distraction at best. Use calpol and frozen teething rings.
FB groups with a strict ideology - they get way OTT and unhelpful.