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, muslins. I never used them. A bib or a tissue is enough.

I preferred my microwave steriliser to a cold water one because the Milton tablets make the bottles stink.

Never had any problems with Moses baskets, although I bought a crib for my 4th and she was tiny so she looked so lost in it. She ended up sleeping in the carrycot from the pram for the first few months, instead.

Bought dummies that babies would never take to. 3 of mine never took a dummy or bottle at all, despite trying.

Slings were never tolerated by any of mine.

Huge, expensive prams were jettisoned in favour of a £30, second hand, eBay stroller, as soon as possible.

Baby bath was great and used well into the toddler years because the kids preferred it. My parents used ours as a sand pit for ages after we'd grown out if it.

Cloth nappies were absolutely useless and didn't keep my baby dry in the slightest. Tried practically all combinations and spent a fortune. Lidl's disposables were my go-to in the end.

Unfortunately, there's no one-size fits all.

And God, yes, highchairs. The fancy ones get food stuck in every crevice imaginable. They end up absolutely disgusting. Get a £15 IKEA one as they're so much easier to clean.

Interesting what people are saying about Moses baskets - did they find the same with the pram that baby wouldn't sleep?

Mine all slept in pram and Moses basket, so I think its something you will not know until the time

found having the Moses basket handy for sleeping downstairs in the day and then upstairs in a cot at night

I preferred the electric steam steriliser and love the perfect prep

but Ido a lot of second hand bargains

For me one of those wearable baby harnesses - the kind with buckles rather than a soft wrap.

Tried two different brands. DD absolutely despised them both and I found them pretty uncomfy too.

It's tricky because a lot of these mentioned I found useful! My first lo never liked their Moses basket but my second slept in it constantly until 5 months, so it varies per person and per baby! I also found a nappy bin useful but I see it listed here a couple of times as not!

For me, the biggest thing I didn't find useful were fussy / cute clothes. I got so many super cute outfits but they weren't overly practical (dressing a tiny baby is tricky!). Some had buttons up the back, so I didn't feel we're good for back sleeping. Others were just fiddly, or needed special care to wash or worse, iron!! I ended up just using the easy to wash and dry and dress babygrows and most of the cute outfits either didn't get worn or just worn once.

Those little triangle bibs - we didn’t buy any, but were gifted loads. Ds was breastfed, not a milk puky baby, and never dribbled. Once on solids they were useless as he needed full on arm plastic type to stop mess.

sun umbrellas- just in the way and don’t stay. Then too in the way in small spaces

we still use a sling a lot and Ds is 2 years. As tiny baby all the time, now walking it’s easier than pram as he can walk 90% of the time. We have pram also.

Pram with carrycot not necessary - lie-flat seat from birth was fine.

Oh yes, I'd definitely agree with this. I never really saw the point of the carry cot. Although, I had two babies born late spring/early summer so perhaps if I'd had winter babies I'd have appreciated the carrycot protecting them from the cold more.

I bought absolutely everything bar the pram, car seat and mattress for the snuzpod off Vinted. So even though some things didn't get much use I didn't spend a lot and can re sell it all. Babies are unique so some items will suit yours even if others tell you it was useless.

Not really :) Mine were born late summer/autumn so went straight through the cold months at that age, I just bought a cosy footmuff and that protected them.

As an example I was told here that swaddle bags were useless but my baby loved the Arms Up Love2Dream swaddles as opposed to the ones that pin their arms down unnaturally. Loads on Vinted.

Again... lifestyle. We went for at least an hours walk each day with DDs napping in their carrycot. 5 months with DD1, 7 with DD2. With DD1 I could then take it off the pram and carry it upstairs to the flat and have a safe place to put her down (moved when she was 4 months).

Any nice outfits for the small sizes - realistically they're a faff to use plus it's not like you're out somewhere nice every day.

Buying too many clothes - I still have bags full of brand new clothes for my DD. Second kid was of course a boy.

My DD hated the jumperoo. Fingers crossed 2nd baby likes it or it's going straight on eBay. Also, they're massive.

Sling - I couldn't use it as I have back problems. My DP tried it a couple of times but hates it.

Fancy breast pump - don't buy until you know you need one. I couldn't breastfeed with either kid.

Reusable nappies - our area didn't have trials but if yours does, I'd advise trying them. I bought loads and they didn't work well for us. Wish I'd been able to try various brands first.

Swing seat - DD loved hers. We sold it then discovered I was pregnant. Splashed out on an ingenuity swing and DS hates it so had to buy a different one 🙄.

Pramsuit - got one use out of it.

Parasol for pram - irritating and could never get it in the right position.

For us the Moses basket - used next to me crib or sleepy head for day naps

gro egg

but for us the sleeping bag and nipple shields were life savers (sleeping bag was so much easier and felt safer than blankets- and nipple shields turned around my breastfeeding struggles)

Someone gave us a baby wipes holder, like a Kleenex dispenser type thing. Never used it

DC1 wasn't a sicky baby and breastfed so never used muslins, although ended up with thousands as everyone said they were essential!

Moses basket - totally unnecessary. We used the sleepyhead for daytime naps instead.

Never used a bumbo seat - just propped baby up with a nursing pillow which worked well.

And I've heard white noise machines/Euan Dream Sheep etc are a waste of money - can't say as I've never used them but I just play white noise on the iPad and all my friends have said that's just as good.

I also always look on Gumtree/ebay before buying anything new. You only use newborn stuff for a couple months so they're full of people offloading basically-new items.

For me it was slings. My babies liked their own space to sleep, they'd nod off for about 5 mins in the sling then wake up angry.
I also found them cumbersome to wear, it was like being heavily pregnant again.

Stuff we used lots:-
Giant muslin squares - for swaddling in the early days, handy for laying the baby on when out, and ours also used them as comforters as they got older

Tiny Love 3 in 1 Napper - perfect for the living room, great place for sleeps, rocks vibrates, can be raised one end, mobile over the top with light and sound, deep sides so kept the baby safe from the toddler etc.

microwave steriliser - it fit 6 bottles in so I'd clean 6, make them up fully, chill them in the fridge. I did bottles in batches of six, so always had some ready and only made them twice a day (or once or less if dh did some).

Stuff I didn't buy:
child sized furniture - apart from the cot. We didn't buy nursery wardrobe or drawers or change table etc. Just went for IKEA full sized furniture in a style similar to the rest in the house

baby bath - we used a little towelling ramp in the big bath instead

proper baby change bag - I had an old thick linen messenger bag with pockets from my uni days which fit everything in and fitted on the buggy handles fine.

Steam steriliser. Hated it. Nightmare to clean, took up too much space. Waste!

I used carrycot a lot with May born baby. He only fitted the first 4.5 months as could sit and climb out, but was handy in summer heat to not have to keep strapping him in, and a place to push him to nap then wheel indoors

@Littlebean23 Haven’t read all of the replies so sorry if I’m repeating: All babies are different and what was a waste for some, won’t be for others. But what I would say is don’t get a Moses basket. Most babies are too big, and if they’re born small, they’ll get big quickly and you won’t be able to use it past 2-3 months.

we never used our nappy bin.

be careful about how many toys and comforters you buy. They don’t need much. If you think you’ll get presents, I’d wait for that and get toys later. Charity shops great!

clothes - a friend of mine skipped 6-9 entirely, and squeezed her baby into 3-6 as long as she could then went to 9-12. She saved a fortune - I’ll be doing that next time! also with clothes, you really don’t need much - my boy has so much he never wore 🙄 again If you think you’ll get presents, wait for them

In these days of amazon next day delivery and huge supermarkets, you don't really need to buy much in advance. Some clothes, sleeping space, nappies, wipes, breast pads ,bottles if planning to formula feed. Everything else you can buy as and when the need arises.

Euan the dream sheep - both my DC hated it. You can get free apps which play white noise which they preferred.

Pretty much everything my DC did like (sleep bags, Moses basket, baby vests etc) I found on Facebook market place or eBay & I saved a fortune that way. The only things I insisted on buying new were mattresses, car seat & pram.

Mine are adults now.. but the best advice I can give is to buy as little yourself before baby, as they're all different
Don't invest in a bulky travel systemDC1.. used a buggy as soon as I could
DC2.. Lie flat lightweight pushchair from birth
DC:3 Everything secondhand( except mattress)
Think about your lifestyle before you buy( if you go on long country walks, a lightweight buggy will be useless

We were given a large, fancy high chair - it was an absolute nightmare and we ended up buying a basic ikea high chair instead. If I had the money though I always wanted a Tripp trapp high chair.

Everyone is saying Moses baskets are useless but I absolutely LOVE mine and genuinely don't know what I'll do soon when dd outgrows it!

Breast pump / steriliser / bottles - she’s now 5 months and I’ve not used any of it.

Any of the Grimms toys / similar style wooden natural stuff. Yes they look very in pretty in photos, but they cost a small fortune and kids much prefer plastic stuff with batteries anyway