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Original poster

waste of money baby things

32 replies

naynay1080 · 11/04/2008 19:00

Don't bother with

bottle warmers
nappie bins put them straight outside they stink after a while no matter what you do.

travel systems , a baby under 6 months shouldn't be in a car seat for more than 1+ 1/2 to 2 hours as it is bad for their neck back etc as baby sits up to high.it also puts pressure on their chest. leave the car seat in the car.
just get a good car seat
and a good pushchair.

Throw out Gina Ford books and go with what suits you + your baby

good stuff

muslim squares

john lewis sleepsuits suits have stratch mitts on them

Dummies saved me when my son cried with colic for 4 hours a night.
might not look great but they can always go , not like sucking your thumb or hand etc

good luck with your baby
just go with the flow

OP posts:
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Fillyjonk · 11/04/2008 19:05

lol

they are all different though

for ds and dd1 we had

a sling
a car seat
cloth nappies

for dd2, 3rd baby, because she sleeps and we have fewer hands, we have all sorts of crap. We have a cot, a pushchair, a highchair, a baby bouncer, a moses basket...all sorts of stuff. but it all gets used...

LittleMissTickles · 11/04/2008 19:08

Baby swing was a winner for DD1, lent it out, never to be returned. Bought new one for DD2, but she hated it, so absolute waste of money! You just can't tell with some things, I would say for all things realistically possible, try them out at friends' houses/shops first.

No real need for Moses basket etc, cot will be fine, easy to make cosier using rolled blankets etc.

Newborn clothes - often a big waste as they outgrow them rapidly, and you will receive so much after the birth.

Muslin squares and grobags GREAT for both my DC'n.

MrsMattie · 11/04/2008 19:08

I never used a single musling square. Swings and roundabouts....

MrsMattie · 11/04/2008 19:09

muslin

bigknickersbigknockers · 11/04/2008 19:10

definatley dont bother with sangenic nappy wrapper, the re fills are too expensive and there is a cheapo shop in every town that sells cheap nappy bags.

fledtoscotland · 11/04/2008 19:12

our biggest waste of money was the moses basket. DS co-slept until he wanted more space and went straight into his own room. also the swing was a disaster as he hated being strapped in and preferred to lie on the floor or be held

best buy - dummies, sleepsuits with mits, microwave steriliser off ebay for £7 (costs over £20 in the shops and was in A1 condition)

also, babies dont need brand new - hand-me-downs are fab and your LO doesnt know what they are wearing anyway

MrsBadger · 11/04/2008 19:16

anything new

borrow, borrow, borrow

saves space too as you can give the stuff back afterwards

davidtennantsmistress · 11/04/2008 19:17

don't bother with the baby bath - washing up bowl, or in with you.

Pinkchampagne · 11/04/2008 19:18

Agree that you shouldn't bother with the nappy bin. They just make the room smell horrible, so you are better of with normal nappy sacks.

The baby alarm was another waste of money for us. We lived in a small house, so could hear DS's cries loud & clear enough without the need for a baby alarm!

Clure · 11/04/2008 19:26

Good stuff for us were:

Boot fairs are fab for baby clothes.

moses basket and cellular blankets (loads of them as they were puked and pooed on regularly!) great for swaddling and helped DD to settle during the earlier crazy days

ready made cartons of formula (as a top up to BF) saved loads of time

Baby Einstein (Mozart) DVD enttranced DD gave us a bit of respite

Dummy, swore I'd never give DD one but life saver

Bouncy chair

Waste of money:
Sling possibly didn't have it on correctly DD hated it and I felt like she would fall out of it. Gave it away!

SpookyMadMummy · 11/04/2008 19:47

Tie-on bibs.... Pop over ones are much, much better.

Fillyjonk · 12/04/2008 07:27

lol clure my list is the same as yours only reversed

the only thing that wasn't a waste of money for me on your list was the sling

PutThatInYourPipeandSmokeIt · 12/04/2008 10:58

We just throw our nappies (in their nappy sacks) in to a public bin every time we leave the house so they don't stink up our own bin

bohemianbint · 12/04/2008 11:00

stupid bloody tummy tub. Expensive bucket that never got used.

kiskideesameanoldmother · 12/04/2008 11:02

binty, i still use the tummytub with dd who will be 3 next week. she is going thru a phase of refusing to go in the bath and getting her to play in the tummytub helps.

AitchTwoOh · 12/04/2008 11:05

i think the nappy wrappers are great. they don't cost much to use (assuming you twist and untwist) and work very well imo. i love how everyone on here just assumes everyone's bin is at the back door...

rascal1979 · 12/04/2008 17:00

I too love the nappy bin . I got the Angelcare one free in my bounty pack and refills are about x3 for £10 which last a month or so each so £3 a month - not that bad! Boots do one that uses normal bin liners which may be cheaper.

slinkiemalinki · 12/04/2008 23:43

I always think these threads miss the point that every mother and every baby is different. What didn't work for you will work for someone else and vice-versa. Muslim squares ?? We wasted our money with dummies (and would have on a bottle warmer as I bf) but I have a nappy bin (emptied regularly) and thought Gina Ford had some useful points even though did not follow it to the letter! Loved our moses basket as well. It's just so individual. Another one that always gets a bad press is a changing table and still using mine now. My back is very grateful for it I think!

expatinscotland · 12/04/2008 23:46

DD1 loved the swing, hated the sling.

DD2 was the complete opposite.

they both hated the Moses basket and co-slept.

AlexanderPandasmum · 13/04/2008 00:01

My DS was in moses basket for 7 months (he was prem) so definitely not a waste of money!

My personal biggest wastes of money were

  • towelling cover for changing pad - everytime I put it on DS peed on it so it went in the wash again. Just using a large muslin spread over the mat would have been better.
  • bath support for baby bath - useless because it didn't fit in the bath! Should have checked really...

They were the main useless things I think...

AlexanderPandasmum · 13/04/2008 00:03

PS. Muslin squares are great and can be used for lots of things! And I was glad to have lots of bibs as DS was dribbly while feeding, but not the tie ones as they are a fiddle to tie on a young baby!

espadair · 13/04/2008 00:05

With my first two children i used the moses basket and hated it, was always having to peer over the top to check on them and they disintegrate too (basket not the babies ), always had to pick out pointy bits of straw. With ds2 i pushed the boat out and got a rocking cradle and it was great did him up till 6 months, could check on him really easily whilst in bed and could rock him back to sleep, he also could see me which helped settle him. should be really easy to sell as well at the next nct sale.
Agree travel systems are a waste, also baby monitors as i was never far enough away from them to need it and i would/still check up to see if they're still breathing.
best things - bouncy chair, microwave, sling steriliser, baby gym and dummies and always buying clothes the next couple of sizes up, Both boys also loved cot mobiles , daughter was indifferent

chipmonkey · 13/04/2008 00:20

Bottle warmers are good for defrosting breastmilk.

mamamelly · 13/04/2008 00:29

i bought some nautral baby sling-wrap-style thing which never got used, made me sweat like crazy and dd never liked it!

also a sterilizer, she was breast fed for a year so we didnt have many bottles to put in it!

Waytmi · 13/04/2008 00:45

I'm promoting the Dream Machine this week lol!! Anyway with a 13 month gap between my youngest it worked for us.