What didn't you need for your baby?

seventeen sheep

What essentials did you buy for your baby that ended up unused?

I thought this might be a handy thread for some mammies-to-be!

I thought I was quite sensible when I was pregnant - I thought I was only buying the absolute essentials - but in hindsight, I wasted some money.

A video baby monitor. We got a brilliant Motorola one, with infrared or whatever you call it that you can see them in the dark. But it's just not needed. Our baby goes to sleep instantly when you lie him down, and if he ever does wake up (rarely!) he'll make himself heard. Maybe it'll be more useful when he's a toddler.

A moses basket. The logic was that it'll take up less space at the end of the bed (and that it looks so adorable!) In fairness, it did look adorable! But he outgrew it before he moved out of our room anyways, so we had to have the cot in there anyways. The moses basket cost €70 including the mattress. Our son ended up having positional plagiocephaly (flathead) - I partly attribute this to the crap mattress in the moses basket - I should really have just put him straight into the cot with the good quality mattress we bought for it! No moses basket will have as good a mattress as a good pocket-sprung cot mattress, so if I was going again, I'd skip that idea altogether (except for perhaps the occasional day nap.) They spend so much time sleeping the first few weeks/months - it's best to put them in a proper cot with a proper mattress.

A sling. Fabulous for some mothers; an absolute lifesaver! But, neither myself nor the baby took to it. It just wasn't for us, after forking out a fortune on a special "sling consultation" and an expensive carrier. There are sling "libraries", which - in hindsight - I should have used.

A room thermometer. One of those fancy gro-egg ones. In fairness, you know yourself if your baby is too hot. If you really want one, go for the cheapest one possible. We bought two expensive ones. First parent syndrome.

Shoes. This is one extravagance that I'll admit is a waste of money, but that I'll continue with regardless. There is nothing cuter than a flailing helpless infant wearing a pair of unnecessary shoes - what does he think he's going to do - walk away somewhere?

Hooded towels. I didn't actually buy these, but got so many as presents, and they're pointless and unnecessary. Handtowels are the perfect size for small babies, and will be used again. Normal towels as they get bigger.

On that point, our baby bath wasn't really necessary. Not a thing wrong with washing a baby in a clean sink, and sure they'll be in the big bath before you know it!

What else?

pwurple

Yup, hooded towels and baby shoes I never used either.

Nappy bin was another. It was just another job to empty the fiddly nappy bin. Easier to just put the nappies in the ordinary bin, and forget about the nappy bin.


Baby cosmetic products. Creams, lotions, shampoos, bath products, powders. Never used any of them really, except for sudocreme for a bit of nappy rash, and some special stuff for excema. Washed them with water. Ended up using the other stuff on myself when I ran out of my normal ones!


Baby girl hair accessories. Clips, hairbands. My baby was a baldie until she was nearly 2 1/2. The clips were all way too small for her by the time she needed them. New baby has more hair, but I'm convinced she will pull out clips and eat them!

Rosy Posy

I was the opposite- never used the pram til they were a year or so but I did borrow an extra sling so I could wash the first one.

Never used a baby monitor.

Baby bath was pointless- just used the sink or got into the big bath with them.

Paper liners for cloth nappies.

Play gym after the first child- way too dangerous with a toddler around.

Most cutesy baby shoes- found two styles that didn't fall off but were given loads which one or both of were immediately lost.

Those fill in the blanks baby books.

Most 'childproofing' stuff- found it easier to just keep an eye/teach them where not to go.

pwurple

Oh yes, the fill in the blanks baby books or baby frames that have "First step" or something on them.

Cripes, I've loads of them around gathering dust, and making me feel guilty for not photographing their every move!

seventeen sheep

Our nappy bin and our changing table were two things I loved - even though they're often scathed as "luxuries".

The nappy bin - I just couldn't be marching down to the back garden bin with every dirty nappy. I just couldn't. Our Anglecare unit is fab and we love it. Never a stink in the room, and minimal maintenance.

The changing table - we searched far and wide while pregnant, but couldn't find one that matched our needs. So we decided we couldn't justify the expense. Then, a relative gave us one. And it's amazing and we would find it hard to do without.

lazygal

Outfits until they were six months old. I only give babygros as baby gifts now.
Blankets. They went into grobags and kicked off blankets.
Moccasin baby shoes, useless gifts.
Lotions and potions for rashes and things, only used water and cloth wipes and coconut oil.
A sling, never liked it at all.

dori_dormer

Baby bath was a waste here, and the incredibly expensive gro bags! I bought 2 per season and h absolutely hates them!

Cot mobile, it just woke him up more.

cyning

On no 1 I didn't need the Moses basket or cot: my cot became an expensive place to throw clothes! Rarely used the buggy preferred the sling. I had far too many baby grows: I used outfits during the day and baby grows were pyjamas.

On no 2 I needed the cot to tilt the mattress to try help reflux, couldn't have lived without double buggy despite having a plethora of slings. Never used the baby swing and rarely used the bouncer.

So Moses basket was a waste of money. Used everything else between the two of them.

galah

Those rigid breastfeeding pillows (breastfriend). Absolutely hated it (me that is).

All the other stuff depends on the baby, a lot of unused stuff we got for the first one got used on our second child and the other way round.

Sling/babycarrier was a godsend on number 1, but number 2 detests it. Same with the changing table, great for the first one, unused for the second.

Scratch mittens - never needed for 1, but permanently on number 2.

Bottles/steriliser &all that jazz needed for our first one but not for our second.

Have about 4 of those baby books as well, all not filled.:pac:

seamus

Baby Bjorn. Nice idea in theory and some people seem to rock them, but I only used ours a few times and I found it awkward and uncomfortable.

Baby Books - "what to expect..." and the like. All useless. Listen to your family and friends and listen to yourself rather than trying to do what the book says.

bean14

All the 0-6 month clothes we got as presents. Babygros all the way.
I researched a monitor with a movement sensor which 10 months on has never been used.

iguana

pwurple wrote: »

Baby cosmetic products. Creams, lotions, shampoos, bath products, powders. Never used any of them really, except for sudocreme for a bit of nappy rash, and some special stuff for excema. Washed them with water. Ended up using the other stuff on myself when I ran out of my normal ones!

This. Shortly before he was born Waitrose had a really cheap special on organic baby products, so I stocked up with 2 bottles/tubes of everything. We are still using the first bottles of shampoo and body wash, we'll have it until he's 6 at this rate. And I've never used the lotion or nappy rash cream as he never needed either. I was the same with Lanisoh. I got two tubes of that but 2 years of breastfeeding later, I've never had a cracked nipple. These things are best to buy as you need them rather than in advance.

The opposite to everyone else though, 2 years on I do still use the baby bath. I think it's great for a quick (emergency) bath as you only need a small amount of water so it's quicker and uses less water and energy to fill.

IvyTheTerrible

Baby monitor.

Sling - I found this really uncomfortable on my back, and my baby didn't really like it either.

Hooded towels, very awkward to use and my baby hated having things on his head.

Until he ate solids, bibs were a waste of time, he never ever spat up (I know, I'm so lucky!).

pwurple

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Until he ate solids, bibs were a waste of time, he never ever spat up (I know, I'm so lucky!).

Oh my goodness, did he never drool either? Mine has only just learned to keep her saliva in at 8 months! We went though 10+ bibs a day with drool.

lazygal

Another thing, muslin clothes.
I bought two 12 packs of them, as everyone recommended them online and raved about how handy they were. Used about three of them on my first. I used more on my second as he rubbed them on his face to get to sleep and still does, but most of them are still folded away and never used.
Ours loved the hooded towels and they were a hand me down so no loss there. I found the baby bath very handy, we used it until 15 months on our first to save filling the bath. It was a loaner so again didn't cost anything.
Never really used bibs either, even though I was given lots of cute bandana ones.

IvyTheTerrible

pwurple wrote: »

Oh my goodness, did he never drool either? Mine has only just learned to keep her saliva in at 8 months! We went though 10+ bibs a day with drool.

No, he hardly ever drooled, he started teething very late so that started late too (first tooth was a month before his first birthday).

Neyite

Those stupid soothers that dispense medicine.

And while pregnant, those belt expander things from mothercare at €17 for 2. Yer wan tried to make out I'd be lost without them. A hairband or elastic band did the job for me instead.

Breastfeeding pillows.

And people giving you gifts of clothes based on age but for the wrong seasons. I got a newborn snow suit for a May baby and heaps of shorts and t-shirts for a six month old. He was 6m in December.

IvyTheTerrible

Neyite wrote: »

Those stupid soothers that dispense medicine.

And while pregnant, those belt expander things from mothercare at €17 for 2. Yer wan tried to make out I'd be lost without them. A hairband or elastic band did the job for me instead.

Breastfeeding pillows.

And people giving you gifts of clothes based on age but for the wrong seasons. I got a newborn snow suit for a May baby and heaps of shorts and t-shirts for a six month old. He was 6m in December.

That clothes thing was a big one for me, we get very hot summers, we wouldn't be wearing long sleeved tops, let alone jackets from the month of May til the end of September, L has loads of clothes he's never worn.

iguana

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

No, he hardly ever drooled, he started teething very late so that started late too (first tooth was a month before his first birthday).

S was a big spewer until he started solids. I used to need to use 2 plastic backed bibs at all times. 1 between his vest and top and another over his top. It was the only way to keep his chest dry.

IvyTheTerrible

iguana wrote: »

S was a big spewer until he started solids. I used to need to use 2 plastic backed bibs at all times. 1 between his vest and top and another over his top. It was the only way to keep his chest dry.

He never spewed much, but once he was able to feed himself, the normal bibs were too small, he just wouldn't spill food on the area covered by the bib, so I made him a sort of towel-backed bib apron: https://craftysorcha.wordpress.com/2014/01/06/baby-smock/

seventeen sheep

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

He never spewed much, but once he was able to feed himself, the normal bibs were too small, he just wouldn't spill food on the area covered by the bib, so I made him a sort of towel-backed bib apron:

Do you not find, though, that it's just as easy to wash a Tshirt as something like that?

I've a spitty pukey drooly baby, and while his creche seem to go through a million gazillion bibs a day, I find it much easier to just change Tshirt as required, and put up with the additional laundry!

IvyTheTerrible

seventeen sheep wrote: »

Do you not find, though, that it's just as easy to wash a Tshirt as something like that?

I've a spitty pukey drooly baby, and while his creche seem to go through a million gazillion bibs a day, I find it much easier to just change Tshirt as required, and put up with the additional laundry!

Well he eats 3 meals a day, unless it's a complete catastrophe, I'd keep the bib for the full day, whereas as before that, we were have to change t-shirt, trousers and sometimes socks!

seventeen sheep

IvyTheTerrible wrote: »

Well he eats 3 meals a day, unless it's a complete catastrophe, I'd keep the bib for the full day, whereas as before that, we were have to change t-shirt, trousers and sometimes socks!

You see with my boy, every feed is a complete catastrophe. With several "reprisals" of the feed in between. Not a hope the one smock would do for a full three meals!

It is very cute though!!

LegacyUser

Posting as an attachment-parent:

Never needed:

Formula
Bottles
Steriliser
Dummies
Cot
Moses Basket
Co-sleeper
Baby mobiles
Video monitors
Childcare
"Dream feeds"

Very Handy:

Non-slip bath mats
Potty
Sudocrem


Indispensable:

Raised changing table
Bubble bath
Vests
All-in-one sleep outfits with feet
Baby sound monitors
Bed guards/rails

Rosy Posy

seventeen sheep wrote: »

You see with my boy, every feed is a complete catastrophe. With several "reprisals" of the feed in between. Not a hope the one smock would do for a full three meals!

It is very cute though!!

I'm so glad you have the same experience- I could not conceive of reusing a bib- my babies have all been absolute muck savages. I do about ten loads of laundry a week- and we have a big machine!

ariana`

Rosy Posy wrote: »

I'm so glad you have the same experience- I could not conceive of reusing a bib- my babies have all been absolute muck savages. I do about ten loads of laundry a week- and we have a big machine!

Have you tried the Ikea long sleeve bibs? I find them great cos you can just rinse them under the tap after a meal before the food has dried in and they're ready to go for the next meal. Thankfully mine are nearly out of bibs now but we did BLW so it was a messy affair for a while and these bibs were the business.

ariana`

Most thing i bought that i didn't need was a breast pump. I was very engorged leaving the hospital with the first so i rushed out and bought it without even shopping around, it was €165 and i didn't use it again, i wish i'd know about hand expressing a little off. I didn't use it at all on the next baby. Thankfully i've lent it to a few people since so it has gotten some use.

Mink

Didn't need the following;

Baby toiletries
Those net things that you put fruit into and they suck on them
Teething rings (everything else was used)
Shoes for non-walkers

Couldn't live without (and a lot was 2nd hand);

Baby monitor with temp reading
Changing table
Sleeping bags
Truck loads of bibs
Baby bath with foam insert
Door bouncer
Sophie the giraffe
Dodies

pwurple

Thought of more. The changing table. Never used one of those either. I put a mat on a chest of drawers.

Baby weaning stuff. Special spoons or bowls etc. Never used it. Mainly eats off my plate. Porridge or squidgey things with a teaspoon.

galah

Mink wrote: »

Didn't need the following;
Those net things that you put fruit into and they suck on them

Oh yes, we have one of those as well, so useless! Typical first time parent purchase

The ikea bibs are brilliant, so annoying that they dont fit our three year old anymore though - they're also handy for all sorts of art work.

Bumbo seat was another completely useless and pointless thing, both our kids sat down once, and instantly arched their backs so much the whole thing would have toppled (obvs i was right there to stop that). Never used it again since.

dori_dormer

My fella hates the net fruit holder but for some reason can't get enough of the plastic one. So one was a waste of money and the other we can't live without lol! Also teething rings are crap, he just chews his toys, but he loves the Sophie thing. Also have loads of unused muslins.

We have 3 sets of those 'first teeth and curl' jars. Child has poker straight hair and keeping teeth is gross. Will be regifting those!

Also didn't use smellies on him ever. Just plain water and he's now 9 months.

mrsWhippy

I've used millions of muslins. Still use them for my 2 year old for cleaning up after dinner. We use one per day.
Angel care monitor - was used up to 6 or 8 months here.
Video monitor - brilliant once your baby/toddler is climbing around the cot. You can keep an eye on what they're doing without disturbing them. Couldn't live without this tbh.
Baby Bath - my 2 year old still uses this. Much quicker (and cheaper) than filling the big bath, and she is more than happy to sit in it!

uck51js9zml2yt

Never bothered with a changing table.

Chances are it will be upstairs and you will spend most of the day downstairs with junior. Are you really going to go up every time you've a nappy change

Bought a sling and never used it. Then bought a child carrier when he was older and used it once. Our kids were just too heavy to be humping around.

Moonbeam

I am reading down through this..

I have 4 babies,3 with reflux. I found I used different things with each of them.
1 never drooled and had about 2 bibs,another needed 4 at a time!

My son was very long and baby gros never fitted him.
I use gro bags now because they keep reflux baby dry.

I never used sudocrem or vaseline and bepanthen was useless but got them in presents.
I never used baby shoes either until they started crawling the put shoebees.

I love my changing table,I put the 1 year old in the baby bath in the bath when I am trying to have a shower,I could never have survived with out slings,we use muslins clothes by the dozen.

Moonbeam

Mink wrote: »

Didn't need the following;

Baby toiletries
Those net things that you put fruit into and they suck on them
Teething rings (everything else was used)
Shoes for non-walkers

Couldn't live without (and a lot was 2nd hand);

Baby monitor with temp reading
Changing table
Sleeping bags
Truck loads of bibs
Baby bath with foam insert
Door bouncer
Sophie the giraffe
Dodies

Those nets are awesome for making "ice pops" for teething. i used to freeze fruit or banana in them.

yellow hen

Moonbeam wrote: »

Those nets are awesome for making "ice pops" for teething. i used to freeze fruit or banana in them.

We LOVED those things.., the plastic one not the net one. I used to semi freeze grapes and strawberries and let him suck on it.

Suucee

I only used moses basket for 6 weeks with no 1 and about 4 weeks for no 2. It was bought for us as a gift.
I use loads of muslins
I cant get enough bibs he dribbles thar much. No 1 needes them but not as much as no 2.
I had a loan on a changing table with baby bath
. When no 1 started splashing alot we just out baby bath in big bath until about 6 months. No 2 only used baby bath for about 6 weeks then was in big bath on a reclined seat with no 2.
Love my slings but needing a buggy alot more lately due to medical issues (sold my damn double months ago but had to buy one again)
Love camera monitor for when they are mooching around alot.
love the peace of mind the angel care monitor gives.
used high chair with no 1 until she was 1 then switched to booster seat that attaches to chair. No 2 hated high chair so bought a second booster seat for him.
Bouncer was a gift and both used it for morning maps for first few months.
I think i used pretty much everything except a breast pump that came with my tommee tippee starter set as i ended up not breast feeding.
We actually just bought the basics and added to them as needed.

LegacyUser

Moonbeam wrote: »

I have 4 babies,3 with reflux.

WOW

Statistically, that's really rare. It's just 8% for a baby to have reflux, 0.00512% to have three babies with reflux.

Are you sure it was reflux? It's a very serious condition. Some think a baby spitting up formula as a result of overfeeding is reflux, but it's actually an opening of the valve in the oesophagus due to abnormalities. It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

LegacyUser

Amora Purple Warhead wrote: »

Never bothered with a changing table.

Chances are it will be upstairs and you will spend most of the day downstairs with junior. Are you really going to go up every time you've a nappy change

Bought a sling and never used it. Then bought a child carrier when he was older and used it once. Our kids were just too heavy to be humping around.

Most kids need a change in the morning and before going to bed, so upstairs is just where you need a changing table.

"too heavy to be humping around"? How heavy are we talking? I live by this rule: if they are too heavy to carry, they walk.

cyning

Jolliever wrote: »

WOW

Statistically, that's really rare. It's just 8% for a baby to have reflux, 0.00512% to have three babies with reflux.

Are you sure it was reflux? It's a very serious condition. Some think a baby spitting up formula as a result of overfeeding is reflux, but it's actually an opening of the valve in the oesophagus due to abnormalities. It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

Oh really? Where are those statistics from? And where did you pull that it's unheard of in breastfed babies? I have an 8 month old who had never had formula, didn't start solids until 6 months who has reflux disease. She's on her 5 th hospital admission as of tonight. She's had pneumonia quite likely from aspiration at 4 weeks old. She's dropped down the centile charts. She has had reflux confirmed by barium. Quite frankly you have no clue what you are talking about. Reflux is horrendous: and you have no right at all to tell another parent that their child didn't have reflux. None at all. You don't know what they've experienced unless you were there.

mdwexford

Jolliever wrote: »

It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

Nonsense.

It's due to an under developed digestive system.
It has nothing to do with being breast or bottle fed.

seventeen sheep

Jolliever wrote: »

WOW

Statistically, that's really rare. It's just 8% for a baby to have reflux, 0.00512% to have three babies with reflux.

Are you sure it was reflux? It's a very serious condition. Some think a baby spitting up formula as a result of overfeeding is reflux, but it's actually an opening of the valve in the oesophagus due to abnormalities. It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

Your statistics don't even make mathematical sense.

Also, reflux is not necessarily a very serious condition. Some babies have mild reflux that disappears early on and doesn't cause serious pain or damage; it can be very severe in other cases. It's the result of the muscles between the oesophagus and sphincter being not fully developed - it goes away when the baby gets older and the muscles get strong enough. This is the case whether the baby is breastfed or not.

seventeen sheep

Jolliever wrote: »

Most kids need a change in the morning and before going to bed, so upstairs is just where you need a changing table.

Yes, most babies need a change in the morning and at bedtime ... And most babies also need several nappy changes in between, too. The majority of changes are likely to take place during the day, so it's logical for many people to have the changing table downstairs (if space permits.) It's very easy to change a nappy on a bed upstairs with a towel or mat thrown down; there are less likely to be such ideal surfaces downstairs, so it's usually a choice between changing them on the floor or carrying them upstairs every single time - neither option is easy on the parent's back!

Roesy

My babies reflux became obvious while she was still breastfed. My cousins child has quite bad reflux, he is breastfed. A friend of mines baby has reflux. She was breastfed. Hardly unheard of! It's a bloody curse of a thing.

As for the changing table. We still use ours even though she's quite big. Have tried changing her on beds, floor etc and found all of those options much harder on our backs. Plus, she can try to escape the much dreaded bum change a lot easier. She detests getting her nappy done! So for many on this thread it was unnecessary but for us it was essential.

We got most of our big ticket items from friends who were finished having kids so they passed on what they thought was essential and to be honest we used pretty much everything except a sleep positioner. My only query with the stuff we got ourselves was how necessary the bugaboo was. It's a brilliant buggy, don't get me wrong but I hardly used it. I tended to use my ergo carrier. My husband does use it when he's out with her though. Maybe I'll use it more when she starts resisting front carry. Can never manage a back carry solo!

SarahJ

Just reading through all of these posts and laughing to myself, as I had this conversation with someone the other day. She's pregnant on her first, and was asking me what she needed etc. I said it doesn't matter what I tell you that you need / don't need, because you're gona get it all anyway! I got all the cr*p, and it's only now I'm thinking, God I really fell for all the fads! When I have another, I Defo won't be getting half the stuff I got.
Even my hospital bag was just full of rubbish I never used! Next time around, a few pairs of pants and pjs, none of this arnica cream business

lollpop

This thread just goes to show that every baby & family is different!

Our video monitor is brilliant, couldn't live without it. Possibly because ds is a bad sleeper and because of the layout of our house I wouldn't hear him if I was in the kitchen and he was in his room.

Loved the hooded towels, so cosy after a bath.

I could never have enough muslins. Must have 20 and could use 20 more! Baba spits up a lot so that's probably why.

I thought the breastfeeding pillow was a complete waste, just never needed if, found it too awkward to use.

Swaddle blankets were a complete waste of time, Ds hated being swaddled and to be honest I thought it was easier to just use a cellular blanket for it anyway.

Blankets!! We got so many. You only need two or 3, especially if you use a sleeping bag, we must have got 10 or 12 as presents.

The wrong clothes for seasons is a pain too. My pet hate is people who don't give gift receipts cos then you're stuck with the clothes, it's such a waste of peoples money.

Little suit outfits - shirts and ties and things. Rubbish for babies. More babygros is a much better idea.

Keepsake boxes, we got 4, they'll never be used.

seventeen sheep

Oh I thought of another one. Sheets for the moses basket / pram. Pillowcases are the perfect size, buy a few in colours that match your bedclothes, and at least they'll be used for ages - not just for those first couple of months.

Teething toys - not something we bought ourselves, but were given plenty as presents. He's just never been interested in chewing on them. (Of course, essential for some babies/toddlers, but best to see if your child is a "chewer" before you waste money on them!)

When I was pregnant, I knew I'd need a thermometer for the baby, and I decided to save money by buying a normal digital underarm thermometer, instead of one of the ear ones that read temperature instantly. After his first suspected temperature, I went straight to Boots for the Braun digital ear thermometer. It was an absolute nightmare trying to hold a squirming screaming baby still, forcing him to hold his arm down, for long enough to read a temperature. I would highly recommend buying the digital ear thermometer from the start. (I have read somewhere that they're actually not quite as accurate as the underarm thermometers, for a small baby, but I wouldn't trust the underarm readings anyways when baby is fighting and screaming to get away from it. They use the ear thermometers in the hospital and at the GPs, so that's good enough for me!)

A nappy bag. I'm sure many won't agree with me there, as some would say they're essential! I got one, but really, I'd have been better investing in a really nice decent-sized handbag with plenty of compartments. to use for both his stuff and mine. The only difference is that the nappy bag will usually have a couple of special lined pockets to keep food/drinks warm or cold - we never used these, it was handier to bring a sterilised bottle and a carton of ready-made formula. Anyways you can always use a little thermos pouch if necessary.

A bottle-warmer ... I don't see the point of these really! You can make up the bottles as you go along, or you can heat in a bowl of hot water, or you can use the microwave. Or if anything I'd invest in the Tommee Tippee perfect prep machine instead; however we didn't bother with it and got on fine without it.

We got far too many nice soft cosy baby blankets as presents. It's nice to have one or two nice ones, for out in the buggy etc, but I'd never use them in his cot - always cellular blankets, then sleeping bags. It just seemed a bit of a waste to have so many that were rarely used! Even in the buggy, we have a big warm footmuff, so we don't even use them often in that.

A special mini blender is one present still in it's box unused. I never really bothered with purees, but if I did, I just used a normal hand-blender. If I was going to bother pureeing at all, better to do it in big batches. Actually I bought quite a few mini-lunchboxes and icecube trays for all the batch cooking and freezing I was planning on doing, waste of money for me as I didn't really bother in the end, but essential for many parents!

We can't have enough muslin cloths and bibs in this house - especially bibs. Still though, even having said that, I wouldn't buy more than a couple of them for the next baby - no guarantee they would be as messy and pukey as the one we have now!

I think the key is to do all the research possible into all the products available, but buy very little. At least then, when you DO end up needing something, you'll have your research done and know what product you want and where to buy it!

seventeen sheep

lollpop wrote: »

The wrong clothes for seasons is a pain too. My pet hate is people who don't give gift receipts cos then you're stuck with the clothes, it's such a waste of peoples money.

Yeah definitely. In summer, we were given a little shorts and Tshirt outfit that only would fit him now. It was bought in what I would think was quite an expensive boutique store, in a different part of the country where we'd never visit. There would also be plenty of chain stores - Next, Mothercare, etc - in the same town, I wish the person had bought something there instead, at least then I could have swapped for the same outfit in a size that might fit him next summer. I just feel guilty having the cute - probably quite expensive - outfit, still with the tags on, that he'll never wear.

In hindsight, I'm thinking though of the kind of stuff I used to buy friends' babies before mine was born - glittery Converse, an adorable sparkling little tutu for a newborn, a little bowtie and braces for a baby boy. In hindsight the parents probably hated that stuff! In fairness I'd probably have bought babygros etc along with those things. I think in future I'd just give vouchers, or else ask what's needed. People say you can't have enough vests and babygros, but actually, while we were occasionally short on babygros, we were given FAR too many vests than we could ever use, and plenty of them he outgrew before they were ever worn.

lazygal

Jolliever wrote: »

WOW

Statistically, that's really rare. It's just 8% for a baby to have reflux, 0.00512% to have three babies with reflux.

Are you sure it was reflux? It's a very serious condition. Some think a baby spitting up formula as a result of overfeeding is reflux, but it's actually an opening of the valve in the oesophagus due to abnormalities. It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

Bull. I know loads of babies who've been properly diagnosed with reflux. And most were breastfed. It is a complete myth and very stressful to be told because you're breastfeeding your baby doesn't have reflux. I was lucky with mine but friends have had reflux on multiple babies.

Moonbeam

Jolliever wrote: »

WOW

Statistically, that's really rare. It's just 8% for a baby to have reflux, 0.00512% to have three babies with reflux.

Are you sure it was reflux? It's a very serious condition. Some think a baby spitting up formula as a result of overfeeding is reflux, but it's actually an opening of the valve in the oesophagus due to abnormalities. It's unheard of in breastfed babies too.

Yes,diagnosed reflux and no breastfed babies can get it too.
They also had in 1 case cows milk allergy and in another lactose intolerance which did not help.
The smaller one is fine now once treated and the older one grew out of it long ago.

73trix

Didn't need so far
- outdoor all in one suit for 0-3 mths. Never wore it. Enough with warm cardi and warm blanket for pram / car..
- outfits for newborns. Only worn so as to show those who bought them. Baby gros much handier/comfier
-been loaned slings but can't manage on my own!
- Thermoter for bath. Elbow test enough.
- hooded towels. Any towel would do.
-moses basket. Baby hated it from day one.

Handy:
- bottle starter kit. Planned to breastfeed, still do but supplemented early on. Handy to have there.
-Breastfeeding pillow
- Isofix base

Essential:
- muslin sheets
- playmat/bouncy chair for babs to entertain himself if only for short periods
- baby sound monitor
- car mirror for car seat
- changing table (one that doubles as chest of drawers very handy!)