What didn't you need for your baby?

sillysocks

Funny how what are some peoples essentials are other people's useless 😀

My babybjorn bouncer is a godsend, used it on my first for 2.5 years, and my second is 1.5 and still uses it daily.

Loved the clevamama towels with buttons for around your neck.

Loved having the travel system where the car seat clicked onto the wheels, and wouldn't have been without the car seat mirror.

Another favourite was the baby hoodie for the car seat by Morrck. No hassle with jackets/snow suits on small babies.

Loved the angel care too.

My not so goods:
Gro blind
Bumbo seat
Ergo sling
Cot mobiles
Teddies
Any bath/toiletry products

ThisRegard

Some I don't understand, muslins, under arm thermometers and car mirrors.

We use muslins all the time when chasing l changing, shove it under their arse when changing and use it to dry them afterwards.

Thermometers for the obvious.

And the mirror, maybe it's a different type than the one I'm thinking. We use the one that goes on the back seat when they're rear facing so we can see what they're up to and know when they're asleep. Are people talking about the one that clips onto the rear view one?

fro9etb8j5qsl2

I think muslins are like Marmite, you either love them or hate them! Some people are just lucky enough to have non spewy mucusy dribbly babies Our fella loved releasing all sorts of bodily fluids out of every orifice so we got loads of use out of ours This list really does prove that all babies are different. I'm surprised at some of the things that some people found useless and then again, some of the stuff I never used were like the holy grail to others.

Sligo1

Totally agree that you may use different things on different babies. Muslins and bibs were an absolute godsend with my son! We used so many every single day. He'd always spit up after bottle/boob. With my daughter, I don't actually think I've ever used one muslin! And we've only started using bubs with her since she started solids... And even then wed only need one per day as opposed to my son who went through one or 2 every time he was fed.

pwurple

Yup, they are all so different. I'm thinking the only thing people should stock up on in advance is money, and patience!

IvyTheTerrible

Advice I took before baby arrived was just to buy the basics, and in small quantities, before the baby is born, and you can always buy more stuff as you need it. Like that you can figure out what is actually useful to you before you spend too much.

lazygal

Thermometer is one of the things we've never used. I think we're lucky though. Apart from colds and a tummy bug our children have never been sick.

BlossomRose

We didn't use Muslins, outfits under 6 months (ds lived in sleepsuits with feet) or the sensor part of our baby monitor.

We had a travel cot downstairs which had an inbuilt changing table. I found this brilliant. Babs napped in the cot part when he was younger and as he got older we turned it into a proper playpen (somewhere safe to leave him to play with toys for a few minutes). Having the change table part on it was brilliant too as there are so many nappy changes with a young baby. This was quite cheap (about €100) and definately so handy.

A baby bouncer chair is brilliant. Babs loved it. He so loved his play gym.

We had a big baby bath which was useful at the time but it is a pain to store away now because it is so big. If I was buying again I would invest a little more money and get one of the foldable ones.

Isolt

Useless:

- variflow teats
(way too messy with my little gulper, although some swear by them!)
- baby gaviscon
(poor baby has reflux and lactose intolerance but the first step was trying gaviscon and it did nothing, also a pain to prepare as her milk already has a pre-added thickener!)
- people buying us 6 month, 12 month etc clothes for our newborn.
(While I know in the future we might use them, right now we have three bags full of stuff she can't wear and absolutely nowhere to keep them. One gift was a little Santa dress for 6-9 months. Our baby will be three months at the end of December so will probably realistically never wear this as it'll be too small next year! Complete waste of money!) Likewise, buying summer dresses for 0-3 months for a winter baby make no sense.
-any baby shampoos/soaps.
- nappy bags (I very rarely use them as the nappy is thrown straight in the bin)

Useful:

-bibs and muslin cloths. Due to the reflux mentioned above, my baby creates some crazy messes. We are constantly running out of bibs and cloths.
- baby bouncer
- baby play gym
- cardigans and fluffy onesies
-steam sterilizer (so handy!)

The One Doctor

Not used:

Baby monitor
Microwave steriliser
Moses basket (we used the travel system cot, it was designed to be overnighted in)
Muslin cloths
Clothes for anything over 3 months old (not enough storage space)
Nappy bags (just used a nappy bin)
Shampoos
Cotton pads

Used:

Plugin steam steriliser
Travel system (Uppababy Vista)
Wipes
Manual breast pump
Breastfeeding pillow
Baby clothes bin

73trix

Baby clothes for under 6 months. Months do not equate the size of baby in my experience. My 3 month old is already in 6-9month clothes. Had outgrown the rest in ridiculous speed and I preferred babygros most of the time til now..

Baby hooded towels. Got several as gifts. Used one. Ordinary towel would be fine.

baby socks. I bought oversized ones myself as all the ones received as gifts were too small and tight and marked his legs.

Moses basket. Baby hated. In the bed and then cot after 7weeks as refused to settle in moses basket but was a big baby.

Love:=

My breast feeding pillow in early weeks.
Microwave sterilizer is the only one we have and v handy for travel - we visit family in other parts of the country.
Manual pump serves me very well. Avent phillips - E60.
Gro bags.

Woshy

We bought a stand for our bassinet attachment from the travel system and never used it once. I demanded we go buy it when the baby was about a week old in a hormonal tizzy so we had somewhere for him to sleep in the sitting room. We lived in an apartment and our bedroom with the baby's little crib was right next door to the sitting room. We had absolutely no need to put the baby to sleep in the sitting room!

Oh and my little boy got a bumbo as a present and it was used once. He was (and still is) extremely active and just didn't stay still enough for it to be safe to put him in it for any length of time. We also got a sling and a fisher price rocking thing that he wouldn't stay in either.

Things that were great and got used loads were the clevamama soother tree, microwave steriliser, the fisher price jumperoo and one of those acitivity play mats they can lie on when they were small.

There's always lots of threads on what was a good baby buy and what isn't. i really think it comes down to individuals, some people swear by things that i would never have used in a million years. All babies and parents are different and until you meet your baby and get to know him/her it can be hard to know what they or you will use.

Moonbeam

I keep thinking about the amount of muslins/towels we needed while reading this thread.
We would have easily used 5-6 a day and a lot more some days for the reflux babies!

Woshy

I was given so many packs of muslins as presents and they all got used, every one, all the time - you do need a fair amount in rotation if you have a reflux baby! My little boy had silent reflux but I still had to use loads of cloths

lazygal

I keep thinking about the piles of muslins and bibs we never used! And all the lotions and potions that went in the bin. And the outfits that they never wore. Only last week doing a clearout I found gifts of clothes for my younger child that I had completely forgotten about.

skallywag

Dummies.

fro9etb8j5qsl2

Woshy wrote: »

.....in a hormonal tizzy....

This is how my house ended up so full of silly unused baby stuff :pac:

kandr10

Genevieve Sweet Apartment wrote: »

This is how my house ended up so full of silly unused baby stuff :pac:

Also how I ended up with a black shade thingy for the pram and neoprene body cover thingy for swimming on holidays. Only set me back 60 quid. Oh and a tent thing for the beach. 20 quid down on that though I'd be hopeful of using it this year.

mirrorwall14

Woshy wrote: »

I was given so many packs of muslins as presents and they all got used, every one, all the time - you do need a fair amount in rotation if you have a reflux baby! My little boy had silent reflux but I still had to use loads of cloths

We've already used all 6 I got in the first 24hrs! And he turned out to be nearly 2lbs lighter than anticipated and we have barely any babygros that he's not completely swimming in rofl

bobskii

agreed!didn't think I'd use the muslin cloths but they are so handy . they are in aldi again today.

Merkin

lazygal wrote: »

I keep thinking about the piles of muslins and bibs we never used! And all the lotions and potions that went in the bin. And the outfits that they never wore. Only last week doing a clearout I found gifts of clothes for my younger child that I had completely forgotten about.

We were gifted a ridiculous amount of clothes which was very thoughtful and kind of people but a. Tastes differ and B. When they are very small there are only so many outfits they need. We are moving country next week and I didn't want to give all these new baby clothes to a charity shop so I contacted my local Women's Aid and they are delighted. A lot of women are leaving abusive relationships in the dead if night and the refuge said the clothes will come in so handy. So for anyone with a surplus of new or unworn clothes I definitely think WA is a good organisation to go to.

tink2

What video baby monitors would people recommend? (Hubby is insisting on a video!) thanks

mrsWhippy

tink2 wrote: »

What video baby monitors would people recommend? (Hubby is insisting on a video!) thanks

We have a Motorola one - it's fab. Its probably more useful when baby is 6months + and in their own room & moving around a bit more.

kandr10

We've got a motorola mbp36. It's great and the night vision and stuff works really well but there was a problem with the wire on the plug. It became loose after a while and we had to hold it in a certain way or tape it up so that it would charge And we couldn't use it without having it plugged into the mains. We got it replaced without any problems and it's been fine since but it was something that I remember reading on reviews and discounted. Not sure if it's just that model but is do careful research before buying from this brand.

lollpop

We got the Motorola mbp41 in Argos. It was about 100 euro, really happy with it. Seems to be much pricier at the mo for some reason.

LegacyUser

We must have been given two dozen muslins by people and I thought it was ridiculous but lo and behold we go through about two a day. We got some ridiculously expensive bamboo fibre ones which are as soft as an angels arse BUT look really ratty with threads hanging off. I far prefer the Aldi ones, which are pretty soft but actually have structural integrity. Worst = the Dunnes ones, which are too rough even after washing.

BEST:
the travel cot in the kitchen with changing table. Brilliant for naps and just for storing all our nappies and wipes and things. It'll be handy down the road as a playpen too, hopefully.

Tuppence & Crumble Star Wrap. One of those expensive things you buy in a pregnancy whirl. But its ended up being bloody brilliant as its super warm and incredibly easy to throw a wriggling whinging child into without drama, unlike those snowsuits.

Avent Manual Breast Pump. Far far quicker than the electric which only goes at one speed. You can go like the clappers and be done in half the time.

Badabing Nappy Bag from TKMaxxx. A seperate wipeable compartment for clothes that have been puked on. Amazing.

Tommee Tippee Perfect Prep Machine. We got it half-price in Asda, delivered by Parcel Motel. Current safety guidelines makes formula prepping a right pain in the arse, particularly after you've been breastfeeding so are used to doing as little as possible. This thing makes it a dream.

Vaseline for the arse. Prevents nappy rash but more importantly helps poo just sliiiiiiide right off.

ClevaMamma Cot Positioner. We got it as a gift. Ended up being a lifesaver on Day 2 when baby wouldn't go in Moses basket. We put him in between our two pillows in this. He couldn't roll over and smother and he was up safely away from the duvet and it made life a lot easier in the first weeks.

WORST:
Mobiles. They just get them overexcited and overstimulated. We have to take the thing off entirely before a nap or good luck.

A Baby bath. Screamed the house down. I think its the hard slippery plastic. Oh, and anything Johnson and Johnson. Way too harsh on baby skin, ironically.

Breastfeeding pillows. They're quite hard and awkward and I found one of those ordinary house cushions that are sausage shaped are way better. They do the job by raising the baby up to you but are comfier and easier to manoevre.

Mittens. All sleepsuits have fold down cuffs now anyway. And Mittens just fall off.

pwurple

Angelcare one, without video.

Does anyone use those fabric portable chair supports for babies? We have three.. Advertised as a "must have". Never used them.

Lovely Bloke

tink2 wrote: »

What video baby monitors would people recommend? (Hubby is insisting on a video!) thanks

D-Link

connects to the WiFi and is accessable via a phone app if you have to leave the baby at home, otherwise it's viewable on a laptop, tablet or whatever.

It doesn't have it's own viewer though.

Moonbeam

pwurple wrote: »

Angelcare one, without video.

Does anyone use those fabric portable chair supports for babies? We have three.. Advertised as a "must have". Never used them.

I had one and used it a few times for #3 but no idea where it is now and don't miss it.

How Strange

pwurple wrote: »

Does anyone use those fabric portable chair supports for babies? We have three.. Advertised as a "must have". Never used them.

Do you mean the travel booster seat? We have one and used it on both from 16 months and they wanted to put their plate, cup etc actually on the table and not the booster seat tray.

Or maybe you mean the light fabric one. I've seen them but I can't imagine how it would be strong enough to hold a squirming toddler.