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'Must haves' you never used

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  • Registered Users Posts: 4,317 ✭✭✭mojesius


    -Soothers
    -Manual/hand breast pump (useless contraption)
    -One of those baby positioning cushion things. Bought one before reading about all the SIDs risks
    -baby swing, daughter hated it. Got her a vibrating bouncer for a third of the price which she loved. Thankfully we borrowed the swing as opposed to purchasing it
    -Dresses before she could walk. Nightmare for her trying to crawl in.
    -baby swimming togs. She mostly wore a neoprene nappy at swimming


  • Registered Users Posts: 17,736 ✭✭✭✭kylith


    I gave away my boppy after 2 days; found it awkward to use. I found that a pillow did the job better and was easier to wash.


  • Registered Users Posts: 762 ✭✭✭Pistachios & cream


    God I was so lucky, my sister kept all her stuff so I never had to worry about ‘essential gear’ bar food, clothes and nappies. We also had to buy more muslin cloths and still find them fierce handy. Easily use 2 or 3 a day, cleaning up little messes and using them to protect her clothes at feeding time.

    The one thing I did buy that I regret was the changing bag. Now I was insistent that the bag be a neutral looking bag so bought the pacapod saunton and I’ve barely used it. Now it does come with changing and feeding pods which are brilliant but the bag itself is so heavy that I just throw the pods into a soft tote handbag I own and it’s perfect. My sister also had a pacapod so she gave me a pod that was bigger then my ones and I often just use this as a mixed feeding and changing bag in the early days when I didn’t need a cooler bag for food. It fit the essentials and was so much handier to pop on the pram than the changing bag which had loads of crap I didn’t need in it ‘just in case’.


  • Registered Users Posts: 653 ✭✭✭Irish_peppa


    Big nappy changer press / unit. It was used a handful of times mostly change nappy on bed. Its now a glorified shelf:rolleyes:


  • Registered Users Posts: 4,514 ✭✭✭bee06


    Big nappy changer press / unit. It was used a handful of times mostly change nappy on bed. Its now a glorified shelf:rolleyes:

    God, I’d be lost without my changing unit! Has all the cloth nappies, wipes, her clothes in one place. We have ours in our kitchen so every change is on it too.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 1,920 ✭✭✭Cash_Q


    bee06 wrote:
    God, I’d be lost without my changing unit! Has all the cloth nappies, wipes, her clothes in one place. We have ours in our kitchen so every change is on it too.


    Yeah I'd be lost without it too, ours is downstairs and we have a mat on top of a little bookcase upstairs too. I did some on the bed when she was first born but my back used to be in bits after. Ours will eventually convert to a chest of drawers and sure it has everything in one place now too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,644 ✭✭✭✭lazygal


    bee06 wrote: »
    God, I’d be lost without my changing unit! Has all the cloth nappies, wipes, her clothes in one place. We have ours in our kitchen so every change is on it too.

    We didn't have one for our first two but when I was pregnant with my third one was going for free on a Facebook group and I snapped it up and its super handy. Its the most basic ikea model so doesn't take much room and its handy to corall all the bits.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,424 ✭✭✭scarepanda


    We made our own changing table with an ikea kallax unit and a diy top for it. When we moved house we made up another one for downstairs. For us it's been invaluable and wouldn't be without it. I'm not sure I'd have much interest in a specialised changing unit though. At least with our current set up we know the unit will be used afterwards.


  • Registered Users Posts: 12,644 ✭✭✭✭lazygal


    We have a mat on a chest of drawers upstairs and it's just as handy.


  • Moderators, Recreation & Hobbies Moderators, Social & Fun Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 6,890 Mod ✭✭✭✭shesty


    Ikea changing table here too, the slightly bigger model, godsend.Still going on the third.We actually just don't have any chests of drawers here, just drawer units built inside wardrobes, so it's handy to have.


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 91 ✭✭Lucky Lou


    I use my lap most of the time ;o


  • Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    It really boils down to the kind of parent you are and the type of child you have.

    We didn't go mental on muslins, but the ones we did were well used.

    Baby blender: stupidly noisy and a stick blender would have been far better at pureéing stuff.

    Jeans and shirts and v-necked jumpers: a) It was a May baby. b) In a heatwave. c) are YOU comfortable wearing that sort of stuff sleeping or would you be more comfortable in a onesie? Since he basically napped the majority of the first 9 months, wearing his PJ's made perfect sense.


  • Moderators Posts: 12,352 ✭✭✭✭Black_Knight


    Cot motion pads. We got our monitor specifically because it had it. Didn't bother setting it up in the end. 2 year later, baby 2 on the way, not gonna bother again. I heard they give false alerts a lot


  • Posts: 26,052 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    We have a changing table in the laundry room and it's great to have a one-stop place for changing and storing clothes and supplies. Upstairs I use the bed and a mat, prefer the dedicated table but don't want to litter up the place too much with baby stuff. Also have a Munchkin pail for disposal that keeps everything tightly closed up and smell free that I wouldn't do without.


  • Registered Users Posts: 263 ✭✭lunamoon


    It's funny how different people like/dislike things. A lot of the stuff mentioned here are things I couldn't live without. Changing table, muslins, snot suckers etc. The only thing that we didn't get much use of was the moses basket.


  • Registered Users Posts: 38 maisie_moo


    With my first baby due in December I am enjoying this thread!


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,740 ✭✭✭Foweva Awone


    Maternity pads ... they are so thick and so uncomfortable! I bought a few packets, but I only needed maybe 1 or 2 pads immediately after the birth. I didn't bleed very long or heavily after the birth, and normal Always pads were much more comfortable.

    Didn't really need any baby lotions or powders, got some as presents but didn't really use them.

    I bought an expensive baby sling/carrier but really didn't get the use out of it. He was a very pukey baby and it was a pain having to constantly wash the carrier and my clothes when he got sick. If it weren't for that, though, I think I'd have used it a lot more.

    You don't need to buy sheets for the Moses basket or pram - pillow cases do the job perfectly. Again, with a pukey baby, this saved us some money as we were changing them constantly.

    We definitely used the changing table plenty, and the nappy bin was essential for us.

    Our biggest investment was a good travel system (Uppababy Vista) ... it's been in constant use since our baby with his younger cousins and is still going strong, six years later!!


  • Posts: 26,052 ✭✭✭✭[Deleted User]


    I needed a LOT of pads, but was able to downgrade fairly quickly to regular ones too. Mine isn't too pukey and loves being in the carrier (Babo), he's spent most of his first three months in it and I still have him in it a lot of the time just doing things in the house or while I'm working. If you have a curious dog, the nappy bin is definitely essential :P

    @maisie moo - congratulations :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 2,505 ✭✭✭tscul32


    Disposable maternity undies. They looked awful so I just bought really big normal knickers in Penneys and treated them as disposable. Comfy cotton and cheaper than the paper yokes.
    Have to say I never ever used a muslin cloth with 3 kids. Never went for a changing table either. Their clothes went into a chest of drawers like all the other clothes in the house. I had a changing mat upstairs on my bed and one downsfairs behind the sofa and they were changed on the bed/floor, or on my knee for a just wet one when they were little.
    Didn't do the nappy bin either. And everything else was bought when/if needed.
    My next veto was cot beds and toddler beds. Mine were in a regular single bed at 19-21 months. Guard rail one side, wall other side and a few pillows on the floor just in case. They just hated the cot.


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,743 ✭✭✭appledrop


    +1 on Maternity pads. Mad things altogether. Just get the extra long nightime always + you will be grand.

    Also never understood need for big maternity pants. I just wore my normal pants in slightly bigger size. Although my friend did say its different if you have a c section you need big high ones.

    I actually forgot about the sling! What a waste of money. I had a reflux baby that was always in my arms as hated been flat so I could do very little at home. So I bought a sling thinking it would be great as finally have my hands free. I lasted half a day after he pucked on me for third time!!!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    I wouldn’t have gone without those big green maternity pads. The ones the size of surfboards :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 1,601 ✭✭✭kandr10


    jlm29 wrote: »
    I wouldn’t have gone without those big green maternity pads. The ones the size of surfboards :D

    I actually love them! I find the padding so comfy :)


  • Registered Users Posts: 131 ✭✭ladystardust


    I dont think normal padd would have cut it, even the extra long variety!
    Biggest money suck and useless items for us were the breast pump (never achieved a let down with it so never yielded more than 30 mls) the second breast pump ( just to see), every type of bottle under the sun (she never took one, always turned up her nose) and soothers (also every brand/type just to see if I could find the right one)


  • Registered Users Posts: 855 ✭✭✭SnowyMuckish


    Must be a ‘good, safe, high quality’ pram which translates into way overpriced uppababy. For the use I got out of it it was definitely not worth the price. I wish I went for something cheap and cheerful. But then again everyone is different and I’m sure plenty of others love theirs!


  • Moderators Posts: 12,352 ✭✭✭✭Black_Knight


    Must be a ‘good, safe, high quality’ pram which translates into way overpriced uppababy. For the use I got out of it it was definitely not worth the price. I wish I went for something cheap and cheerful. But then again everyone is different and I’m sure plenty of others love theirs!

    Both ourselves and our friends guy uppababy vista buggies. Both at the same time. We met up recently and theirs looked almost shop quality. Ours is marked with scuffs and muck on every inch. Constantly in use


  • Registered Users Posts: 622 ✭✭✭Minier81


    Both ourselves and our friends guy uppababy vista buggies. Both at the same time. We met up recently and theirs looked almost shop quality. Ours is marked with scuffs and muck on every inch. Constantly in use

    I think it depends on how much of a walker you are. My pram/buggy did 15km plus every day for the first 12 months, worth every penny!!


  • Registered Users Posts: 855 ✭✭✭SnowyMuckish


    Minier81 wrote: »
    I think it depends on how much of a walker you are. My pram/buggy did 15km plus every day for the first 12 months, worth every penny!!

    It’s definitely something you need to factor in. Something like the uppababy would suit someone who walks a lot. Mine gathered dust and it was my one regret that I bought it. Lifestyle is a big consideration when choosing one I think, especially something so expensive!


  • Registered Users Posts: 6,158 ✭✭✭crisco10


    It's mad how different everyone's experience is.

    Someone mentioned Ollie the Owl as a waste of space earlier, but for us it was a god send. It did annoy us a little for a night or 2, but little un loved it and we got used to it pretty quickly.

    Our biggest wastes:

    Muslins - lucky to not have a pukey baby so never used them.
    Disposable Nappies - strange one this I acknowledge. Once past the tiny newborn phase, we moved to cloth nappies 24/7 but still bought a small backup stock of plastic nappies "just in case". Never used them. Sorry, we used them once, and had our one and only poonami, so never again.


  • Registered Users Posts: 3,818 ✭✭✭jlm29


    It’s definitely something you need to factor in. Something like the uppababy would suit someone who walks a lot. Mine gathered dust and it was my one regret that I bought it. Lifestyle is a big consideration when choosing one I think.

    I think future plans are important too. I bought a decent buggy even I had my first. It’s not a uppababy, I think it was just before they were available, but after 4 kids it’s still in great nick, and used every day. While I’ve friends who bought cheap, but bought twice. I did have to buy a double when I had two kids closer in age though!


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  • Administrators, Politics Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 25,947 Admin ✭✭✭✭✭Neyite


    It’s definitely something you need to factor in. Something like the uppababy would suit someone who walks a lot. Mine gathered dust and it was my one regret that I bought it. Lifestyle is a big consideration when choosing one I think.


    After us having to buy a second (expensive) pram due to the baby being colicky and not liking the positioning in the first one, I always tell people to borrow a pram for the first 6 months of the baby's life before forking out on a new one - especially if it's the first baby. You'll quickly find out all the things you hate about prams or want in a pram and won't be down several hundred quid. So I've lent ours out a couple of times until parents can see what does or doesn't suit them pram-wise.

    Our first pram was a Baby Jogger but the way the seat lay back for the newborn stage was awful, so we got the Quinny to use with the car seat instead for the first 6 months. After that the baby absolutely loved the Quinny and so did I but it's not a newborn pram despite the claim.


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