Most useless bit of baby equipment you bought

onlyroz

Well I found the Quinny Buzz to be completely useless - the front wheel kept jamming, and the damn thing cost around £300. The Zapp is much better.

I had a travel bottle warmer that never worked properly. It had this chemical in it that heated up when you snapped this metal thingy, and you wrapped it around the bottle to warm it up. Never really got the milk hotter than luke-warm, so baby got used to cold milk when out and about.

I did use the baby bath for the first few months but it probably wasn't worth the money. Most of the toys were never played with either...

sooz

onlyroz wrote: »

Most of the toys were never played with either...

Find all the bits, pack them up & send them to your next NCT sale. I am eyeing up their xmas presents now, after I got £££s for a couple of boxes of toys at the last sale. They all sold!

diable

Mother in laws plane ticket to the UK, 6 months of help, cooking, ironing and cleaning. Invaluable.



!!!!!! read the thread wrongly, thought it was the most Useful lol

fernliebee

I made a deal with myself not to buy things unless we found a need for them. Most places now you can order online and get next day delivery etc if you find you really need something. As a result I never bothered buying most things. WHen I saw things come up on freecycle I would sometimes get them to try out but I found myself managing fine with next to nothing.

Best buys/ freebies- door bouncer and baby bouncer- DD hated lying down from birth so wanted to be held upright all the time, so these meant I could actually have a hand free and she could see what I was up to.

Worst buy's/ freebies- hooded baby towels- they are too tiny, DD was almost straight away too long to be completely covered by them so ended up just using normal bath towels for her.

Pigpen- like you I find the kitchen sink best for bathing newborns! Saves your back as it is the right height, and uses less water than in the big bath, much less hassle/ storage than the baby bath. Also maybe just me but meant I scrubbed my kitchen sink a lot more often too

Ultimately everyone will have different things they found useless/ invalueable, I think you just need to try and think what will you def need ie clothes, nappies and somewhere for them to sleep etc, then what things you would like to make your life easier and anything else leave it until you have a real need for it.

An example of this was before DD was born I thought "why bother with grobag/ sleeping bags when people have coped for years with blankets" Then DD started waking herself up by wriggling out of her covers/ kicking them off, so I got on freecycle got a couple of grobags and never looked back I am a convert People coped because grobags weren't around but some things really are there to make things easier for us, it's just figuring out what is good and what is not.

onlyroz

Yes, I forgot about baby bath towels. They're completely useless - far too small to do anything with.

Now baby sleeping-bags are essential - otherwise you'll go into the nursery to find your sleeping child huddled shivering in the corner of the cot, with the blanket at the other end.

kitkat5566

Thanks for this thread guys! It is so tempting to go overboard when buying for a baby as its such an exciting time and you want to be prepared. I wrote myself a list of vital items, such as clothes, nappies, etc and a list of 'items I wanted' and set a budget for each. I am sure I have bought stuff that will not get used, but I have ensured I kept the cost to a minimum. My biggest luxury item is a swing, I had heard how good they were and am just hoping the baby likes it too! If not, I will just sell it on. I have got some of these hooded towels that I know lots of people hate, I actually got a load given to me for free and a set of 2 or 3 that came free with my cot so no loss there really!! I have a changing unit, but this was given free and at the moment I find it handy just to keep the baby bits on, I doubt I will use the top to change the baby (when he/ she arrives ) but it can always be used for storing stuff!

Ettenna

fernliebee wrote: »

... I find the kitchen sink best for bathing newborns! Saves your back as it is the right height, and uses less water than in the big bath, much less hassle/ storage than the baby bath. Also maybe just me but meant I scrubbed my kitchen sink a lot more often too

My grandson is 25 months and still insists on going in the sink to be bathed The neighbours think it's funny seeing his head in the front window followed by a naked bottom

louby-lou-lou

i can't stress enough was a waste a baby bath is. Too heavy to lift once it has water in so used it inside the bath! what's the point in that baby might as well be in the bath or sink. Also i found a bath seat to be useless as baby is out of the water if you don't put enough in and they get cold.
I just put enough water in for him to be able to lie on his back but slightly supported by the water.

Geiger_2

Just remembered another useless (for me) item - a playpen. What was I thinking? I live in a cottage, the rooms are tiny! Put it in the dining room, only fitted in the middle of the room, had to squeeze round it to get into the kitchen, sitting room or up the stairs. Lasted about a week!

Liked my change station first time round, but didn't have room when I had my second, so just got a change mat. To be honest, I've been a bit lazy and not even used that very often - just changed her on the bed, but occasionally with disasterous consequences!

Definitely found it a bonus that various baby club offers mean I've been able to get a free change bag (from Boots) and folding change mat (Sainsburys). Didn't get freebies like that when I had my first in 2002 - think I paid about £20 for my change bag back then! If I hadn't got a free one this time, I probably wouldn't have bothered.

property.advert

Worst was a bottle warmer. Utterly useless invention. Tap or kettle and a jug to warm or keep warm and if out and about, just make too hot and top up with cold.

Best ? Fisher Price toys, microwave sterilizer by far for practicality and perhaps a bouncy castle on a massive mark down.