Items the advertisers try to convince us are essential

LittleLauz

FatVonD wrote: »

:eek:

That's unbelievable and surely an open invite for a candida infection!

Definetly, but no more so than regular tampons and towels which are bleached and full of nasty chemicals anyway.

darwins_mum

I have read the whole thread and laughed wryly.
In a former life I purchased every conceivable gizmo, gadget and bit of frippery going! Er hence my innordinate amount of debt.
My cleaning cupboard consists of stardrops, white vinegar and some industrial degreaser that I nabbed from somewhere.
My clothes come from charity shops or ebay and the tv remains firmly off most nights to prevent further temptation.
Thanks to OP for the great reminder.

juno

There's a new deodorant that gives you beautiful underarms. !!!!!! is that all about?!

Sassers

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Stop giving that ugly piece of junk valuable floor-space! Give it a clean and list it on ebay. I'd pay someone to take it off my hands if it meant that I didn't have to think of that ex every time I gave it a kick back under the bed.....

...Thanks for the kick up the bum...I keep thinking I'll get round to it but never do. I have hols coming up so will get on ebay. And chuck the vile matching purse in with the bag as well......!
I laughed loudly about `valuable floor space'...so true, as I have a stash of loo rolls, shampoo, toothpaste and a powershower ready for the bathroom refit, all crammed under the bed jockeying for position!:D:eek:

darwins_mum

Juno, I saw that advertised last night and nearly fell off the chair laughing. The 2 young dolts that I was visiting failed to see the irony of the ad!

BitterAndTwisted

Juno, thanks for the reminder! Which genius thought that we were up all night fretting away about our un-moisturised underarms? I think they must all be on drugs or something....

fillyjonk

off at a tangent but what really irritates me is the stuff that is pushed at new parents.

You don't need much at all for a baby. I'd say you NEED some way to carry them, something for them to eat, some clothes and somewhere for them to sleep and some nappies. Now if you were superhardcore you could make your own sling from sheets or whatever and presumably make them some clothes and breastfeed...and walk everywhere so as not to need a car seat ;-) and of course they'd share your bed...but even if you are not, the most you'd need is a cheap, secondhand pushchair/pram, some secondhand clothes (tbh for a first baby you'll probably be inundated anyway), some way of feeding them whether breast or bottles, a moses basket and a couple of blankets and then cloth or the cheapest disposable nappies. The only thing I'd say you probably needed to budget for new is a car seat.

You certainly don't need matching cot bumpers, educational toys, or baby wipe warmers.

I understand that people do often want to spend money on new babies but I really believe that if you have the money spare, spend it on making the transition to parenthood easier (or to having another baby in the house if there are kids already). For each of my babies someone or other gave me money for a cleaner for the first 6 weeks, which was strictly unnecessary but , especially with no extended family within a 3 hour drive, amazing, and made a much bigger difference to things than having co-ordinated nursery decor would.

LittleLauz

juno wrote: »

There's a new deodorant that gives you beautiful underarms. !!!!!! is that all about?!

This one does make me laugh, there's one where a lady asks her fella what his far part of her is and he kisses her underarms. Hmmm. If my boyfriend said that my armpits were my best feature I think I'd be a little gutted!

BitterAndTwisted

fillyjonk wrote: »

You certainly don't need baby wipe warmers.

Oh, just stop! I categorically refuse to accept that there are such things.

Family legend has it that my grandparents were so poor that when they had their first child, my Auntie Jessie slept swaddled up in the bottom of a chest of drawers.

FatVonD

fillyjonk wrote: »

For each of my babies someone or other gave me money for a cleaner for the first 6 weeks, which was strictly unnecessary but , especially with no extended family within a 3 hour drive, amazing, and made a much bigger difference to things than having co-ordinated nursery decor would.

I'd bet my last fiver that was a friend that had children themselves. One of my friends that already had children gave me a tupperware box filled with a pot of Sudocrem, a bottle of Infacol, a tube of nipple cream and some Snufflebabe!

I agree about buying second hand baby clothes. Nearly everything my son had was second hand because that made the difference between me taking 3 months maternity leave or 6 months (as it happens I took 4 years and that's when second handitis really kicked in!) Most of my friends had girls so he spent the odd night in a pink babygrow but he was none the wiser and he still had his mum at home with him!