Top Ten Products that you DON'T need (Babies!)

kboss2010

Apparently the Playskool Gloworm toy is fantastic for getting babies to sleep, they usually come in pink, blue or green and often cost less than £10:

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1597567.htm

kboss2010

laurabllue wrote: »

Unfortunately this isn't recommended anymore. The advice is to always add the formula to water above 70 as this ensures any bacteria in the formula is killed, and also to make each feed as required. This makes it quite a hassle when out and about. I know some people mess around with a flask of boiling water, and a bottle of cooled boiled water - add the formula to 2oz of boiling water and top up with the cooler water so it's ready to drink. I can't be doing with that so just carry empty sterilised bottles and ready made cartons of formula. Slightly more expensive but easier.

I do still know plenty of people that do it your way though!

One of the things that puts me off having my own kids is all of the preachy, nasty midwives (I've yet to meet a midwife in the last 6 years who wasn't a completely sanctimonious horrible person both professionally and personally) and home visitors whose idea of 'help and support' is to have a go at struggling new mums for not doing everything they tell them to. Add to that the breastfeeding m@fia, the SAHMs cliques who are constantly trying to one-up each other on the "perfect mommy" scale, the 'ooh look at me back into my size 6's three weeks after giving birth' celebs... I despair!

I was a severely prem baby (3months), weighed less than a bag of sugar, was drip-fed for 4 months then fed on goats milk from a bottle because I was lactose intolerant until I was older and yet I'm perfectly fine at the age of 26 and my only allergy is hayfever inherited from my Dad.

My bf on the other hand grew up with a germ and dirt-phobic mother who sanitised everything, breast fed and did everything she was told to do and more and, as a consequence, her son at the same age has severe asthma and is allergic to many things including shellfish, some types of oily fish, nuts, bananas, cats and dogs and dust.

Kids are developing allergies at a rate of knots these days because they are growing up in houses full of antibacterial and antiviral cleaning products which didn't exist 15 years ago and their houses are too clean. Add that to the vaccine scares (mainly stemming from one study by one scientist with a vested interest) and we're seeing a rise in Victorian-era childhood diseases in the UK.

A few weeks ago my friend's doctor told her to stop feeding her 4 year old son too many fruits as he's in the 98th percentile for weight... The poor lad is the height of most 6 year olds and skinny as a rake and his varied and healthy diet would put most adults to shame. His Dad is 6' 4" btw.

As long as your kid is fed reasonably healthy and varied foods, clothed, bathed, educated and loved, the rest is just semantics (although I do find it quite amusing that the toxicity criteria for soil is, theoretically, how many toddlers will die if they ingest a certain number of spoonfuls of the stuff lol! Last I heard 4 years ago, 2 in every 1000 was the acceptable number )

mum2one

This takes me back, as my DD now 11...

Best buys...

2 in 1 bottle sterliser - you could use it as a cold water steriliser, or pop in in microwave for 5 mins and as long as not opened sterile for 2 hours

Value Kettle - this may sound mad, but I used it just for the water for her bottles, then when she grew out the kettle became the emergency spare, - eventually got used

Gro-bags - They were just coming out then, - best thing as DD was a fidget and a half

plastic changing mat (get them in £1 shops), - I use to have 2, one on dining room table, and 1 in changing bag, so when we used public changing areas, - I knew my mat was sterile

moses basket we used ours till DD was 10 weeks old - don't buy big fancy one - they grow out of them so quick

Travel Cot - Used that in front room to put DD in if I needed the loo or had to nip to the door - thou she wouldn't sleep in it... handy on that way

---
What I wouldn't buy again...
Cot Bumper and matching items - if you look at the labels - certain things can't be used for ages so with a cot bumper set - in theory really there for show.

Big ring - like a rubber ring, covered in material - all interactive, crinkles, pictures on - no real support and when DD realised she could push her feet against it she was half out

First size clothes - as people brought me 1st size clothes and they vary in sizing, really babygrows were the way to go for the 1st month

xx

antispam246

Hi, first time dad, hope it's ok to post here as the "dad" forum doesn't come across as anywhere near useful or relevant as the posts in mums.

Firstly thanks, read through all the replies and although each child is different there's a fair few handy suggestions here.

My daughter is only 3 weeks so it's too early to state what is useless yet however as people are mostly suggesting the opposite, figured I'd pitch in.

1) Feeding pillow! When my OH first picked this up during pregancy, I literally looked at it and said "what the hell is that for?" whilst thinking "that won't get used". Yeh, I was so wrong. It's a blessing, you never think a newborn could get so heavy after holding her for while, she's only little 8.8 on last weighing

2) Microwave sterlizer. Straight forward and an absolute necessity. I was leaning towards the electrical one but most reviews hint against. Makes the whole process simple.

3) Muslin Clothes. I noted the idea here about cutting up cheaper clothes but these things a pretty cheap as it is and do the job. We have been bought a fair few bibs but have probably used them once or twice. The muslin cloth is handy for most jobs.

4) Not any particular item as such but, baby changing station(s). By this I mean, everything you need to change a nappy, duplicated. We have a station set up downstairs and upstairs and it makes things alot easier versus constantly moving everything about. The station consists of, nappies, cream, cotton balls, wipes, nappy sacks, changing mat and a clean set of clothes, everything is re-stocked when needed, clothes usually daily.

5) Clothes (baby grows in particular) with poppers! Didn't take me long to start hating anything without poppers. Sure it all looks nice but just wait till she needs a change.

6) Dummy. May get stick for this but it's a god send, literally used as a soother when all else fails.

7) The car. Yes, a car, or any moving vehicle, so I guess prams count too. Seems to be the one thing that will always settle her no matter what. Someone needs to invent a chair of some sort that simulates a car. We have a baby bouncer, which is good but never guaranteed to work, even with mild vibrations. Taking her out in the car will do the job no matter what. Again, same for buggy.

That's about it for now, got a long way to get yet so I'm sure this could change a million and one times yet.

topdaddy_2

Oh and another thing thats a waste of time: mummy clip. Complete poop and damaging to my pram.

gayleygoo

The thing we used least was a mothercare baby sling (the kind baby sits in, and it straps to you, their legs dangle in the air and their head is normally way too low down to be safe.) If you want to use a sling, I'd recommend look up babywearing and reserach proper baby slings like mei-ties and wraps. They're not the cheapest baby item, but the few that I had were invaluable

Feeding pillow - these seem to work for some women, but my Boppy pillow was maybe too big for my petite frame and made my baby sit too high! I used it behind my back when breastfeeding - use lots of pillows around to get you comfy and you won't need one on your lap.

I breastfed mine, and bought a dozen pairs of reusable breast pads (and made a lot too, although I really didn't need that many!). Some cheap disposable breast-pad brands are uncomfortable to wear, and the more expensive ones can work out more costly than disposable nappies :eek:. The cloth pads were easy to wash, and much comfier and somehow less gross when sopping wet or stuck to your OH's face because he fell asleep on it...

If you are formula feeding, the little formula powder dispensers are quite handy. It is not recommended to make up formula in advance because bacteria in the opened powder tin can multiply in the warm liquid. You can boil the water, add it to the empty bottles and keep them warm or cool if needed. Just add the powder when it's time to feed.

My babies weren't interested in any actual toys until they were about one, and baby toys seem to be so expensive they're not worth it!

tiny_courageous

gayleygoo wrote: »

If you are formula feeding, the little formula powder dispensers are quite handy. It is not recommended to make up formula in advance because bacteria in the opened powder tin can multiply in the warm liquid. You can boil the water, add it to the empty bottles and keep them warm or cool if needed. Just add the powder when it's time to feed.

My babies weren't interested in any actual toys until they were about one, and baby toys seem to be so expensive they're not worth it!

If formula feeding, you'd need to keep the water above 70 degrees though, as formula powder needs to be added to hot water to kill any bacteria. To be honest, it's not necessarily moneysaving, but the premade bottles are so much easier when you're out and about.

For toys, my 10 month old has loads that he loves, 90% came from friends or car boot sales. A good wash in Milton is all that's needed. If you are going to buy any toys new, get a jumperoo when on offer as they hold their value well so you can sell on afterwards.

ProudMumMaggie

Best
Muslin squares
Bouncy chair
Changing mat
Moses basket
Infacol
Blankets for newborn
Grow/sleeping bags for 3 months+
Sudocream
Maternity pads
Manual pump
Bottles, bottle brush, microwave sterilizer and formula (I always planned to breast feed but what no one told me was that new mums and their babies need to learn to.feed properly. After becoming very upset that Isabella couldn't latch on a midwife suggested I try her with formula. I mix fed her til she was 6 months when due to I'll health I had to.stop. The breastapo put far too much pressure on new mums! Do what is right for you and your baby)
Wrist/ankle rattles - LO found these fascinating!
Baby play gym
Baby T.V!!

Useless
Car seat toy that goes across the handle (our handles were too short so never used it)
Expensive Pampers nappies (Lidl & Aldi are just as good and alot cheaper!)
Baby talc (MW said it's bad for babies lungs, we still have 4 unopened bottles!)
Tons of baby toiletries (All we used was top to toe bath, baby lotion, sudocream and baby bubble bath, cotton pads and later wipes)
Baby nail scissors (Never felt safe using them so peeled them when she was tiny and I bite them now)
Tons of little baby shoes and outfits - they are mostly in sleep suits and socks, in winter they have thick tights or snow suits.
Cot bumper sets - unsuitable for newborns due to suffocation risk and my.cot has head and foot boards - nowhere to tie a bumper on to!

tallybee

To be honest I found most of the products you get bombarded with ads and recommendations for when expecting, quite bamboozling. I had very little when my son was born and got by, even though he was a crier lol. He did love his door bouncer though!

topdaddy_2

ProudMumMaggie wrote: »

Baby nail scissors (Never felt safe using them so peeled them when she was tiny and I bite them now)

You bite your childs nails?