Your unnecessary & essential baby purchases

[cyclura]

Unnecessary

Baby Bath, I used it once and it was a right pain in the backside, I had a washing up bowl just for DD in the end and it was her bath until she was old enough to join me in the tub. Its cheaper and easier to store.

Talc: girls shouldn't use it anyway around their ladies bits as it can cause problems so I have loads of the stuff unused

Baby shampoo: babies do not need anything but water for the first couple of months

Baby wipes: just use reusable wipes instead, the johnsons wipes were left sitting in the box and reusables were cheaper.


Essentials

reusable nappies: we were on a very tight budget so we purchased these second hand and stripped them, perfect as I never had to worry about finding the money for nappies every week.

Comforter: after 3 months my DD had a favourite comforter, it was the one we put to bed with her every night from day 1 so might be worth picking one now in the hope yours will do similar (have a spare)

 

[kglo]

My Favorite Essentials

Bibs, Bibs and more bibs.
Door Hanging thing that Baby can jump in, my two older ones loved theirs
A Baby chair or bouncer
Toys, come on even newborns need stimulating
Playmat for tummy time to avoid flat head symdrome
Books
Sure Start Groups, they are an excellant source of support

Non Essentials
Baby monitor, just keep baby near by
Disposable nappies & wipes, invest in reusables better for baby and not much more work
Advice from all and sundry, you will learn by instinct what works for your baby or ask for advice when you want it !

 

[vespersonicca]

Bumping this up for those who might find it as useful as I did!

 

[DottyLottie]

The best buys are undoubtedly muslins, for mopping up burps and popping under babie's head when he/she is sleeping, it catches any burps and saves the sheets.
Also vests and sleepsuits, a couple of good cardigans and a couple of hats.

The most unecessary buy is deffo a top and tail bowl, bottle warmer and too many outfits and shoes.

 

[DottyLottie]

ooh also, the old school wooden high chairs are the best, especially those without a tray. They usually don't come with a harness,but you can buy a harness at mothercare for a couple of quid. LO just sits at the table with the family, and now she is almost two she doesn't have a harness and can get on and off the chair by herself. I have just bought another for the new baby, you can paint them any colour you want to.
I picked up mine for £15 on ebay!
https://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220659057946&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

 

[mystika802]

Funny everyone says bottle warmer was useless, I LOVED mine, I didnt have it for the first few months and then had one given to me and I will definatly have one this time too. I also found baby baths to be useless, I used the little thing that props them up in the bathtub and liked that much better, and it takes up no room.
Also agree socks do NOT stay on unless you buy GAP ones which do stay on, shoes...also dont stay on but I LOVE robeez once they get a bit older, they cant pull them off and they dont fall off. I also loved the baby Einstein movies, instead of putting on the stupid cartoons lol they are just bright stuff to look at and nice classical music, I want the entire collection of them. Baby clothes....those cute outfits...they are so bunchy and you'll never end up using them, one piece outfits are the best for sure. You need a nasal asperater they are great for when baby gets sick. Travel wipes case is handy to keep in the diaper bag.
Really its going to depend what you like.

 

[KandyKinz]

ESSENTIALS

- Receiving Blankets (great for swaddling, burp cloths)
- Car seat
- Wrap or sling (I recommend the moby wrap)
- Cloth diapers... Initial cost can seem scary but you'll save a bundle in the end.
- Breastfeed (not only is it FREE but it's the healthier choice)
- High Chair (but not needed for some months after baby is born)
- An extra crib sheet or two or three
- Some onesies (I prefer the ones that button up the front... much easier to put on a baby then the over the head ones)
- Baby clothes (but you don't need ALOT!)... Get some cheaper (but soft... soft is always good) ones for night time and a few nice ones for day time if visitors come or you want to take pics. Most people don't need lots of newborn size outfits. (My two kids never spent more then 2 weeks in newborn clothes and many of their newborn outfits didn't fit them to begin with... they were 8lbs and 9lbs)

Worthwhile Having
- Crib (co-sleeping is fine providing there's not contraindications, but it is nice to have a crib for times when they are sleeping and you aren't.
- Stroller
- Breastpump (good if you're planning to spend lots of time away from baby), manual expression tends to work fine if you're only leaving baby the occasional evening)
- Baby monitor if you have a really large house, or if you plan on letting baby sleep alone outside or if you enjoy listening to other peoples cell phone conversations. I found mine useful when I lived in a two story town house but when we moved into a small bungalow I had no need for it at all.

Waste of Money
- Bottles (there's lots of other and preferable ways to get expressed breastmilk into babe.
- Bassinet (Baby should be sleeping in your room for at least the first 12 months. This has been shown to decrease the risk of SIDS as the parents breathing pattern helps to stimulate the baby to breathe while in deep sleep... Since baby will outgrow the bassinet long before the 12 month mark you may as well just squeeze a crib into your room)
- Baby bath (I just took baby in the tub with me.... my kids seemed to find bathing in their own tub unpleasant but loved bathing with me)
- Bottle warmer
- Bottle sterilizer (WHO states that bottle sterilization is only actually necessary in newborn with compromised immune systems such as preemies... However, boiling them for a few minutes certainly doesn't hurt and I'm sure we all here already have at least one large pot... Again, bottles are not actually necessary anyways.
- Nursing pillows.... the majority of them place baby at the wrong height to obtain a good latch which some babies are able to deal with but for others it can make breastfeeding a nightmare! Normal pillows tend to work better and everyone likely already has pillows in their house...
-Bumbo chairs
-Baby toys - while it's nice to have some.... Everything is a toy to explore to a baby and baby will be just as content playing with a spoon and some tupperware as they would be playing with some high tech baby einstein toy.
-Change table. I found it much easier to place all of the diaper changing supplies in a basket and just change baby on a change pad on the bed or couch....
- Baby powder (not recommended as it can cause problems if baby enhales it)
- Rubbing alcohol (cord healing occurs faster without it... cleaning it periodically with water and letting it air dry is fine and preferable)
- Fancy thermometers (eye thermometers are not recomended in newborns as the angle of their ear canal almost always yields inaccurate result... they also are one of the most innacurate thermometers in adults (next to skin thermometers)... Anal temps are no longer recommended as they can cause anal fissures especially in delicate newborn tissue... It's best to take baby's temperature under their arm pit if you're concerned.
- Infant shoes (their for appearances only... and I'm not to sure babies find them comfy)

 

[Racheldigger]

If your little one is going to be sleeping in your room, a baby monitor is no use at all: we didn't start using ours till she moved into her own room at fourteen months.

Not only is a top and tail bowl not necessary, I don't see what it's supposed to be for: obviously, you wash your baby's face before its bum, and since you're only dipping new cotton wool balls into the water anyway, why do you need a divided bowl in the first place?

A good nipple cream if you're breastfeeding is an absolute must.

If you're getting a playmat or baby gym, and I do think this is a good idea because you can put your baby down to play without having to worry about when you last cleaned the carpet (ha!), there are a couple of things I'd recommend. If the mat, or the mat part of the baby gym, has a raised rim, even quite a shallow one, it will extend its useful life as it will make it more difficult for LO to roll or creep off when he/she is big enough. However, this may not be compatible with the MOST useful thing, which is a mat that can be machine washed!

That leads me to the most important thing of all: BUY NO FABRIC ITEMS (CLOTHES, SOFT TOYS, BLANKETS ETC) THAT CAN'T BE MACHINE WASHED!

 

[vespersonicca]

I just can't believe how long and detailed responses you have all contributed to this thread. I hope many many mommies find it useful!!! Thank you!!!

 

[Chaos]

All those cute little baby outfits for the first 3 months? Unnecessary! They out grow them in days! I wish someone had told me with Missy that she would basically live in sleepers for the first 3 months. SO much easier to change a bum in, much more comfy for them .. and would have saved me a blinking fortune!

 

[KandyKinz]

All those cute little baby outfits for the first 3 months? Unnecessary! They out grow them in days! I wish someone had told me with Missy that she would basically live in sleepers for the first 3 months. SO much easier to change a bum in, much more comfy for them .. and would have saved me a blinking fortune!

LOL yep! Sleepers are so much better then "outfits"... My kids also lived in sleepers for the first 3 or 4 months.

 

[lynzlogan]

GOOD: Sleepsuits, Cheap tea-towels (better than muslins i think)

BAD: bottle warmers..Leo always drank milk at room temp..easier when out n about that way!

 

[Szaffi]

USEFUL:

MUSLIN cloths -
I think we ended up with 60 finally - LO had pretty bad reflux

vests and pyjamas up until the age of 6 moths, which is when she started to wear 2-pieces sometimes.

2-3 sleeping bags.

Angelcare monitor - gave me a piece of mind

Little floater for bath https://www.deltababy.be/products/gb_easybath.html made bathtime very easy

A changing table that attaches to the cot - we carry it to the bathroom with us and fits across the bathtub

Relax chair for downstairs

Playmat with hanging animals (from about 6 weeks)

Babybjorn carrier - going on the metro with the big pushchair would've been a nightmare

small manual breastpump and 2 bottles to pump for outings.

The Maxi-cosi carseat that attaches to the base of our pram

A little zip up cover that fits around the straps of the carseat and can be zipped up and down easily.



Not so useful


Bottle sterilisor - now I just throw bottles in the dishwasher

Cradle - used it for 4 weeks - LO liked spreading out, kept hitting the bars, so we transferred her to her big cot

Swing - it was nice, but LO didn't like it so much, so didn't get a lot of use out of it

People bought us: dresses, baby shoes, lots of impractical clothes that are difficult to put on, Doomo seat,

I got most stuff second hand though, so didn't mind too much if something didn't get used much.

 

[secretbaby]

I would totally second the DON'T buy highchair that converts into a table and chair - we thought this was a fab idea - but found it dangerous - my son also pushed himself backward off the table when it was in a two piece and I am lucky the wall was behind him or he would have gone straight back.

He also slipped himself out of the harness somehow when it was the full height and ended up trapped under the tray - I got him out with no harm done but he screamed the place down and it could have been really serious (that is when we converted it into the two pieces and then he did the above trick)

Straight to the dump it went - I really hate this design of highchair (it cost me 55 quid in 1999 so wasn't cheap). I am going to get he ikea antilop (think its called) 14 quid one this time as we have one at work and I love it.

Moral of the story - expensive doesn't always mean best.

 

[SIEGAL]

I saw a couple of people mention they only really needed a "cot." The cot is a "crib" right? I was deciding whether I should buy a little cradle/bassinet to put next to my bed when baby is a newborn but my room is big enough to shove a crib against the wall I think. So how many of you would buy both?

 

[vespersonicca]

I saw a couple of people mention they only really needed a "cot." The cot is a "crib" right? I was deciding whether I should buy a little cradle/bassinet to put next to my bed when baby is a newborn but my room is big enough to shove a crib against the wall I think. So how many of you would buy both?

I think it depends on finances really and what you want to prioritize. We never got a bassinet because the price for the amount of time it would be used didn't make it worth it for us. We focused on getting things used and were very selective about what "luxuries" we would indulge in. One can live without it. We have a crib (cot) and we used a breast feeding pillow to make it half the size and seem more cozy. We have been co-sleeping anyway...

 

[wtt :)]

WONDERFUL thread!

 

[elly75]

Good: Bottles, onesies (vests), monitor, sleepers
Bad: wipe warmer (honestly, we never used it),

Be careful of buying too many outfits at once. We received a lot of newborn outfits for our little guy but he was pretty tall, etc. so he couldn't fit into them for very long. It felt like a waste.

One thing I'm sort of on the fence about is a little teddy bear or something that may make white noise. It was good for our little guy when he was sleeping and he still loves it. However, it isn't essential but more like a 'nice to have'.

 

[mom22boys]

GOOD - bouncy chair, high chair that reclines that way when you are cooking supper your baby can watch. Swing

BAD - one of those expensive thermometers ( most dr wanted rectal temp) diaper genie just gross!

I do plan on starting to buy one package of diapers every two weeks so that I wont have to worry about it when the little one arrives! Plus you can never have too many diapers!

 

[FamilyD]

What a fab thread I have bookmarked this for when the time comes thanks everyone