Printable View
Just thought I would post this, for those who have children to help out the first time mums!!!
What did you buy that you didn't use?.......
* knitted clothes, to hard to wash,
* too many newborn 0000s clothes,
What did you buy that you found you couldn't live without?.......
*the 1ltr water container, that I cut down so that I could put the nappy bag over it and have a spare hand during nappy changes.
I bought too many cutesy impractical little dresses and outfits. These do not work well on newborns!
Couldn't have lived without my breast pump (Avent Isis), or her bouncer.
I bought silly vibrating baby rockers that my babies hate!
I couldn't live without my hug a bubs and a good pram
I was given (didn't buy) a few outfits that only did up at the back - very impractical for a baby who hated being on her tummy!
The best thing I bought which I still use today is a baby bath thermometer. They are expensive and I just love it.
I have bought 14 baby hats this pg :shhh:
I cant pass one up whenever I see them, lol... I have a massive collection and am very glad I'm having a winter baby.
I bought impractical clothes but i cant go without dreambaby night lights.I have used quite a few.And my advent sterilizer when DD was young.
Oooh, I haven't had bub yet but I'm curious to see what everyone puts in here...what a great thread! :)
Ohhh Im the same with going overboard on newborn clothes...our first blue clothes..arrgghhh he hardly wore any of them. I bought ones with hoods...what was I thinking..they never got worn!!!
Best thing was my sling..absolutely love it!!!
Jo
Don't forget to check the main site
Mums Top 3 Things I didn't need for Baby
and
Mums Top 5 things for baby
Things I bought but didn't use, mittens, I bought heaps and most of them never fitted him. Bibs that tie up at the back, these are pretty useless I found.
The thing I could live without would have to have been his rocker chair. It would allow me to get more things done when I popped him in there, even have a shower because I could still keep an eye on him. Also he was a shocker sleeping during the day but that was the only thing I could get him to sleep in.
Oh yeah I hate the bibs that do up at the back!!!! Anything that does up at the back is very annoying!
We asked for a Sangenic Nappy Wrapper and never used it once......I flogged it on Ebay for a great price!
Couldn't live wthout my Amby Hammock or my Baby Bjorn........and also the 3D play gym thingo that babies lie under and bat all teh hanging toys......both Olivia and Charlie loved it!
Ohh yes so far I've found the rocker, the play gym and my Baby Bjorn invaluable!!!
The only thing I can think of that I haven't used have been the tie up bibs! LOL just read that someone else said that as well! My stack of bibs went down by half because its just to hard to tie the bib onto a wriggly baby who wants a feed!!!
Oh I bought heaps of those fluffy type socks, my DD just has to rub her feet together & they fell off!
LOVED the activity mat, kept her entertained for ages.
I agree Emma! It's great to get these little tidbits of info! :) Thanks girls!
My best buys would have to be, my avent breast pump, baby rocker and because my boys are summer bubs those little legless sleeveless suits are great
The worst thing i have bought is the swing with music, Ryan hated it and it cost a fortune
I loved My OiOi nappy bag, baby gym mat and Baby Love book - it let me know I was doing the right thing at 3am.
We also bought a mobile for the cot - i wish i had bought it earlier (She was 3 months old when we finally got it) and she was bored of it soon and tried to rip it down.
I would definitely have tried to fit my pram in the boot of my car BEFORE i bought the pram. It's a great pram - we just can't fit anything else in the boot.
Oh yes Baby Love is great!!! I remember seeing it in baby stores for $30 but I picked it up for $8 in one of those travelling book boxes BARGAIN!
We still use Baby Love now - we used it yesterday when we thought Marnie had conjunctivitis - which thankfully she hasn't.
I also read Up the Duff by Kathy Lette during my pregnancy. A girlfriend gave it to me - hilarious.
I agree with the bib comments velcro is the only way to go.
I found that jumpers without press studs to expand the hole for the head never got worn (jacket/cardigan styles have been much easier for me)
I love my baby bjorn - it has allowed me to go to the movies with my baby and have him close to me so he sleeps the whole time!)
I only just bought a change table today! I thought it wasn't needed but after 4.5 months of wrecking my back I decided I was wrong! I am soooo in love with it.
A good pram has made walking so much more appealing which is always a good thing after having a baby.
Pants with thick elastic waists don't seem to be baby friendly the grow suits or any basic/comfy little suit are easy to put on, easy for changing nappies, wash well and most importantly seem to be comfy for the baby.
Cloth nappies for "vomit rags" or any general cleaning up have been an absolute life saver for me too!
I'm sure the list could go on but I'll leave it at that!
Have to disagree with the knitted clothes being too hard to wash. My mum has knitted loads of jumpers and cardigans and jackets etc for Tallon... all they need is a swish in soapy water, and I chuck em in the machine for a rinse and gentle spin. easy! And he's toasty warm in his woolens :) Much better than all these polyester jumpers and things you can get.
I bought him a jacket which zipped up at the front.. awful.. the zip is rough at the top, and I reckon its uncomfortable for him.
I agree about the clothes that button up at the back.. how dumb! LOL. When we're at home Tallon's usually just in a bonds wondersuit, and maybe a jumper as well.
Also... I love the singlet suits rather than normal singlets. Never comes untucked! :) Nothing worse than picking him up and all his tops coming out the top of his pants and exposing his poor little belly to the cold.
And get nice big wraps too. It's so quick that they grow too big to be wrapped up nice and securely in a normal size wrap.
my best buys have been a baby hammock, big soft wraps, a baby gear nappy bag (cheap but sturdy and practical) and a camera phone (never miss a kodak moment) the worst ones are oodles of modern cloth nappies that I never use because I don't have the time for washing and a cot doona set that had a doona and cot bumper that I've never used because of the SIDS risk.
My best buys for Matilda were the sling and high chair (we have one that is more like a booster seat & attaches to a dining room chair & is portable).
My worst buys were, too many clothes!! She wore 0000 for a week so I had heaps of unused newborn clothes to give away. Also although it was given to us, the bassinet was useless because we co-slept until she went into the cot.
Check out this thread HERE for more things members didn't need!
It seems people love giving newborns fluffy toys and mums flowers. How can you avoid this? (we have no room for the fluffy toys plus they are dustcatchers, flowers set off my allergies, both are such an extravagance when what we really need are cloth nappies). How do you go about this without feeling awkward and rude?
I think its ok to be up front about stuff like that. just in general start telling all the people likely to get something for you that you hope you don't get heaps of stuffed toys or Flowers.
I was thinking of having a Nappy shower but then i thought I am likely to get a heap of nappies in brands I don't like. Dunno now..
We are having a BBQ this time around & have said that if anyone wants to contribute then we would appreciate them hanging some $ on our money tree. That would go towards the new pram & for us to get a housecleaner in weekly until we run out of the gift money.
I agree I bought alot of clothes that just dont work when bubs is in 000 or smaller like Jeans and thick jackets erghh. I have found alot of things invaluable like my steriliser an electric one that sat on my kitchen bench also a good pair of sneakers and a walking outfit it was comfy ...so spoil yourselves as well!
B
I like the money tree idea! A good way of saying money will be more useful the the crap your likely to buy LOL.
It's been a while since this thread was started but I found it really useful before Riley was born. I thought I'd add in my good/bad buys in here now that we've had some practice. :)
Couldn't live without
* The basinette/pram for the first 4 months came in VERY handy!
* Bunny rugs/wraps early on and sleeping bags now
* A mobile above the change mat has been fantastic
* The angelcare movement monitor is great for piece of mind - particularly after some scares
* One piece jumpsuits - so easy and versitile
Not worth having
* Two piece outfits/pants & tops for 0000 and 000 - they're too awkward and annoying when breastfeeding
* Bottles/dummies - our little man won't take either
* Convertible bath seat - we haven't used it yet
* Hats/beanies for newborns - never used them
I would recommend not buying too many clothes before bubs is born too...we got heaps of 000 stuff that we never used because we were given so much and we only ever used jumpsuits in the end.
Of course, what we find useful others might not and vice versa... I found this thread soooo useful though early on since I had no clue what we'd need/not need.
Cause i am having baby shower - will prob ask for no gifts at the hospital, otherwise people will be thinking that they have to buy twice for me. Ofcourse - people are more then welcome to :):
Where do you get nice big wraps from? Will i need to get some made up? They all seem to be about 80cmX100cm. Largest i have seen was at Myers and they where 100cmX100cm, which i imagine is good size, but abit pricey.:
I actually got some huge ones from best and less in a 3 pack from a friend.Muslin ones and they just about wrap round ruby twice!
I had a look at best and less, got some blankets (not cot ones thou) which where very cute - i think i avoid muslin ones cause i having a winter baby, i think that they wont do the job? Is that right? I have been looking for cotton on flannyl.
Mum2Bee, You can get 120cm square wraps from babystores, Myer, DJ's etc. They are a bit more expensive but the muslin in them seems a lot softer than some of the cheaper ones we bought. I think spending more on these was definitely the way to go. I think it is LTC (Living Textile Company) muslin wraps that are my favourite in terms of size and softness.
wow, very handy thread!
thanks for that - The myers i went to certainly didnt have anything that big, but, its baby section was abit lacking
Sorry to harp on, but, is muslin ok for winter? in terms of warmth?
I wrapped Riley (born late May) in thin flannelette blankets instead of muslin as I thought he'd be too cold but thats just personal preference.
I found that I didn't need the baby bath as it took ages to fill and nearly broke my back emptying it. I put him in the normal bath with this bath thing like a ramp with terry towelling on it for the baby to lie on (I'm sure that makes no sense I'm not good at explaining it!) I found the baby bjorn fantastic.
I wrapped Milo in muslin on warmer days, and flannelette (or both) on colder days.
Spotlight had kits with 2 'wrap' sized pieced of flannelette, and my Aunty made me a couple of wraps, they were really handy for winter.
Most useless thing I ever bought : all the cute little tops that zip up at the neck - how I thought that someone with no neck (least of all no neck control!) would find them comfortable is beyond me. But they look so cute!! (ahhh, that's how I had so many...)
Best things : my BF pillow, "My Brest Friend" and the huge muslin wraps a GF made me. I only had 3 and although I had a winter baby the muslin was perfect. I agree they need to be big tho, at least 1.2m x 1.2m (some of mine are 1.2 x 1.5m)