What was a waste of money?

[redsoxphan]

DH and I are on a very tight budget trying to get ready for the baby and I really want to try to only buy things that we will use or need.

I've been reading through some of the old threads here (like this one). (http://www.constantchatter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4492) Is there a "things you CAN live without" thread that I can't find? Things like a wipe warmer and a glider are items that I feel we could live without. I really don't want to waste money on gimmicky or gadgety things such as this. It seems so very easy to get sucked into the baby selling industry. CoughBabymoonCough ;)

So, tell me what items could you live without?

[Hello Kitty]

I bumped a thread for you - seems like it has a lot of posts, lol.

[redsoxphan]

Thank you, Hello Kitty! It wasn't in the Frequently Used threads and the search feature is weird here.

[texasbride]

I think I'd be better at giving you a list of must-haves. I guess we must have been good at buying just the things we really needed because I can't really think of anything other than a bottle warmer, which we didn't get because my sister said not to - we just used room temperature water and DD was always fine. As she's gotten older, we've started using cool water to get her used to it for when we switch to milk. If you want a list of must-haves, let me know :)

[sparkle&shine]

Anything beyond food, basic clothing, and diapers are just for added convenience. So your budget determines how many convenience products you purchase. I found things like baby bath tubs very convenient and good to have around but did I really need baby towels and washcloths when I have perfectly good adult sized ones?

Everyone has a different answer with what worked for their baby which is what makes it so hard. What worked with my DS1 sometimes doesn't work with DS2. Friend A swore by a swing but friend B told me not to bother. My suggestion is to not buy too many big ticket items until the baby can try one out somewhere. I really wish there was an answer but it really is trial and error. :)

[kindermom]

I totally agree with sparkle and shine. My advice on saving money...
1) There is nothing wrong with buying used or seeking out hand me downs. Our budget was not tight but I think 90% of our bigger ticket items were hand me downs. Other options are Craigs List and free cycle.
2) Buy multipurpose items. So use washcloths and towels made for everyone. They make strollers and swings to convert a Graco to the correct item. Then you can buy an umbrella stroller (or use a wrap or pouch) for later use.
3) Nurse and later make your own baby food.
4) Some store brand diapers are nice. I really like Walgreen brand.

ETA: Wastes of money...
Cute baby shoes
Nicer clothes (I wish I had just one or two things on hand)
My cheap BRU sling (same amount of money bought me a good wrap)
Shopping cart cover (I used a blanket)
Boppy (pillows worked just as well)
Crib bedding (I only use the dust ruffle and sheets)
Gymini (I could have just hung things up high for my DC)
Anything Baby Einstein

[DallasLady]

I think the best way to gauge that is to not spend a lot of money before your baby comes. Because what some people really loved, others really hated. Then, once your baby is here and you get to know him/her, get what you need as it comes up.

It is very tempting to want to be totally prepared and buy everything before the baby gets here, cause, let's face it, it's fun. I ended up taking a ton of things back and exchanging them for diapers because I just never used them.

I'd say the bare necessities for a baby are:
-Some clothes to wear. This can be as simple as a couple packs of onesies and sleepers (which is all they wear in the early days anyway).
-A way to contain the poop and pee. You can go cloth or disposable. Cloth is a bigger investment in the begining, but saves you in the long run.
-A place for the baby to sleep. This could be with you in your bed, in a bassinet or a crib.
-Food to eat. Breastmilk is obviously the cheapest.
-A carseat to come home from the hospital/birth center in.

Outside of that, everything else is just for convenience.

[TracyDP]

Consider cloth diapers. No, not the pre-fold old school diapers that I was raised on...the newer ones that work more like a disposable. A $500 investment now could save you a $3000 total by the time toilet training comes around.

Well, you could use the pre-fold old school diapers and covers...lots of parents do. I just couldn't handle them. They are much more inexpensive and probably would work great for a newborn. I didn't start with cloth until DD was about 5m old and by then she fit well in the pocket one-size diapers.

Clothes: Avoid the tempting "really cute outfits". Find a few for pictures, or special occasions/church etc. Otherwise, focus on basics like onsies, elastic pants, sleepers, socks. My DD had sooo many cute little outfits she never wore and were given away w/ the tags still on them when she outgrew them. Same with baby shoes...very cute, not very practical.

Try Craigslist or E-bay and get a "lot" of baby clothes from someone. You can get 60-80 piece lots of infant clothing for $40 or $50 and usually it's very nice completely usable stuff, often name brand and quite cute. You will probably get some of the cute outfits along with a lot of basics for a VERY good price. I did this with maternity clothing and ended up with almost a whole wardrobe for about $50 with two "lots" from e-bay, including 3 pairs of Motherhood Maternity pants w/ the tags still on them ($40 each pair!) that fit perfectly.

If I were to do it again, I would do this instead of buying new myself. You use newborn and infant clothing for so short a time that it makes sense to get second hand clothes.

Glider: You may not need to buy a glider, but make sure you DO have a nice comfortable rocking chair of some kind. I hardly ever use the rocking chair I have in DD's nursery, but I couldn't have lived without our rocking recliner (which we already had). I was not able to breastfeed so instead of nursing her in her nursery like I thought I would, I had to go into the kitchen and make formula so it was just as easy to rock her in the living room in the recliner. Even now the rocking motion helps calm her down when she is having trouble sleeping due to illness or teething.

[catmom]

I agree with the pp who said that the best way to save money is to buy used stuff- especially the things that have a fairly short life-span. I bought my twins a pair of take-along swings for $20 a piece at our local mothers-of-multiples sale, a twin nursing pillow for $2 (they are usually $50), and lots of sleepers for $1 or $2 each. And when I'm done with this stuff, I can probably re-consign it and get back almost as much as I paid for it.

Cloth diapers can also save a ton of money.

[KiKi'sMommy]

What I would NOT buy or ask for again:

A swing
An exersaucer
A bouncy seat (unless it was used or super cheap)
The expensive pack n play (the 40 dollar one at Wal-Mart is more than sufficient)
A Crib (we cosleep)
The whole stroller/car seat system (we got this one with our daughter) The stroller was heavy and we only used it a handful of times
Multiple car seats - The infant seats are nice, but you could totally get away with a Britax Marathon for an infant and use it WELL into toddlerhood.
Big strollers! We bought a Maclaren and used it from 6 months on with our DD. It is the only stroller we use and I still love that stroller.
Baby bathtubs are totally not a necessity either. A towel in the bathroom sink is fine for infants and then you can move on to the bathtub when they get bigger.
Baby Socks were always a waste of my time. Both of my kids wore fleece slippers as socks and shoes until they could walk (Unless it was warm, then they just went barefoot)

I think basically you can live on breastmilk, diapers, and clothes for the first year!

[jennylou]

It's always going to depend upon you.

Others think the travel system is a waste of money. We still use our stroller. I'll be getting a double soon for our second due, but I will keep the single, because I know that when DD is older she won't want to ride it the double anymore and I can use the single again.

But, don't be afraid to buy used - my only exception for that is a car seat. You can skip the infant car seats, but they are convenient. If you know someone who has had a baby recently, you might ask to borrow their infant seat (someone you trust, so that you know it hasn't been in an accident). When you buy the convertible seat - go with a seat with a high weight limit, that way, you won't need to buy another car seat until the child is 4 or 5. If you buy a lower weight seat, you'll just be buying another quicker. So, you'll outlay more at first, but in the long run, you save. :)

Cloth really does save you money.

We waited to buy a swing. DD was really colicky and we read so much online about swings being a saving grace - it turned out to be just that for DD. Had she not been colicky, we probably wouldn't have bought it.

The infant tub - total waste. I'm trying to sell the infant tub/shower on Craigslist now. :) It's BNIB! In the beginning, we used our kitchen sink - it worked great. When she got bigger I took her in with me or DH did. We'd wash her and then the other one would come get her and we'd take care of our own business. :)

The wipe warmer. Never used it. Did throw the box away though. :p

Glider - I bought one at a yard sale. I'm so glad I only spent $20 as we barely used it. I preferred sitting in the LR.

The boppy - used it all the time. I'd get it again.

The crib - in hindsight, we should have just gotten a cheap crib. Either used (but newer) off of Craigslist, or even something like a Jenny Lind crib that I see at Kmart for super cheap. As it is, DD just started sleeping in her crib at 21 months. Um, yeah. ;) Still, the plus side is at least it will turn into a full bed?????

[PookiePrincess]

The other thing about cloth diapers...don't invest in them if your baby will be going to daycare. Check with daycares because most daycares don't do cloth diapers. It wouldn't be very cost effective to buy a ton of cloth diapers and then have to buy disposables on top of that for daycare.

[lil_geek]

We had bare bones (okay we had some items like crib bedding we knew were 'fluff' but in terms of gear)

*We borrowed a swing, set it up for 3 days and I decided I didn't like the space it took up.
*We got a bouncy chair as a shower gift after DD was 8 weeks old... byt 4 months she had nothing to do with it... we could have lived without
*We didn't have a play mat etc. Just used a blanket on our wood floors
*No glider... we have a rocker/recliner in the living room and just a wing back chair in DD's room - however we had her in our room for 8 weeks so I just nursed on the bed



The ONE THING I couldn't live without was my boppy. Best $30 I spent. I could have used normal pillows but this was nice and easy, everyone knew it was for BFing so no one moved it from the couch. It also worked nicely while DD was learning tummy time (prop her on it) and then sitting (put it behind her in case she fell)

Love our Cloth Dipes- we bought 36 prefolds and 6 covers for $120 - we pretty much exclusivly used them the first 2 months and then added a few 'fancier' dipes - less then $300 spent at 6 months of age

Used - our crib, strollers, tons of toys, high chair etc all from a neighbour who was cleaning house for $250!!

[jesseybell]

You definitely don't need an expensive crib unless you actually plan on converting it and have it be their bed for the next 18 years

The changing tables/dressers just scream baby furniture - I would never buy one and expect to use it in a kids room

We definitely spent way too much on clothes early on - a lot she never wore or if she wore it, honestly, it looked ridiculous on her because she couldn't sit up

Definitely don't need the crib bedding - bumper is a safety hazard once they can move and a dust ruffle is a PITA -both make changing the crib difficult

I don't think I ever used any of the 20 receiving blankets we were given

I like how soft baby wash clothes and towels are and I am still using them at 22 months. But I probably could have done without.

I did spend a bundle on our glider - way more than our crib, but I plan on using it in our family room in the future, hence it is tan, not a color to match the nursery - actually our nursery doesn't really match - we got furniture that would be practical in the future, not the white furniture I really wanted.

We have 2 bouncy chairs that we used constantly - DD slept in them for 2 months, but they really aren't that expensive. We got a travel swing that we barely ever used. Next time we were going to buy a Papazan swing, but our neighbor got one on Craigslist and she'll let us borrow it.

As much as you may be tempted, I would buy as little as possible before hand - 1) you never know what you'll get as gifts after it is born and 2) every kid is different so only buy what you need after the fact.

[Kanga]

I think your best bet is to buy the absolute necessities and save the rest of your budget as things come up.

clothes - you'll likely get a ton of cute "outfits" so I'd just buy the basics. Plan on 2-3 outfit changes per day at least in the beginning. Onesies and sleepers are a dime a dozen at consignment sales in the smaller sizes especially. People always seem to overbuy for these.

diapers - plan on $15/case for store brand disposables or anywhere from $100-$500 start up costs for cloth. Cloth rocks:)

carseat - your cheapest safe option is a cosco scenera (skipping the bucket). Inexpensive, but very safe

Sure, I could have lived w/out a glider - many get by with much less - but I used it every night, and multiple times throughout the night for the first year of life with my first. We still use it 3-4x a week and she'll be 3 soon (of course we've also had a second newborn in that time)

Thermometer - unfortunately these are get what you pay for. I haven't found an accurate cheap one.

Tylenol/Motrin - not something you want to be caught without when baby spikes a fever.

Somewhere to put the baby - This could be the floor, but we have cats and I didn't want them to bother the baby. Dd1 lived in the bouncy chair ($5 at a garage sale)

[loving624]

ITA with the others who said that it is different for every baby. You were given great advice to just wait until baby gets here and then you will see what he/she likes.

For us, waste of money was:

Wipes warmer, didn't even open
Bottle warmer for car, ret'd that
Bouncy seat, DS much preferred the swing

I do still use the baby washcloths on DS, they are a lot softer. We only got him one towel and use that weekly when finished in our pool. The swing was a godsend, but some babies love it and some hate it. We had a basinette, pack n play, and crib, and used them all at some point or another. I'd say our favorite item has been the swing. I nursed DS for 6 months and we still use the nice glider and ottoman that we got every single night, and I use it during the day with DS as well

And all of those cute newborn clothes that we got were well and good and did end up fitting eventually, but we were in premmie clothes for at least a month. I'm glad I didn't buy clothes for him based on what he should be in now, bc even though he is about to be 8 months, he is just now about to fit into 6-9 month stuff and the 6-12 month clothes swallow him.

[PookiePrincess]

And all of those cute newborn clothes that we got were well and good and did end up fitting eventually, but we were in premmie clothes for at least a month. I'm glad I didn't buy clothes for him based on what he should be in now, bc even though he is about to be 8 months, he is just now about to fit into 6-9 month stuff and the 6-12 month clothes swallow him.

And my daughter only lasted in newborn clothes for maybe two weeks. She's 4 months old and barely fits in her 3-6 month clothing...we'll be moving to 6-9/6-12 month clothing very soon!

You just never know! I would never have thought my baby would be so big, especially because I was so tiny when I was pregnant.

[Ericka_Jarett]

For our son we had gotten a swing, bouncer, jumperoo, PNP and a nursery cart, all were necessary for me, we used it all and still do with the twins. His infant carseat one of the girls uses now and we had bought another for the other twin.

My mom gave us her rocker, to me was very handy when DS started sleeping in his own room at 6 months.

Our carseat is higher weight and we bought the girls the same way.

Cribs are convertible and both were less than $200

formula we buy the Target version of Enfamil

Diapers we use what I have a coupon for or they are on sale. Have had good luck with Luvs lately (6.99 at Target now) or do CVS shopping and get packs for free with the extracare bucks

Clothes are hard. My son and 1 twin are similar in build and staying true to size or even able to fit in smaller size clothes. My other twin is right size or a size bigger in clothes. I bought just about all their summer wardrobe at our multiples club sale and it was about $100-125 for all 3 kids for the whole season

[mommydearest]

Biggest advice: know the prices of what you are looking for before consignment shopping. Our Once Upon a Child charges a LOT for used items. A $100 swing might be $75 or $80 there. But you can yard sale shop it for $10 or $20.

I couldn't live without my glider. Even at 17 months, we use it mulitple times a day to go to sleep. When I travel, I have a very difficult time putting DD to bed. I don't like rocking chairs. So to me, a glider is a necessity. You can find them at garage sales for a decent price usually.

Other necessities were the exersaucer downstairs and the jumperoo upstairs so I could pee and know she was safe.

Wal-mart has cheap clothes if you are a Wal-mart shopper. Kohls has great sales at the end of the season. Don't buy much ahead of the baby being here because my DD came home at 6 pounds even and it got warm before she wore most of the 3 month clothes we bought thinking she would grow fast. There was probably $300 in wasted fleecy clothes that never once got worn. She wore preemie for a month, and then newborn until she was almost 3 months old.

You can make your own wipes out of flannel. We just wet a days worth at a time and they are much cheaper than disposables.

Skimp on a bouncer. The $20 one at Target does the same as the $50 one. Lights and music are not necessary if you talk to the baby and he can see you. However, I couldn't live without my $20 Target bouncer.

Don't buy a highchair. The Fisher Price $25 booster works better IMHO. The tray fits in the dishwasher. I hate my $100 Graco highchair.

I didn't have a changing table--we put a changing pad on a low dresser instead. You could even just get a waterproof pad from Target and do it on the couch or bed.

DD lived in the one piece outfits all winter. Baby dresses were a waste of money, as were fancy shoes. We got shoes to match all the baby dresses...they never even got the tags cut off. The cheapo rompers with feet in them were my favorite outfits.

I love my cloth diapers, and it is so much cheaper than buying disposables. You can learn a lot at DiaperSwappers.com.

Don't buy any blankets. We got SOOOO many as gifts. DD got over 30 blankets, many of which were handmade.

The matching crib set was a total waste. The bumpers came out as soon as she could roll over, and the quilt is still in the closet. I've never used the diaper stacker because we don't have anywhere to hang it. Get 2 cute sheets, a cute curtain, and you are good to go.

Don't buy bottles ahead of time. You never know what you and the baby will like. Wait to see before buying a bunch that the babe won't take.

If you have friends who are between babies, I'm sure they will lend you things too. No one likes a closet full of baby junk!

[Scooter]

It's so funny to read these lists because some of the things that keep coming up were absolute lifesavers for us! Just goes to show that it's all about your own baby's personality.

Necessary for us but not other people:

*infant car seat - DD has never been the kind of kid that would stay asleep when you take her out of the car. Unless you want to be stuck in the car for an hour or two while the baby naps (in your driveway or at the mall or post office etc) an infant seat is great!

*swing - there were many times when I was on the verge of a breakdown and the swing was able to stop DD from crying and help her sleep. The sling worked, too, but sometimes it would be like 2 am and there's only so much energy you have to walk through your house 50 million times making "shh, shhh, shhh" noises. It was priceless to have the swing to fall back on.

* bouncy seat - one of the only ways I was able to get a shower or eat meals or get ready for work. The vibrations and the songs relaxed DD enough to let me spend 10 minutes doing something for myself! Because she was also propped up in it, she was able to look around and watch everything, so she was content.

* mobile for the crib - my other option for taking a shower or going to the bathroom without a baby on my lap. She found it fascinating for about 10-15 minutes (I have a "symphony in motion" one, great brand of them).

*glider - We've used it every day since DD was born (25mos ago). Great for nursing, excellent for wearing down an overtired baby, perfect as part of a relaxing bedtime routine, continues to be where we read her bedtime stories now.

I know--opposite of the thread title--but good to keep in mind the reasoning for these things. Borrow whatever you can at first to try it out a few times, when you know your child's personality better then you can make more long-term decisions.


Unnecessary:
* wipes warmer
* sterilizer (helpful but not necessary)
* exersaucer
* high chair - in retrospect all we needed was a booster with a tray (costs $25 new, super cheap used!). Straps to a regular chair. Can also be taken to other people's houses, plus it'll serve as a booster when they're big enough.
* pack 'n' play - DD never wanted to be in one, HATED it, totally useless
* changing table - bought a low-enough dresser and just screwed a changing pad to the top.
* diaper stacker - nowhere to put it and cloth diapers don't always fit. We just keep a stash of diapers in a dresser drawer by the changing pad and store the rest in the closet.

[redsoxphan]

I think the best way to gauge that is to not spend a lot of money before your baby comes. Because what some people really loved, others really hated. Then, once your baby is here and you get to know him/her, get what you need as it comes up.
Great way to think about it. Thank you :)

I did this with maternity clothing and ended up with almost a whole wardrobe for about $50 with two "lots" from e-bay, including 3 pairs of Motherhood Maternity pants w/ the tags still on them ($40 each pair!) that fit perfectly.
I've been shopping for maternity clothes already. I'm definitely only going to buy lots b/c you get more for your money and I'm nervous just to buy a single item and have it not fit. At least with lots, I have a better chance of at least one or two things fitting. I'm also going to buy some regular clothes in a size or two bigger instead of maternity clothes. I'm one of those people who will probably keep some of the baby weight, so I can wear those clothes again.

I think basically you can live on breastmilk, diapers, and clothes for the first year!
That would be sweet!

The other thing about cloth diapers...don't invest in them if your baby will be going to daycare. Check with daycares because most daycares don't do cloth diapers. It wouldn't be very cost effective to buy a ton of cloth diapers and then have to buy disposables on top of that for daycare.
Oh good point I hadn't thought about. Our baby will be doing part time daycare. Will he or she be tolerant of switching back and forth? Or do you think it's not worth it?

You can make your own wipes out of flannel. We just wet a days worth at a time and they are much cheaper than disposables.
Oh, that's an awesome idea :)

[redsoxphan]

I forgot to say in my other post, thank you everyone for posting. Your answers were very insightful :)

[PookiePrincess]

Oh good point I hadn't thought about. Our baby will be doing part time daycare. Will he or she be tolerant of switching back and forth? Or do you think it's not worth it?

I know there are people on here who's babies do both. I would say it's up to you though. I don't cloth diaper because my daughter goes to daycare full time during the school year and they won't do cloth diapers. If I stayed home with her, it's definitely something I'd do. Maybe someone else who CDs has more info/opinions on this.

[TracyDP]

I know there are people on here who's babies do both. I would say it's up to you though. I don't cloth diaper because my daughter goes to daycare full time during the school year and they won't do cloth diapers. If I stayed home with her, it's definitely something I'd do. Maybe someone else who CDs has more info/opinions on this.

I use CD's at home but I use disposables when I'm out and about because I really don't want to haul dirty cloth diapers around with me. I like as small of a diaper bag as I can manage. DD also sleeps overnight in a disposable because I've NEVER had a leak with my Seventh Generation dipes and I don't want to mess with a good thing just to save 1 diaper. She really doesn't seem to notice the difference at all.

The only pain about using both is that clothes that fit disposables may not fit over cloth since they are bulkier. I usually just dress DD in onsies or t-shirts and the stretchy knit pants or shorts at home since they fit the CD's just fine, then I have the less stretchy (and usually cuter) pants or shorts that fit the disposables for when we go out. Once it gets warm enough here I'll just put a t-shirt on her and the cloth diaper and won't worry about pants at home.

[wendalah]

I'll second the diaper bag. I just decided to use one of my regular, oversized purses. It works fine, and just personally, I think it looks a whole lot better (I hate most diaper bags).

Other things that weren't worth the money:
--Soothing motions glider
--Swing (she liked it, but only for a very short time)
--Bottle warmer
--Sleep-sack gowns. My sister swore these were easier because you just yank them up and change the baby, but I never found it that easy. Zip-n-plays were a lot easier for us.
--Snuggle nest cosleeper. Our baby hated cosleeping from day one. We also had a sleep positioner that was useless, since she was a natural back-sleeper.

[BTB]

My tip: skip the expensive stroller and get the BabyTrend Trendsport Lite - we got ours two years ago at BRU for $40. It's better than our $200 Perego Aria.

My general advice: the reality is almost everything sold for babies is simply for parents' convenience. What we "have" to have was not even invented just a generation ago. It's not about the kids' personalities, babies aren't really so different from how they've always been.

Feed, bathe, and clothe your baby. The only toy they need right now is an interactive parent. Hand-me-downs are not only smarter financially, they're better for the environment. A year from now, so much baby stuff will just be more plastic containers in the basement - or a driveway full at a yard sale.

[emmjay]

I tend to get lots of gadget-y stuff to try out and then sell what we don't use. So, I've tried a lot of stuff! What was unnecessary for us (two kids):

- swing
- baby socks, though I did love the Zutano booties
- wipes warmer
- baby gowns
- more than one knit hat
- changing table
- too many complicated outfits for babies (I like things that are one piece)
- exersaucer and jumparoo are OK at times, but nothing you can't live without

Definitely buy things at garage sales, craigslist, consignment stores, etc. I've bought countless articles of clothing at consignment stores that are brand new with tags for a fraction of the original price. We furnished my son's entire nursery with used stuff, and it was really nice. Also gender neutral clothing is a money saver, especially things like pjs. DD has a few new outfits from gifts and a lot of hand-me-downs from her cousin, but she wears a lot of DS's old clothes, especially pjs.

[{b}]

Things we really needed:
BM
diapers
some clothes
a swaddling blanket
a sling
car seat
Pump and extra parts, bottles (I WOH FT)

Nice add ons -
glider with ottoman
swing
stroller
more clothes
boppy pillow (probably my No. 1 nice add on!)
parenting books/magazines
toys when they get older

In the very beginning, and for the first 3 months at least - you are baby's most exciting, interesting and fun toy. Don't worry about gyminis and exersaucers and rattles and books and whatnot.

Even if you don't have a shower, you'll get LOTS of gifts when baby is born. We seriously didn't buy clothes other than socks and onesies for at least the first 6 months.

[TracyDP]

I just had to add that I would wait until after having the baby to stock up on breast feeding supplies. I was SO excited to BF and had done all this research, had a pump (luckily, borrowed), bought a Boppy & covers, BM containers, pads, nursing bras...so much stuff. Turns out because of a medical issue of my own after DD was born I was only able to BF for about 3 weeks. Something I never would have known beforehand. My milk never came in because of this. So, I was stuck with all this BF stuff that I ended up gifting to a friend of mine who had her baby this past spring. I could have saved a lot of money if I'd just waited until after.

[mrschica]

IMO anything really expensive...whether it's name brand clothes or a designer diaper bag...it's a waste. The babies grow so fast and you'll be getting stains everywhere anyway, the last thing you wanna do is worry about a pooped diaper in your Coach diaper bag or carrots all over your babies cashmere sleeper. Seriously, to me it just doesn't seem worth it.

The bare necessities is all you need for at least the first four months such as onesies, sleepers, diapers, and whatever you need to formula feed/breast feed. The cute clothes and shoes didn't become useful to me till DD was about 5 months old, before that? A pain in the ass to put on and keep on.

I never used a swing, bouncer, Boppy pillow, bottle warmer, wipes warmer, Breast Friend pillow, travel system car seat/stroller, etc. even though I had some of those things. I bought a ring sling, a light weight stroller, and used a new messenger bag (a lot cuter IMO than something with cartoons on it) as a diaper bag. We don't have a tub in the house, so I did have to buy a baby tub that also converts into a diaper station. I also feel that my daughter's play yard is priceless, I put her in there when I go shower or have to step outside onto the patio for a bit to receive a delivery, etc. It's a secure place to put her in, and she doesn't fuss, so it gives me peace of mind. I also have found use for my Baby Einstein DVD's because DD loves them, she instantly starts to smile and squeal when she hears the music.

The only other basics I recommend are a digital thermometer, baby Tylenol, nail clippers, comb, and booger sucker. I've thought about the exersaucer but know that DD will grow out of it in a matter of weeks, so it's not worth it to me. They grow out of EVERYTHING and FAST. I'm also not getting a high chair because her stroller is a) more comfortable and b) seems safer to me, not to mention she'll be able to use it till she's a toddler or maybe gets a booster seat later.

Since bottles should be replaced every 3 months, I also didn't go nuts and buy a whole system like Avent, which has BPA in it anyway. I also skipped the expensive cartoon plate sets and bought some really cute Crate & Barrel type little ceramic bowls.

[anemone]

I'm surprised that so many people seem to hate the sleeping gowns - I love them, and find them so much easier in the middle of the night to change a diap. Goes to show that what one person thinks is a waste is someone elses' must have.

I think there are a lot of cultural differences as to what is 'necessary'. Example, these things are not the 'must buy' items where I am:

Exersaucer
Swing
Bumpers

I have none of these, and haven't missed them. Especially the bumper - a SIDS risk we are told.

Outfits are much easier for the first few months if they are all in one jumpsuit things. Different layers = constantly rearranging tops/ pants etc to stop them bunching up.

[jimmysgirl424]

DD didn't care at all about her toys till she was well over a month old. We could have done without the couple of tons that we bought and had given to us as gifts.

Other stuff that we just didn't need:

-Bottle Warmer

-Fancy Bedding set (we were given the one that matched our nursery theme as a gift and it has never once been used other than when we put it on to take pics of her nursery before she was born)

-shoes & slippers (she must have had about 10 pairs that we were given that never once made it on to her feet)

-baby robe (hooded towels are way easier for after bath time. Nice idea, not practical at all. Struggling with ties and a squirming baby..not fun)

-fancy dresses and clothes. DD outgrew 98% of them before I ever even tried them on her. Waste of money, big time!

I know there is more..

ETA: redsoxphan, I just wanted to let you know that for us, having a glider ended up being a lifesaver. Our couch and loveseat just did not work for the hours and hours we spent holding, rocking, feeding, etc. I know its different for everyone though!

[Daniel's Kitty]

My needs are

sling (or pouch, wrap, SSC, MT I have problems in this area. just skip the bjorn)
cloth diapers
some disposables when baby goes to visit IL's
some receiving blankets for spit up, keeping sun off baby my mom and I made them
since my kids are too big for the regular ones


Wastes

infant car seat (our kids barely make it three months in it)
swing for ds2
bouncer for ds1
exersaucer
crib mobile
stroller (it is jusst now getting used, but both boys are pretty much too big for it)

[itsjustme]

For us it was the fancy clothes and furniture that I insisted on buying. What a waste.

Oh and the first birthday party was an even bigger waste.

[Bibay626]

Changing Table

**first time mom, raising hand**

I bought a changing table where I could put cutesy wicker baskets underneath to "organize" all the nick nacks. I ended up having my dd in our room for the first year (sleeping in a PnP) and it was easier to change her on our bed on a blanket. When we're downstairs, we just change her on a the floor or couch with a waterproof pad underneath her

[alliekat75]

Here is our list of the big waste of money items:

- shoes
- hand made blankets
- other plush blankets
- infant "snuzzler" for the carseat (DD was so hot natured that she hated it)
- wipe warmer (she got used to the cold wipes after 1 week)
- fancy outfits (the first few weeks are all about comfort & convenience)
- tons of onsies (depending on the time of year, these may be a waste)
- lots of diaper rash ointment (get 1or 2 tubes until you know if your DC is diaper rash prone)
- lots of bottles (DD is EBF, so we only have a few bottles)

[BusyBee21]

The Sling and the Baby Bjorn were total wastes for us. No matter what we tried, we couldn't get the GD sling to work, and DS screamed every time he was in the baby Bjorn past 6 months old. HATED IT. We will try again if we have a second child, if not, I am selling them here!

I heart my glider, BTW. Best money ever spent.