Most useless thing you got for your baby, so we avoid that crap.

[LittleMissKnight]

Can anyone do us a solid and just post what you either received or purchased for your baby that turned out to be a giant waste of money and space? Just so we can avoid stuff like giant, expensive baby wipe warmers and crap? Trying to take a fairly minimalist approach as far as stuff.
Thanks!

 

[tribbleorlfl]

Skip the diaper pails and their expensive bag inserts. If it's that bad, wrap in a plastic bag and toss in a garbage can outside.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

Baby wipe warmers are good - don't spend too much though.

The diaper genie is pretty cool - but you're kidding yourself if you think it won't smell in time, and bags are insanely expensive.We had a cheap one that accepted regular trash bags with first kid - essentially a trash can with a lid and a compartment for odor eliminators with first kid - it was the better option.

The BEST thing we got is this - buy one. We use it every time we went out to eat with both kids.
http://www.toysrus.com/buy/booster-hook-on-seats/chicco-caddy-hook-on-chair-red-62508.7-2265745

fancy strollers are waste of money - unless you always have your kid trapped ina stroller, then i guess they're ok. We prefer(ed) a cheap umbrella stroller that wasn't difficult to navigate in crowds (the only time we would use one) or when we are out for a full day (naps)

My most sage piece of advice; Don't buy cheap diapers, ever. Not worth the savings.
$ saved gets spent on more diaper changes
- they don't hold pee well
- more clothes changes (they don't hold pee well)
- more laundry soap (more clothes changes)
- more diaper rashes
- more $ spent on Boudreaux Butt Paste (the only diaper cream to use)

 

[UCFWayne]

Never got the baby wipe warmer, seems pointless. Same with the bottle warmer. We had a mug of water wed nuke in the microwave for a minute and then let that heat up the bottles as needed.

We have the arm and hammer diaper pale. I like it, keeps the babys room from smelling.

 

[Bob the Citronaut]

The baby.

 

[UCFWayne]

My kid didnt like the jumper toy, but Ive seen others that do. It will depend on your kid. LINK

 

[ReginaeUCF]

My kid didnt like the jumper toy, but Ive seen others that do. It will depend on your kid. LINK

Our first lived in his Jumparoos (home, office, grandmas)
Our second hated them.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

ALSO

Don't waste YOUR money on all of the little toys and trinkets for an under one year old. Let other people buy them, your baby won't use them.

 

[cnsaguy]

Cute, specialty clothes. Wear them once and toss them. Waste of the $30 you spent on them.

Lots of pussified babies ITT. My two never had heated baby wipes and never got warm milk/formula. Get them to drink it straight from the fridge (or cooler) and make your life easier.

Btw, I used to work with someone who did cloth diapers to "save the planet". Just the thought of cleaning them makes me gag.

 

[Game_Day_Sports]

MUST HAVE
- Mylecon - put it on your registry, buy it when you go to the grocery, every time and put it in your cars, purses, backpacks, etc. It breaks up gas bubbles. Both my kids were colicky and this one product saved my sanity.
- One of those vibrating bouncers. Great for a baby that is having trouble going to sleep and when the baby is done with it, mom can take it for a quick ride too.

I liked the diaper genie and thought it did a bang up job. You don't want to be putting baby diapers in the kitchen trash because then your kitchen will smell like baby shit worse than it does normally. In my mind, it was well worth every penny that we spent.

When it comes to strollers, get yourself the basic umbrella for short things, but if you want to go shopping at the mall or something like that, get yourself one that is better. When they are an infant, get the one that is a bassinette/car seat/ stroller combo. It will make your life easy as you just click it into the base in the car and you are on your way.

 

[UCF_Video]

Our boys all loved their vibrating bouncy chairs. The two best places for them to sleep were on one of us or in one of those chairs.

Don't buy a ton of stuffed toys. They'll bond with one stuffed toy, max. But make sure you have a backup, cause once they forge that bond, when you forget it somewhere YOU. ARE. SCREWED.

 

[CommuterBob]

We had the diaper genie and switched to the kind that takes regular trash bags and has the rotating top (Diaper Magic?). the genie inserts are expensive and it's harder to operate than the other kind, which is just as effective.

The absolute most useless and frustrating thing we ad was the double stroller (obviously not until the second kid). It was a total pain in the ass and the older (by three years) kid barely used it.

If you have a microwave oven, the bottle warmer is useless, as is the wipe warmer if you have hands.

The Baby Bjorn was also very seldom used. It certainly wasn't worth the expense and I'm glad we didn't pay for it. It seemed like a great idea until you have it on for any length of time and you both end up sweaty as hell or if the baby decides to use you as a vomit receptacle.

I'd also recommend skipping the bike stroller/ bike seat. We had the seat and have known several who had who agree that it's a huge waste as it rarely gets used.

 

[UCFWayne]

Our boys all loved their vibrating bouncy chairs. The two best places for them to sleep were on one of us or in one of those chairs.

Don't buy a ton of stuffed toys. They'll bond with one stuffed toy, max. But make sure you have a backup, cause once they forge that bond, when you forget it somewhere YOU. ARE. SCREWED.

^very good tip. Yea we had to hunt for a second specific mickey toy. Took awhile, it sucked.

 

[UCFWayne]

The Baby Bjorn was also very seldom used. It certainly wasn't worth the expense and I'm glad we didn't pay for it. It seemed like a great idea until you have it on for any length of time and you both end up sweaty as hell or if the baby decides to use you as a vomit receptacle..

Wife and I used ours all the time and loved it. If you think you might need one, get it second hand, save a lot of money.

 

[1ofTheseKnights]

Meh I like the diaper genie & bottle warmer. Makes it even when ur changing solo

Wipe warmer phuck that this is Florida

 

[Angry Student]

+1 on not buying cheapo diapers. We actually found Target brand to be the best, so you don't have to spend a ton but definitely stay away from most of the cheapos.

We bought this very cool looking swing chair, our little guy never really took to it. He loved the much cheaper vibrating bouncy chair.

Get a good stroller that meets all of your needs.

+1 on not going on toy overload. My son is almost 2 and only plays with 10% of his toys.

 

[crambone]

Diaper genies are a waste of time. I don't mind going out to the trash can for each y diaper.

 

[ucflee]

DO NOT get those stupid over priced glider chairs. NOT comfy and take up way to much space, especially w/ the ottoman.

Disagree w/ the no on the bike seat. BUTTTT, Make sure to get the one that goes between you and the handle bars. riding is awesome when the kid is In front of you and can see where they are going in the world and not your butt.

avoid pacifiers and letting the kid get accustomed to sleeping in your bed.

 

[USFSucks]

Diaper Genies are awesome and one of the things I buy for my friends if they haven't already gotten one.

The bottle warmer is also a life safer for when you are feeding breast milk in a bottle, with formula it's not needed because you can hear the water before adding the formula, but you aren't supposed to microwave breast milk. As far as "getting the kid used to cold milk", that's stupid advice if you are breast feeding because it's not like you can cool the milk between the tit and mouth when it's a straight feeding. If you are going straight formula then I guess you can go that route, but to me that wasn't a fight with my kids I felt I needed to fight, I was more worried about getting them to sleep.

Definitely recommend only buying stuffed animals that you can easily buy more of so that you can have a backup because they will bond with one, again not a fight I want to have.

As far as the thing I wish we hadn't spent so much on, I'd have to say pacifiers. We bought/got maybe 5-10 and we made sure to never use them (that was a fight I was willing to have). Also, sure there are toys that never got used, but most of the toys we bought during the first year were for 1-2 year olds, mostly avoiding the newborn toys.

 

[EweSeaEff]

As far as the thing I wish we hadn't spent so much on, I'd have to say pacifiers. We bought/got maybe 5-10 and we made sure to never use them (that was a fight I was willing to have). Also, sure there are toys that never got used, but most of the toys we bought during the first year were for 1-2 year olds, mostly avoiding the newborn toys.

This, this this about the pacifiers. Neither one of our girls ever had a pacifier. Like Sucks, it was a fight my wife and I were willing to have and we were both so thankful.

Also, re: toys, there was some study that came out a year or two ago that showed that it doesn't matter what you put in front of kids - they'll be constructive and play with what they have access to. I think the study used toys vs. cardboard boxes and found no difference between the two groups.

Re: the vibrating chairs, swings, etc. - it all depends on the child. My oldest love the vibrating chair/swing combo thing. She loved it so much that we kept it for our second. Well, she HATED it. Cried every single time we even got near it.

At the end of the day, it doesn't really matter what you're trying to avoid, if your friend and family network is anything like ours then people are going to buy for your child whatever the hell they want. I can't tell you how many arguments I've had with my mom about how she showers them with useless bullshit. I've now given up and just have a massive donation day each time they come back from their grandparents'.

 

[USFSucks]

Also read this that Niseyyd wrote when our first turned 1

http://www.whattheschneck.blogspot.com/2013/11/first-year-favorites.html?m=1

 

[fabknight]

Diaper Genie. Biggest waste ever.

Best investment ever. Automatic swing.

 

[UCFan416]

Good:
Jumparoo - makes my fussy 5 month old a happy guy
Gripe Water & Mylecon - helps cure hiccups/gas/discomfort/etc
Travel Stroller Set - keeps baby sleeping when moving from car to stroller, which can be a life saver.
Sound Machine - helps get him to sleep quicker

Okay:
Diaper Genie - does the job, but nothing special
Swing - somedays it's amazing other days my kid wants nothing to do with it but takes up a good amount of space
Boppy pillow - arm saver when feeding or trying get them to sleep, but still it's just a U-shaped pillow

Unnecessary:
Toys - if others but great, but like others said they won't play with them
Bottle warmer - I just toss a big coffee mug filled halfway with water stick in microwave for 2 minutes, stuck bottle in after and done, single serve bottle warmer that's good to go in 3 minutes tops

 

[cnsaguy]

Ditto about no pacifiers and sleeping in their own room. Neither of my kids slept in our bed or our bedroom for that matter. They were both on formula from day one and I we used a diaper genie.

There is no right way to parent so don't let books or the internet tell you differently. Do what you feel is best, teach them right from wrong, let them make mistakes and make sure they got your back when you fight the white trash at Wal Mart.

 

[YouSeeEffer]

Don't spend $150 on a fancy crib bedding set. First, baby doesn't sleep in the crib for at least the first couple months. Baby can't even use that fancy, heavy blanket that comes with it. You can't even see the crib skirt on most cribs, and now they are saying to go with those mesh breathable bumpers instead of the heavy padded bumpers. Baby also has so many nighttime diaper explosions that you usually have random clean sheets on the crib instead. I would just buy a mattress protector and a lot of crib sheets for next time.

We loved our Baby Bjorn, bottle warmer and the glider chair.

Diaper Genie was nasty. It stank and was a bug magnet. We only put peepee diapers in ours but it still got too nasty. We ended up doing peepee diapers in kitchen and y diapers wrapped in publix bags in garage garbage can.

I've found that if you go to one of those second hand baby shops there will always be a large amount of things you don't need. There are always a ton of diaper genies, wipe warmers and bumbo seats.

 

[Angry Student]

+1 never let them sleep in your bed. We moved our little guy to his crib at like 3 weeks old. At 6 months he was sleeping 11 hours straight through the night.

 

[fabknight]

+1 never let them sleep in your bed. We moved our little guy to his crib at like 3 weeks old. At 6 months he was sleeping 11 hours straight through the night.

We didn't let them sleep in our bed either or room either. We set up a small mattress next to our bed so when they were old enough to walk and got scared at night they always knew they could come and find a safe haven next to mom and dad. They'd fall asleep and we'd move them back to their rooms.

 

[USFSucks]

Both of our girls slept in their crib on night 3 or 4 of their life, whichever was the first night at home. They never slept in or room at all and we never sleep in theirs. Both slept through the night by 12 weeks, the oldest was at 8 weeks the youngest 12 because she had gas issues

 

[Happy Hands]

Buy aquaphor by the gallons.

 

[80'sKnight]

I didn't think I had anything to comment, but this was the worst thing ever- a stroller. I, male, never put my kid in a stroller. You may not actually give a crap about your kid, but I did and always carried them, 2 girls. Anywhere I went I never used a stroller. Yep, probably insane, but they actually do grow up fast and become teens and act like teens, and in the end you will never forget carrying her around with you. Daiper genie was great because I had a wife that would put them in the garbage and I could smell the chemical plastic smell over the what you'd expect smell and couldn't stand it. We don't trash much, not environmental wackos but do recycyle, so it would be a while till garbage left the apartment, and the chemical disintegration of the diapers was disgusting (my Dad worked as a grocery broker so got tons of free diapers). Buy butt creme, avoid diaper rash.

 

[YouSeeEffer]

This thread shows how people have such different parenting experiences. I think the last poster is crazy. Who wouldn't recommend a stroller for a new baby? But-- to each their own. Other people will try to tell you the best way to do things based on their experience, but really you just have to figure out what works best for you and be comfortable with it.

Oh yeah, another thing that I feel was a must have was the stroller caddy. I had the Chicco KeyFit Caddy. It was so much lighter and easier to tote around than the big stroller. All of my girlfriends love theirs too.

 

[LittleMissKnight]

Wow, thank you everyone- while everyone had very different opinions, I actually got a lot out of this and will be taking notes from this thread. I now know a great and cheap way to heat up a bottle without using the microwave (the hot water in a mug and then put the bottle in the mug is genius, thanks!) and I didn't know you couldn't microwave breast milk, diapers are not an area to go cheap with, and significantly fewer toys than I had expected. The rest of the stuff, I liked seeing that it's really about what your lifestyle is (if you bike a lot, the baby bike seat makes sense, if you aren't going out on long walking trips with the baby, don't get the high-end stroller, etc.) so that's going to really help us out when it comes to making those decisions.
The big thing is the diaper genie debate- couldn't you get a diaper pail that's easier to use and just throw in arm&hammer to control the smell? Or is it really that bad? And at the risk of scaring myself even further.... how many diapers do newborns go through a day on average? (google gives me a wide range when I searched) Does it decrease when they get a few months older?

Thanks again everyone- this is super helpful for first time parents who are scared shitless about screwing things up.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

I didn't think I had anything to comment, but this was the worst thing ever- a stroller. I, male, never put my kid in a stroller. You may not actually give a crap about your kid, but I did and always carried them, 2 girls. Anywhere I went I never used a stroller. Yep, probably insane, but they actually do grow up fast and become teens and act like teens, and in the end you will never forget carrying her around with you. Daiper genie was great because I had a wife that would put them in the garbage and I could smell the chemical plastic smell over the what you'd expect smell and couldn't stand it. We don't trash much, not environmental wackos but do recycyle, so it would be a while till garbage left the apartment, and the chemical disintegration of the diapers was disgusting (my Dad worked as a grocery broker so got tons of free diapers). Buy butt creme, avoid diaper rash.

Stroller are necessary only until they can hold their head. Then they're the worst thing on earth.
I hate strollers. as i said before, they're good i you know you'll be out all day and want a napping place. Aside form that, we've used them at the zoo, disney, and a couple beach festivals or something we were out all day. We have the car seat fitting kind and it's just too big. We use(d) a $5 umbrella stroller almost exclusively.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

The big thing is the diaper genie debate- couldn't you get a diaper pail that's easier to use and just throw in arm&hammer to control the smell? Or is it really that bad? And at the risk of scaring myself even further.... how many diapers do newborns go through a day on average? (google gives me a wide range when I searched) Does it decrease when they get a few months older?

YES
We had a diaper pale with the little container in top for rm & hammer (arm & hammer brand pail with little odor absorbents in the top) with the first kid. Room NEVER smelled. Then we got a diaper genie for #2. The bags ridiculously priced and the thing smelled after about 2 months and we never could get the smell to go away. I found the old pail in the attic and threw the genie by the curb.

You will use A LOT of diapers for the first few months. By the time they're 8-9 months(??) thye decrease drastically. We use maybe 4or5 max a day for a 16 month old. I seem to remember this being the same the first time around.

 

[LittleMissKnight]

Stroller are necessary only until they can hold their head. Then they're the worst thing on earth.
I hate strollers. as i said before, they're good i you know you'll be out all day and want a napping place. Aside form that, we've used them at the zoo, disney, and a couple beach festivals or something we were out all day. We have the car seat fitting kind and it's just too big. We use(d) a $5 umbrella stroller almost exclusively.

Oh yeah, we would have to get one that's light enough for me to lift in and out of a car, so that rules out a lot of the fancier big ones. I figured a carrier that you wear for shorter trips (grocery, errands, etc.) and a stroller for longer outings where I can store my purse under it because if it's a long trip, I assume you have to pack for several diaper changes, snacks, etc. right?

 

[1ofTheseKnights]

Lot of Diaper genie determination factors. Is the garage trash really close to changing area, depend on how much if ur going to be home alone w her. if baby is going to daycare meh prolly not worth it. My wife stays home so its very convenient for her (immediate free hands & no unsupervised baby)

What I do w the diaper genie is only use it for no 1s & when I'm by myself. If I'm changing my princess w the queen I'll throw the diaper in the regular trash (kitchen trash sack < DG refill) since she's able to watch her. No 1 diapers don't smell/eat a lot of diaper genie space if you roll em like a little joint.

No 2 publix sack tied up is the play on morning, night, weekends.

 

[ReginaeUCF]

Oh yeah, we would have to get one that's light enough for me to lift in and out of a car, so that rules out a lot of the fancier big ones. I figured a carrier that you wear for shorter trips (grocery, errands, etc.) and a stroller for longer outings where I can store my purse under it because if it's a long trip, I assume you have to pack for several diaper changes, snacks, etc. right?

Sorry - i lol'd a bit, i can't lie.
Yeah - we used the baby carriers A LOT. We had an inexpensive JEEP baby carrier i would use (MYABE $20?) and my wife used a MOBY wrap which was cool because she could carry the babies in it in multiple different positions. Was tricky to figure out but awesome once she did. We only used a stroller if we figured a nap would be involved or we knew there was a lot of walking, even then the smaller the better (for us).

You will want to get a BIG diaper bag and load it with stuff... Too many diapers, too many wipes, too many snacks, too much milk/formula/whatever. This is another lessn we learned for #2 and only have a small diaper bag we use now - maybe 10"x10" max. We bring enough diapers (a few more than we think we'll need) a good places to start is a diaper for every 2 hours or so you'll be gone but always have at least 4, IMO. Get a small wipe holder and some of those dog bags on the roll.

 

[1ofTheseKnights]

Team good stroller. Take my baby on walks every weekend & she typically goes on a walk in the morning. Couldn't imagine trying to save a buck & letting her face bake in the sun.

 

[LittleMissKnight]

Get a small wipe holder and some of those dog bags on the roll.

1- totally fine to laugh, we are severely inexperienced!
2- awesome tip with the doggy bags!

 

[cnsaguy]

LMK, everything will be fine. Having kids is like getting married and anal, you just have to trust you're ready and go for it. You can/will deal with the side effects as they come along and everything will be fine.

And as a man, I recommend you breast feed as long as possible. Dingy will get a DD for the next 6-9 months.