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Since we have been having a discussion about what baby items to buy and what you never used I thought us BTDM moms could share ideas/pic about what we loved or what was horrible. A lot of things do depend on what the baby likes but there are just some purchases that are a bad idea from the start.
For some crazy reason I thought this bath bucket was a good idea. I cannot remember how much I spent on it but I know it wasnt cheap at all.
It was ackward to use, he HATED it and I really thought I may end up drowning him.
This is how he ended up taking every bath and he was always so relaxed and didnt cost a dime.
Bumbo: Marlowe liked it, but I don't know if I would buy it myself. Ours was a gift, and we used it as more of a photo prop than anything else. When she was little, we used the bouncer chair more than the bumbo to put her down in. She liked to put herself in it once she got a little bigger. We caught her doing this one day...
Oh, a word of warning to parents of chunky leg babies...a bumbo probably won't work for you! They are NOT michelin-tire leg friendly. Again, no problem on this end with our DD, but just a word of caution.
Cuddle-U nursing pillow. Great idea, bad product. It comes with a built in "strap" that you are supposed to use to "hold" baby in, if you choose to use it as a cushion for kiddo versus a nursing pillow. I hated that freaking strap, and after the billionth time of having it untangle in the middle of the night, I finally cut it off. For my money, a boppy works just as well in both the nursing/cushion dept. Plus, the cuddle-u (at least when I bought it) didn't have extra covers. Pbbblttt...
Also see our no-bones/very basic bouncer chair in the background. LOVED it. Used it constantly.
And a fun one...DD has absolutely loved her kiddie swing since she was big enough to put in it. She still asks for "the baby swing" occasionally. (And is still small enough to fit in it.)
Rarely used, never trusted the bumbo and she grew out of if so early I couldn't even use it much at all.
Our bathtimes looked like Crystal's(if a little less leggie-WOW they have long legs!). They all loved it and slept like, well, babies in there. I'd put my hand under head only and they would just float out on the rest of the body freestyle.
__________________ Rebecca
Wife of 18 years to Anthony
Mommy to 4 daughters Elinore 05/27/95,
Phoenix 12/14/01, Pascale 06/03/05
& baby Wren on 12/10/12
My favorite bottles turned out the be the cheapest, basic bottles. Ended up trashing the $30 filter for this or that/special nipple yadda yadda. They were a pain to clean, leaky, and the baby wouldn't take the nipples.
I only bought outfits with zippers! The ones that snap all down the leg take way longer and the snaps would break!
I never used a baby bathtub, it was so much more fun/easy to take a bath with her!
I didn't understand the need for burp clothes when I had adorable receiving blankets. BTW you can never have too many receiving blankets! Or any kind of blanket for that matter.
Boppy pillows are expensive and oddly shaped, or maybe I just never "got it". I always picked a normal pillow over it!
I agree with the bumbo comments. She wasn't even a very chunky baby and her little legs didn't fit well.
Amen on the zippered onesies. Even brand new mommies quickly learn that the ones with snaps are the ones that go to daycare.
Also ditto on the bottles. I spent mad loot on the special "breastflow" bottles, which were a horror to clean, and DD hated them. (As if anything could compare to these nipples anyway. )I ended up buying the uber cheap BPA free Gerber bottles and they worked fine. Plus, if I found one at the bottom of the diaper bag 2 weeks later growing its own mold colony, I didn't feel bad about tossing it.
I forgot but you guys are right, Gerbers are GREAT! I too bought the Avents & such and they SUCKED! They always leaked! And, no, they will never compare to these nips!
__________________ Rebecca
Wife of 18 years to Anthony
Mommy to 4 daughters Elinore 05/27/95,
Phoenix 12/14/01, Pascale 06/03/05
& baby Wren on 12/10/12
I always used the kitchen sink to bathe dd. I loved having the cabnit right there with the towel to dry her off with.(we only had a shower when she was first born) then I bought the cheap net baby bath piece when she was to big for the sink.
I also didn't like the bottles I bought. I got a matching set by nuk with the passy and clip. Dd hated them and never used any of it. She liked the hospital nipples and wouldn't take anything else...I'm going to try drop ins this time as they make for easy clean up since I will have two and less time for dishes. And better for on the go rather than having to take 10 bottles or wash it every time.
Her bouncer was the best thing ever envented. She loved it and it kept her entertained when I needed to get anything done. And it was easy to move from room to room.
__________________
thank you bokkechick for my wonderful siggy
One more big tip.....get rechargeable batteries and get an extra set for everything. We bought a huge pack at Sam's and a case that held them all then plugged into the wall. You never know when you baby is going to love their bouncy seat and the batteries die just at the moment they are screaming their head off.
Stock up on mitts for their little hands as it'll be winter time and their nails are razor sharp. Also, I loved these sleepers for Zayd -- super easy to change diapers in!
Also, not sure why then even sell shoes with laces. What a pain to put on a kicking babe or toddler! Loved my boppy pillow personally. Probably used it till he was 6-7 months old. Wipe warmers are considered by many a waste of money, but this lil guy hated cold wipes on his fanny! And before this lil girl arrives, I'll be buying one of these neat contraptions, as I personally prefer a shower over a bath Puj Tub | Puj
It is actually a very popular item but I am not sure why. Even with a baby big enough to sit up on their own the water would go everywhere and there would be a huge mess every time you gave them a bath.
__________________
Mom to Jakob (9), Jarrett (8), and Elijah (3) and Tyler born 11/26/2012, DH Cody
**always remembering my 3 angels**
__________________ Rebecca
Wife of 18 years to Anthony
Mommy to 4 daughters Elinore 05/27/95,
Phoenix 12/14/01, Pascale 06/03/05
& baby Wren on 12/10/12
Crystal, I love the pic comparison, too funny.
OK here's my rant and rave:
I bought this travel bottle warmer when I was pumping for Jack and it was such a rip off! You had to boil it for a certain amount of time and then cool it before you could use it which turned out to be such a major hassle. Oh, another one was the Vicks Germfree warm humidifier - I bought it thinking it would be great, but it heated up his room so hot and when he was sick with croup or a cold, his dr recommended a cold humidifier, so I wasn't able to use it. Total waste of $80!
Here are the ugly culprits: Reusable On-the-Go Bottle Warmer : Target Vicks Germ Free Humidifier - White/Blue (V790N) : Target
My raves are the Ergo or a Mae Tei carrier if you are going to breastfeed - it makes inconspicuous breastfeeding in public so easy.
I loved my Moby but it was a pain if I was in a hurry to get him in the wrap. I could not find any type of sling carrier that would go around my boobs and still have room for the baby.
__________________
Mom to Jakob (9), Jarrett (8), and Elijah (3) and Tyler born 11/26/2012, DH Cody
**always remembering my 3 angels**
I guess Im the only one that liked the baby bathtub! We gave my 2nd a bath at the same time we gave our then 2 yr old a bath so we'd do the baby in the baby tub on the sink and the toddler in the bathtub. I dont take baths so bathing the baby with me wasnt an option.
I also love the zip up sleepers. HATE HATE HATE snaps!!!!!!!!!!
Loved our Moby. It was the ONLY way we could get #2 to sleep until she was almost 4 months old! Well, that and bouncing her on a yoga ball.
Love my Medela Pump in Style breastpump. Used that thing every day for almost a year with #2 and pumped exclusively for my 1st. Loved the Playtex Dropins bottles, they were the only kind my EBF baby would take and Ive heard that from several other moms.
I honestly dont remember what was useless, lol. Didnt like the Bumbo (plus its way overpriced, imo), fancy baby bedding, too many infant toys (mine never played with them), teethers, Boppy pillow (hated it, its way too flimsy for a nursing pillow... The My Brest Friend is 10000x better!)...
My brain is fried and I cant think of anything else right now, lol.
And about that baby bucket, is that the Puj bucket? I think I remember them being popular when I was prego with Clara 2 yrs ago...
__________________
...Hilary...
Mommy to Charlotte (b. 12/15/2008)
and Clara (b. 11/28/2010)
and Benjamin (b. 12/11/2012)
I didn't mention a bathtub, Hilary, but I also love ours. We've used it from birth to now. DD still prefers it to the normal tub because it has a comfortable recline for her to lay back and enjoy the rinsing. We bought a Primo, which is pretty mammoth as far as baby tubs go, but it was highly rated - and as mentioned, it's gone the distance for us. If you have the room (and ours pretty much lives inside our regular tub), I def. recommend it.
We also used a hotslings...and loved it. (Despite Marlowe's insistence to the contrary in this photo.) Don't laugh...but I don't know if I'm coordinated enough for a wrap style carrier.
Now I finally understand why I was driven so crazy working in daycare for 7 years! ALL the moms sent ME the stuff they didn't like! I used to change diapers and think to myself "what crazy mom put her kid in all these snaps?? don't they realize I have to change them every hour or so!!" So needless to say I have become a master at those snap onesies!! When you have about 20 or so diapers to change before the parents pick up you get real good at snapping up onesies.
Now I finally understand why I was driven so crazy working in daycare for 7 years! ALL the moms sent ME the stuff they didn't like! I used to change diapers and think to myself "what crazy mom put her kid in all these snaps?? don't they realize I have to change them every hour or so!!"
Don't hate us Brenna. It's just that some of those outfits are TOO cute not to use (just not by us). Plus, turnabout is completely fair play - it can now be YOUR turn to annoy the daycare staff.
