First Time Parents - Most Useful/Unuseful Items Received/What to stock up on

[spyzvixxen]

I'm hoping I posted this in the right spot. If not, please move. Just curious to see others' take on what you received that you thought was the most useful and the most unuseful. After being at this for only a week and a half, here is what I can think of so far. I'm hoping this will help someone out.

Useful

• Receiving blankets - rec'd about 20, thought it was overkill - WRONG - great for swaddling
• Cloth Diapers/Burp Cloths - going thru a lot of these under baby's head in crib & for burping
• Bottle Warmer - a godsend for those late night/early am feedings
• Breast Pump (rented from hospital, as the boob alone wasn't working)
• Sensitive Wipes (stocked up on non-scented but the sensitive ones are a lot less cardboard-like on baby's hiney)
• Diapers - enough said
• Diaper Dekor (Diaper Genie) - glad to have this within arm's reach & easy to use
• Changing pad protectors - already had a few mishaps of the squirting pee kind
• Bottle drying rack

Unuseful

• 40 washcloths - who needs this many?
• clothing in the wrong size for the season - many well-intentioned gift-givers gave us short sleeved newborn sized items
• Stuffed animals - cute, but we don't have much room for them
• Bottle sterilizer - when sleep is precious, this takes just way too long and holds too little bottles in one session - good 'ol hot soapy water seems to be working

Glad I am finding/found good deals on:

• Wipes
• Diapers
• Formula (to supplement breast milk) - did this a few days after when I decided to use the brand they did at the hospital. Check expiration dates for long-term storage.
• Washes & ointment

[pat in east texas]

Useful - Dr. Spock's book.
Unuseful - pacifier. I hate the things.

[celina]

the faceclothes will get used lots in the toddler years..when they learn to feed themselves...

i loved our swing, only place she napped..
i hated the little receiving blankets, i bought yardage and made large ones..
useless baby lotion and baby powder
useful baby seat for tub, the reclining one, useless the bath seat ring, always made kids cry cause their knees hurt in and out
baby bowls, use your own...

[57plymouth]

Useful:

-swing
-gift cards
-wipes and diapers
-diaper pail that uses trash bags instead of special inserts

Un-useful:

-wipe warmer (waste of space and electricity)
-bottle warmer (never used once)
-blankets (we got 20 blankets, for ONE kid, c'mon)
-five different brands of bottles that do not have interchangeable parts
-diaper genie and it's overpriced liners

[spyzvixxen]

I agree on the blankets - the rectangle ones are good, the square ones stink.

The lotions are a bit overkill - I have enough to last her till she's 18 LOL.

The gift cards already came in handy.

Forgot to add in the boppy pillow - may be considered a novelty but this helps when I have guests holding her cause I'm afraid of them dropping her.

[IntlMom]

IMO:
useful - clothes that are several sizes ahead, I loved going to the closet to "shop"
useful - diapers
useful - more diapers
useful - did I say diapers?

useless - changing table - I never used it once, ever!

[UUMomof3]

Useful:

I had very spitty babes, so there were NEVER enough burpies

For those who are cloth diapering, diaper covers and soakers

Plastic links for attaching toys to the carseat, the stroller, etc.

Blankets (this probably is akin to the burpies for us)

Bouncy/vibrating seat thingumy

dishwasher cage for all the little bottle bits, and sippy cup bits when they got older

pizza gift cards (seriously)

floor gym; we had one that was all soft and quilted not a hard plastic one. The arches came off as baby got older, so it became a floor quilt for putting sitting toys on.

Least useful:

wimpy umbrella stroller

3 diaper bags, all too small

anything "newborn" sized

anything "dry clean only" (MIL arrived at hospital with 5 outfits!!!)

[MoonMommy]

Useful:
Boppy: I loved mine and used it for both kids...but if I did it again, I would make mine.
Recliner to have in the baby's room (great to both rock in and sleep in)
Sleep n play outfits
Onesies
Crib Tent: I used this with both of my kids. I bought it when my son got tall enough that if he leaned over the crib gate, he would fall out. It keeps pets (cats) out of the crib and makes sure the baby can't crawl out.

Not Useful:
Baby sized washclothes: UGH. I have so many of these. I think we used them for about a month with my first. After that....regular ones were fine. However, I got so many for shower gifts, I still have them and have NO use for them.
Baby towels: not really needed
Special laundry detergent: I never used this stuff. I always just bought fragrance free and dye free detergent and used it for all of our clothes.
Basinette: For me this was useless

If I think of anymore, I will come back.

[PaulaMM]

Useful:

I can't remember what it was called, but it fit over my daughter's car seat and had a flap where her head was that opened and closed. I loved this thing because it keep the cold off of her when I had to carry her to and from the car and it was held snug around the car seat instead of flapping in the wind like a blanket.

Diapers: you simply can't have too many of these. I love practical gifts and was thrilled when I received diapers.

Practical clothes: babies are cute enough without all the frills and lace. They only need a few to-die-for outfits to make little old ladies swoon when going to the doctor or out shopping. For home use, clothes that are soft, easy to get off and on and will last through multiple spit up stains are ideal.

Unuseful:

changing table - the bed was much handier for changing diapers

dressy and expensive clothes: I had little need for expensive, frilly, fussy outfits at home. My sister once spent over $60 for an outfit for my daughter and she only wore it a few times. I was saddened by the waste and wished she had used her money more wisely.

Items that are meant to be looked at instead of used such as: Fancy dolls, silver cups and brushes, figurines, scratchy lacy blankets and stuffed animals come to mind

[spyzvixxen]

Thought of one more useful: COUPONS!!! My sister's friend's mother works at Walgreens so with her 20% discount & a fistful of coupons, I got really cheap diapers & formula (I'm supplementing). I also sent Vic food shopping with a list and coupons and he nailed my whole order (20 phone calls later!).

[Marie78]

This is a great thread, We are expecting in July and I've been trying to think of what we will need and what will be a total waste. For furniture we are thinking just a crib for now and I like the idea of a tent for it, to keep our cats out of there. We already have a rocking recliner that I can use to rock the baby and it doesn't sound like we need a changing table of any kind, as I probably won't use it very much.

[kittykatstrong]

Ya, the changing table was always upstairs when we spent most of our time downstairs. So most of the time she got changed on a towel on the living room floor.

[Jeanna]

Only other thing I would add is either baby food mill or a good food processor. Although convenient canned baby food is every over priced. Just remember to mill the baby food before adding a lot of seasonings.

[Nishu]

Those washcloths may not be useful as washcloths but I bet they would make nice reusable wipes. (Especially if you have 40 of them!)

http://www.naturalbirthandbabycare.c...s-recipes.html

[Katybird]

Useful

Diapers
Crib sheets
Onsies and t shirts
Bottle liners
Rocking Chair
Changing pads
Bouncer
Swing
Motherly advice

Least useful

Wipe Warmer
Heated food bowl
Infant toys that made noises
Expensive newborn sized shoes
Motherly advice