What are you favorite baby items?

Question

What baby items do you use the most and which ones do you find that were a waste of money? I am trying to eliminate some things on my registry, but I am not sure what I will and will not use. Is there any particular type or brand pf stroller, high chair, swing, gym, tub, ect ... that you like a lot? Did you get a certain type or brand that you hated and had to return or just really dislike?

Answer 1

my favorite items were: Boppy pillow(for nursing) baby bjorn, baby papsan, onesies!!! short sleeve and long sleeve for layering, burp cloths, stroller is a running stroller and we love it, it's by Baby Trend and we got it at babiesrus.

things i didn't use:receiving blankets, cloth bibs(unless they have plastic on the backside),

and some of the bigger items you won't need for a while: highchair,gym

you can always return items and get things you will need or ask for gift cards

hope i was some help good luck and congratulations!!

Answer 2

love--- boppy pillow, first years bottle steamer, dr.browns microwave sterilizer, dr.browns formula pitcher, cool mist humidifier

never should of bought-- diaper genie, boppy swing, pack and play

we bought the summer video moniter..i love it..

Answer 3

I really likes a boppy. and one thing that i found not useful at all was a bath tub. at first i just used a foam thing to lay on that u can find in the infant isles and then i just layed him on his back in the bath tub until he could sit up. i never really used the bath tub.  

Answer 4

the swing was ok while she was a baby . a gym was great when she started standing and crawling . i would put her in there and do somehting real quick . high chair  is perfect . stroller . graco really really good . waste of money . bassinet . didnt use for that long i would rather have a pack and play . monitors didnt use them . baby could scream i can hear her from the garden .  musical mobile very helpful , vibrators . thank god they made them . good luck  

Answer 5

I love baby bjorn!

Answer 6

I have a Bebe Sounds Angelcare sound and movement monitor.  Greatest invention ever for the worrying type.  http://www.bebesounds.com/products_movem...

Also, a nipple/bottle ring basket for the dishwasher is really handy.

Hooded towels are a waste.  Also, I'm on my third child and have managed to get by without a wipe warmer  or bottle warmer.

Answer 7

I received a monitor... never used it!  I received a Boppy Baby swing... baby didn't like it.  I bought one of those play mats where the stuff hangs down... baby doesn't like it.  I got one of those baby bath tubs... used it once... way too much trouble,  we just put him on a towel next to the sink to wash him.  

I have a Chicco Key Fit 30 carseat and matching stroller (LOVE IT), I went to a resale shop and bought an exersaucer for $35 instead of $90 (love it)  I use my boppy for every feeding.  Gerber makes burp cloths.  They are 100% better than cloth diapers for wiping up spit.  

Answer 8

swings are good, a strap you put around your body, babies love their mothers warmth, first alert, carbon monoxide alarm can be useful, carbon monoxide is an odorless gas, that can kill humans. Fire alarms, umm.. teethers are good.

monitors are really hard to choose, considering i like everything perfect.

As a parent of twin 3 1/2 year olds, I know

how valuable a monitor is.  Our house has a first floor master

bedroom, so it was a requirement to have a monitor.  We opted for a

sound only monitor as we didn't see the need for video (though I

REALLY wanted it, being the gadget freak that I am).  That being said,

there are several high quality video baby monitors available.  Bear in

mind that each house is different.  The distance between the camera

and the monitor, outside electrical interference and other factors can

have an effect on the performance of the monitor.   I would

recommend that you pick the one you feel would best fit your needs and

give it a try.  If it doesn't work within your home, return it and go

the next.  I think the best way to learn about a product is from the

people that use it.  I have provided links to customer reviews and

comparisons of the various models as well as a sample

review.  These are typically 900mHz devices (same as cordless phones)

so there may be some reception issues when using a phone.  Option

would be to move the phone or upgrade to a 2.4gHz phone.  As for

security, if you use a cordless phone, you have as much chance of

being picked up by neighbors as with a monitor.  I can tell you we

have had the same monitor for over 3 years and I can only recall once

or twice where we picked things up, and it was broken and had static.

------

Baby's Quiet Sounds Video Monitor

In reading the reviews on Amazon.com

[http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B... where it has

received an average of 4 out of 5 stars from people that have used it,

it appears that this may be your best option.

Hope that Helps and Good Luck

Bella

Answer 9

The Fisher Price rainforest swing... My son loved it, so long as I didn't put the animals down.. and then he was just terrified.

There's also a Fisher Price vibrating baby chair that eventually becomes a toddler chair. This was nice because I actually took it to my mom's when she was watching him, and was a better alternative to buying a second high chair, or trying to carry one around. She would feed him while he sat in that. Now he is 15 months, and he loves it as the toddler chair. He will sit in it and watch the Wiggles. lol

The FisherPrice Jump-A-Roo Deluxe. Wow. My son was 5 months old when I got this for him.. and he pretty much lived in it until he was a bit over a year. He absolutely LOVED this thing. And it's not like the jumpers that you hang from a doorway (which I just didn't have the courage to test one of those) .. but it's actually free standing, so no fear of it collapsing! The toy on it is also detachable, and sometimes I'll catch my son playing with just that toy. lol

A Wipes Warmer... I would say this is a waste of money. To date, no child has ever died from having their bottom wiped with a cold or room temperature baby wipe.

I bought the Eddie Bauer stroller/car seat combo. It was awesome! I found it at Big Lots for I believe 129. It had the stroller, the car seat, and the car seat base. It had a bar on the stroller that you put down while your baby is still in the carseat, and the carseat just snapped onto it. Once your child got older, you just put the bar down, and it was a regular stroller again. Also - had a good sized basket at the bottom for sticking a purse or shopping bags from a day at the mall. =)

I don't know the brand.. but the bathtub he had was just a cheap one. It folded up though which was really nice. So when we weren't using it, we just let it air dry, and then folded it up until next time. Also - there was a foam bear that came from walmart, that sat right into the tub - keeping baby from sliding. That was really handy, and it was pretty cheap too.

He had a bath seat that I found at Big Lots for 12.99. I think I used it maybe five times. So that was more or less useless. I ended up giving that away.

The high chair I got him .. yet another big lots find for about $60. It was a Graco. Not sure of the model, but you could adjust the height on it, control how much the seat leaned back or forward, and also adjust the tray, giving you more or less room for the baby.

The Fisher Price Rockin Aquarium Gym/Mat... for younger baby, you fold the top part up so that they can lay down and look up at it (a steering wheel that lit up with fish inside.. and four toys attached) .. and as they get older, you fold it down and it becomes a boat they can sit in and "steer" .. my son LOVED this, and still on ocassion plays wiht it, but when he was first standing on things, he actually flipped this by leaning on the wheel. So I had to rig it to where the back of the mat was under the couch, so that if he did lean forward again, it wouldn't flip.

Definitely try to buy things that convert to other things, so that you can get extended use from them.

I saw a bassinet on walmart.com a while back that eventually turned into a toy box.  

Answer 10

I love the Rainforest theme stuff from Fisher Price.  They are so cute and my daughter loves them.  Things I don't use much- I love the bumbo but my daughter doesn't use it as much as I was hoping we would.  Go with the full size stuff- not the travel size (as in swing and bouncers).  The full size stuff works better.

As for making sure you get good/ safe items check out www.consumerreports.com.  It's worth the $25 yearly membership to check out their ratings.  So far everything I've checked on has been dead on.

Answer 11

girl, i researched EVERYTHING. my in-laws wouldn't let my by anything til the 7 mo so I spent the time researching stuff over and over.

I loved my swing. i used it alot.  I think for the swings and bouncers, maybe hold off on it. You never know, your son might not like them. so if you know anyone that has one, maybe you can try it out after he's born. Most babies like them, but every baby is different.

i have hte angelcare monitor. has some static but it monitors baby's movement so i think its worth it. it gave me peace of mind when she started sleeping on her tummy.

You wont need a highchair for months so you can wait til baby is old enough and have him sit in them and test it out for you. see waht he likes. i have one of those highchairs that attachs to the regular chair and my daughter has yet to use it she doesn't like to be confined in it and is happy sitting on our laps.

good luck Ryden's mommy. btw....love that name!! I hope you dont mind but im putting it on my name list if we ever have a boy

edit. i agree that a bassinet was a waste. my daughter used it for about 3 months then outgrew it. she is in a mini crib right now. we did buy a regular crib and i was planning on using it after the bassinet but it doesnt fit in our room and hubby was not ready for her to sleep in her own room (ok...neither was I)  she is in a mini crib with teh bottom lower since seh now stands up in it. We plan to use it til she's about one

Answer 12

A baby swing is a must. My little guy loves it. I have the wind up kind but it only lasts for a couple minutes and he wakes up so I borrowed a battery powered one from my friend and he loves it. He will sleep in it and sometimes just wake up and look around and smile. If he is lying down he will always cry when he wakes up.

Also the boppy pillow so far I have used it for breastfeeding it gets him at just the right height and I dont have to worry about propping up several pillows. Also if I have him wrapped in his blankets I will set him in it if I have to get up for a minute. I am the worrying type and think he is going to learn how to roll any day.

Onesies are great. They are quick to change which is nice when you are changing diapers every couple hours.

My son will not sleep in his pack in play yet. We got the kind with the bassinet but he fusses when we put him in it. The pack n play has a changing table on it so we have been getting use out of it. It also has a mobile that swings over top while we are changing him to enterain him. It will work until he gets a little bigger and can pull it down.

Good luck and dont worry so much. You can get stuff as you need it just ask for some gift cards for your baby shower.

Answer 13

Okay, I didn't get hardly anything for my baby shower, so I was stuck with what I had, lol. A highchair is a waste of space, we took ours down when my daughter was 4 months old, never used, and have had it in a closet since, lol. We use a booster/high chair that straps right to a chair, it's portable.

My favorite item that I used every day? A bottle drying rack for when they came out of the boiling water. Sterlizers and wipe warmers are a waste of time and money. As are bottle warmers, they take forever and a large glass of hot water heats up a bottle in about 2 minutes. You need baby medicines, wipes, and whatnot. It's cute to have a few receiving blankets, but we only used ours to lay our daughter on, and they are more useful as toys for her dolls now, lol. Get a convertible crib and a pack n play with the changing station if you travel or have a multilevel home, the pack n play was awesome in our living room, we used her crib upstairs but it was great for naps and changing until she was too big, then it held her while I ran to pee, lol. I had graco pooh everything, if you do get a highchair, make sure the cover on the cushion is plastic, else you have to scrub and wash it after everymeal. You can't have too many sheets for the crib/toddler bed, but you don't need that many blankets, it's not recommended. I got two whole crib sets with bumpers and we used them, now we just use sheets until it gets to be winter. You don't need a whole wooden changing table unless it turns into a dresser, otherwise it just becomes useless after they are too big to fit on top of it. A bouncer seat and swing came in handy with my daughter, she loved them. We also had a travel system, although we don't use the stroller much since she walks on her own, but it's nice for trips to the mall or flea market, and she outgrew her infant seat at 7 months old. And for monitors, if you're worried about static, get the fisher price private connections type. They come with one or two receivers and have 10 channels. I have yet to hear any interference with ours, as we can switch when we need to, and it has sound activated lights so you don't neccessairily have to listen to the child rustle around in the crib, but you can see when s/he is moving around, or if they get really bright, crying, so you turn up the volume and see what's going on.

Good luck!  

Answer 14

tommee tippee suresound monitor - an absolute godsend for a mummy petrified of SIDS

http://www.tommeetippee.co.uk/product/su...

maclaren techno xlr - i LOVE it!!!

http://www.mothercare.com/gp/product/B00...

Answer 15

I love our swing she is sleeping in it right now.  

Answer 16

My favorite baby items are:

1) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... cart cover

2) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... (my daughter is two and still loves this)

3) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... (my daughter loved this til she got to big)

4) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... this was great for traveling or even at home

5) http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... loved this stroller.

Also the http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.d... was great.

I really like graco brand for all my baby stuff.

Good luck

Answer 17

The gyms were a waste of money to me i just get a blanket and lay her down and i have a little bar (gym) instead of paying 100s of dollars for a mat and gym, brands Munchkin is my fav!! its cheap and really good quality... Moniters ugh i have fisher price moniter and the static is horrible but its due to where i live unfourtnetly but other than that i like them my friend has the same ones and she gets really good reception so it really just depends.. Oh and another thing on the stroller and car seat subject if you buy them together as a set its alot cheaper!

Well hoped i helped if you have any questions you can e-mail me i have a four month old daughter,

Good Luck!!!

Answer 18

For the baby moniter it depends on the size of the house you have, I got a cheap one that works fine that everyone gave bad reviews, but I also live in a small house.

I love this thing called a bouncer, very cheap and works great, you can use it at birth, it doesnt take up a lot of room and its a God send!!

I love diaper genies, they helped me out a lot.

I use the evenflo travel system, light weight, folds up nicely and really easy to use! I got the swing as a gift and havent used it as much as the bouncer.

I got the high chair that fits in a chair, it has adjustable levels, really cheap and you can even put an infant in it so they can sit with you while you eat!

I suggest buying a lot of crib sheets, I wouldnt worry about the fanciness of it, they will pee and spit up on it reguard;ess what it looks like.

I bought a cheap 20 play gym at wal-mart that I love, I was going to buy the 70 dollar ones but people suggested using that money for diapers.

Get a really nice diaper bag, I would spend a little time trying to find one you like the best.

I got a tub that folds up and sits in the sink. its really nice and really cheap-got that at babies r us.

My favorite brand is evenflo for babies!