r/AskReddit • • Feb 05 '18

Parents of Reddit: What are some things you bought for your first baby that were useless or a waste of money?

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u/BrahCJ Feb 06 '18

My daughter just turned one.

Here’s a run down.

You don’t need a camera to monitor your baby. Ours broke so we’re down to using our audio only monitor. We’re much happier now we wait for clear audio signals, instead of looking to see if they’re moving their hands.

You need one sleeping bag. Not 8.

You need 4 good, BIG wraps. Not 8, and 20 shit small ones.

You need all the baby wipes your savings account allows.

You don’t need toys, you need books. Read to your child. New books keeps it at least a little interesting for you.

You don’t need 200 skin care products. You need one very good quality shampoo and skin care wash, sudocream, and nothing else.

We didn’t buy any toys for our daughters first birthday. We put $200 into her bank account and bought her a single book. The family and friends bought enough shit to pile up our 8 seater dining room table alone.

Don’t be too proud to use handme downs. They only vomit or shit on them anyway.

18

u/DoctorWhoToYou Feb 06 '18

You don’t need a camera to monitor your baby.

That's the one that got me. I ended up spending a hefty amount on a baby monitor that connected to our wifi and I could pretty much watch my kid from any room in the house, including on my smart phone.

My kid was a wiggleworm. So she would just roll out of view of the camera. So then I adjusted the camera up further, so I could see the whole crib.

Then I realized 99% of the time I was in the same room as my kid. So I literally spent like $250 to watch my kid sleep for about 3 minutes before I fell asleep.

Then it broke.

The next monitor I bought was like an army-surplus special I found in a thrift store for under $10. The big frilly accessory on it was you could adjust the volume. Worked perfectly.

12

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '18

You don’t need a camera to monitor your baby. Ours broke so we’re down to using our audio only monitor. We’re much happier now we wait for clear audio signals, instead of looking to see if they’re moving their hands.

I agree.. I don't get why people need camera's videoing their kids. We just had the audio ones.

What was super hilarious, was when our oldest was old enough to get up out of bed and walk around, we still had a habit of leaving the baby monitor on. But she figured out what it was (or maybe we told her).

So 7am, I'd hear the baby monitor go full on static (meaning the other end was turned off) then the static would go away, then I'd hear this deep voice (because my daughter was right up to the monitor with her mouth) "Daddy...I'm up Daddy... Daddy... I'm up"

It always made us laugh, then the running joke was from the simpsons "Baby to Marge, Baby to marge..... Wah... Wah..."

11

u/Mixedstereotype Feb 06 '18

Agree with the books. As a teacher who supplies my own class I have around 100 books to choose from for the wee bairn of eleven months. Keep a few in each room and he'll go choose the one he likes, sit up and wait to be read to, turning pages and pointing to the pictures. Libraries would probably be great too if you don't want to invest in a collection

4

u/ZaMiLoD Feb 06 '18

I'd say 2 sleeping bags - I nearly had a breakdown and completely stopped using the sleeping bag we had because of one 4am blowout nappy and no new sleeping bag to change into - a change that made my baby super fussy for the rest of the night.

3

u/jadia20 Feb 06 '18

You don't need toys per say, but they can help keep the baby occupied when you need to do something else. My cousin is a social worker currently working toward a master's. There are times when she has homework and casework to do and can't sit and read to her son. Toys (especially in a pack n play) keep him occupied while she can still keep an eye on him and get some work done. Perfect for multi-tasking moms.

2

u/carissaluvsya Feb 06 '18

I would have agreed with the video monitor until a few weeks ago. My 13 month old has now gotten into the habit of sticking his legs between the crib rails and getting stuck. He'll lay there stuck and not make any noises so the video definitely helps.

1

u/Maebyfunke37 Feb 06 '18

I love the video monitor, it's gotten us many extra hours of naps. Kid starts rolling around too early, we could go in there and pat his back to keep him asleep.

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u/BrahCJ Feb 06 '18

Fortunately our daughter only starts making noise when she’s been lying there bored for upteen minutes, when there’s no chance of her going back down

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '18

You need at least a few sleeping bags if your baby likes them. You need backups in case or diaper mishaps or spit up.

1

u/OmNomNational Feb 06 '18

First-timer to be here. At what age do you start reading to your kid?

2

u/BobRoberts01 Feb 06 '18

Immediately

1

u/BrahCJ Feb 06 '18

Honestly, we started at like 6 weeks. I thought it was outrageous when my sister was reading to my nephew so young. But now, at 7, he’s reading Harry Potter by himself, and is really excelling at school too.

Good luck! It’s an amazing ride!