Which of your purchases was the biggest waste of money/space?

bohemianlc

My husband and I are trying to get ready for our first baby, but we are in a 2-bedroom apartment with limited space. We will of course buy whatever we need for the baby, but we also don't want to load our place up with stuff that we won't really use. I'm curious as to which of your furniture or other space-consuming things (such as bouncers, play yards, etc.) you feel you could have done without and not suffered. Thanks in advance for the feedback!  

orangecurls

For the first year and half, I thought the crib was the biggest waste of space. We bed shared or coslept in the beginning.

We had a lot of places to put baby, swing, bouncer, rocking chair, etc. Too many contraptions, that were used for a really short time. If you can possibly borrow some of these, that would be ideal. (And really your baby just wants to be held).

LittleApple

I would never buy a swing or exersaucer or bouncer at full price. I got my swing at Target for $35, exersaucer for $17 and even my crib for $60!

 They use them for such a short amount of time.

flcl

If you know anyone who can loan you their swing and bouncer to test out, that would be the best option.  We have both and LO hates them so they just take up space right now.

ss265

DreamingBabies said:

If you can't borrow things, you can buy them used and resell them after you're finished with them in a few months. I think what you need is partially dependent on the floor plan of your home. If it's all one level, then you don't need a changing area in the living room since the nursery is so close. If you're planning on baby sleeping in his own room, then you don't need a pack and play unless you need it for travel. But something like the Graco Little Lounger or Rock and Play could also work for your room and they are smaller than the pack and play. I have tried to get things that are multipurposed since storage is an issue for us. For example, I skipped getting a snap and go stroller and instead have the chicco liteway plus which is an umbrella stroller that holds the car seat.

These are all great suggestions. For a 2 bedroom apartment, I would skip the swing. It really takes up a ton of room and we only used it as a sleeping area for the baby in our living room. Some babies love swings, others don't. Same for the PnP - the nursery will be so close to your living room, you probably don't need one (unless you plan to travel frequently with the baby).

FmrAFBrat

I also say skip the PnP. We only used ours in our finished basement. And we ended up getting a different type than we initially purchased. The ones with the extras are worthless as a play area. Honestly we were gifted a cradle that went up to 25lbs or sitting up and that was a godsend. Both boys were able to stay in our room until 5 & 6 months. And I loved being able to see them all night and that they were okay.

ariel06

Skip the pack and play (or wait to buy until you actually need it traveling somewhere).  A travel swing might make sense.  They're cheaper and fold up nice.   I would do a space saver high chair that goes on a chair instead of a traditional.  We used the bouncer a ton.  I wouldn't by an exersaucer or jumperoo until they are old enough to use them.  We used our play mat tons and it folded up nicely to be stored under the crib.

bohemianlc

Thanks for all of the feedback; this thread has been really helpful!  

amief

Lots of good tips above..

We also live in a 2 bedroom place and here is what we did to help save space:  

• We have a fold flat bouncer that can go anywhere in the house, but can be stored under the crib when not in use. 
• We purchased a mamaroo for its small footprint and use it in the living room. 
• No pnp, although we do have a lotus guava travel crib that stays folded up in the closet b/c we travel a lot.
• For a high chair we got the Phil and Ted's Lobster which attaches to our kitchen counter. 
• We did end up getting an exersaucer eventually, but we waited until he was old enough to need it so we weren't storing it forever.  As soon as we are done with it we will sell it.  
• We didn't get a baby bath, but instead use the Bloomin Bath.  We got a shower caddy ( like you would use in college) and keep his stuff in there in the linen closet.  When it is time to bath him we get out the flower and his caddy and bathe him in the kitchen sink.  
• no changing table.. we put the changing pad on top of a dresser. 
• no rocking chair... we actually have a day bed with a pull out trundle instead.  This has gotten tons of use as a place to sit with him, change his clothes, and give visitors a place to sleep.   This is actually also where I slept when we first came home, and I have slept a few more times when he's had bad nights.
• store our stroller on a stroller hook on the back of a closet door. 
• We bought bins to put on a few shelves of our bookshelf to store, hats, socks, booties, bibs, pacifiers, burp cloths, etc.  
• We have bins under our bed to hold extra diapers, wipes, the next size of clothes, etc.

bohemianlc

Wow, thank you for taking the time to type all of this out! We purposely bought a crib that has space underneath it for holding extra diapers, wipes, etc., but I hadn't really considered that the space under OUR bed could also be helpful. Thanks you again; I'm sure I'll be coming back to this list several times! 

hollygb22

i echo the other ladies on borrowing stuff. We borrowed a swing, used it for 2 months, and back it went. Just wasn't a hit with DD. We opted for smaller things..like the bouncy seat and rnp that we could fold up and store. We did the Jumperoo and not an exersaucer..that thing was worth its weight in gold.

My family thought I was a jerk..but I really asked them to hold off on stuffed animals, toys she would grow into etc to save space.

frasey

Our old house was pretty small, so we got this combo swing/bouncer that was amazing: 

https://www.gracobaby.com/products/pages/duo-2-in-1-swing-bouncer-starburst.aspx Saved space for sure. 

I would have skipped the exersaucer but someone gave one to us for free. We also loved the Jolly Jumper that attached to the doorframe - took basically no space, DD loved it, and we stashed it under the couch when it wasnt being used. We didn't use a change table at all - just did it on the bed, couch, floor, wherever we happened to be at the time. 

HopingforChange

The diaper genie is evil. Takes up space and breaks if you so much as look at it wrong.

bohemianlc

HopingforChange said:

The diaper genie is evil. Takes up space and breaks if you so much as look at it wrong.

Really? Everyone we know said they loved it, so that's interesting to hear your take on it. I don't really see a need for it, personally, so I wasn't going to register for one anyways. At our apartment complex, they pick up the trash twice each day, so we're pretty spoiled and I don't need to worry about diapers stinking up the place!

HopingforChange

bohemianlc said:

HopingforChange said:

The diaper genie is evil. Takes up space and breaks if you so much as look at it wrong.

Really? Everyone we know said they loved it, so that's interesting to hear your take on it. I don't really see a need for it, personally, so I wasn't going to register for one anyways. At our apartment complex, they pick up the trash twice each day, so we're pretty spoiled and I don't need to worry about diapers stinking up the place!

I think the old ones were better, maybe? All the parts are plastic now, and the construction just seems poor. The idea is awesome, but in reality I think you'll do just as well with a stainless steel small step can, especially with such frequent trash pick up (yay!).

fsumom

The PNP was our most used item.  DD slept in it for the few months exclusively and then for naps after that.  I agree with the PP about the Diaper Genie.  It is definitely not necessary and we didn't care for it.  

This time around, I bought the 4Moms Rockaroo which wasn't cheap.  I just hope he likes it.  I like it's small footprint and it's easily moveable from room to room.  I also bought the Nuna Sena Mini which is a very small PNP as DS will be in our room at first.  We are reusing DD's old crib.  I've heard great things about the Fisher Price Rock N' Play.

olga1311

Diaper genie is amazing. I couldn't deal with a reg trash can and I can't take the trash out twice a day, too lazy

Doorway jumper was a waste for us. Swing, bouncy chair , jumperoo she all loved.

bohemianlc

olga1311 said:

Diaper genie is amazing. I couldn't deal with a reg trash can and I can't take the trash out twice a day, too lazy Doorway jumper was a waste for us. Swing, bouncy chair , jumperoo she all loved.

Haha they take our trash right from our door at no charge (It's called "valet trash"- lol), so I think I can handle it. The Diaper Genie sounds like it may have been something good for us if we lived in a house or apartment where that wasn't a free service! Thanks for your feedback!

jess9802

The PNP and the exersaucer were the least used and most unnecessary items in our house. The PNP at least folds up compactly for storage. The exersaucer was bulky and didn't get a lot of use before DS had outgrown it.

We had limited space in DS's room when he was born (it doubled as a home office at the time). We bought a crib with changing table attached to it, and rather than use a dresser, we bought storage totes with drawers and put it inside the the closet. Rather than a stand-alone high chair, we have a Fisher Price space saver, which has worked really well. We did have a swing, and it did occupy a lot of floor space, but he used it every day for more than six months before the motor died. We had the motor replaced under warranty and the swing is now stored away for baby #2.

SunAndRain

IN an apartment you won't need a PNP.  I bought one thinking we'd travel with it a lot, but it was too big to take if we flew so we only used it for car trips.  Either way you don't need all the bells and whistles - go for simple design, simple to set up and break down.

Our swing was the most important sanity saver the first 7 months. I bought it gently used off craigslist for 1/3 of the retail price and it was a great one - FB Sungabunny

DD wasn't a huge fan of the exersaucer but boy did she LOVE her FP jumperoo from about 5-9 months!  LOVE!  But you can hold off on these for the first few months.  Both take up a LOT of space.

Bouncer would be a great option for you for the first few months because they are awesome for keeping baby happy, take up little space and are easily transported.

Some parents swear by the rock n play or whatever it is called.  We never had one and I didn't miss it.

Diapers don't begin to horribly stink until baby starts eating solids.  THat said they poop a LOT those first few months so plan on taking the trash out daily.  We walk DD's poopy diapers straight to the outside trash - but she is in daycare so we only have to make multiple daily trash runs on the weekends.

Meether

Crib.

spartybride3

We have a 2 BR condo as well. Outside of the crib & dresser/changing table (ikea hemnes) in her room we have a bouncer, playmat, and the rockaroo. The bouncer is slightly wasteful right now because she's a little small for it (only 10 days old). She likes to stretch and lay on the playmat. The rockaroo is great. It's in our room and she sleeps there when not in her crib. That is the greatest product we have.

peckmiranda

PnP was definitely the biggest waste of space. We got a Bright Starts one and it's such a pain to take down anyway that even if we did have room for it, we wouldn't bother using it. We have the Arm & Hammer diaper genie and it is fabulous. 

olga1311

I did want to mention that we used out PNP daily from 0-6 months for night sleep and naps but she slept in the room with us.

As a minimum I would get her a playgym, a bouncer and a swing. If she has reflux and needs rnp to sleep you can always purchase it. Reason for swing over rnp is that you can use swing longer. Pnp if you plan on her sleeping with you in the room.

Robi1

I know it's fun to prepare and buy stuff before the baby arrives, but honestly, if I were to do things again, I would buy just about nothing beforehand, and wait to see what my needs were after the baby arrives. See what feels missing in your house (i.e., I really wish I had a place to change the baby in this room instead of going over there, or baby seems to really love movement, so maybe I should try a swing) and then see if you can try things out at friends places or in stores. Borrowing stuff is a great idea.

Also, even if your baby might like some stuff, that doesn't mean he won't be totally happy without it. We just never tried a swing, bouncer, jumperoo, exersaucer, high chair with tray, crib, Rock n Play, bassinet, Bumbo, changing table, stroller, pacifiers, baby bathtub, etc. We have a high chair that clips on the table, a changing pad on top of a dresser, and a convertible carseat, as well as an Ergo baby carrier. Other than that, we really don't have any "gear".

We only got a pack n play much later on, after she was mobile, and we only use it for traveling. It's very basic. I also did not start out with a glider, but received one for free later on, and I really like it, but I'd be happy with any sort of seating option inside baby's room, doesn't have to rock or glide.