Best Buy Worst Buy

Having tried and tested most pieces of equipment promoted to "make life easier" we thought we'd ask you which one thing you would definitely have taken with you to a desert island, and similarly the ones which you wouldn't waste your money on again.  Thanks for all your help in compiling this list - if you have any to add please email me here Lindsey@twinsclub.co.uk

Best Buys .....

• "Best buy was definitely my changing station - totally invaluable, especially with more than one!
• My bath/changing table on a stand - great after my c/section
• I was very pleased with a couple of bouncy chairs which vibrate!  The children really love them and they soothe them to sleep....in fact I still use them now to feed the children in, they have been a godsend"
• Bouncy chairs - they loved them when they were little and wanted to look around, and once weaning started were fed in these.
• Instead of moses baskets I bought bouncy chairs- easy to move around the house and great when I started weaning
• Best buy: Clothes that seemed small until they were born, which they actually wore for ages as thye grew into them as they were so tiny. Bouncy chairs, and baby gyms.
• Britax Rock a Tots - easy to keep clean, fitted in any car I ever went in! Also great to feed them in when out and about.
• Best buy was probably the Rock-a-tot car seats which were used for sleeping in during the day, feeding them in, aswell as in the car!  Second best was the Avent Milk Powder Dispenser.  I used to take two sterile bottles of hot water out with me then when I wanted to feed them I would tip the pre-measured milk powder into the bottle, shake, and it was usually about the right temperature, having cooled down since I left home.  The dispenser has three separate compartments, so is suitable for up to 3 bottles.  Bought mine from Boots.
• Avent milk powder storage compartment and thermos flask for my night feeds...
• Avent Milk Powder compartments - I have 2, one for night and one for going out during the day.
• My best buy was a travel cot - my two slept in this downstairs when they were babies, now that they're robust toddlers it will contain them if I need to dash to the loo!
• Baby Dan playpen (when they started to 'move around' this allowed me peace of mind to get to the loo/hang out washing etc.)
• Best buys were the above mentioned Sangenic Nappy wrapper (I've only got two in nappies so it wasn't too bad), the Graco electric swing which I borrowed (it would always send my little boy off to sleep) and the two rocker chairs which were invaluable.  They slept in them during the day, and when they were older I fed them in them as well. Another best buy were the activity gyms - they played with those right up to being 8 months! .
• Best buy was a Graco swing, one of the battery powered swings with different speeds and tunes. Couldn't have survived without it- kept one amused so I could see to the other and would sooth grumpy babies to sleep. LOVED IT!
• Best buy was and still is the plastic table and bench set from Argos for £30.  Like a picnic bench, they sit at it for everything - painting sessions, mealtimes, you name it.  It wipes clean in minutes and was definitely the best £30 ever spent.
• Best buy the Maclaren Duette pushchair - easy to fold, not too bulky and very hardwearing.
• I loved my Graco Duo twinsport buggy
• Best buys - Landrover double pram , comes with 2 individual bassinets which clip off and can be washed and then the chairs clip in.
  
• 2 umbrella buggies, for travelling around airports - pram too big to go in cabin so it has to go through with luggage.
• Two single buggies (when they started to fight in the twin buggy)
• Best buy were Grobags - much better than all those sheets and blankets, the boys are now 14 months and if they wake at night they fall back to sleep no problems as they are always warm.  Especially good for wriggly babies who kick off normal covers. Also first place was my Easylife Sport Pushchair - my godsend!  Suitable from newborn, sooo easy to push and comfy over any terrain.  Comes with every extra you could think of and was really good value for money.
• Baby sleeping bags
• Best buy - a kettle I kept solely for boiling water to make up bottles. I could boil it up and leave it until I was ready to use it without worrying if anyone wanted a cup of tea.
• Mothercare microwavable bottles! nice and chunky and it takes 1.30 secs per bottle.
• Travel cots - good for travelling and also if one gets sick you can move them into your room.
• Cot beds...lovely money saver there.
• Cordless phone!
• Cot beds (plenty space in them to sleep two together side by side for the first 6 months and then after that there is room to put a toy box etc in with them to play with when they are maybe in the bedroom whilst you sort out the washing etc)
• Premature baby clothes( I was not prepared for how small twin babies are and I had bought mainly new born which were too big to start them off in)
• Tripp Trapp chairs - easy to clean, I can sit and easily feed all three babies without trays getting in the way and hopefully they will last ages.
• Tripp Trapp Highchairs - lovely bit of furniture, easy to clean. Good support for backs. Will eventually become an adult chair so again it's great value for money.
• Two baby nests from Blooming Marvellous catalogue. Use in car seats as extra padding when they are tiny. Also fit neatly into the seats of Tesco double trolleys, giving them extra head support.
• Muslins (12 pack) white from Mothercare. - These large squares invaluable. 101 uses for them, favorite was head huggers cheaper than shop bought ones and you can mould to childs head. Easily washable after sicky accidents, burping towel etc. Inpromptu bib, which large enough to cover child of 3 years, soft make shift nappy if baby has sore bottom. They wash on really hot wash and come up like new. Advise not getting coloured ones as unable to bleach/boil if badly soiled. They are truly excellent value for money.

Worst Buys.....

• Worst buy was probably our Sangenic nappy disposal unit - great if you've only got one, but I had three nappies at once and it filled up at least once a day - plus the refills are about £4 each
• Worst buy, two brand new 'Winnie The Pooh' highchairs from Mothercare.   (Linda didn't say why!)
• Worst buys were loads of toys - they didn't really play with them and were just as happy playing with boxes and straps etc
• I wish I hadn't bought 2 Moses baskets...
• Two separate Moses baskets (mine hated going in them they wanted to 'cuddle up' together)
• Worst buy was those seats that attach to chairs which are supposed to be easier than high chairs.  The tray at the front was not big enough for even the smallest childs plate.  They attached to normal chairs but did not seem stable to me and so they were unusable.  Moses baskets were lovely but I wouldn't buy them new again - there are plenty of second hand ones around and you can buy new foam mattresses for them.
• Worst buy was six cot blankets - hardly ever used more than two as they folded several times using the feet to foot position.
• Changing Station - never used it as I preferred to change them on a mat on the floor. It now houses their clothes so not a complete waste of money.
• Sangenic nappy wrapper - the plastic it wraps them in smells horrible, I had to empty it very often and at £4 a cartridge it cost a fortune to run.
• Cheap umbrella fold buggy - I'd definitely get another umbrella fold but I would spend a bit more on it. My one was cheap and nasty, subsequently fell apart at 7 months old - a month after warranty finished!!
• Premature baby clothes, as the hospital provided them and preferred you to use theirs and by the time we were out - they were out of them!
• Lots of newborn clothes - they grew out of them really quickly, also after they were born people were really generous and lots of the outfits never got worn.
• Baby bath - I never used it at all!! To begin with they bathed with either myself or DH, later we got a hammock type thing that sits in the normal bath and supports them. 14 months later they have bath seats! Might turn it into a sand pit in a few months though!!
• Worst buy; 2 backpack carriers. They hated them and going anywhere with two was a nightmare so rarely done!! Ditto 2 slings.
• Cosatto twin max double buggy (too heavy and very difficult to fold)
• Worst buy - narrow neck feeding bottles. When you are tipping either milk powder or ready made milk into so many bottles it's a lot easier to have wide neck bottles. I gave my narrow neck ones away after a month.
• Worst buy - The bath chair! I never really used it, as my hubby always bathed one, and the one time I did Tom was leaning forward on the bar and it came un stuck, subsequently he went head first into the water
• Twelve 4oz feeding bottles - Save your money a buy the bigger ones straight away

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Page last updated: 29-Jan-2008

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