What's your FAV/LEAST FAV piece of BabyGear?

Here's my list:
ALL TIME FAVORITE:
BundleMe car seat blanket/cover... *They're on sale right now on BabyStyle* Baby buntings/blankets are not car-seat compatible... it used to take me so long to get Olivia bundled to go out the door, and then if we didn't leave right away (fussing grandmas blocking our exit!) she would get overheated... then she would be overheated again in the car, so we would turn off the heat and freeze... if we stopped at the store, again, she would be over heated so we would remove layers, then bundle her up again to leave... UGH!

The biggest, dumbest thing we owned last time:
The Diaper Genie. We used sposies last time around, and lemme tell you about this nasty little contraption: you stick your stinky diapers in it and give the lid a twist. The diaper is wrapped in a segment of a long, plastic-bag-tube. When the pail is full you pull out this nasty, stale length of diaper-sausage-links. It is so unpleasant to deal with. It does do a nice job of keeping the yuck-smell quarantined, but once you open it old to empty it the house fills with the aroma of OLD poopy nonsense... I would much rather deal with each, fresh diaper as it comes... and then after a couple of months, if you don't sterilize it weekly, the bacteria builds up and then it's just stinky 24/7.
If you must use sposies, just wrap them in a little bag as soon as you change your beeb.
...
My baby sling was wonderful... I have a bad shoulder so dad used it mostly. Mine was home-made so I can't recommend a brand.

This is our third. As for baby gear, we have a grand total of....

clothes
a carseat
one stroller
one sling
one front-facing baby carrier (snugli, from when I was a baby)
diapers
a breastpump (if you count that as baby gear) and breast pads

Ummm...errrr...that's it. Seriously. We've never been much for cribs and swings and systems and changing tables and high chairs and such - although we have had those things in the past. They're more pain than they're worth. We change the baby on the bed or on the floor - we bathe the baby in the tub, in our arms, we feed the baby on our laps or on a blanket on the floor (all the better to explore with, my dear - of course, we also don't feed them solids until they're like a year old and by then, well, we don't need something to support them anymore, kwim?).

I've seriously always been something of a minimalist when it comes to baby stuff and baby care - the baby needs interaction and care from ME and DH, not from a bunch of crap. Of course, kid stuff is another story (haha, you should see all the stuff we have for the 2 and 4 yo, hundreds and hundreds of wooden blocks, table and chair sets, tons of puzzles and games, etc). Anyway...with our first we had the most baby stuff, with our second we got rid of some of it, and now we've gotten rid of even more.

I go through stores with baby sections and honestly don't know whether to laugh or cry. Commercialism? Excess? Simply wanting to put a layer of stuff between yourself and baby, to keep emotion down? Why does all this stuff even exist?

Anyway...about quality stuff - with our first most of the stuff we got was gift stuff and I had little control over it. Most of the stuff we have is still from that initial experience. But I can say that there are some things that are so cheap you just don't want to bother - like those Gerber 3-pack onesies. And, in fact, most of the stuff you get at K-mart. Seriously, it is like they don't even check it first. My aunt got me a bunch of stuff there that was way too big in the chest but didn't even fit over the kids' heads (and my kids have average-sized heads). And then there were the footed full-length onesies that I had to cut the feet off of because the legs were sooo short, also from Kmart. We've since bought some higher-quality clothing on our own to supplement what we did get that was better. MIL and my mom shopped from Carter's (surprisingly flimsy sometimes, good other times) and Oshkosh (which I like most of the time) and those things comprise most of our existing collection.

my favorite item is my pack and play. its a side sleeper, playpen, changing table, junk holder~ whatever..its a blessing, I have a Graco and it folds into a large duffle in about 2 minutes.

a rocking chair..more sentimental than 'needed'

my prefolds

my breasts

thats it

maybe a highchair.. I have my eye on the saratoga print.

dumb things- at least for us, the diaper genie, (a shower gift),
chloe never liked a swing, but I will try again with this one~ but only a portable/small model, that will double as a bouncer.. no use having a large contraption we don't use.

The things I don't think I could have done without:

-sling
-washcloths for sopping up my overactive letdown
-stroller for when he got bigger and we were at something like the zoo, or taking the dog for a walk
-nightlight in our room bright enough that I could see to bf him or change his dipe

Things I know for sure I needed to get this time around:

-better nursing bras and really good nursing pads
-a better cd-ing system so I would stick with it
-a sling that fit me better

That's all I can think of right now.

Fav-

Both of my children loved the swing in the early months. Some nights that nothing else would help them calm down, the swing would. Plus, it was the only way I got to take a shower at that time w/o bringing an adorable slippery newborn in w/ me.

Stroller for longer day trips and travel. DH and I both have back problems, so slinging the babe for a long time was a no no.

Rocking chair-I don't have one, but it is one of my must haves for future babies!

Could've done w/o...

highchair, neither child used it for very long. They both wanted to sit at the table with us! :

playpen-It just became toy storage.

Quote:
That's too funny! When I first posted I was thinking 'I should say my breasts'...
anywho, I agree with you all on the uselessness of my beuatiful, heirloom walnut, sleigh-crib... but it sure did look perdy with all the laundry and the cat in it ... and those activity centers? I didn't get it. It was much for fun to get down on the floor on a blanket and play with her...
I know how some of you feel about the swings, but it soothed dd when nothing else would...

Best Thing: Boppy and Lana wool pads... (okay DH wouldn't agree with the second half of that but definitely the first half!!) It made breastfeeding my DD soooo much easier. And DH used it to give her bottles (while I was still working) and it really made it easier for them. Aaaah memories of the two of them passed out together...

Also love:
our Cloth Diapers (going on the third bum!!)
Wipes Warmer made changing a newborn soooo much more pleasant especially at 2am.
Swing (not a popular item but a godsend for us) the swing was sometimes the only way that DD would sleep for more that 20 minutes and I could take a shower!! It was also a lifesaver with my DS some nights, he wouldn't sleep at all on either of us and we would finally get him to sleep in his swing.
Slings (after the newborn phase, neither of my DC were happy in slings or carriers until they were older.)

Dumbest thing:
Graco stroller. Was total junk for the price. Found much better strollers later.
Johny Jumpup with DD, she HATED it, loved to jump up and down in your lap though... my DS LOVED it. He'd jump up and down in it while I cooked. He'd cackle and cackle.

My Fave:
prefolds and wraps, I love my cloth diapers

a swing, and a baby chair; like the others said, there were times when I was doing something and needed both hands. He much prefered watching me do things and talking to him, than be in a sling.

The co-sleeper Dh built, awesome!

Did not Use:
Pack N Play, never found a use for it

favorite: breasts with sling, cloth diapers (oh, don't get me started )---oh, and my portable phone

least favorite: anything mechanical or motorized. i never had a diaper genie---they always freaked me out :

: