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I take just about anything anyone wants to give that I have room for. The only things we've passed on are the enormous amounts of toys that people don't want in their houses anymore. Our house would be covered from end to end already if we took all of it in.
I'm hoping for some hand-me downs. I can't imagine passing on anything unless we a) already had it or b) it came from a smoker's home.
I don't think there is anything wrong with hand-me-downs. We'll probably buy some of our big ticket things from a second hand store if we didn't get them from a shower. If it can be thoroughly washed, I don't think it's a problem!
Double check the cribs if you get one. My mom was keeping mine to give me when I was a mother myself, but so many cribs are recalled for one reason or another, and so it might not be considered safe. If you can't figure out if it has been recalled, I wouldn't risk it.
I'm hoping for hand-me-downs, 2 of DH's cousins have had babies in the last few months, so hopefully they'll give us the outgrown clothes.
The only things I would refuse as hand-me-down would be a crib (depending on the age of it) and a car seat. DH's parents offered us a crib they used for their youngest, who is now 13; the safety standards have changed significantly since then, so we won't use it. And car seats expire because the plastic breaks down; and even if they aren't expired by the tag, unless you know the history 100%, I wouldn't take it, even being in a fender-bender they say you need to replace the car seat because it can be weakened even if no wear or damage is visible.
I wasn't expecting any hand me downs because both of my siblings had kids years ago. And siblings of SILs have had kids so I expected most stuff were given away.
Turns out my SIL #1 still had a whole bag of infant girl clothing and there are a couple boxes of unopened toys too. My brother #2 offered me my nephews playpens that my nephew barely used then his younger brother did not use. He did offer me his car seat but I think it's past it's expiration so we're passing. If it was newer than 5 years I would take it. Also a bouncer that we're going to take so it can serve as an extra at the grandparents when they move back. And a stroller too, again can be a extra for the ILs when they want to take baby out.
He's driving my mom and nieces & nephews up for my baby shower and throwing everything in the car. So we'll have to sift through and see what's saveable and what's not. I doubt we'll throw anything unless it was a safety issue.
Supposingly my husband's brother who has two girls has a bunch of stuff to give us, but I'll believe it when I see it.
I agree with PP that I would probably pass on a crib and car seats that are 5 years older.
And I agree I would only take a mattress because it's from my siblings! Because I know they're clean and if it was peed on w/o a waterproof pad they would have thrown it out! Anyone else I would not take it!
We are getting a ton of toys/activity centers/jumpers etc, 4 different baby carriers, all the girl clothes we could ever need (we are team green, so not sure that they will be helpful, but even if they aren't we will keep them in case we have a girl next time). Some cloth diapers (from SIL).
We are passing on a car seat, because it has already been used with 2 babies, and although not expired, I just prefer to get a new one. I would take pretty much anything else from a known source (we are getting everything from good friends of ours, and SIL)
Hand me downs are freaking awesome! If you are gettting a crib make sure it is not a drop down, those you need to toss out because almost all states have made those illegal to have, sell or even give away.
My SIL gave us a bunch of clothes for muchkin. Love it!
I love hand me downs! One other item to watch out for, safety-wise, is bottles that are not BPA free.
Yes DH and I for sure want to buy a new carseat, and we are actually getting a new crib as well because we want all the bedroom furniture to match. I like all of your input thanks everyone :)
I got a crib mattress, a bassinet, LOTS of clothes, even the crib itself was given to us from a friend who wasn't going to have any more kids. Almost everything we had for our son was a hand me down. As long as you wash the clothes and wipe everything down really well it doesn't really matter IMO as long as it's not something really personal which iinfants don't use anyway.
I found out there's a family bassinet that's been passed around in my husband's family. Our baby will be the 20th baby to use it! I think it's awesome to be able to share that common ground with his family and it makes me feel like our child will be accepted, regardless of cultural differences.
Hubby's grandparents first bought it from a neighbor, and it's been used by his unlce, and his 3 children, then by 3 grandchildren, his aunt, and her 2 children, hubby and his 2 siblings, and I can't even remember who else. It's a classic bassinet, made of wood with numerous updates throughout the years, in bedding and fabric.
I've never heard of anything like this before and just delighted to be able to use it for our LO.
As for anything else, I'm not expecting anything. But we already have tons of baby gear bought by my Mom, grandmother, and aunt. I'm also not the type to wait last-minute for essentials, so we're pretty prepared. First grandchild ... we're so excited!
We are having babies after most of our friends are done so I'm hoping to score a bunch of hand me downs. It's the smartest idea. Most children's clothes is outgrown LONG before worn out.
99% of our baby's clothes are hand me downs, although some still had the tags on. A lot of baby furniture was bought at a serious discount from my friend. The only big ticket items we bought new were the crib mattress, car seat, and stroller. Oh, and my mom bought us a fancy pack n play that we use as a changing table/storage. All of her toys were gifts; we didn't buy any. She doesn't really use them yet.
Wow! That's awesome :) I have neices and nephews so when our team green baby comes we'll have all kinds of clothes coming our way, some of which will still have tags on. I don't see the point in buying brand new clothes honestly because people will be throwing clothes at you to get it out of their house haha. I will be getting a car seat as well from my BIL's friend, which is great. I'm all about hand me downs. Unless it's something like a drop down side crib I probably would just say yes to everything. I think to some extent it's smart to buy new things for safety, but I also think it's a wonderful way for baby product companies to make more money. "It's not safe anymore if it's over a year old, has a tiny chip in it, or if baby ever spit up in or around it..." It's a good way to keep people from reusing big tickets items for multiple babies, and get them spending huge amounts of money for each kid. I'll just be using my judgement with each product.
I am all for hand me downs and consignment shopping! Kids grow out of toys, clothes and shoes so fast odds are they only wore them a handful of times anyway.
Aside from a drop side crib I will take pretty much anything anyone has to give and if I can't use it I will donate it.
@Moja Milosc: On the cribs, there has been deaths because of drop downs, this is why they have been recalled and should not be used anymore. Also car seats have an expiration date on them so you may need to be careful on a used one
The only brand new things Wombat has are a car seat, stroller, crib, and mattress. Everything else is yard sale, hand-me-downs, or Goodwill. Granted, her family does buy her new stuff, but we've asked people to go light on that and donate to her college fund instead.
@Sassygrn: How have they caused deaths? I haven't heard anything about it so I thought I would ask. The crib I used for my 20 month old is a drop side and I was going to use it for baby #2 as well.
My SIL cried, apparently the first bag of hand me downs she got from me. My brother said it made her feel like we thought they were poor. um? So I had a talk with her, some of the clothes were worn once, or were major designer labels and worn once, they grow so fast it was a waist. So she went thru it all and actually started looking forward to getting the hand me down clothes. She won't take anything else, ie. books/blankets etc but whatevs.
My brother thinks it's because she was an only child, and no cousins her age so she never had hand me downs..... were in our family, even as the only girl, I still got hand me downs.
@bride21: On the drop down part children have gotten caught in the bars and have it dropped down, which has caused deaths. Many states have completely outlawed these cribs and is against the law to sell, have or give away these cribs. Please google and there are many articles on this
Yes, we have gotten a ton of hand-me-downs and it has been such a blessing! Thanks to our parents' gifts and freebies from friends, we have not paid for a single baby thing yet!
As hand-me-downs, we got:
-A baby swing
-A bassinet and NEW Bassinet sheets
-A bouncer
-A play gym
-A costco pack of size 1 diapers
-A baby Bjorn
-A rocker
-An antique dresser
-An entire dresser full of baby girl clothes (half with tags on)
-2 pairs of baby shoes
We have been so lucky, and really the only thing that I WOULD NOT accept as used as breast pumping supplies, bottles, and pacifiers. I also would not want any sort of baby item that has old safety standards, such as a drop-side crib.
I am sure everything you have gotten so far will be great! Gotta save money where you can!
I can also add that the only "new" things that the baby will have will be her crib, mattress, bedding (handmade) and changing table.
That is awesome! I would love hand-me-downs! My husband and I are going to be hitting up the consignment sales in March. They have excellent deals on used baby things that are still in great condition.
We have gotten a few.
I'm getting a bit of clothes from a friend of mine who had her son a year before me. She is also giving me some of his "infant" toys.
I also will be borrowing a swing from my nanny mom. Though I am thinking of getting one of those "travel swings" for when I start nannying after the baby is born.
I wouldn't accept crib, carseat, bottles, breastfeeding supplies, or other "sanitary" or "big-ticket" safety type items as hand me downs. Even craigslist, I want a NEW carseat just in case anything happens.
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My brother is offering me a bassinet, TONS of baby clothes, a crib mattress (these don't expire do they?) and a few other big ticket item things. Obviously I'm not picky about where these came from because its from my brothers kids and not a stranger. I'm pretty excited because I know 50% of the clothes will have tags on!
So, I'm curious, were you offered lots of hand me downs? What things did you get and what things should you "pass" on?