Cub is sleeping in a hand-me-down crib thanks to his nice Aunt and Uncle. I was reluctant at first. Being a first-time parent, I read all the books and articles, most of which said to NEVER use a hand-me-down crib, stroller or car seat. Safety issues. I was really nervous. This crib had been used by both his 7-year old cousin and then his 3-year old cousin after that. Now Cub would use it for its third run? Um... not so sure about that.Finally, I gave in. But not without me insisting that the screws were double and triple-checked and the crib was super washed down. I trust this was done... hon?
In today's flaky economy, many of us have no choice or end up choosing to make major cut-backs on our spending. As a first-time mom, I thought I'd want everything brand spanking new. The fabulous nursery all decked out and brag-worthy. But with our current living situation, it made the most sense to maximize the space we have and to be more practical, especially with me staying at home for now.
The funny thing is, most of the items Cub and I really like are the hand-me-down ones! He has lots of new clothes. But the clothes I think are the cutest are the ones that were passed down from friends, family and neighbors. Now he has this awesome push car our neighbor just gave us. His girls outgrew it. Used is the new NEW! It's hip like vintage clothing!
The NYT wrote an article about this recently here, called "For Firstborns, Secondhand Fits."
So if any of you out there have any super cool things that a 7-month old baby would dig, bring it on! And for any of you out there that need toys for a baby under 7-months, we got it!
Guess it doesn't feel so bad to be USED afterall!
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1 comments:
Ok I have to admit that I was a baby snob....everything brand spanking new! I had a lot of family members willing to spoil DB (and us by association!), so we didn't have a lot in the way of baby expenses. Once I found myself on a mountain of baby stuff though, I did snap a little more into reality. Did we REALLY need all this stuff? No, not really. I returned a lot of it for gift cards that I could use for stuff we really did need like diapers, wipes and the ever present onesie.
Over the past year I've become an expert at getting things on sale (some of my favorite places to troll: JC Penney, Old Navy, Big Lots, Target, Wal Mart, Nordstrom Rack....clearance racks are my best friend.)and I think I am pretty practical about my purchases. I haven't ventured off in the way of Craigslist or traditional garage sales yet, but I think I will as DB's tastes in toys and other kiddie gadgets grows. Like you mentioned, the economy is rough right now so making unnecessary purchases is just downright wasteful.
I don't have any hand-me-downs right now because we're planning on another baby sooner than later, but I'll be sure to keep things in shape for when we are ready to pass them on!
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