Baby Essentials You Should Be Buying Second Hand.

“Babies are so expensive.” it’s a phrase you’ll hear many times when your pregnant and preparing for a baby. It’s also a phrase I don’t really believe in. While it’s true that you’ll want and need to buy stuff for your baby, it’s also true that babies need very little, expect for food, warmth and love. The rest is there to make our lives work with a baby. Of course prams, slings, clothes etc are essential but how far you go with them could end up making your life harder. Pretty much everything I had for my baby was second hand on passed on to us. You might think, “but I want the excitement of doing all the shopping,” don’t worry I found shopping for all this just as exciting. In fact when I found a “real find” the excitement went through the roof. FYI I’m quiet over excitable.

here’s my list of all the baby essentials I think should be brought secondhand if you can and how to go about it.

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A SecondHand Pram.

This is the biggy because there are some “travel systems” out there that aren’t far off the cost on my car. However this is probably the one that is going to work hardest for you so whether you buy new or second hand I would recommend research, research, research. I’ve written a post on How to Buy a Second Hand Pram to act as a check list for you.

If you do want to buy new and hope to have more than one baby make sure it’s a pram that will work for you. Do you walk to the shops a lot? Or are you going to be getting it in and out of that car all the time. There’s nothing worse than spending hundreds on a pram and it annoying you for years because it just isn’t quiet perfect.

I brought mine second hand, it had worked incredibly well for the family before and they had looked after it well so it has in turn done us well and will I believe for years to come.

A secondhand Cot or Side Crib.

Their not only to be in the side crib for to long, max 8 months if your like me and have them rolling into the bed with you, less if you put them in a bigger cot sooner, however having a side crib ( I had a Chicco Next 2 Me Crib) was one of the best things, I highly recommend having one. They make the early newborn days so easy. Not having to get out of bed to feed or soothe baby makes life much calmer.

I recommend the Chicco Next 2 Me particularly for a few reason. Number one it was easy to remove all covers and wash. If you decide to buy a second hand one like I did all the covers come off easily, including the mattress covers. If you buy second hand you could also opt to buy a new mattress, Chicco’s ones are very reasonably priced. John Lewis sell them here.

I also recommend the Chicco crib because it’s roomy and has adjustable height settings, meaning you can fit it perfectly to you bed.

Lastly it is a well known brands so there are lots of them on the second hand market. Should you decide to buy one new you’ll also be able to sell it on easily when you no longer need it.

SecondHand Baby Clothes.

I would actually recommend not buying many at all as I can promise you you will be brought so many clothes as presents. However if your like me and keen to be prepared I recommend having some of the basics in for good measure. Plus your likely to be doing many outfit changes a day especially if you have a sick baby so having a decent amount of clothes helps with not washing too often.

For this reason buy bundles of second hand clothes if ethically great and will save you a ton of money.

When it comes to where to get them my top tips is to think of a friend that has an older child of the same gender that you like their style, then ask if they want a place to pass clothes on to and offer to buy a bag off them. Chances are they will hate having to do trips to the charity shop so your doing them a favor.

If sounds silly saying “that you like their style” but really you will want to dress your baby in clothes you like. There nothing worse than being given a bag of clothes that you dislike and end up having to get rid of them yourself.

If you don’t know anyone that could hand down to you it’s worth starting with Facebook Marketplace as many will sell by the bundle. If you like what you buy why not message them back and ask them to let you know when they have more stuff. I know people that keep going back to the same seller year after year as their children get older.

If all this fails eBay is your best friend. I get handed down pretty much everything, I’m very lucky to have a number of friends with older girls but if I need something specifically I’ll go straight to eBay. There’s so much high quality clothing being sold I’ve never not found what I wanted within a matter of minutes. Can’t be bothered to spend time bidding? Just message the seller and give them an offer. 9 times out of 10 they’ll except out of ease.

A secondhand Baby Bath.

Many may say you don’t need a baby bath but it so handy. We actually had a baby bath support from Angel care. Their are hundreds on Marketplace, I think I paid £5 and it will be fine to sell on again one day.

A SecondHand Baby Bouncer.

A baby bouncer is a great idea, you think you’ll be able pop them in for hours while their entertained by its music and fancy toys. The reality is of course very different. Unless your baby is super chilled you’ll get 10 minutes max no matter how fancy, all singing all dancing the thing is. I would still have one though, at 10 minutes max will let you get dressed or make a quick bit of lunch I just wouldn’t bother spending a ton of them. I actually got a couple second hand and left one downstairs and one upstairs, meaning I didn’t have to drag the thing around every time I needed to pop her down for a second. Because I spent next to nothing on them second hand having two was doable.

A secondhand Sling.

I had three different slings. Yes three and I call myself a minimalist, but I used them for different reasons and I used them all loads but that personal preference. Thing is the type of sling you use is down to personal preference. I would recommend finding a sling library to try some out and find the one you like before buying new or buying secondhand, if you don’t get on with it then you can sell it on again.

A secondhand Baby monitor.

If it works it works right? So as long as it works buying a pre-loved one is going to save you a ton of money. I actually never use ours. I mean we don’t have a massive house, we can hear her cry where ever we are, or maybe she just has a really loud cry.

Things I recommend buying new for your baby.

Much of this depends really on weather this is your first baby, if you plan on having more than one baby and of course your budget.

A Car Seat.

We actually did have two car seat handed down to us by friends but we knew their history and trusted where they had come from. This left me happy to use second hand, however the general consensus when is comes to car seats is that unless your sure it hasn’t been in an accident and has not been damaged in anyway it’s best to buy new.

Cloth Nappies.

The second hand cloth nappy market is brilliant and vast. I could not believe how brilliant the pre-loved market for cloth nappies is. However, cloth nappies actually hold their value well if their in good condition, so the few times I have brought pre-loved haven’t been massively cheap than buying new. For this reason and because I knew I would use them for my daughter full nappy wearing life, plus potential future children I found the investment of buying new was well worth it. I’ve been using cloth for 21 months now, if our calculations are right we spent the same amount of money on cloth than we would have done in around 9 months of using disposables. That’s a whole year of being quids in. Well worth the money if you ask me. If their still in good knick when your finished using them you can sell them on the pre-loved market yourself. Or donate to your local nappy library.

Worried about which brands you should invest your money in? Here’s my Top 5 Cloth Nappy Brands.

A Changing Bag.

This could be something you already have in your wardrobe. My only tips are that it is practical and you love it. Because lets face if your not going to be carrying around cute hand bags or clutch bags for a long time.

My fit for purpose check list when it came to a changing bag was. It works like Mary Poppins’s bag, have of compartments, be a back pack, be comfy to wear, clip to the pram and look great.

I chose the Bambino Mio Baby and Beyond Change Bag. I’ve had it for 18 months now and its still great because let me tell you it works very hard for me and I love it.

Muslins, swaddle and baby blankets.

I used muslins for everything, especially as I had quiet a sicky baby, but most of all I loved my large muslins and used them for blankets and breastfeeding covers. I recommend you buy organic cotton or bamboo swaddle muslins as these are the softest and largest. The Natural Baby Shower is a good place for buying these. The same goes for a baby blanket. Let’s face it you’ll probably never get rid of your first baby blankets.

I hope that has helped simplify your list or made your worry about budgeting for you new baby less, because really babies do not care what they have, as long as whatever you buy is good with you its a happy Mum happy baby situation right?

Hannah xx x

You Might also Enjoy…

Things I Wish I had Known Before Starting with Cloth Nappies.

My Low Waste Newborn Essentials.

Inside My Zero Waste Changing Bag.