To buy a crib or not?

[DobbyForever]

Yeah definitely look for reputable secondhand stores. All my childhood furniture came from this one place and I was thrilled to find out it's just ten minutes from my house hehe

 

[Wishx]

That's perfect
I'm going to get a crib and a dock a tot (?) to keep the baby in at night.
When did you ladies buy your cribs/bassinet?

 

[Savasanna]

Agreed with everyone else. Pack n plays and bassinets are all over the place used. You definitely do not need to get those new. The bassinet we use is technically a travel one, but it works just fine and we found it on Craigslist for $40 or so.

I think I had heard that cribs were one of the few items you're supposed to get new, just because you don't know the recall information on older models. But I could be wrong about that. In any event, we just went with a no frills cheaper crib option from Ikea, rather than a fancy ornate $250 one. We figure she'll only be using it for 2-3 years (it converts to a toddler) and then we'll invest in a proper bed.

Buying things for kids can get so expensive, it's definitely good to find areas where you don't mind cutting costs, that way you can splurge in other things and not feel guilty about it.

 

[MindUtopia]

I think if you have the money and space, there is no reason not to buy one (though I'd recommend one that transforms into a toddler bed as we didn't get much use out of the actual crib set up but have used the toddler bed for 3 years now). You will use it eventually and I found it was the most comfortable place for changing (we got one of the changing mats that snapped on over top). Personally, our daughter slept in our room full-time for the first 8 months and then only part-time in her own room until she was in a toddler bed. So the actual crib didn't get used much, but I'm still glad we had it as it was much easier to have everything in place and set up so that we weren't faffing around with that once we had a baby to take up all our time. And like I said, we've gotten lots of use out of the toddler bed.

 

[arturia]

Agreed with everyone else. Pack n plays and bassinets are all over the place used. You definitely do not need to get those new. The bassinet we use is technically a travel one, but it works just fine and we found it on Craigslist for $40 or so.

I think I had heard that cribs were one of the few items you're supposed to get new, just because you don't know the recall information on older models. But I could be wrong about that. In any event, we just went with a no frills cheaper crib option from Ikea, rather than a fancy ornate $250 one. We figure she'll only be using it for 2-3 years (it converts to a toddler) and then we'll invest in a proper bed.

Buying things for kids can get so expensive, it's definitely good to find areas where you don't mind cutting costs, that way you can splurge in other things and not feel guilty about it.

I think I read that it's OK so long as it's not all that old. They listed something about crib bars too wide and droppable sides being awful, don't buy those, and so long as it's newer than those regulations, used is OK. Considering I spent $100 on a used one when I could have spent $300 on a new one, I'm happy. I got a brand new mattress on sale from Amazon.

 

[Wishx]

My pack and play was $80 clearance and i couldnt pass up on it, we really only have kijiji for buying used stuff other than good will and i just dont like the idea lol. If it has material on it i wont buy it used. If its wooden i literally clean it like crazy - im not a germaphobe or anything but i dont trust that things are cleaned well enough
I debated buying a used crib and just sanding it down and re painting/staining it but its so much work and wouldnt save that much more.

 

[arturia]

My pack and play was $80 clearance and i couldnt pass up on it, we really only have kijiji for buying used stuff other than good will and i just dont like the idea lol. If it has material on it i wont buy it used. If its wooden i literally clean it like crazy - im not a germaphobe or anything but i dont trust that things are cleaned well enough
I debated buying a used crib and just sanding it down and re painting/staining it but its so much work and wouldnt save that much more.

I ended up finding one in a color that worked, then I spent an hour wiping it down and followed up with a wood treatment. It wasn't bad. Didn't sand down or anything, just did touch ups with a touch up pen. Same with dresser. (another hour there)

 

[vaniilla]

We're​ reusing our co-sleeper, I'm not sure what a pack and play is but if it's like a travel cot I would only use it if it came with a bassinet attachment because my hips will still be sore after giving birth and I don't want to constantly be bending low.