When it comes to baby products, we’ve tried most of them. Some items are completely worth the investment, whilst others really are a waste of time. But what about the items that you could buy second hand? With Facebook groups and sites such as eBay and Gumtree around, second hand baby items are a huge market, especially if you’ll only use them briefly. Great for saving money and ensuring you can spend your money on the things you really want to buy, we’re sharing some of the best baby products to buy second hand…
A Moses Basket
Picture a newborn and the chances are you picture them in a moses basket. Even if you choose not to use one for night time sleeping, these are still a useful feature in any new parent’s home. Why? You can’t beat the portability of a moses basket for daytime naps during those first few months. In fact, we operate a double system; Next2Me crib upstairs, moses basket downstairs. It keeps things easy and means no faffing around moving things up and down the stairs. Moses baskets with stands – far easier! – aren’t that expensive in stores but are always available cheaply on buy and sell sites as they’re tricky to store and outgrown so quickly. Look for one from a smoke free home, remove and wash any covers and replace the mattress with a new one (something you can pick up for less than £10 on Amazon!).
Saving: £20
A Bumbo / Baby Seat
Great for helping baby strengthen their muscles for sitting up, a Bumbo or baby seat makes a great change from having to lie your little one on the floor all the time. It’s a lovely way to be able to interact more with your child and give you a hands-free moment or two! There’s a small window of time when a seat like this is useful; they need to be strong enough to support their neck well. I’ve found once they’ve mastered sitting independently, they no longer want to go in and their legs get too chunky to fit through the holes! Bumbos cost around £50 new but can often be found for £5 on buy and sell sites.
Saving: £45
The Jumperoo
Otherwise known as the circle of neglect, the Jumperoo is a parent’s best friend. In fact, had I known just how much we’d use it, I’d have happily splashed out on a new one from the word go. Two babies in and they both have loved it. Suitable from around five to six months, it keeps them in one place, out of harms way (or an older sibling!) and helps strengthen their leg muscles. Yes, it takes up a lot of space in the home and it’s not the prettiest of items but if it works for you then it’s worth it’s weight in gold. A new jumperoo will set you back around £100 but they’re routinely available second hand for £20. All covers are removable so you can give them a good wash, scrub the plastic and re-assemble good as new. Little tip from me to you? Don’t replace the batteries, they’ll never know it’s meant to have sound!
Saving: £80
Related post: Spring clean your finances and save £££s!
Bedside Crib
We love our Chicco Next2Me and purchased ours new back in a sleep-deprived haze of early newborn days. Whilst they last longer than a moses basket due to their size, they’re still something that gets grown out of quickly and gets minimal wear and tear. A new Next2Me crib will cost around £180 whereas they can often be found second hand for £100 less. Again, a new mattress is advisable for sleep safety and costs from £10 on Amazon, meaning you can have a bedside crib that’s as good as new for a fraction of the price!
Saving £90
The Pushchair
For many of us, buying a travel system is a big part of preparing for a baby. The reality is that travel systems are great but often chunky pieces of kit and after a few months, we’re all ready to change to something easier to use. Enter the world of second hand pushchairs and buggies! Living in the countryside, we quickly established that we wanted a more hardy pushchair for our dog walking activities, and we didn’t want to have to keep taking the travel system in and out of the car every day. There are different levels of second hand but lots of people either don’t use their pushchair much or take really good care of them! Over the last two years we’ve picked up three second hand pushchairs; two off-roaders and a double pushchair for every day usage. Our single Phil & Teds cost us £80 (£359 new) and our double Mountain Buggy Duo cost us a mere £60 (£694) – great for dog walking. We even chose to go second hand with our current double buggy that we use for day to day trips, £150 for a decent second hand version compared to £549 new. The only real difference? A couple of small marks on the bottom of the frame – they’d have appeared quickly from new anyway!
Saving: £400 – £600
Related post: Newborn essentials – what you REALLY need
Baby Carrier
We love our Baby Bjorn Mini carrier just as much as we loved the ‘Original’ model we had the first time around. The Original sells for around £65 on Amazon and most other major retailers but can be found considerably cheaper second hand. We found the carrier at this stage took very little wear and tear as your baby is so tiny. Just pop it in the wash with some Miltons, give it a good dry and you’re good to go! The Original Baby Bjorn carrier seems to pop up second hand for £5 fairly frequently, saving you £60 but if you fancy investing in a new one you can often find it in the Aldi baby event for around £40, so you’re still saving!
Saving: £60
Nursery Furniture
Ahh the cot, a tricky one because you may, like us, decide to invest new the first time and use it for multiple babies. Our cot/toddler bed cost us £349 to buy new a couple of years ago. About six months later, we decided to buy another one for my parents house as they are our childcare one day a week. A second hand, decent condition cot/toddler bed set us back £70. Honestly, you wouldn’t know any difference. If you do buy second hand, again, make sure that you change the mattress but most cots require you to buy one separately anyway so it’s all relative!
Saving: £279
Total Saved: £1174
Not sure which items you need to get yourself prepared for baby’s arrival? Check out our comprehensive guide to items new parents need to have for inspiration and guidance.
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