So my best friend is about 3/4 months pregnant and starting to get herself organized for the baby. They cleaned out the spare room for a nursery and will be painting it once they find out if its a boy or a girl. They are trying to save as much as possible and have been talking to other young couples with kids who have recommended using Criagslist or Freecycle to get free/cheap used furniture for the baby such as changing tables, playpens, etc. Are these really safe used or is it something they should be buying new, even if it costs more?

Some things are fine, changing tables, hard surfaced items that can be properly sterilized, toys that can be cleaned, those little baby chairs, swings, etc.

Some things should never be gotten used like crib mattresses. You really don't know what's been on those, from the flu, to something unknown and SIDS friendly. You can never really properly sterilize a mattress either from what I know.

Mostly used is alright though.

I have plenty of 2nd hand stuff! Most of it is in great condition, but I had the same advice about baby mattresses, get a new one!

I think it's ok for most things if they're only a few years old, but I'd be wary of very old furniture. We had a family cot, the old fashioned wooden kind that had been passed down for generations, which was something of a family tradition. It was almost fifty years old and a nurse friend told me not to use it.

Not because it wasn't solid, but because it had layers of paint from years of being repainted and freshened up for each new baby. She said there could be some old lead-based paint on it so it wasn't safe. When the baby got old enough to start teething, it could chew on the bars and get lead poisoning.
Whether that was right or wrong advice, I don't know, but we stopped using it immediately and it's gathered dust ever since.

I'm assuming that grandma/grandpa will be buying the bed most likely. And maybe the changing table being two of the "larger" items. But she will also need playpens and high chairs and car seats. Probably a couple sets of each, one for home and one for grandparents/extra. I'm rather leery of painted furniture, lead based or not unless its in pristine condition or can be refinished easily. I used to babysit a little boy who used to teeth on his crib and ingested quite a bit of paint where it started flaking and such. It wasn't lead based but I can't imagine eating paint ships of any sort is good for you. Not something my friend needs to worry about with her first. She's already worried about everything she does as it is. I'll keep in mind about the mattresses, as I completely forgot about that...and I'm the "brainy" one who is apparently responsible for knowing about everything the doctor doesn't tell her.

Speaking of car seats, you might want to check out the product recall on them that's posted on the forum. Your friend needs to watch out for things like that too.

One other thing I thought about was pushchairs. The wheels, brakes and all the straps need to be carefully checked for wear and tear in case they're on the verge of giving out, loose, broken or frayed. It might seem ok at first glance if it's clean but it's always worth taking a closer look.

I've been looking through the Consumer Reports for car seats and cross-checking the recalls from the manufacturer's websites and web searches, and I figure if I pretend they are horse tack I'll catch most stuff. I'm a details person so I normally check every inch on things. The dealer who sold me my last car thought I was neurotic and says he won't sell me a new car after seeing my "check" for the used one.

I'm assuming that grandma/grandpa will be buying the bed most likely.

Whats up with that, my sisters husband got a crib for his 30th!!!

I love the extra help friends are willing to do when a new baby comes along, any extra help or stuff always is a good choice!

Most of what both of my children used was second hand. The crib was old, mattress was new though. The high chair, was very old. We did make sure it was still sturdy and in good condition. It wasn't as easy to remove the tray as the new ones now make it, but it worked just fine.


I think children are going to cost you enough money over the years, so you may as well start saving what you can as soon as you can. Clean and sterilize everything, check for worn out parts and go with it.

Good to know we won't have to buy everything new. I really hate that this is going to cost my dad so much. I think I'll start going to the second hand stores and start looking around. I know I have plenty of time, but if I start now, I might have time to find some good deals.