by Robynn R.

Whenever expectant parents come in to the store I get excited at the opportunity to save them money.  The cost of baby equipment, clothing and accessories can be astronomical when they are only used for a very short time especially when babies are little.

In my own experience and from conversations with other parents, it is not uncommon to purchase or get items such as clothing that your little one either doesn’t fit or didn’t even get a chance to wear before they grew out of it.  Here is a list of 6 items that you can buy second hand so that you can put that saved money towards other things.

Clothing

When my daughter was born, she did not fit the 0 to 3 month old clothing and so a good majority of the outfits that we had bought or received never got worn and were brand new with tags. Anything that she did wear, she wore for probably a split second, if that. Even now that my child is older, I still will buy most of her clothes second hand.

Shoes

Babies especially, do not wear out shoes and will outgrow them within a month or two. If you want shoes or slippers to  complete an outfit, your best bet is buying used.

Baby Carriers

Quite often we will get new parents and even experienced parents coming into the store to by baby carriers. There are many brands on the market and quite often we will get carriers like Ergo Baby, Baby Bjorn, Tula, and wraps that are in excellent condition and gently used.

Baby Bouncers/Swings

Baby Bouncers and Swings are usually good up until the age of 6 months, when baby begins sitting up. Because of the short amount of time that babies use them, baby bouncers and swings are good to purchase gently used.

Baby Bathtubs

Most times, baby bathtubs are on the baby gift registry, but if you don’t receive one and need to purchase one, then why not purchase a second hand one. A good wash and a rinse out with hot water and baby can be bathing in the bubbles in no time.

Change Tables

Change pads can be bought brand new for a pretty fair price and quite often you will find that you will only get a good 8 or 9 months out of your change table before baby is wiggling and giggling so much that it would be better to change him or her on the floor or bed.