buying used for a baby...is there anything you shouldn't?

pamelab21

Hi all

Is there anything apart from maybe a car seat that you should not buy used for a baby??? Are used cots (if the mattress is replaced) and a used moses basket ok?

Is a used moses basket, as its wicker, ok to put a baby in? As they can't really be washed are they safe?

Any opinions?

*Dee*

Ive not had any children but when i was born my mum bought a wicker moses basket (25 years ago) and it has been around all my cousins and other family members babies and is still good as new, everyone has just bought a new matress each time they have used it.

Dee
xx

lady_stardust

NCT sales won't sell things like door bouncers second hand, but we have been given one. I think the thing to do really is check the items over and use your judgement.

hev_2

Do not buy a used car seat unless you are absolutely 100% sure of the provenance - it's like motorcycle helmets. If there has been a crash there may now be weaknesses that are not apparent.

I would also not buy used bottles, but that is because they get so worn over time that even gently used ones are likely to have suffered a fair amount of wear and tear.

If you remember that EVERYTHING goes into a baby's mouth and that you really should wash it before they do that, then that is a fair idea.

The two best buys, the baby gym and the baby walker, were both second hand.

oystercatcher

You're not supposed to hand down plastic bottles and cups as apparently chemicals can leech out of the plastic after a few months. I guess the same might apply to plastic toys which might be sucked a lot.
This is fairly new advice and makes me cringe as I was very stingey and used the same bottles and cups for years with my boys !!! They seem fine though!

You can give wicker type moses baskets a good clean with a hoover and then a very damp cloth, put them in an empty bath and give a good wash without immersing and then dry thoroughly. Wash all the cloth coverings.
It's really important to use new mattress though as there are thoughts that left over body fluids can cause chemical reactions with plastic filling/covering.

Oystercatcher
(wistfully thinking about babies )

aligerdie

I'd definitely use your judgement, with everyday things you can tell if they have been looked after or not. I'd agree on the bottle things, although check out ebay as some people sell new bottles still in the wrapper (i bought far too many too )

I have used the same things for all my 3 monsters, don't be afraid to check out the charity shops, car boots, and freecycle, I have bought some beautiful things for pennies, and been given plenty too. I trawled round the shops looking for the best offers, so its definitely worth shopping about.

I would just say, don't be proud. When my sil had a baby the same time as me, she spent an absolute fortune. My baby was kitted out for a fraction of the cost and had exactly the same things!

JAM1376

I don't have children and am just browsing different threads but I must add to this one.

Oystercatcher - Chemicals should not leach out of plastics under any circumstances. I work for a company that does all the safety tests on products and, as long as the toy/item has been tested (and it should not be on the market if not), nothing should leach out! There are very strict rules on this sort of thing. I'm not sure where the info came from but, at a guess, I would say it is scare mongering.

Hope this helps.

oystercatcher

Jam, thanks for that that's what I would have thought would happen with any reputable company.
However as a health professional we have been told to advise parents not to reuse plastic bottles and cups. I haven't the time to look up the evidence at the moment but may come back later and check. I'm sure they wouldn't advise us without reason.

Oystercatcher

foreversomeday

The only things I have been told strictly not to get second hand are car seats and any mattress a baby will sleep on. The mattress one by the way is more to do with bacteria growing and festering inside the mattress than bodily fluids having reactions - that and the way they manufacture them is subject to so much research it's best to buy new so you have the most up to date safety recommendation.

With car seats it's okay to buy second hand if you are never going to put it in a car - for example if you need a car seat to make a travel system suitable from birth - but I wouldn't recommend you do this anyway, it's not good for a baby's spine to be sat in a car seat any longer than necessary. Also I would say it's okay to accept one from a good friend or family member as they would be honest with you about its history (re accidents etc), but the current advice says never to use a car seat - even if it has never been used - which is more than 6 years old for 2 reasons - the plastic may have degenerated by that age, and because advances in technology mean the newest car seats on the market are safer than older ones. I definitely wouldn't accept one older than about 8 years.

Bottles aren't expensive to buy new anyway so I probably would just because of normal wear and tear on them etc. If you want to breastfeed you should apparently buy breast pumps new because some of them contain parts which the breast milk (a bodily fluid after all) pass through but which cannot be sterilised. I suppose you could try passing a bleach solution through them and rinsing very well to disinfect, but the manual ones are easy to pick up cheaply and so IMO it's not worth the risk.

For anything else I suppose it's just a case of common sense. It's best if you can have a look at the item before you buy it to check for any danger signs. NCT Nearly New sales are a great place to go because they check everything before it goes on sale and won't sell anything they believe to be unsafe. Go early though, take a bottle of water and eat before you go, and never leave anything and think "I'll come back for that in a minute..." !

foreversomeday

oystercatcher wrote: »

Jam, thanks for that that's what I would have thought would happen with any reputable company.
However as a health professional we have been told to advise parents not to reuse plastic bottles and cups. I haven't the time to look up the evidence at the moment but may come back later and check. I'm sure they wouldn't advise us without reason.

Oystercatcher

I would imagine it's because scratches can harbour bacteria if the item isn't washed out correctly. Also they are probably only designed to last for one child's use.

There was a recent scare about BPA as well but I believe that was discounted as the amount of BPA that was possibly leaching out when exposed to boiling water was so minimal it didn't pose a risk.

pandas66

nappies :eek:


:rotfl:






sorry in a giddy mood

gone now