I wanted to know from "those that have been there and done it" where the best place to get baby furniture would be? New or used. I don't want to waste money buying things I do not need but want something fairly nice since it will be used for a few years. Thank you to all the mom's out there - you are so kind to give advice!
When my first daughter was born, we went to Buy Buy Baby and bought a great crib with 2 dressers, one that is used for a changing table too until needed and we got the whole set for a small price. Every so often they do offer these sets for cheap so look into that. She now used the dressers still and my second baby has the crib.
But with my second we went to kid to kid for the swing, and Ikea for the changing table and dressers.
We got a convertible crib for my son from USA Baby (I think it has changed names since then it is in arlington off 360). It was a little more than we wanted to spend, but felt there was a lot of functionality in the purchase and it has been well used.
The one item I did not buy was a changing table. I converted a dresser for that purpose. You might be able to save some $$ there.
If I had to do it today, though, I have been really impressed with the simplicity and versatiliy of the IKEA bedroom furniture.
Congratulations!!
Craigslist and Garage sales. Also check Kid to Kid and other baby resale shops in the area. Babies are NOT hard on furniture. I found a glider and ottoman, changing table, and crib very easily. They were high end and in great shape.
I did buy a new mattress for the crib, that's my personal preference. I feel like mattresses are very personal.
So many new Moms get almost frenzied and spend incredible amounts of money. I remember going to a babyshower for a young lady that was still living with her Mom, on her "wishlist" was a $700 crib and that was just the start. It was like she had gone through Babies R Us and just selected the most expensive of everything. I'm way too money conscious for that :)
Other ideas -- my friend recently purchased a portable crib -- instead of a full sized -- because she wanted something she could roll into their bedroom, but didn't want a bassinet. She found it on Amazon and the price was right.
The only thing I won't buy used is car seats, since they expire and you never know if a used one was in an accident. I like
and
http://www.hipmonkey.com/ Hip Monkey is special. This is run by a mother that lost her child from a car seat that didn't hold him. She has a charity to donate carseats to families that need them, and raise car seat awareness. So, you buy something you need and the profits go to a great cause.
Oh. Some unsolicited advice. Go look at strollers in person and think about how well you can hold the baby and fold it up, lift it out of your car, etc. Look at how much room it's going to take up in your trunk/back of car. I went through 4 strollers before I finally bought a Maclaren. (Light weight, easy to maneuver) I could have saved a LOT of money if I had just bought the Maclaren to begin with. hindsight!
Hope these help. Congrats on having your first.
I liked Lone Star Baby & Kids but ended up buying custom furniture at The Magic Moon. The one in Southlake Town Center closed but I think they have one in Plano too.
I love using Craigslist, I found all of my youngest sons furniture and gear for $135 (Crib, changing table, swing, bouncer, and front carrier). Whatever you do please please please buy a new mattress. If you want to go for new furniture I really like Buy Buy Baby in Plano.
We found the exact crib we wanted on Overstock.com for about 40% of the MSRP. It had two scratches in the finish, in non-visible areas, which turned out to be acceptable for the sale price.
depending on what you are looking for Kid to Kid has nice things, but I've also seen some great deals at garage sales, craigslist probably has great stuff there too, I've bought other things but not baby stuff and it is always great for a deal.
as far as recommended items the crib is a must :) but the changing table, I didn't buy one, I changes all three of my boys on the top of a dresser that we put a nice changing pad on, it worked great for all three of my boys, and most people change their kids where ever they are at, although I must admit I almost always changed mine on their "table" I also LOVED my glider/rocking chair with the foot stool, I spent many of nights there in my years as a mom, and the kids still want me to hold them and rock them on occasion. the next most important thing was the bouncy seat! couldn't live without that! and eventually a high chair, with a good seat belt that I could operate the tray table with one hand. I only used the pack and play when we traveled, but otherwise that about covers it for my recommendations. there are always more gadgets and baby/kid furniture that you can buy but those were my must haves! for me my splurges were a bassinet, I didn't have one for my first born and I really enjoyed having it for my next two, and my baby bijorn ( ten times better fit than the other baby carriers)
best wishes to you and yours,
I found a fabulous crib on Craig's List that was brand new but had been used in a showroom. It was a very nice model and I got it for about half the new selling price. Whatever you do, I would NOT buy a drop-side crib. So many of them have already been recalled, I decided to just stay away from them altogether.
If you can wait that long, you can also check consignment sales (JBF & Divine Consign). They usually have nice items at good prices and are usually more reasonable than resale shops because they have a lower overhead.
Good Luck!
