Should I Buy a Crib or Get One from a Friend?

I have a 4 in 1 crib thinking I would save some money down the road. You said you are pregnant with your first. My dilemma is, when I do want to have my second child, my first child will be using the head board of the crib for her bed-thus I will need either a new crib or another bed. I was also excited because it converted into a toddler bed (thus not having to buy a seperate bed). In my opinion, toddler beds are overrated. By the time my daughter puts all of her babies and animals into her bed, there is no room for her. She could easily do a regular bed with some inexpensive side rails. I see all the time in Once Upon a Child cribs. If you are on a tight budget, my vote is take a freebee-take the free crib.

Hi S.,

Congratulations on the upcoming arrival of your new little boy. If you are going to be on a tight budget with baby expenses, I would encourage you to choose one of the cribs that is being generously offered to you. With both of my pregnancies (the second was twins), I was very lucky to find wonderful used Bassett cribs. As long as the cribs aren't twenty years old then there should be no issues with the slats not being the correct distance apart. Your baby will not know if he is sleeping in a used or new crib so don't feel guilty for not buying new. It is best to save your money and spend it on the other things you'll really need that you may not receive as gifts. Believe me, diapers and formula (if you choose that route) will keep your budget tight so make it easy on yourself where ever you can. I will also second about the pack n' play. When my now nine year old daughter was about 6 months old she suddenly hated the crib but slept wonderfully in the play pen. So at 7 months, we disassembled the crib and set up the play pen in her room full time and that's where she slept until she went to her big girl bed. Had I know she would end up doing that, I would have let her sleep in it from the beginning. Also, when my twins got about 4 months and couldn't share the crib anymore, I set up the play pen and would switch them every other night. It took about three nights to figure out that my little twin slept much better in the play pen so that became his regular bed while my bigger twin slept in the crib until they went to big boy beds earlier this year. Anyway, just my advice, save money any way you can because with babies, there always seems something you need to buy. Best wishes!

Hi, S...

Congrats on your pregnancy!! :)

To be absolutely honest with you, both of my boys were out of their cribs by the time they were 15 months old, and they really don't care what color it will be! And registering for one will only work if you have a group of friends who could each pitch in to buy it, but then you would be cutting in on their budgets of buying other things your baby will need (and believe me, new babies need a lot of stuff!...ok, well, actually it's new moms who need it to make their lives easier).

So...with that said, I would say "take the friend's crib" (she'll feel more like she got more for her money that way), and save your money for when the baby gets a little older, and you want to change his nursery to a "big boy's room". If you're concerned that your sister-in-law would need her crib back before your baby is out of it, I would also say take the friend's crib. It's funny, a really good friend of my husband's gave us her crib when our son was born, and wasn't expecting it back, but about the time our son was transitioning out of it, she discovered she was pregnant again!(Definitely NOT in her plans!!)

OK....so I guess I went the long way of saying that if money is an issue for you now, take the friend's offer of her crib, and save your money for when your son reaches "toddler" age. When he's at that age, review your finances, and decide then if you want to spend the money on a toddler bed, or go ahead and put him in a regular twin bed (which he'll probably need by the time he's 5, anyway). The toddler bed will use his crib mattress, but you'll need a new twin mattress for the twin bed. Either way, the rest of the furniture can be a matched set that will "grow" with him.

Actually, you are just now at the point of your pregnancy where you will want to start registering for the things you want for your baby. Since he's not due until March, I would hold off on registering for things like clothes and other seasonal items, but you can go ahead and look for tubs, towels, "boppy" pillows (whether you're breast- or bottle-feeding), bottles, etc. You can call me or email me if you'd like, and I'd love to help you decide what will be best for you! (Clothes should definitely be LAST on the list, because you won't know until just before he's born his appoximate size and weight.)

For your work situation, I have some friends who couldn't "wait" to get back to work after the birth of their babies, and others who ended up deciding not to go back to work. I am now "working" as a consultant for a company that makes safer products for you to use in your home. They offer 5 lines of products ~ home, health, beauty, personal (bath and body), and medicine cabinet. If you'd like more information on this, please let me know.

Didn't mean for this to get so long, and I hope I addressed each of your points.

Warm fuzzies!
~J.~
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Personally, I didn't want to have a used crib for safety reasons. That being said, I think you probably need to consider your budget first and compare that with how much you want the crib. If the one your SIL has is the color you want and is still in good condition, use that one. You will probably find that you don't want the crib as long as you think right now anyway.

Honestly, I haven't used her crib yet and she's nearly 5 months old. We got a really nice pack and play that is set up in our bedroom that will last her through the time she weighs 25 lbs. That will be a while. So if you consider that, you might be able to get a pack and play and save for the crib you want.

I hope this helps... just my thoughts.

:)