My disclaimer about buying used baby items:  I am well aware of the warnings about using and buying second-hand items.  There is a danger to this as the product may have been subject to recalls, or could have parts missing therefore making it unsafe.  You know the reasons and if not, Google them.  Use your common sense and be the ultimate judge of whether this is a suitable option for you. 

Full-Sized Crib.  You would think that after reading several Dr. Sears books I would abolish the idea of owning a crib.  Not so.  I think that deep down inside I really knew that we were not going to be a “share the bed” family, hence the crib.  I purchased a two year old crib and like-new condition mattress from someone who had two identical ones that they used for their twins through an ad on Craigslist (CL).  The crib is made by Bellini and that brand can be found at Babies R Us.  It may have retailed for around $250.00.  It has a bottom pull-out drawer which at first I thought would be very useful.  Turns out that I don’t use it at all because when the crib rail is dropped down I cannot open the drawer.  So when is the crib rail ever up?  When my boy is sleeping.  That’s the worst time to be digging through a drawer - when your kid is sound asleep above said drawer.  I do like the drop rail mechanism.  It’s the kind that only requires one hand (you push the rail in with your knee, then quickly pull up, then push down.   Bellini Crib (Babies R Us Stock). $75 used, Craigslist.  I really love the crib we have but a crib is not necessary.  If you want to get REALLY basic don’t buy a crib, just get a Pack N Play.  I know someone whose son is almost two years old and has always slept in a PNP. 

Co-Sleeper Mini.  Deep down inside I really did want to give co-sleeping a try (at least for the first weeks).  Hence I decided that a smaller version of the full-sized co-sleeper was necessary (I’m laughing as I write this).  I purchased one that was a light beige coloured fabric from another CL listing.  The co-sleeper sounded like a C-Section mom’s dream – you could have easy access to feeding baby without having to get out of bed, without the fear of rolling over and smothering the little one.  The bottom storage area could be used to store diapers or whatever you want!   From descriptions on the manufacturer’s website and user reviews, I got the false impression that this was going to give me easy access to the baby from my side of the bed – the “reach over and pull him over” kind of easy access.  Specifically, I thought that the height of my bed mattress would be flush with the height of the co-sleeper, and that I could just slide the bundle over for night feedings.  Wrong-o.  

First of all, my mattress was too high and I had to purchase leg extensions for an additional $25 + shipping + tax.  After I had the whole thing rigged up was when I realized that the baby is never accessible like I envisioned it to be.  WTF?!  What’s the deal with this?  I could have bought a bassinett, or even just put him in a laundry basket on the floor (kidding).  Since I did not have a Pack N Play, I ended up wheeling this setup into my living room as his daytime sleep place.  Whenever he fell asleep during the day I would put him in the co-sleeper in the living room which was the only room in the house with lots of daylight.  In my desperation on looking for suggestions to get my baby to sleep on a regular schedule I came across an obscure paper claiming that infants who were exposed to sunlight during their naps in the daytime hours learned to fall asleep on their own faster due to circadian rhythms or something like that.  It was a whim but being desperate to get him to sleep regular hours I stuck to it and it (or the swaddling) worked.  Yay!  Back to the Co-Sleeper.  If I had to do it over again I would not spend $$$ on one.  Co-Sleeper Mini, $50 Used, Craigslist.

Infant Sling.  I had a ring sling that I customized with my own fabric and a ring color of my choosing.  I chose a black ring and a lightweight dark denim fabric.  I also purchased a Kangaroo Korner fleece pouch in black.  Of the two types of slings, I really loved the Kangaroo Korner pouch.  My son was born in October so the fleece pouch was perfect for the winter time.  I would have him snoozing in the pouch as I ate supper, talked on the phone, caught up on my e-mails.  My husband even wore him.  BTW they make pouches in lighter weight material for summer babies.  I used to take him to Whole Foods and carry him around kangaroo style with his face peeking out of the pouch.  As for the ring sling I found it was awkward to adjust, and you had to get the fabric bunched just so.  I am not mechanically challenged but rather impatient.  The ring sling did provide really good support for a heavier kid but it was too much hassle for me to figure out.  Besides, I liked my black fleece pouch as it was very incognito.  It looked cool and sleek, not dated like I find the ring slings to look.  Kangaroo Korner black fleece pouch. 

Overall I liked using my slings.  They let me cart baby around while I multitasked.  I could eat, talk on the phone, do my Christmas shopping on Amazon.com, all while he was sleeping in the sling.  A word of caution – I know that babywearing is a good thing for the baby but keep your own health in mind too.   These things can really throw your back and shoulder muscles out of whack if you wear baby too much without doing activities to counteract the one-sided weight load.  Approx $50.00+.  Custom ring sling $39.00 plus the cost of my own material (approx $20).

High Chair.  I went through two high chairs before settling on a third one that I have now been using for more than a year now.  First of all, my kitchen has enough space to support the footprint required of the high chairs you find these days.  If you are limited in space I suggest you investigate a portable booster seat/high chair with tray that can be attached to a normal chair.  I initially started out buying a used Peg Perego Primo Papa on CL.  It was a great chair all round and I would have kept it except for the fact that the safety straps were permanantely mounted to the plastic chair.  They had re-designed the Primo Papa since my purchase but it didn’t matter – I had one that was not completely cleanable – a big “no no” in my house.  

What spurned this quest for cleanliness was an incident where I was feeding my dear one and all of a sudden – the volcano erupted.  if you know what I mean.  He was not feeling well and the contents of his stomach (several hours worth of formula) came erupting, spilling and pooling in his lap and the seat of the high chair.  I have a really keen sense of smell and I spent the next two hours fanatically trying to scrub away the smell and was successful until I got to the straps.  The darned things were literally welded to the chair.  I decided that this was not going to work. 

The next day I reluctantly hauled myself into Babies R Us and perused the high chair isle.  I spent an hour pondering my choices and decided on one called the Easy Clean high chair by Fisher Price.  I must have been too blindly fixated on ease of cleaning because it was the cheapest P.O.S I’d ever purchased quality-wise.  To prove my point, the vinyl chair material cracked after I washed it following their care instructions to the letter.  Frustrated, I threw the high chair back into the car and asked for a refund. 

After spending another half hour or so pondering my choices I settled on a Chicco Polly high chair.  It was similar to the Peg Perego chair but cost about 40% less.  I can say that after using it for so long I am glad that I bought it – lots of similar features, well made, great value for the price, and very easy to clean.  Yes, all the straps can be taken off and thrown in the washer.   New, Babies R Us. $139.00

Stroller(s).   Another controversial topic.  As a new mom it is easy to get caught up in stroller-upmanship.  You can’t help but turn your head when you see someone walking through PCC or Whole Foods with a $900 Bugaboo.  If you are fortunate enough to get one as a gift or buy one for yourself then by all means go for it.  I personally could not bring myself  to spend such a chunk of change on a stroller.  Here’s what I bought and how I reasoned it out.

I started out with a fancy McClaren Global stroller that had the capacity to fit an infant seat into it.  It was a convertible stroller that could accept any kind of infant seat and it had a reclining back for infant use.  I picked it out on the web and ogled it for weeks beofre I chunked out some ridiculous amount, like $400 for it.   I thought it would be perfect as a “one type fits all” stroller. 

Weeks before baby arrived I had it completely set up in my living room, counting down the days till I could start using it.  After baby arrived and I used it several times I started to wish that I had made a different decision.   The stroller was a tad heavier than I envisioned.  The bottom storage compartment was completely inaccessible when I had the back of the seat completely reclined. 

I had “cheap stroller” envy as I eyed the countless people with normal Graco strollers that had tons of crap thrown into the bottom storage basket.  I ended up waiting until my son grew out of his car seat and sold the fancy McLaren.  What would I have done if offered the chance for a do-over?  I’d look for one of those stroller frames that are just that – they look like luggage frames that unfold to hold luggage on top of them, only they have wheels and a push bar area with cup holders, brakes, and a HUGE basket on the bottom that can hold groceries, a diaper bag, whatever.  They cost around $50 new and can be found for less than that used. 

When it was time to purchase a stroller for my now 6 month old baby (to replace the one I sold), I first asked myself, “How often am I going to use this?”.  I knew that I was only going to use the stroller once a week if since I work full time.  The other consideration that I couldn’t project at the time was if my son was going to like sitting strapped into a stroller.  The older he got beyond 9 months old, the less he liked being harnessed in the stroller.  He prefered to get behind it and push it as if he was using a walker.  Even as he got older he prefered walking and we would just load up the stroller with our stuff and he would “help” push it. 

I ended up purchasing another MacLaren stroller, this time the Techno XT.  I wanted something that would recline for naps or diaper changes on the fly.  I don’t think their popular Volo reclined otherwise I would have chose it.  For my lifestyle and frequency of use, the MacLaren was perfect.  I didn’t want something that would occupy my entire trunk, nor weigh close to 30 lbs.    The XT sits neatly folded in my trunk all the time and is light enough for me to handle at the airport by myself.    I think I purchased the XT online somewhere for close to $210.00.