2Nd Hand Stuff

I bought everything second hand with my kids with the exception of car seats (since the plastic can become an issue after time). I probably won't buy used bottles because the shipping and waiting time would probably break even to new bottles. It's not like you need a lot of bottles so I'd say just buy them new.

I would only buy glass bottles second hand, you can boil them and they are fine.
Nothing wrong with that...

would you use bottles from baby #1 for baby #2? if so, why are used bottles gross? hubby doesn't demand a virgin glass for a beer, I'm guessing...

I do not recommend buying a second hand car seat. Consignment
shops do not sell them because of safety issues. I agree with your
husband. Do not buy bottles 2nd hand. They do not need many so
the cost should not be great. Everything else second hand is OK.

I take a lot of things second hand (i.e. pretty much everything!), but bottles and a car seat wouldn't work for me. I know you said that the car seat has been "safety checked", but did the person you bought it from tell you about it's history? If they were even in a minor accident, the seat needs to go. If the seat is more than 5 years old, it needs to go. There are just way too many things that could be wrong with it internally that you would never know until the God forbid situation happens. Honestly, I just wouldn't trust that it is in good working order, but that is just me.

As for bottles, again, I just wouldn't buy them used. I agree with the other mom who said that you just don't know what those bottles have gone through. How long did formula sit in them? Were they always cleaned properly? You can sterilize them, but I highly doubt that after you purchase the new nipples (which can be pricey) that it saves you tons of money. If someone that you knew and trusted was giving them to you that may be different, but I don't think it's going to save you enough money to justify buying them used.

I would have absolutely no reservation about buying secondhand glass bottles. As far as I know, you don't have to worry about the glass absorbing anything and as you stated just get new nipples.

Plastics (BPA free only) though I would think could absorb "things". Sterilizing should take care of it, but again how do you know what might have happened to the bottle when it belonged to somebody else? Were the previous owners smokers? Did they own pets? Was the bottle lost and forgotten in the car for two months with formula still inside? Was it ever put into the microwave?

Just me being paranoid and all but I think I am with your hubby on this one as far as plastics are concerned, but would be completely at ease with secondhand glass bottles.

Hope this helps... :-)

Bottles are the same as any other dishes. Is he grossed out eating at a restaurant, with silverware and dishes that hundreds of other people have used? New nipples should be all you need.

I agree with the other responses on just buying new bottles. They really aren't that expensive. I also agree with your husband with the idea that buying second hand bottles just grosses me out! True people eat at restaurants but that's different....this is going into your baby and well you just never know! Plus restaurants have a heavy duty dishwasher that heats up to very high degrees. BPA free bottles would be good but I'm still really not sure about plastic bottles. I'd say just spend the money and buy new bottles. Good Luck :)

The bottle part wouldn't ick me out and I'm a huge germ freak. :P I would just get new nipples and make sure to wash and sterilize the bottles.

I don't mind second hand things either. Bottles are fine, you can buy new nipples. I am concerned about the car seat, however. Car seats are very important items for the safety of your child. Depending on when the car seat was originally purchased, all of my car seats purchased from the year 2000 have "expiration" dates stamped clearly on the backs of each one. My response was how can a car seat "expire" so I called the manufacturer directly. In this case it was Evenflo. They said that every few years the car seats are updated/improved to meet the new safety requirements that are put out by the powers-that-decide such requirements. These new safety requirements are what make the new seats "improved and safer." With that said, I have thrown away all of my car seats that expired, never giving them away. I would NOT want to be responsible for a seat I gave away not being safe enough for someone else's precious baby. Also with second hand car seats, do you know with 100% certainty that the seat was never involved in any accident of any kind? Do you know that when a car seat is involved in a car accident that it should not be used ever again? Car seats are not that expensive, at least they do not have to be. I am pregnant with my 4th child and expecting to get back items I've given away but the only thing I will buy brand new is the infant carrier/car seat. That is one item that, for me personally, should be brand new. Also to note is that when you buy second hand, see if you can register the items in your name so that in the event of recalls, you can be contacted right away.

I think a second hand car seat/stroller would be fine if you get it inspected first to make sure it's safe. Also check to see if it's been recalled. If you took those precautions, you should be fine. But with the bottles, it would kind of freak me out too. Replacing the nipples is good, but I'm a germaphobe :)

Everyday we go into restaurants and drink out of reused glasses. Why not? Just sterilize them and buy new nipples.

Personally, I think we get grossed out over something that was already touched by other humans anyway, myself included. When we purchase new items, we take it home and wash it anyway, so what is the difference? Some don't even wash. Sometimes people sell these items because they have barely been used.

When my daughter was born, my husband wanted only the BEST for his little girl. I had no problem taking a bag of used clothes and he turned his nose at it. He would stop at the mall and buy her a new outfit. Well, after he saw some of his items were so dressy and we had no where to go in them and she had already grown out of them, he let me do what I do. My daughter is a big girl and grows out of her clothes every 8 - 10 months, now at the age of 5. It has always been this way other than the infant stages and then it was sooner. She is five and wheres some size 5 (very few), mostly size 6, and 7/8's. The 7/8's are the used clothes so perhaps they have shrunk in the wash.

I say buy them and if he is that set against it, set them aside and buy a few brand new ones. Eventually work them in. Don't we all drink out of the same glass at a restaurant? It's washed and sometimes not so great. I like a straw so I don't put my mouth on the glass where others may have (makes me feel better), so you are buying new nipples. Same thing.

I probably had 10 - 14 bottles at one time. You have some pre-made in the fridge, some dirty, and some clean and ready to go.

You are correct, a good washing followed by sterilizing them and using new nipples will be great. Point out to hubby just how expensive NEW bottles are, and he'll likely change his mind.

Bottles i would not buy second handed.....I will get new..... And be careful about the car seat and stroller there is a lot of recalls on baby items

Just make sure they are BPA free. But honestly, they are inexpensive enough that they make for an easy gift to put on your registry for people to buy as a baby gift...and if this is your first chances are they will buy them.

I think everything but the bottles sounds fine. You can get the Parent's Choice bottles at Walmart for 97 cents each so you might want to go that route. Or you can get the playtex nursers with drop in liners for very cheap as well. With my first a friend gave me a ton of those bottles which I didn't mind because you switch the liners. You can also buy store brand liners for a very low cost. My friend used to wash out the liners and reuse them, I never did but that is always an option. Of course if you do get the bottles and you boil them or put them in a sterilizer you honestly should be ok. Take care and congrats girl!!

I am not some environmentalist, but I am fearful of plastic breaking down, especially after being microwaved or boiled. I am starting to believe those chemicals are the main cause of so much cancer.
Plus, there are too many diseases.

If the bottles are glass, then go for it. Actually, I wouldn't even buy plastic bottles new. Plastic is terrible for your baby. Research it. :)

As long as everything is washed and sterilized, it's no different than getting new. If you want to use the same nipples (I personally would buy new nipples) go ahead and wash them in a bit of bleach water following the directions on the back of a Clorox bottle for doing so. Congrats on your soon arrival!

Once they are run through the dishwasher--they are fine. Definitely get new nipples.

I'm sure that if sterilized it wouldn't be a problem, but I'm with your husband, that totally grosses me out. Bottles are that expensive I would just buy new, but that's me.

Make sure your bottles are BPA free, and definitely new!

Why not? especially glass bottles. You can soak in bleach, boil...whatever. My kids were breastfed so we didn't use bottles that much anyway (big money-saver on the formula too). We eat off used dishes in restaurants, friends' homes etc.

New nipples sound like a good idea.

Congrats on your soon-to -arrive little one!

K. Z.

I agree with you. I see nothing wrong with buying used bottles and sterilizing them.

Dear S.--Hospitals and safety experts recommend that you never use a second hand car seat. Hospitals have been known not to discharge a baby if the car seat is not new and up to standard. The parts get warped from constant use even if there hasn't been an accident--to say nothing of pot holes and bumping into curbs--all of which affect the mechanism. This is the most critical piece of equipment your baby will have. Clothes, some strollers--fine. I have bought lots for children and now a grand child. On strollers, there have recently been recalls of Graco strollers, which I bought used only last month. Check all recall lists. I recently found that one major consignment store for children's things was still selling sleep positioners which other stores had taken off the shelves and taken back. Very dangerous. Unless you're buying glass bottles, I'd stay away from them. Older plastic has chemicals you do not want. Sterilize glass of course--but this is a very minor expense compared to eveything else. PS--inspecting the car seat unless you are an experienced certified technician or the problem is totlly obvious,probably won't tell you much, and people selling things lie about accidents and probably don't even think about other bumps and bruises. Best of luck with our new baby--have fun!

I love 2nd hand baby stuff and I get all my sons stuff on ebay!!!! I see absolutely no problem buying bottles off there like you said just get new nipples. Craigslist is awesome for baby stuff too.

we got our carseat, strollers, etc. second hand, but bought all new bottles.

we shared bottles with my sil and myself. i am planning to give all my bottles left over to my other sil who is currently trying. we also got bottles from a family friend. although they were a different style and i chose not to go with those (we would have had to buy drop in bags for each feeding, seemed wasteful ) that being said i would most likely only purchace bottles from ppl we knew! you never know where its been or what kind of health the kid was in before you. even though boiling would make it safe again its still kind of icky not knowing what really happened to those bottles. our hospitial gave us lots of trial size bottles. they are prefilled and you just pop off the top and screw on a nipple lid! they lasted us about three weeks or so. they also gave us a carseat. it had a base and was not as dinky as i figured a free hospital car seat would be. we had about ten bottles of the size six ounce and about eight of the size 8 ounce. the only reason we did not buy all size 8 ounce was its harder for a little one to self feed when that time comes. the 8 ounces seems to be too heavy and bulky when they are learning.