5AF Parenting Thread

Postby **Freddy Rumsen** » Thu Oct 05, 2017 6:27 pm

My oldest is the only "hard" one, the other three are pretty good in general.

Postby **shmenguin** » Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:11 pm

Parental pet peeve: when people who write children's books name characters after the dumb names they picked for their own kids. We all know what you're doing. Stop it.

Postby **count2infinity** » Sun Oct 15, 2017 9:56 pm

... what are they doing?

Postby **count2infinity** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:45 pm

So our first is on the way, and I have some questions for you gents (and ladies if you feel like weighing in...)

What are the rules on new vs buying used? I'm looking on craigslist and FB marketplace and there's soooooooo much baby stuff out there available to buy at a significant discount. Not only that, but I have coworkers that have already offered all sorts of stuff like cribs, furniture, high chairs, etc. When I mention this to the Mrs. she mentions how it's my parent's first grandchild as well as her mom's first blood grandchild (she has step grandchildren, but I guess this is a little different), and they'll likely want to buy stuff for us.

If it were up to me, we'd buy all used except for stuff like the mattress and things of that nature. What did yinz do?

Postby **Beveridge** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:52 pm

Is the question new bought by grandparents at no cost to you vs discount bought at your expense?

Is the question new bought at your expense vs discount bought at your expense?

Either way (or a third, forth, or fifth way) I'm not saying no to something new not on my dime. I'm cheap so that's me. Otherwise, I'm perfectly fine buying good condition used for most items if all at our expense.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:55 pm

We did a little of both, a mixture of new furniture and some hand me downs. It really depends on what's available, and how comfortable you are turning down used items from family members. We too were the first to have kids on my side of the family, so they were eager to buy a lot of it new (we obliged them, as we planned on at least another child down the road).

Postby **Viva la Ben** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 2:58 pm

Crib mattress, car seat, and high chair I’d reccomend new because they can get really gross.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:04 pm

Yeah, car seats shouldn't be used (unless between kids in the same family). Goodwill and baby consignment shops won't even accept them.

Postby **robbiestoupe** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:06 pm

If you plan to do a baby shower, you can get a pretty good idea what to buy new and used. Some stuff that you want to last - bed/crib, dresser, car seat, etc. you'll want to buy new and thus put on the shower list. But everything else can be used. We went to a bunch of garage sales since that's where you can find a crap load of lightly used baby stuff. We bought 3 pack and plays at garage sales to distribute to our families for times when we visit.

Postby **count2infinity** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:06 pm

I think a mix of new and used is the way we're going to go. I read some stuff online (probably from retailers) that things get recalled and fail to pass new safety inspections so often that you should just buy everything new, and it had me a bit in a "wtf?" moment. A crib is a crib is a crib. My coworker has one that he just put in his garage and is looking to get rid of it for free, why would I not take him up on it.

I'm not particularly fond of spending other people's money either, so I'll likely buy used as much as possible.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:10 pm

I highly recommend going for a crib that can be turned into a day bed/twin bed. They cost a little more upfront, but you can keep them in it until they get to elementary school.

Postby **count2infinity** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:13 pm

I highly recommend going for a crib that can be turned into a day bed/twin bed. They cost a little more upfront, but you can keep them in it until they get to elementary school.

We have plenty of dog beds... the baby can use that after they outgrow the crib.

Postby **meow** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:34 pm

Anything fabric (mattress, car seat, high chair covers, plush toys, etc), buy new. The one exception would maybe be a stroller. Everything else could be hand me downs/second hand.

Car seats have expiration dates and should be discarded after being in an accident. That's risky to buy second hand.

Postby **meow** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 3:35 pm

I highly recommend going for a crib that can be turned into a day bed/twin bed. They cost a little more upfront, but you can keep them in it until they get to elementary school.
We have plenty of dog beds... the baby can use that after they outgrow the crib.

We bought the ones that turn into head/foot boards for full sized beds. That was one of our better purchases

Postby **shmenguin** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 4:27 pm

Anything fabric (mattress, car seat, high chair covers, plush toys, etc), buy new.

Except for clothes. Get used clothes. As many as you can. Look for consignment stores. Sometimes they pop up for a weekend as a temporary thing in some random storefront.

Postby **meow** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 4:38 pm

Anything fabric (mattress, car seat, high chair covers, plush toys, etc), buy new.
Except for clothes. Get used clothes. As many as you can. Look for consignment stores. Sometimes they pop up for a weekend as a temporary thing in some random storefront.

Oh yeah. Totally didn't mean clothes in the fabric advice. I think the only new clothes we buy are those newborn shirts that button across - we call the ninja shirts - and you only need those until the cord falls.

Postby **shmenguin** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 5:09 pm

and the ultimate annoyance of baby clothes is that you cant find high quality cheap clothes online, but you can find them in person at the store. quite inconvenient.

and on that note - stick with the Carters brand.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 7:54 pm

stick with the Carters brand.

Cannot recommend this enough. Wait until there is a big Carter's sale. Sign up for their email list now. Go and buy an F ton of clothes, because you will need them. They are inexpensive (and even more so when you get em on sale), and relatively high quality in our experience. Plus, they have a nice variety, especially at their outlet stores, which I would also recommend.

Consignment stores are where its at, too.

Postby **eddy** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:23 pm

I highly recommend going for a crib that can be turned into a day bed/twin bed. They cost a little more upfront, but you can keep them in it until they get to elementary school.
We have plenty of dog beds... the baby can use that after they outgrow the crib.
We bought the ones that turn into head/foot boards for full sized beds. That was one of our better purchases

This is a good idea until you have more kids than bedrooms and then have to build bunk beds that test your existence on this planet to save some room.

There is also rarely a better feeling than having the baby sleeping on your chest while you get to lounge and watch a movie or something. Cherish those moments, because those **** grow up fast.

Postby **shafnutz05** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 8:44 pm

We had the convertible crib, but it is still in its crib setting. We ended up just getting a mattress and boxspring and putting it in the other corner....it's a queen so our daughter likes it. I just didn't have the damn energy to convert it, knowing (hoping) that our second would be coming. Our daughter will be 4 in a couple weeks and still hoping for the second, but I'm long past the point of converting it now

Postby **tjand72** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 9:58 pm

Go to garage sales for clothes. You can get pretty much anything you want for around $1 per item.

Postby **eddy** » Mon Oct 16, 2017 10:06 pm

So our first is on the way, and I have some questions for you gents (and ladies if you feel like weighing in...)

What are the rules on new vs buying used? I'm looking on craigslist and FB marketplace and there's soooooooo much baby stuff out there available to buy at a significant discount. Not only that, but I have coworkers that have already offered all sorts of stuff like cribs, furniture, high chairs, etc. When I mention this to the Mrs. she mentions how it's my parent's first grandchild as well as her mom's first blood grandchild (she has step grandchildren, but I guess this is a little different), and they'll likely want to buy stuff for us.

If it were up to me, we'd buy all used except for stuff like the mattress and things of that nature. What did yinz do?

If your parents want to buy stuff for your kids, don't pass that up and whatever you do, don't let stuff like that turn into any type of issue.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 11:20 am

I hate the car seat in my wife's CR-V - specifically, the tightening system - and have spent the last hour or so researching a replacement. I can easily wait another year or so before her old one will need to be replaced due to height/weight limits, but I think I'm going to just pull the trigger now. I would not recommend the Evenflo Triumph 65 LX because of that ridiculous "TensionRight" tightening knob.

Postby **DigitalGypsy66** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:54 pm

We dropped the last booster seat probably about a year ago. That was awesome, not quite as much when the kids' could start buckling their own car seat, but pretty damn close.

Postby **NTP66** » Mon Oct 30, 2017 1:56 pm

I won't be able to go to a booster for another year or so. My daughter meets all of the requirements except for the "can sit still and not fidget with everything in sight" one.