Ellen about the layette: ‘What stuff do you buy second-hand?’
Ellen is a counselor in secondary special education, a thriller author at publisher De Fontein, mother of Lewis and Miles (11 and 8) from a previous relationship and gave birth to daughter Sophia with her boyfriend Nils in November.
Babies need stuff. Lots of stuff. Every day I am confronted with all the mess we have in the house for Sophia. You can say: babies only need love, but at some point that kite will no longer fly. I wrote about it before, but last week I came across an interesting discussion online. What do you buy second hand and what not?
One piece featured a mother who had bought everything second-hand. She had paid about five hundred euros for everything. Room, clothes, car, Maxi Cosi, everything. Did she do well, I thought. The next piece was about a mother who had bought everything new for about seven thousand euros. Phew. Seven thousand euros. She did her best – in a different way – too.
‘Times change, so do your tastes. At least you don’t have to buy expensive stuff for the photos.’
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Lots of opinions
Under the piece, the Facebook mothers of course went completely wild. Both women in the article were ridiculous, because why buy everything second-hand (that was one group) and why spend so much money on baby stuff (that was the other group). There was a lady who said: I bought everything new for the photos. That I can say later: what beautiful stuff we had! That’s why I bought an expensive stroller, for example. Really the funniest reason ever to buy expensive, new stuff of course. Now when I look back at the pictures of little Lewis in his expensive stroller, I think: Gosh, what a clumsy and ugly thing. Times change, so do your tastes. At least you don’t have to buy expensive stuff for the photos.
Read also: Ellen: ‘It can be very annoying for a woman if control is taken away from her during childbirth’
Baby stuff is fine second-hand
I’m kind of in between. Sophia is my third, I had let go of the feeling of wanting to buy everything new. Also because I know: it’s not all necessary and you only use a lot of stuff for a short time. There are many things that you can easily acquire second-hand. A playpen, bath, clothes, high chair, baby room, etc. We took over a black Stokke Tripp Trapp and an almost unused newborn set. We paid a total of 110 euros for that, which is a fraction of the new price. My mother-in-law gave us a nice teddy cover for the newborn set, et vóila, like new. Made me really happy.
One second-hand bad buy
We also wanted the furniture for the baby room to be black and it was nowhere to be found second-hand, so we bought it new. Of course the box also had to be black, round and on wheels and it was still two hundred and fifty euros second hand (black is hip, apparently), so we bought it in white for one hundred euros and painted it black. The box has been in the attic for three months now, so I’m glad we didn’t spend any money on it. I do regret the Joolz stroller that we bought second-hand. I loved it, but notice that it has been used a lot. Folding and unfolding is stiff and annoying, and the chassis is cumbersome and heavy. Unfortunately, you won’t realize that until the time comes. Fortunately, Sophia can already ride in a buggy, so we will buy it new and test it properly in the store for folding and unfolding. That bumbling next to the car, I’m tired of it. Ease of use is important to me, especially with things that you use a lot every day.
“I do regret the stroller we took over. That bumbling next to the car, I’m tired of it.’
Safety before everything
One tip: buy items that should ensure the safety of your baby – such as a Maxi Cosi – new. You can’t (unless you take it apart completely) see if something has happened to it and then it’s no longer safe to use.
Stuff for babies … secretly it’s also just fun to shop, even if it’s on Marktplaats. However?
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