I’ve become quite adept at claiming hand-me-downs with bambino numero tre. Maternity wardrobe? Yes please. Tiny infant clothes? Sure. Gently-used baby stuff? Don’t mind if I do. I feel truly blessed by my community of moms for paying it forward and I’m happy to do the same.
For the most part, my washing machine does all the dirty work and my family saves hundreds of dollars by not purchasing new gear.
One amazing benefactor, my friend Lisa, a stylish mom of twin boys, has even handed me back some of the cute mini clothes that my older boys wore as babies.
Recently Lisa offered me a well-loved exersaucer-jumper that just needed a little elbow grease. My big guys, armed with a few Q-tips and toothpicks dipped in soap to clean out the crevices, made it shine like new. The washer ate up the gunk on the fabric. Sawyer loves it; Holden and Milo were proud to give it to him.
I later learned that Q-tips Precision Tips could have done the job of both the regular swabs and toothpicks combined. Fortunately, there are many more cleaning tasks in my near future.
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Disclosure: this is a sponsored post by Q-tips as part of the Tipster Ambassador program. All opinions, creative ideas, and baby toes are ours.
My favorite hand me down was from my friend who no longer needed her baby sling. I loved it for my kids and never would have bought one for myself.
I have received virtually every outfit that my 2-year old has ever worn as a hand-me-down but the very best have been her Halloween costumes and Christmas dresses from her cousins.
I am handing down as many infant items to my sister, due in August, as I can fit in a box to Texas! I’m especially excited to send her our Woombie, which she’d better send back when we have another baby! No way I’m swaddling with too-tiny blankets or breakable swaddle wraps – the Woombie (and Aden and Anais!) are the way to go!
My boppy pillow
An awesome Medela pump from my buddy Heather
— bought the attachment parts and it works like new. THANKS!!
I love getting out door clothes a hand me downs.
ALL of our newborn/0-3m clothes, from friends about to move across the country!
I have 3 sons and while I paid for most of the clothes for my first son. I have hardly bought any clothes for my next two sons. We reused all that we could. Big stuff too- stroller, crib, bedding, etc. We saved a lot this way.
We found a gently used exersaucer on Craigslist- by gently used, I mean it looked BRAND NEW! Our little guy loved it & still now (at age 15 months) he likes walking around it & will play with the little toys on it. Great find! We also didn’t know baby’s gender until he was born. So most of the clothes he wore during Month 1 were yellowish sleepers I found at garage sales.
My bumbo that my sister gave me, tracietrump@yahoo.com
A never been used medela breast pump… I can never thank the mama who gave it to me enough
My Mei Tai carrier was one of my very favorite baby items and I’ve shared it with two other mamas since my kids rode in it.
I saved all of my older son’s clothes and now our second son is wearing them, but my neighbor also gives us hand-me-downs and it’s really nice to see our second son in new-to-us clothes! (I have bought some clothes new, but used is more fun, cheaper, and way easier!) We’re saving our money for when the kids are older and their wardrobe means more to them
My favorite hand me downs were the high chair and crib that I slept in as a child. They took a bit of freshening up and then worked great for my two kids!
We’ve been blessed to receive so many awesome hand-me-downs. You name it — crib, changing table, swing, playpen, clothes, swaddlers, toys, carriers, bottles, pump — we got it. I think my favorite has been the My Breast Friend nursing pillow.
Almost all our baby items were hand me downs! We love them all. My son is now 3 and has great clothes handed down from a neighbor. Even his awesome Kettler trike is a handmedown!
I received a wonderful crib from my best friend after I had my son. Hands down the best hand me down I ever received
thanks!
My best hand me down wasn’t one thing, it was 4-5 bins of baby clothes when my first baby was just an infant. Those clothes lasted us until he was 2.5!!!! I bought things I couldn’t resist, but the majority of his wardrobe was adorable hand-me-downs!
The bouncer was a great one – my little guy loves his.
We’ve had so many hand-me-downs I’ve lost track! My favorite is a door jumper and Q-tips were absolutely used to clean it up!
We’ve passed along two Baby K’tans–we got so much use out of them that we were excited to see more good come from them!
I have an exersaucer handed down (and down) by a cousin of a friend. I had to do the same exact thing – Q Tips and tooth picks in every crevice – and even sew up the hem of one of the leg holes. This thing is a life saver, though. We call it The Office. “She has some calls to return from The Office.”
I found this beautiful like new precious moments vibrating baby bouncer for $5 at a yard sale and gave it to a friend. Her baby who had acid reflux and other issues loved it so much.
We got SO much stuff second hand- I felt like the luckiest mom around to have such amazing and generous friends. I think our favorite was the bouncer car- we never would have bought it ourselves, but it was a lifesaver since Sam stood up so early. He loved it, and now we’re giving it back to the donor for their baby number 3!
Definitely the activity mat! It was practically brand new because our friend’s son didn’t like being on his back. Our daughter goes crazy over the dangling toys!
We were lucky to receive many hand me downs. What ended up being my favorite was the mini-co sleeper (which we used as a bassinet). It is smaller than a pack ‘n’ play and worked so much better in our tiny house than full size one would have. It was also so much lighter and smaller to pack up and take to grandparents/friends houses in those first few months. I never would have gotten one on my own, so it was an extra wonderful addition to our baby supplies.
my favorite hand me downs my son received are from my mother in law. she kept literally everything from when my husband was a baby. our house is full of vintage toys, and clothes. my son didn’t wear the clothes, but it was a beautiful gesture.
I have received a hand me down crib and its in perfect condition! Thanks for a super giveaway!
We got a leapfrog pad hand-me down almost 6 years ago and my kids still play with it.
The best for us have been the newborn items—the swing and the bassinet, in particular. They get used for such a short period of time, but they’re so critical during it—so glad we were fortunate enough to get these as hand-me-downs from generous friends! We plan to “pay it forward” and give them to the next newbies once we’re done.
I was SO fortunate to be loaned a BrestFriend and a Moses Basket and a bouncy seat for my baby. And I am thrilled to have a MamaRoo and infant car seat and Boppy and tons of other gifts I was given to loan out to my sister-in-law who is adopting an infant!
I have given away clothes as well as a baby swing. You use stuff for such a short time, I really believe in sharing and buying used items.
Just last weekend, I was able to help “empty” my sister’s place with baby stuff she no longer needs. I was able to score some great stuff. Jolly jumper, exersaucer, lots of bottles, and unused pacifiers, a bumbo chair and tray, a swing… I’m a very lucky lady to have a sister willing to chair her stuff with me.
Thanks sis!
It’s so hard to choose the best hand me down when people have been so generous towards us. Some favorites: The breast pump saved me hundreds of dollars, the brand new highchair that a coworker’s son never took to was a boon (and no longer looks brand new), and the bins of clothing sized 2T to 5 mean we barely need to buy a stitch for our boys until kindergarten!
I have a friend who had a girl first and a boy second, my oldest girl was born at the same time as her boy…and she happily has handed over all of her daughters clothes as she has outgrown them. It has been an amazing gift, both my girls have been growing up on these hand-me-downs.
My cousin had a grandson born about eight months after my son. I was able to send five or six boxes of clothes, blankets, burp cloths, etc., some never used. I also sent our much-loved bouncy seat. It was great for me to have such an easy way to clean out drawers. I have also received lots of clothes from friends and a coworker. I now need to do another cleaning and trying to figure out where this set of clothes and toys will go. I would like to donate them, but haven’t been able to decide where.
Great pass downs I have received for my first born were handmade baby blankets, books, play pen, baby swing, breastpump, a very awesome sandbox for play and clothing of course. All were so financially helpful to our family.
Everything my son grows out of that still looks like new, we pass off to his OT who has twin boys 2.5 years younger. Saves her from having to buy double the clothing.
The sweetest and most used hand-me-down that came to me before my first daughter was born was a moses basket from an auntie of mine. Our daughter slept so soundly in it next to our bed most every night until she was almost 4 months old and grew out of it. It was great because we could take it (and her) from room to room while she slept.
Thank heavens for our double-stroller!!!! It was too pricey to buy on our own and luckily we had a friend with two toddlers who bought a newer version.. With a little tlc it looks brand new.
We have received many hand-me-downs but the best one is the Pack n’ Play with the changing station and the outdoor netted dome cover. We think it will be great to have it on the deck come springtime!
I’m sending all of my son’s not-feminine-enough-for-my-twin-girls baby clothes to my friend who had a baby boy last summer. I love looking at the pictures that she posts on Facebook with him in my son’s clothes. It makes me get really nostalgic!
I also love that my aunt kept all of my mom’s Nancy Drew and Bobbsey Twins books that my mom passed down to me and then to her. I’d love to read them to my daughters one day.
My favorite hand me down was a boppy pillow. I was going to tackle breastfeeding without it, but a wonderful friend handed one down to me and it made learning to nurse a newborn so much easier!
My favorite hand me down was a baby bjorn active for my second child. I had the origional, but the active is hands down the best!
A friend in my moms’ group gave me her daughters’ play kitchen after they upgraded for the girls’ birthdays
The kitchen was missing a stove door, but I was able to order a pretty cheap replacement part from the manufacturer. Missing pieces weren’t gonna ruin our secondhand fun!
My favorite hand me down was a Bumbo seat–I didn’t really know I needed one until I had one!
The best hand-me-down that I got was a newborn swing! It was wonderful and my son loved it…it really helped soothe him to sleep when my arms needed a break
The hand-me-down item we use most often is the BundleMe that a friend passed along to us. Early on, the hand-me-down co-sleeper we were using was great. We bought a new mattress cover and some new sheets and it was just like new.
We got an excersaucer/jumparoo from my sister!!! I used our steam shark to clean it up but definitely will try the Qtips tip for future de-gunking!
The best hand me down gift has been the pack and play that we got from some friends who live out of town. This helps to ease our travels to go see them and watch our kids grow together.
PS… I realize I’m not a rookiemom, however as a rookiedad I still enjoy the site