green purse tip #9 use 2nd-hand baby furniture & goods

the lucky thing about having friends with children is that they know what you might need and are willing to turn over items they don't need anymore. 


so we have been lucky because now we have two batches of 2nd hand baby furniture & goods that would otherwise cost an arm and a leg--


batch #1 from tomas & clara


+ graco pushchair. i don't know what the model is but its certainly less than 3 years old. it has a thing in the bottom to stash bags, the main seat has 3 settings (flat for sleeping, halfway for reclining & upright for sitting up. comes with a detachable food/cup tray and a folding canopy. it has lockable rear brakes and lockable front wheels. good height. its not lightweight tho but its great. now i don't have to look at all these chunky graco monsters with the removable car seat/carrier


+ irdy brand playpen. it folds down to about a 10-inch square about 3 feet tall. its quite clever and can be used as a travel cot. has its own mosquito net. almost new condition


i know, those two aren't immediately needed by a newborn and we still intend to buy some kind of crib. i think we will opt for the old-school wooden variety. have i said it before? yes, we like contemporary designed stuff but we like old school too. why redesign something that is working well?


cost = totally free. 




batch #2 from our french friends
+ avent Isis breast pump. holy camote. breast pumps have come a long way since i first saw my aunt's one in 1988. this one can be manual or plugged in or battery operated. how cool is that? not that i know how to use it yet.


+ baby first baby travel day bed. neat it folds to about the size of a small suitcase and comes with a little led night light, and waterproofed mattress. the thing is entirely washable (just the light bit is removable. 


+ mothercare brand microwavable sterilizer. these things have come a long way too from the stove top or plug in kind. this is just a gigantic microwavable container. you pour in some water in the bottom, place the dismantled baby bottles and pop it in the microwave to let the steam do the work. nifty


cost = these were not totally free, but the whole lot was purchased for Php 7,000. still great value considering the avent isis alone is Php11,600 when bought brand new.


there is another item given by friends that i failed to mention. our visiting friends from canada bought a car seat for their 9month-old who was used to traveling in car seats. they were worried about what to do with the seat after their 3-week stay last march. we said no worries, we would have a use for it. heehee. so they were among the first to learn that we are expecting a baby. the car seat is evenflo brand and can be both rear and front facing. it is not meant for newborns though because it is quite upright. not sure what we are doing for a newborn carseat yet. 


yey for friends.