Community› The Bump Message Boards› Working Moms
Working Moms
New Discussion

WWYD Baby Equipment, Maternity stuff & storage

NADA-HNADA-H member
in Working Moms
Hi ladies,

As my baby start outgrowing clothes and some equipment I'm contemplating this issue as I live in a small apartment with minimal storage. DD is my first baby and she is 4 months old, I don't see myself having a second baby until she is at least 2.5 years old and storage space in our house is absolutely precious.

As she is outgrowing clothes, I'm donating/selling items and keeping only the expensive items as keepsakes, a couple of items only (mainly baby gifts clothing items from grandma and aunt as they went crazy when they knew I expected a girl.) I kept her coming home from the hospital as well as keep sakes but beside that everything else has to go.

When it comes to baby gear and equipment though I don't know what you'd keep for a second baby and what isn't worth keeping and would love to hear your opinion on the matter, (everything I bought or had on my babyshower giftlist was gender neutral so no pinks and blues)

her stroller and crib are ones which could be used up until a new baby is in the picture baby/toddler

what would you keep/donate/sell of;

baby bottles
pacifiers
infant car seat
swing
infant rocking chair with toys
baby gym
plush chewable toys that can't be washed and are labeled "clean with a damp towel only"

the rest of the stuff I think are easily reused and would still be in her room anyway when baby number 2 is here hopefully


as to maternity items and clothes would you get rid of anything? I didn't show much and so didn't buy a bunch of stuff but I know I'd need more stuff next time around to avoid the "I've worn everything 10000000 times syndrome" that I had in my first pregnancy:

I stored everything in a small suitcase and it's taking up precious space in my closet plus of course the suitecase!
imageimage
God Bless You my Little One
Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
image
Farida, at 8 weeks
image
Report Reply to Post

Re: WWYD Baby Equipment, Maternity stuff & storage

  • WLJ2WLJ2 member
    I can't lend to much advise here. But I donated/sold almost everything. DS is almost 4 now and space here is very precious as well. I feel like I'm wasting money by getting rid of these items but since it would have been 5 years of storing these items before they were used again It was worth donating.
    Report Reply
  • Loading the player...
  • goblue4433goblue4433 member
    I kept pretty much everything although sounds like I had more storage than you. I definitely didn't want to have to rebuy everything and for the most part we have used everything again even if a better model is sold now
    Report Reply
  • KewiiKewii member
    I kept anything that would've pissed me off to replace. All gender neutral clothing, maternity clothes, and big ticket items.

    I store everything in our maids room, since we don't have a live in. It's getting a bit crowded, but I can live with it for a few years until our next.

    imageLilypie First Birthday tickersimage

    Report Reply
  • TheBorg7of9TheBorg7of9 member
    I don't think pacis and bottle nipples stay good for another baby. The plastic breaks down.
    My TTC History:
    2009: missed miscarriage #1 at 9 weeks (trisomy 16)
    2010: Infertility
    2011: Diagnosis and treatment (low sperm count, anastrozole for DH, clomid for me + IUI)
    2012: Baby #1
    2014: Baby #2
    October 2015: missed miscarriage #2 at 11 weeks (trisomy 22)
    March 2016 BFP#5, due November 2016.

    My Charts since 2009

    Report Reply
  • PSU_TexanPSU_Texan member
    My girls are 3 years apart and I kept most things but I had plenty of storage.  Are there any friends who are expecting babies soon that you could "loan" stuff to?  This gets it out of your house but keeps you from replacing.  Most items like swing, car seat, etc wouldn't get used so much that you'd end up having to replace.  I did this between my girls with the swing, bouncy seat, pack n play, etc. and they all still worked great when my second came along.
    Report Reply
  • MommyAttyMommyAtty member
    I would keep the car seat, baby gym, and nicer maternity clothes. I am very tall, so I still wear the maternity tee shirts without rouching. In fact, I'm wearing one now! I didn't show much either, so I bought a ton of a-line dresses that weren't maternity, and I wear some of those even now.

    Can you get an under-the-bed storage box? That's what I used for much of this stuff. Like @PrivacyWanted‌, even though my kids are less than 2 years apart, very little is being reused. The play gym, toys, books, and her single stroller. DS actually uses some bottles DD rejected. That was a nice surprise, but he rejected the bottles she loved. Oh, and we still use our Ergo. Both kids love the Ergo.
    Report Reply
  • NADA-HNADA-H member
    @MommyAtty‌ thank you for your tips, i have no under bed storage space as my bed has a mattress and a spring box below and not the type that rests on bed feet or has a headboard and a footboard.

    imageimage
    God Bless You my Little One
    Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
    image
    Farida, at 8 weeks
    image
    Report Reply
  • MaladroitMaladroit member
    DS is 5 months, so far, I've sold off a lot of things.  I am keeping some of the pricier things clothing-wise (just in case) and probably getting rid of the rest.  I don't want to keep much of anything that he grows out of - I'm a thrower, not a saver.  I've had several friends call dibs on a bunch of the stuff I have, so it'll probably just get divvived up amongst my friends.
    Egg Retrieval - Feb. 2013 -> OHSS.  FET#1 - June 2013(failed). FET#2 - October 2013(success!) Griffin Alistair: 6#10oz 20" long, born 6/19/14 @ 4:04am
    image
    Report Reply
  • NADA-HNADA-H member
    agh I'd hate to have to replace anything that isn't a toy/bottle/paci/or clothes these are actually fun to shop for and are cheaper. Unfortunately the big ticket items are the big items which take a lot of space that I don't have.

    for example my baby still rides in her infant car seat but once she moves to a bigger car seat the infant one will have to go to storage and that's a damn big item for people who live in a small apartment.

    I don't know about lending people the items, I'd honestly be too shy to ask for them back and I'd worry that someone would damage or stain the fabric on any of the items since that happens a lot with babies. I think for items which I don't mind replacing I will sell/donate and anything else that my baby won't be using till the next baby arrives like the infant seat, etc I will beg my parents to keep somewhere in their house since they have a bigger place.
    imageimage
    God Bless You my Little One
    Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
    image
    Farida, at 8 weeks
    image
    Report Reply
  • litzo27litzo27 member
    I kept everything and reused pretty much everything with #2 and #3 (3 years later and 2.5 more years later). I also kept all the clothing unless it was stained/ripped. That stuff is expensive why would be getting rid of it?? For clothing, toys, soft stuff buy a vacuum bag - the kind where you put stuff in and then suck air out with a fabric - it gets things really flat. By the way all soft toys can be washed - even if it says surface only, unless it has an electronic component chances are washing it will be necessary at some point. Also look at your closets - most closets have underutilized space in the bottom and the top. Put some shelves really high up and all the way down so every inch can be used. There is probably space under the crib for a flat box.
    There are some good ideas here: (or just google tiny apartment storage)
    https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/categories/small_spaces

    Do you have options for storage units? In New York City we had a pretty cheap rental storage unit the size of a closet.
    image
     Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker Baby Birthday Ticker Ticker
    Report Reply
  • MickeyM04MickeyM04 member
    Well shit.

    DD2 has been reusing all of DS's bottles and pacis.  Well we got her off the pacis last month so that's more of an "oh well" oops.  Had no idea that they broke down.  I guess since he was BF for so long I can reassure myself that the nipples maybe aren't "too" broken down.  Off to order new ones...
    Lilypie Third Birthday tickers 
    Lilypie First Birthday tickers 

    BFP #1 6/28/11 ~ EDD 3/7/12 ~ m/c 7/15/11 at 6w2d
    BFP #2 8/29/11 ~ EDD 5/12/12. 4/25/12: Our take home baby is here!
     BFP #3 8/27/13 ~ EDD 5/11/14.  4/27/14:  Our second take home baby is here!

    Report Reply
  • NADA-HNADA-H member
    litzo27 said:
    I kept everything and reused pretty much everything with #2 and #3 (3 years later and 2.5 more years later). I also kept all the clothing unless it was stained/ripped. That stuff is expensive why would be getting rid of it?? For clothing, toys, soft stuff buy a vacuum bag - the kind where you put stuff in and then suck air out with a fabric - it gets things really flat. By the way all soft toys can be washed - even if it says surface only, unless it has an electronic component chances are washing it will be necessary at some point. Also look at your closets - most closets have underutilized space in the bottom and the top. Put some shelves really high up and all the way down so every inch can be used. There is probably space under the crib for a flat box.
    There are some good ideas here: (or just google tiny apartment storage)
    https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/categories/small_spaces

    Do you have options for storage units? In New York City we had a pretty cheap rental storage unit the size of a closet.
    thank you for your tips.

    the toys I'm worried I'd ruin are ones with crinkly parts and cotton stuffing..wouldn't it get clumpy and weird once washed if it says do not wash? they already need to be cleaned because my baby seemingly is teething already, I cut my first tooth at 4.5 months, so she's been wanting to bite into stuff for quiet a while now.

    I've actually had custom closets- wall to wall and floor to ceiling- fitted into this apartment when we first got it because I knew storage would be a biggie so basically in one bedroom the closets form an entire wall. We also purged big time when we moved to it and did yet another purge after moving in, a new cruel purge is coming our way now. I use every single bit of space within these closets even the high shelves and bottom of closets as I don't have hallway closets and no space for them due to doors locations and width of corridors- I had a small single closet that held home smaller stuff and just got a big sideboard to hold more stuff- so I have one small fitted closet in my bedroom and another full wall one in the other bedroom and I already have a storage under crib drawer were all of the extra blankets/crib sheets/changing mat sheets/etc go.

    I wonder if they have any storage units in Qatar, I know of them in the US just never heard of ones here, it might be a big save if we get one because then a lot of the items which we currently aren't using can be long gone and replaced by new. I will look those up.

    As to clothes if it isn't gender neutral or expensive I'm not keeping it due to space limitations and due to me lingering on the fact of just having 2 kids, so if I get a boy next time all of the pink stuff, skirts, dresses, etc taking space in my closets would be useless and would have been taking up precious space in my closet for a couple of years. 

    Most of the clothes I had found to have gotten worn out with the washing too although I bought a lot of clothes to make sure I don't go over all of her onesies and bodysuits quickly that I'd need to wash them too much but still, and that's the second thing so I'm not keen on using them for another baby and instead of just leaving it in a bag in a closet I'd rather get some cash out of it for the time being that would go into buying her new clothes or donate it to charity 
    imageimage
    God Bless You my Little One
    Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
    image
    Farida, at 8 weeks
    image
    Report Reply
  • NADA-HNADA-H member
    I think in relationship to pacifiers and bottles I don't really have that much of a problem.

    my baby didn't accept any pacifiers so we tried but they only made it into her mouth a few times. I guess I can disinfect and reuse.

    I didn't go crazy with buying baby bottles, she has 4 of the small Dr. Brown's and 4 Pigeon glass bottles and I have about 12 pump and save bottles since I pump 3 times at work and once at home after she sleeps. I think i'd definitely get rid of the Dr. Brown's bottles and nipples and just the nipples of the pigeons. I'd keep the pump and safe bottles and pumping equipment and the glass bottles...I guess?
    imageimage
    God Bless You my Little One
    Farida, our first child, born on the 19th of July 2014
    image
    Farida, at 8 weeks
    image
    Report Reply
  • MommyAttyMommyAtty member
    MickeyM04 said:
    Well shit.

    DD2 has been reusing all of DS's bottles and pacis.  Well we got her off the pacis last month so that's more of an "oh well" oops.  Had no idea that they broke down.  I guess since he was BF for so long I can reassure myself that the nipples maybe aren't "too" broken down.  Off to order new ones...

    They are actually fine if they are the non-BPA newer ones and if they aren't stained or damaged. I researched the crap out of that before I had DS. So no reassurance needed.
    Report Reply
This discussion has been closed.
Choose Another Board
Search Boards
"
"