Things You Should Buy New for a Second Baby

Many parents reuse baby items after giving birth to a second baby. While this practice is economical, there are some items that need to be purchased new. Safety related recalls of baby gear happen often and reusing recalled items pose a danger to your new baby. Buying new and verifying that the items you purchased meet or exceed current safety regulations can help reduce the risk to your baby.

Car Seats

Car seats not only expire but also are unusable once they have been in a car accident where injuries occurred, the air bags deployed, the vehicle door nearest the seat was damaged or the car was unable to be driven away from the scene according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Technology improves each year so current car seats have the newest safety technology available to you and your child. Car seats are also recalled on a regular basis, and if the used seat has been recalled, your child can be at risk while traveling in your vehicle.

Crib

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Older cribs can also pose serious injury risks. The wide bars in an older crib can allow a child’s head to become stuck in between them. Many cribs have been recalled due to a wide variety of problems all of which can cause injury to your new baby.

The Consumer Product Safety Commission has issued 11 recalls that affected 7 million different cribs as of May 2010 according to the Digital Journal. CNN states that between November 2007 and April 2010, 36 babies died due to structural problems with cribs.

Mattress

Baby mattresses are also subject to recalls and have been improved to better fit in cribs that reflect newer safety standards. As with adult mattresses, baby mattresses can harbor bacteria and bodily fluids if there is a puncture or tear in the waterproof plastic that houses a baby mattress.

Bottle Nipples and Pacifiers

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Bottle nipples and pacifiers need to be purchased new for any child. Used nipples and pacifiers pose choking hazards due to the break down in materials used to create them. Sanitation is also a concern with used items. Keep in mind that you can reuse the bottle as long as you find new nipples that will fit the bottle correctly.

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