Recycle, Reuse…Recall?
When I first found out I was pregnant I went into baby item overload, buying the majority of what I thought I needed in a month of all things baby craziness. No joke, I was on the local yard sales sites 24-7 and every Saturday morning I was up and out the door at 6 patrolling the area yard sales like a professional shopper, which I am not at all normally. I guess preparing for a baby brought out the bargain shark in me!
I love secondhand things, and love the prices even more, so I didn’t think twice about purchasing used stuff. I think the only things I bought new were some soft crib sheets and several bottles! So when a friend mentioned I might want to check the recall list for the stroller/car seat combo I just got for a steal, I didn’t give it much thought at first. It looked perfect and I knew the couple we bought it from, so it was probably fine, right?
It looks safe...but looks can be deceiving!
Well, my paranoid mommy brain quickly latched onto this concept and began obsessing over it, running through worst-case scenarios, so by the time I got home I went straight to the computer and began searching the recall lists. I had no idea so many products had been recalled!
Thankfully after about an hour or so of quite thorough recall stalking, I was satisfied that my new stroller/car seat combo was safe and sound. There are so many recall lists out there, but the top two that I found most helpful were: http://www.cpsc.gov/ and http://www.babycenter.com/product-recall-finder. They seemed to be the most organized the easy to use, and of course you can also go to the manufacturers website itself and do a product search.
We were blessed last week to receive not one but two toddler car seats, which was unexpected and wonderful. Of course I will be checking up on both of them before Isaac’s sweet little tush sits in either, but the good news is I have at least another couple months before my son reaches the elusive 22 lb limit for his old infant seat, haha (:
Do you use secondhand items? Why or why not? And if so, how do you make sure they are safe and clean?
PHEW! i’m so glad i just read about the 22 lb limit because i switched Gus last week to a foward facing because i can’t even buckle the crotch buckle anymore on his bucket seat!! i’ve never had to switch any of my other kids before 1 year and i didn’t think u were supposed to but i didn’t know what else to do because it was on the biggest setting and STILL didn’t fit him. thankfully he’s 23 lbs phew!
Woah there giant baby Gus! I read your post on him, that was cute. Glad you made the weight limit; I am still waiting on mine, oh well, no front facing seat yet, sorry Isaac (: