Hand me downs

Assalammu'alaikum family, friends, followers and readers of this blog.

Once again, another topic on Baby and me. Heh!

I hope you are enjoying this phase as much as I do writing them!

So today, we shall discuss or rather share my opinions on hand-me-downs.

I personally love the whole idea of hand-me-downs. Firstly because I grew up in the hand-me-downs era. Everything I own, must have been my sisters' or some relatives' somewhere. And I grew up giving away my unused or outgrown clothes to other relatives too, and trust me when I say, I beamed when I see someone else down the line wore what I used to own. Really! It felt good!

As with everything else, and like my mother, it is always hard to let go. No, I mean seriously, there are some things that are just too sentimental. It comes with memories, and sometimes, with the flashbacks of how long it took to save up to buy that piece or something more to that like having worn that for the first day of school or something.

So we get a little skeptical and start contemplating then having to choose who to give it to.. I tell you, we can take forever before finally letting it go.

And so, I accepted the same for Baby M. A friend had a 3yr old daughter and loads of clothes that had overgrown, so she asked one day if I am open to accept hand me downs for Baby M. I gladly did!

So Mama asks what I do the first thing it reaches me, and so I said I usually dump it in the washing machine regardless the condition first, and inspect while I hang it to dry. A habit I had, even with those clothes I buy at the shop (even when it is brand new in plastic with tag). And she was happy with that answer. As I've shared previously, Baby M's Mama is particular with what her baby wears - as in with its cleanliness, likewise with her toys.

So everything needs to be washed thoroughly and whenever possible sanitized first. And so I happily do, afterall, it's personal hygiene, yes?

"So why hand-me-downs?",  "Can't you afford to buy one?", "second hand, for a baby, are you for real?" are just some questions that attacked me for awhile. Well no, I can easily get Baby M a wardrobe bigger than mine in a jiffy. Thing is.. babies grow too fast - like it or not! Chances are they only will wear that brand new shoe for a month if you're lucky, or maybe just twice.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with hand-me-downs as long as it still is in mint condition, with no major stains, and without any tears. A missing bow or ribbon is fine! Really, babies will always be spilling food, so what is one permanent stain of food colouring gonna harm?

As long as I've personally washed them clean, I am fine with wearing it on any baby. Yes, even my own, even if it is my very first born. I have since collected many many rompers from my friend, and oh beautiful pretty dainty dresses too! My favourite? The pile of stockings of course!!

And then I received four pairs of nice little pretty shoes! And how do I clean these, you asked? Well.. Wipe it with a lil dettol will do, or spray with sanitizers is also fine. And oh, credits to Baby M's Mama for this tip! Otherwise I'd be clueless how to clean them too. :)

Did I tell you, we also received Baby Rocker and Baby Highchair from the same friend? Nice isn't it? So we did a kind agreement that we will rotate all our baby things as and when a new baby comes. :)

Speaking of sanitization, I recently asked a few moms how frequent they sanitize thier babies' toys and play area. I received multiple answers, some said once a month, some said once a week, some said only if it looks really dirty, some extremes are everyday.

So how often do I do it? I'd say once to twice a week if Baby M is coming for the weekend, otherwise it would be maximum 3 days before she arrives to a minimum once in the morning she is coming over. I am frantic like that. And when she comes, I usually rinse off whatever toys she threw down onto the "adult" floor.

Clean freak, you can call me. I dunno if I can keep this up with my own babies when they occupy the space 24/7. I wish I can do it.

So ya, share with me how often you do it and how if you'd like. I'd love to hear from you. We can all learn from each other then.

Until I blog again (and yes, I owe you guys pictures of all the hand me downs I received!),
Wassalam,
Baby M's Mak