We’ve had an email from Maggie:

I’m due to have my second baby in January but everyone has screamed at me when I mentioned reusing the cot so I’m going to get a new mattress. What can I do with the old one?

I don’t have kids so I’m not exactly knowledge but from what I’ve read on the subject, it sounds a bit like car seats – you can reuse them yourself if they’re still in good condition for your other children but it’s best not to buy/receive a second-hand one with an unknown history. You know how much it’s been used, what it’s been, um, soaked with and know how well it has been cleaned. Having said that, I can understand why people don’t want to risk it (although obviously so do baby mattress manufacturers…).

Some crib mattresses are fully sprung but others, particularly cheaper ones, are just slabs of foam so in theory, they could be reused for any spot needing a bit of foam cushioning.

When we were talking about reusing the actual cot last year, some people talked about turning them into essentially a day bed for the growing toddler/small child – if you had the space, you could keep the first mattress to use as extra seat padding or cushioning on the side/back.

Any other ideas?

We’ve had an email from Jess:

What can I do with my little girl’s cot now she’s too big for it? We’re not having any more so don’t want to keep it and I know you’re not supposed to use second hand beds for babies.

There is apparently an increased risk of cot death if the mattress has been used by a child in another home – but it’s the mattress not the whole cot/crib. All sorts of second-hand baby furniture is available via eBay, Freecycle/Freegle or NCT Nearly New Sales, so you should feel free to sell/pass yours on with a clear conscience.

While it’s best to keep using it for its original purpose for as long as possible, I know they’re reused in fun ways too – a blog I read, I forget which, showed one flipped upside down in a larger chicken run as a broody chicken house, and I’ve seen them used as growing containers in the garden – the plants either tied or climbing up the bars.

Any other suggestions for how to pass them on? Or for reuses around the home and garden?

(Photo by levigruber)