There are some items you need for your baby that you just don’t want to borrow. A car seat for example, you should likely buy new, but toys - heck, old toys, new toys, your kid will end up loving the laundry basket more anyway.

Good baby items to borrow:

• Baby clothing
• Blankets
• Cloth diapers - if your pal had a surplus and is willing to give you some, take them. Once washed and heat dried, it’s not like any bacteria is living in the diaper.
• Toys
• Strollers - so long as there’s no broken parts and still rolls smoothly.
• Slings and carriers

Note: With any of the above it’s smart to check and make sure nothing has been recalled before taking it.

Maybe you can borrow:

A breast pump: some people think you shouldn’t borrow the single user, store bought pumps. The pumps you can rent at hospitals and from lactation consultants are “closed pump systems” meaning your milk will never come into contact with any of the actual pump machinery. I’m going to recommend you discuss this with your health care provider, but I’ll also say that you can buy new tubing for the single use pumps, and also that the likelihood of you catching something from a breast pump that’s been washed is seriously slim.