Anticipating the birth of your first baby is so exciting. But perhaps less exciting is anticipating the cost of readying his or her nursery with the big-ticket items you’ll need, such as a crib, changing table, rocking chair and dresser.

Don’t panic. It may be easier than you think to save for Baby’s furniture, and once you’re ready to purchase, think discount and second-hand, if not free. You can apply the same – though slightly altered – adage that you apply to buying maternity clothes to outfitting your baby’s room: Beg and borrow (but don’t steal!).

The dream nursery is a misnomer and more for the parents than the baby, says Christine K. Walker, author of The Smart Mom’s Guide to Staying Home: 65 Simple Ways to Thrive, Not Deprive, on One Income (Trafford Publishing, 2004) and mother of three young children. "All the baby needs is a comfortable, warm place to sleep," says Walker, who borrowed a friend’s crib for her second child. "I think it’s important to separate the essential from the frivolous. That is a really good guide. Then you can put money into items you feel you really need."

Start Early
Walker says expectant parents’ greatest initial asset is time. She recommends shopping for deals early in the pregnancy to avoid last-minute purchases made under due date pressure. All the while, keep this in mind: "There’s an incredible secondary market," she says.

Browse church rummage sales, garage sales, resale and consignment shops, especially in more affluent areas, Walker says. Check out your local paper’s classified ads, too.

And key books and Web sites also offer great price-comparison information. Walker recommends Denise and Alan Fields’ book, Baby Bargains: Secrets to Saving 20% to 50% on Baby Furniture, Equipment, Clothes, Toys, Maternity Wear and Much, Much More! (Windsor Peak Press, 2001). She also suggests bargain Web sites such as NexTag.com, Overstock.com and Ebay.

Purchasing items on layaway might ease the burden of putting a big chunk of change down all at once. However, not all stores – whether retail or resale – offer this payment plan, so be sure to shop around.

Walker also says not to be bashful when registering for gifts for a shower or other event. "Don’t just go for the car seat and the clothes," she says. Be sure to register for furniture, too. And while doing so, remember that it’s more often a better deal to purchase single items – such as a crib that converts into a bed and changing tables that morph into a dresser – than furniture sets. "I recommend steering clear of sets," Walker says. She says they can be a waste of money because a baby’s needs will change as he grows.

In addition, don’t lock yourself into furniture that won’t serve your child – or subsequent children – for more than a couple of years. For example, Baby will need a crib and changing table now and a bed and desk later.

Second-hand Savings
Millie DeFalco is an experienced resale shop shopper who makes weekly visits to Baby to Baby, a small but packed resale and consignment shop near her home in suburban Portland, Ore. She defaults to buying most everything for her three children (ages 14, 10 and 3) at resale instead of retail prices. To only shop retail, she says, "Would be just a waste."

DeFalco visits retail stores solely to comparison shop. While shopping she notes the quality of brand-new items and matches it to those found second-hand. "Normally, the stuff looks just fine," she says. DeFalco has purchased cribs, changing tables, a canopy bed and matching vanity and a hardwood play kitchen used. "It’s almost the same quality as if you’d bought it new," she says.

That’s because most resale shop owners are picky about the gently used furniture (and other children’s items such as clothing, toys, videos and strollers) they’re reselling to the public. Kim Richards co-owns The Little Closet, a resale and consignment store in rural Stillwater, Okla., that also sells a few new items. Her store competes with a local Wal-Mart for customers, so Richards is particular about reselling high-quality goods. Besides, many furniture pieces only need a moment of attention before they look as good as new again.

"If it’s wood, you can pretty much touch it up with a wood stain or a little white paint for the white cribs," says Richards, a mother of two boys ages 2-1/2 and 8-1/2. She sells cribs for as little as $75 and pack-and-plays for $25 – items that can go for at least $150 at mass retailers.

Lori Wadsworth, a mother of three and owner of Kid to Kid in Saint George, Utah, says her cribs sell for as low as $39.99 and as high as $300. She also sells changing tables, bassinets and baby swings.

The prices she sets on furniture depend on brand name and condition. Wadsworth may sell an item that looks used, but she won’t do so if it doesn’t pass safety codes set by the federal government.

Buyer Beware
Second-hand buyers and those buying new items must beware of faulty furniture. Rachel Beaver of Olympia, Wash., a mother of two children ages 4 and 2, avoided shopping resale for her first baby’s crib and changing table/dresser for fear second-hand items wouldn’t meet the toughest safety standards.

"You know how stressed out new parents are, wanting to buy the safest, best crib and being frightened to pieces upon learning of all these recalls and child deaths," she says. "In part I agree (with such concerns), but poor Owen [her youngest child] has used nothing but hand-me-downs, and it’s been fine."

Yet safety experts would say Beaver was right to be wary. A 1999 study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) that looked at thrift stores and the safety of their baby and children’s products revealed some frightening statistics: Of 301 thrift stores nationwide visited by a CPSC representative, 69 percent were found to carry at least one hazardous product.

Cribs not meeting current safety standards were among the top three dangerous products found, according to the CPSC. Risks to babies from those unsafe cribs included strangulation and entrapment.

The CPSC doesn’t necessarily blame the individual stores – store employees aren’t often aware of product recalls. But the CPSC does recommend having the highest vigilance and a little creativity where the purchase of bigger-ticket items is concerned.

"On average, we are aware of about 20 deaths each year from used cribs," says Nychelle Fleming, public affairs specialist for the Washington-D.C.-based CPSC. "If possible, pool your resources together to purchase a new crib that meets current federal standards."

Shop Smart, Safe and Savvy
Even if you purchase baby furniture at a retail store, you may not always have to pay top dollar. Linda Williams, a Beaverton, Ore., mother of two children ages 4 and 2, went to a major retailer for her first child’s crib and matching dresser. She got the baby furniture at nearly half its marked price because she wanted the floor model and pointed out to an employee that there were huge, black scuff marks on the wooden crib.

"They were in the mode of clearing out the old stock and bringing in new designs and were discontinuing the set," Williams recalls. "So, they were motivated to discount both items as a package to sell both off." Once Williams got the crib home, she gently removed the scuffmarks with nail polish. Her new, discounted crib no longer had a surface flaw.

Walker says expectant parents can outfit their baby’s room with a crib, changing table, pad and drawers and a glider rocker with a footstool all for $475, a price lower than some individual cribs sell for at retail stores. Yet she acknowledges that furnishing your baby’s bedroom is a challenge and often a daunting one.

Walker emphasizes shopping savvy but not scrimping entirely. "People should buy the best and safest they can afford," says Walker. "Don’t go without; get it for less. There’s always a way to make it happen."

Want to see more?

• Parents’ Top 10 Money Mistakes
• Cash, Not Clutter! How to Make Coupons Work for You
• First Rate Shopping at the Second-hand Store
• Talk about it!