Not that I need to worry about it yet, but...

[Cupcake Fiend]

A year ago DH and I lent our crib to a family member who was having a baby.  Thing 1 and Thing 2 were both in beds already (we switched Thing 2 out of a crib earlier than we would have preferred because he was trying to climb out and fell a couple of times)

Anyways...we are starting to kick around the idea of a Thing 3.  If it happens, do we ask for the crib back from the family?

Thinking about it logically - their baby will be almost 2 by the time a Thing 3 makes an appearance and we don't really need the crib for the first couple of months a bassinet will do just fine. 

So if/when we need it back, do we bring it up with them or just wait for them to offer it back?  It was definitely offered as a loan, but we thought we were done at that point in time and we never discussed a time frame.

[mrsbrandt]

If it was definitely specified as being a loaner, then I would say that once you're pregnant you're more than entitled to ask for it back - if they haven't brought it up by like the 7th month.  I tend to not loan out baby things, because honestly the people I know don't ever accept the fact that it's just a loan.  I think they assume I'll go ahead and change my mind or something?  I don't know, but good luck with PossibleThing3 and I'm sure your family will be gracious enough to give you your crib back, even if you have to ask for it.

[ShadesOfGrey]

I agree, once you are actually pregnant, it's ok to ask for it back.  I vote for asking early, but waiting until you actually need it to get it, to give them plenty of time to buy an alternative.  So early in the pregnancy soemthing like "I guess we will need that crib again after all!" {big smile}.  If she asks when or talks about arrangements, something like "We'll probably use a bassinet for the first few months, so we probably wont need it until [baby] is 3 or 4 months old.  We'll make more specific arrangements to pick it up then, ok?."

[Cupcake Fiend]

In this case we were pretty sure we were done after Thing 2 was born.  In fact, I have given away almost anything we had that was in good shape and tossed the rest out.  So we will basically be starting all over, except for very few items.  I was planning to let the cousins keep it as long as they needed it, then just store it for future people to use.

The interest in another baby hit both of us quite unexpectedly, and amazingly enough, at the same time!

I just hate lending something to someone to use, then asking for it back before they are done with it.  We would have been perfectly happy to just let them keep it, but we don't want to have to buy another crib when we already own a very nice one! (especially since we will need to get a new stroller, car seat etc...)

[ccnumber4]

I have given away almost anything we had that was in good shape and tossed the rest out.  So we will basically be starting all over, except for very few items.....we will need to get a new stroller, car seat etc...)

Wait, you aren't going to have a baby shower for all this stuff?   

I think you would be fine to ask for it back when it is time, giving them plenty of notice.  I would say the more notice the better, in case the other couple decides they TOO would like another one, right around the same time. 

[Cupcake Fiend]

Nope - it was crystal clear that it was a loan.  There was just no specific length of time mentioned.

Hmm...maybe I should look into that baby shower idea...KIDDING!!  JUST KIDDING!!

I did actually have a shower each time, but the second one was a complete surprise to me, small, and thrown by a friend who didn't know me the first time I was pregnant.

In fact, I only found out about the second shower the day it happened, because I'd had plans to see a movie (I thought) with my friend that evening, but I was really, really sick the night before and I wound up in the hospital for a few hours so they could make sure everything was okay.  I didn't feel up to going out, and was going to call my friend to cancel, but DH was all, no you HAVE to go.  I told him he was nuts, I'd been so sick and just got home from the hospital and no way was I going out anywhere -- and he finally had to tell me what was going on.  I called my friend and it meant so much to her to have done it for me, so I went.  Looking and feeling like hell, I went.  And had lots of fun.

[Alida]

There's nothing wrong at all with saying you'd like it back - sounds like by the time your little one is ready for it, they'll be done with it, anyhow   They'll probably be glad that they won't have to store it.

[housewife2k]

Being it was clear that it was a loan, by all means, ask for it back. Personally, I would probably start bringing it up before I was pregnant, but after I was actively trying. Something along the lines of "You know, Hubby and I are going to try and have Thing3. We'd like to have the crib back about the time Thing3 is about 3-4 months old, but that isn't going to be for AT LEAST a year. I'll definately let you know once we know about a due date."

[Adah]

Ask for it back.

[kherbert05]

When you tell people about the pregnancy - start talking to the family member about timing getting the crib back. That would be the totally normal thing in my family. We joke that no one has purchased new furnature in about 20 years. The chair I'm sitting in, was bought my parents when I was in JH. My cousin J will go to sleep tonight in a bed that his great-grandfather made for J's grandmother. I slept in that bed from leaving the crib till JH. J's first cousins then used the bed.

The only reason that J and Loren got new cribs was the ones from the last kids didn't meet the new standards (the bars were to far apart).