And so it begins...
Actually, it began a while ago, but now that Christmas is approaching, and our shopping is out of the way for that, the next major purchases start to surface. I'm pretty sure our child is going to have nicer things that we do, and that's fine. I'm pretty sure that's how life is supposed to go anyway. But man o man, baby stuff is expensive. Let's discuss what we've looked at so far. Please please please those of you with kids and/or experience with any of these items, leave us some feedback on this stuff!
First of all, let's talk car seats. I've been researching car seats for about two months now, and I'm fairly certain I could pick a quality seat for toddlers and up. Infant seats seem to not get as much attention. I believe that I have it narrowed down though. First on my list is the Britax Chaperone. This seems to be one of the best rated and reviewed infant seats I can find. The plus side being that it works very easily with the Britax strollers to make travel system. I have a number of other seats from Combi, The First Years, Sunshine Kids, Graco, and even some other Britax seats on the list, but none seem to be as highly regarded or well reviewed. At least not ones that have a carry handle for the infant seats.
Which leads us to strollers. Obviously, compatibility is high on our list of requirements, but I know that many strollers are compatible with seats/etc with little effort. I really haven't done a ton of research on the strollers, because there are just so many out there. Also, it will depend initially on which seat we pick, as I stated, we'd like to have that compatibility/functionality. I've really only been focusing on the Britax strollers. The B-Agile seems to be the one I gravitate towards. I believe that eventually we'd look at something like a Mountain Buggy Terrain for hiking/camping.
Furniture. I have no idea where to start. I have my obvious list of things that I want. Specifically an all organic/natural mattress. But that's about as far as I've gotten. So what about the actual crib and dresser, changing station etc? We both really like the Annabelle collection from Million Dollar Baby. But there is so much out there, it's sort of overwhelming. A 4-in-1 seems to be the way to go, at least price wise. And the rest of the furniture should be adequate throughout early childhood, if not longer. But there are so many things out there.
What do you all recommend? What have you had luck with? What would you avoid?
the uppababy vista is pretty... and good for tall people. Thats all I got. OH and COSTCO has organic baby matresses http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?ec=BC-EC11879-Cat1924&pos=12&whse=BC&topnav=&cat=48035&eCat=BC|48022|48047|48035&lang=en-US
ReplyDeleteWHO THE EF KNEW???
Get it used. They'll outgrow it anyway.
ReplyDeleteWhat I have discovered is:
ReplyDelete1. Secondh and is the way to go. Post to facebook, check once upon a child, garage sale your butt off. Clothing wise, they will poop, pee and throw up on it anyway so buying all Gap makes me want to cry. I do buy a small amount of "nice" stuff but then I fret about them eating.
2. All carseats need to meet certain requirements, so they are all fine. But, graco is nice since it can clip into the stoller. Makeslife much easier.
3. My last tip is, keep it simple. They grow fast and you spend so much money on bottles, formula or a good breastpump, that all the other stuff hardly gets used. Baby stuff is expensive. I share and swap, garage sale, and craisglist every baby item.
This is the only advice I really have. I went crazy buying so much stuff for my first born, that I ended up not using it and then he grew out of it. Then I ended up selling it for nothing at our yearly garage sale. I wish you both luck! There's SOOOO much baby stuff to chooe from, its so hard to keep it cheap. I may have a couple cribs though soon! :-)
I think the main things that were most useful when I first had Nolan were (1) a Pack & Play, (2) a swing, (3) a carseat/stroller travel system.
ReplyDeleteNolan pretty much slept either with me or in the Pack & Play for quite a long time. I did have a crib, but it got used very little in the first year of his life. I paid a fair amount for the crib, but it was worth every penny. It converts into a toddler bed and has an attached dresser. I think I paid somewhere in the $400 range. The Pack & Play (and matching high chair) and stroller/carseat deal were Graco and I didn't have any issues with any of them. They weren't top of the line by any means, but worked well for our needs. His current toddler car seat is a mid-range Cosco and I love it!
I spent a RIDICULOUS amount of money on a fancy swing that swayed side to side, vibrated, made womb-like sounds, played music, and you could even plug in an ipod. Nolan hated it! lol. Then I got a cheapy hand-me-down basic little swing that he absolutely loved. So, it all depends on the baby, I think, but I would guess that most baby's enjoy some kind of swing contraption. It seemed to really soothe him.
I decided against a changing table all together (advice I got from my sister) and would instead just put a blanket down and change him on the floor. I also had a changing mat I would sometimes use that came with his diaper bag. For me it was more convenient than taking him to his bedroom to change him when we were most often in the living room area.
As for brands you should look into, I can't really help out much. I just got the basic mainstream brands found at Target. I'm a single mama and money was definitely tight while on maternity leave when I started to buy all my stuff. It's good you are planning well in advance! It should cut down on the stress a bit.
Good luck, congrats, and have fun!!! I know you'll be awesome parents!
Here is my advice.. Skip the baby bucket. Invest in a nice stroller that will last to 50lbs, and a Baby Carrier (May I suggest an Ergo/Beco/Moby Wrap) ... Buy a Carseat that goes from 5lbs-100lbs.. its worth it.. the buckets are nice for the stroller.. but wouldn't you rather wear/carry baby around? And you pay a couple hundred for the bucket.. THEN you'll do it again for the Next size up.. And the longer they can rear face the better!..
ReplyDeleteI will step off my soap box.. as for everything else? Used. Buy a gently used swing/bouncyseat you'll never know which one they will like.. and save up for college! :)
Having a four (almost 5 year old) and and 2 1/2 year old, things constantly change in the baby section. It's very easy to drawn into newest and latest "must have" but it is very true, they grow out of and it they do it very quickly. we got a mini crib which converted to a twin bed when we were thru with the crib phase (skipped toddler bed, both my kids showed preference towards to big bed), a baby carrier (personal perference and you will be the one wear it) , infant carrier/carseat was handy in the first three months, but once they gained any significant weight, hassle to take in an d out of vehicle and they hated(!) laying down while driving once they stayed awake for any period, bouncy seat with vibration is nice for an extra place to set down an fussy infant or simply somewhere to place child while you need a restroom break or shower and they fit in the bathroom with you or whatever have you, strollers are great! however, the big and bulky ones you will hardly use as they don't fit in many stores and even many vehicles, compact and easy to use are the biggest pros. for trails, hiking, and/ or jogging b.o.b. are awesome. great shocks and one hand steering. baby furniture is going to take a beating no matter if you get second hand, new, fancy, or cheap. it will get vomited, pooped, colored, and beat on. last thing i suggest(i know i have a list for you) is a really good digital (6.0 dect) baby monitor. still using mine this day just for comfort at night with the little ones but when infants, could have them nap and i could garden outside etc...and have confidence while the little one slept. hope it helps :)
ReplyDeleteTrish- Good to know on the Uppa baby. Might have to add that to my need to try out list. Being tall and all. Also, good to know Costco has the organic mattresses. I wouldn't have guessed that either.
ReplyDeleteDanielle- I definitely don't have an issue with slightly used, with the exception of the car seat, whichever route we may take with that. Some things I would really like to be under my control, and know exactly where it's been/been through. While I may have a penchant for baby Gap, I also know how fast kids go through clothes having watched my sisters grow up. People have already started offering us clothing. The car seat/stoller thing is definitely a plus, which is why Chicco and Britax were the top of my list. I'll have to revisit the Graco ones too.
Heather- definitely will be finding a pack and play. as for the swings, definitely one of those eventually too. They've come along way since we were kids, I loved mine. They had some goofy space age ones at Buy Buy Baby that oscillated, and moved up and down and side to side. I was enthralled. I suppose that's the point. I just need to avoid those at all costs! I know it's not needed(the ultra space age ones). Mine was hand cranked to automatically keep going. simple is better, and less prone to have issues.
Nicole- I see your point, and I definitely agree with the rear facing part, but I'm still not sold on the no baby bucket. I definitely will want to carry/hold the baby as much as possible, but I also like convenience when necessary. It's a decision I think we'll have to discuss more.
Anorthern- thanks for the suggestions. We checked out some strollers yesterday. Although there is a lighter weight travel one we liked, we still aren't convinced it would be a good everyday stroller. I think there must be a happy medium, and I'll have to continue my search!
Yes, good baby gear and food is not cheap. It only gets more expensive. They are so very worth every penny and amount of financial stress there is. Our stroller's original price tag was 550. We scored it half off, clearance at out local Pacifier store. The mountain buggy gets used every day and on many adventures. Melinda can even run with it. The downside is that it doesn't connect to a bike, so we're stuck buying a 600$ chariot to tow little man. Yes, we've considered the Craig's listings, but I like warranties and local customer service. In the long run, we will use these things everyday. I will be bike commuting him to his organic, spanish speaking, no microwave daycare (also expensive, but good for his education and socializing). Melinda and I want to get him outside as much as possible, so it costs money.
ReplyDeleteFood: the best thing for a baby is breast feeding. Breast milk is cheap and is the most nutrition a baby gets. However, mom should stick to organic not too processed, nutrient rich foods that also cost a lot of money. But if mom's happy and healthy, baby and daddy are healthy and happy. If breast milk can't be used we found an organic DHA ARA rich formula from Earth's Best. Oliver has been on it since 4-5 months. It's about $30 a week for it. We weren't going to use anything else, though if breast milk was no longer an option. Oliver's growth rate was beyond what Melinda could comfortably produce, so we had to move to formula. Just like Oliver's month early arrival, you can never be prepared for what changes come to your plans. Just remember, no matter what, you just have to ask, if this good for the baby? Does baby need this?
Go with your gut.
BTW Whole Foods has a discount on case purchases of food, formula and the 365 chlorine-free diapers are great.
Not as good as cloth or the Seventh Generation, but they are better than the Huggies Natural and other "natural diapers".
As far as a regular stroller goes. Type Chameleon in craigslist.com
ReplyDeleteBugaboo and the mountain buggy are the best we found.
One last plug on the Mountain Buggy Terrain stroller:
ReplyDeleteIt kills in the snow, sand and hiking trails. The suspension keeps baby happy and asleep in rough conditions. It also gets through crowded malls, stores and busy Downtown Minneapolis.
...And we have a carry cot if you get one. :)