Yesterday we went to Babies R Expensive for the first time. Sure, we registered there, but I did that all online. I'd never actually set foot in the place. Oh, my goodness, it is overwhelming...the aisles packed with outside vendors selling fancy ultrasound pictures, and with moms pushing enormous strollers and oversized carts. And oh, the dizzying merchandise.
Of course, despite all the dizzying merchandise, every. single. one. of the actual on-sale items that propelled me into the place had to be fetched from the back. In stock, but not on the shelves. Clever.
I really can't handle stores that big. I'm becoming more and more urban in my old age. Back to the Internet for me.
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Here's the Internet advice part: because Jo has grown so quickly, we're worrying that we will need a crib sooner rather than later. I am on the hunt for cribs that are at least a touch smaller than average (the better to fit in our apartment, my dear). Someone suggested this style to us. Any other candidates??
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I can't remember where he's sleeping now, but lots of kids sleep in pack & plays as their main or only bed. Natalie (who is a giant) has done fine in our various travels this year in a P&P (I think it adds up to over a month in the P&P).
As a smallish-space dweller, I think the advantage of size (and that you can put it away quickly if you REALLY need the extra space for something) outweighs the one disadvantage of the back strain for the moms - you'll probably be able to use the bassinette feature until he's pretty close to standing anyway and once they can stand, the back issue is much reduced.
Jen, we have a Pack n' play. (That's where he was going to sleep, but he sleeps in the snuggle nest in our bed.) Our concern is that we thought the bassinette feature was only good until he was 15 lbs. He's 10 lbs now. But if that's not true, if you think we can use it longer, please, Jen or other commenters, share your wisdom!!
I think we are concerned about using the non-bassinette feature is the back strain, since it seems like he could get to 15 lbs pretty soon. On the other hand his weight gain could slow down.
anyway please keep the advice coming...
We were planning on using the P & P when travelling but found that the weight rating for the bassinet feature said we coudln't - so we didn't risk it.
We bought our crib at Ikea - and while it has issues - like a regular bumper doesn't fit it, it's not super huge like the ones at BRU. They don't carry this particular crib anymore there but they had a few to choose from last time we were there. Just remember that those pesky Ikea designers are designing in a foreign country (imagine that) and a lot of the "standard" stuff from places like BRU have to be readjusted. Which we found with the whole bumper deal and the changing table.
On the other had the entire set, crib changing table/dresser, toy box and shelf all cost less than a crib from BRU.
Good luck!
Those ones you linked to seem ideal, except for the price. I've seen either of these recommended. The plus side is that they're higher off the ground than the p'n'p (without the bassinette). The down side is that they don't have a side that lowers. So you're still having to bend down and put the kid down, or get them up (until they're standing/sitting on their own - which will be any minute). Parenting just ain't good on the back. For reals, as they say. I recommend a good chiropractor. :)
Also, he WON'T remain on the same growth curve forever. Squeak 5.5lbs at birth, 9 lbs at 6 weeks, 11 lbs at 8 weeks, and 18 lbs at 10 months...
But, yeah, 15 lbs is not really all that far down the road, no matter what his curve turns out to be.
Thanks, fostermommy; the Emily mini-crib, at 40" long, looks like another great option.
FWIW, just in case anyone is going to use the comment thread here as a resource: the Community Playthings crib I linked to is about the same in price as the Emily mini crib, because the CP one comes with a mattress and the Emily does not.
Some of those mini cribs get really poor ratings, just an FYI. (check out the baby bargains book) We had looked at smaller cribs too since all 3 of ours will be sharing a room. We ended up going with the baby italia pinehurst dropside crib. It's not as massive as some of the others and it fits a standard mattress/sheets/etc. We love ours and it cost $299 but sometimes you can get BRU coupons to get it for less!! Good luck!!
I also totally can't do super stores. FosterMommy has to lead me along like a puppy in order to get anything done in them. Even big grocery stores are hard for me. That's what growing up in the city and shopping at food coops will do to ya, I guess.
The baby bed thing is so annoying. I want to side-car a crib so we can have more room in the bed but still have him in our room and not have to put him in and out of a crib (which is very annoying to do, for a few reasons). But I don't understand how we're to keep him from crawling out and crawling off the edge of the big bed when he wakes up. The only solution seems to be to put the big bed mattress down on the floor with the crib mattress next to it. Which creates another whole set of problems. :P I want a crib that I can side-car and still be able to close when needed. I suspect if such a thing existed, it would be a great solution for you guys too. Side-car-ing means you don't need space on the side of the crib, so it takes up less room that way.
Maybe I should invent something...
Hmmm, this could be attached to a crib... We might just try this. Neighbors down the street have one to prevent office access, and it works on their 20 month old.
http://www.retract-a-gate.com/retractable-child-baby-gate.html
We have the most basic of the cribs you linked to. They are somewhat expensive, but the price does include shipping.
We've been extremely happy with it, though there were a couple months when I wished we'd sprung for the dropside. Be forewarned that the mattress it comes with is a slab of foam rubber encased in thick vinyl. We ordered a custom sized replacement from www.soaringheart.com, which set us back an extra 100 bucks. The mattress is a standard "portable crib" size, but we weren't able to find a cheaper replacement. As far as sheets go, the smaller pack and play sheets fit fine even though the measurements are slightly different.
Also, our daughter is tall and still fine in the crib at 18 months. It looks like she'll be able to stay in it until she moves to a "big bed."
Alexander slept in a P&P in our room until he was almost a year old. I probably (cough) kept him in the bassinette portion past the 15 pound mark for convenience sake...although even when I moved him to the lower part of the PNP I didn't find that there was too much back strain.
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