Your Questions... Answered.

Question: possibly too early to really tell, but:How do you feel about your nursery furniture (aside from the rocking chair, as you reviewed it recently in a diff post)? What brand is it? Now that you have gotten some use out of everything, are you glad you purchased the pieces you chose? Would you tweek anything if you could (dimensions, etc)?

Answer: When picking out our nursery furniture, we again were thinking long term. I knew I wanted something that could transition to a full size bed. Being that this is the new trend (I’m sure it’s been an option for a while, but maybe it’s something that’s really catching on now), it wasn’t too difficult to find a number of options. Also thinking long-term I wanted something durable. Finally I knew that we would not be purchasing a changing table, so we needed the low/long dresser, not the tall chest of drawers.

I had looked online at a few retailers and was very undecided. We looked at pottery barn kids (for the quality) – they were just too expensive and really I couldn’t find any options that really stood out as something I HAD to have. Also, surprisingly not all of their cribs transitioned.

On one of my many pre-baby trips to BRU (babies r us) I happened to walk down an aisle and even though I wasn’t specifically looking for furniture at the time I saw the Baby Cache Manhattan bedroom set. I immediately fell in love. Ryan is not one for design, so he couldn’t care less about what set I picked (I remember when we actually went up to order it I contemplated getting one other set and he couldn’t figure out what the difference was between the two). It fit our requirements, transitional, durable and had the low dresser. Now that we have the furniture in the room, my opinion of it is still pretty much the same. I love the way it looks and it doesn’t look/feel cheap or un-sturdy.

Some things I might change:

1. Jude’s room is pretty large. We have so much extra space that part of me wishes we would have gotten the second dresser (tall chest of drawers). At the time it didn’t seem practical and being that he’s a boy, I doubt it will ever be practical, but it would have filled the room a little more. But I think the space issues will be solved when we finally get an area rug (I finally found one I love at Costco, I just have to get Ryan to approve!). I felt the same way about our living room, until we put a rug in there and now everything seems to come together more – so I could end up not even wanting to change this.
2. Again a dresser issue. The dresser has 3 large drawers and a cabinet door on the right. Currently the Cabinet is pretty handy and has some canvas totes ( for lotions, first aid type stuff, etc), but down the road, I’m not sure how useful it will be and so it might have been nice to have the extra drawer space instead, but visually it looks really nice.

But for the most part I’ve been very pleased with it. I would be more than willing to buy within that same brand in the future.

OH! And not issues for me, but perhaps for others:

The slots on the sides and the front of the crib are not your standard SLOT, SPACE, SLOT, SPACE set up. And the top rail is a wide rounded piece of wood.

Because of the wide panels it made it difficult to attach bumpers and the large top rail made it difficult to attach some toys. I ended up returning the toys as I didn’t think we really needed them anyway and we took the bumpers off in the long run – but for anyone considering toys, etc perhaps experiment with your crib first.
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Question: are there things you do, or products you use, that Ryan does not do/use? and visa versa.

Answer:

1. The pacifier:

I would say that the single item I can think of that Ryan and I seem to butt heads about most is the pacifier. In the first couple of days at the hospital, we never used it. When packing Jude up, setting him in his car seat, etc he went crazy! The nurse handed us his first pacifier as we were being wheeled out of our room and it calmed him right down. After that we have used it very sporadically, but Ryan is much more likely to use it.

Typically the only times Jude gets really fussy is at night. He’s getting tired and for some reason tries to fight falling asleep. Usually a little sucking will put him to sleep right away. Ryan personally doesn’t see anything wrong with it and if he’s fussy/tired in goes the pacifier. I on the other hand personally would rather sooth him some other way, light bouncing, walking him around the house/going for a walk around the neighborhood, etc. I just have this fear that I’ll have a five year old boy walking around with a pacifier in his mouth because he’s gotten so used to it being the one thing that calms him down.

Any more though, I’ve been less against it and Ryan seems to be relying on it less, so we’re finding that middle ground.

2. Changing Stations

Other than that, we seem to differ in opinion/use on is where we change Jude. I think I utilize his room (the top of the dresser with the changing pad, etc) more and Ryan steers more towards the pack ‘n play changing station. It just seems more logical to me to go upstairs because of the cloth diapers – since you have to rotate through them evenly, I keep them all upstairs in order (if I have some that were washed more recently than others, they go in the back, etc) so if he changes Jude downstairs, it usually requires a trip upstairs anyway. But both locations are stocked with wipes, so it really doesn’t matter.

3. Sling Carrier

The ONLY other thing I can think of that we have different opinions on is the sling carrier. I swear by my sling when carrying Jude (I carry him while walking, occasionally in the store, etc). Ryan on the other hand refuses to use any sort of carrier. His reason is pretty much because he thinks it looks lame… no matter how lame, it’s totally practical and makes my life easier. Currently Jude is kind of in between two stages. When they’re newborns, you put them in it like a cradle position – as they get older you can prop them on your hip and they almost sit in it. He’s more comfortable in the sitting position, but not quite ready to hold himself up, so he gets all bobble-head-like. But I’m sure this is something I will be using for quite some time.

reviews

You hear all the time that all babies like different things. Some parents never use some items that other parents seem to swear by. Likewise child #1 may hate something that child #2 (in the same family) loved. For anyone who’s interested, he’s a little comprehensive list of things I loved/hated and just found to be useful in the last 2+ months with baby #1. I’m sure over time my opinion of certain items may change – next time around I might hate it, but as of right now, here’s where it stands.

Also, some of this I may have posted previously in random posts, but here it is, all together and perhaps with a little detail.


Never Used/Use:

Bottle warmer – Never came out of the box. I just put it in a storage box the other day. His milk comes out at the right temperature and when I use pumped milk, it’s just as easy to run it under warm water.
Swing – I’ve heard this is one of the big “my child loves it/hates it” items. My child disliked it. Recently we used it a couple of time for a few minutes, but it never gets used for long periods of times – it was not worth the price.
Dishwasher baskets – another item that was thrown into storage recently unopened.
Bumpers – When creating the nursery, we didn’t buy one of those large bundles from babies r us that has the whole bedding set. I found a quilt at potterybarn.com on clearance with airplanes and we coordinated the room around it – I was really trying to avoid a cookie-cutter nursery (same wall art as every other nursery, same border as every other nursery, etc) that he’d outgrow too quickly. They had matching bumpers that we bought also, but they came out after 1 or 2 nights of Jude sleeping in his crib. Considering they were pretty cheap I don’t regret buying them too much (as I have recently seen you can make a million things with them!) but in the future I would skip them and just get a quilt again or some other item to have as the inspiration for his room.
Rocking Chair – This I was hesitant to put in this category. Our rocking chair was passed down to me from my grandmother… it apparently was my great, great grandmother’s and so has a little special meaning (not that I knew her, but still). It fits well in Jude’s “reading corner” and I’m sure down the road it may get used more, but currently if I had put money out for it, it would have been a total waste.
Spit Up Sheet Protector – these apparently are made so that you don’t have to wash your sheets as frequently. I had it on before Jude was born, he spit up on it and I never put it back on. It was just as easy in my opinion to change the sheet. These tie onto the crib rails and so if your crib is up against the wall, you have to move the crib out from the wall every time you change them.
Bibs – No matter how practical, I never used them. His outfits are too cute to cover up sometimes. Plus, he has so much clothing I didn’t mind costume changes mid-day if they got messy.


Couldn’t Live without:

Bouncie seat – He loves it. It’s light and small enough that we take it outside when we doing yard work, move it in the kitchen while cooking, sit him in it when he’s awake/looking around, etc.
Bum Genius Diapers – This is really a personal opinion, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE using cloth diapers – specifically the BG 3.0’s. I got so much kick back when I told people I was using them about how it wouldn’t last, etc., but it had to have been one of the BEST decisions we made. They seem like they’d be much more comfortable, much smarter financially, etc. After my experience I don’t think I would EVER use disposables again. To this day I love when people who once thought it wouldn’t last ask me how “using those cloth diapers is going” and I can reply “great!”.
Medela Pump in Style Breast Pump – Another big ticket item that I couldn’t live without. Especially now that I’m back to work, this is obviously one of the most handy and regularly used items. Even before pumping at work though, it was very handy for full breasts in the morning or just to pump some extra to have in the freezer.
Hip Hugger Clothes Basket – A non-baby item that I had pre-baby, that I still couldn’t live without. Mostly in the first few weeks when I hated the idea of having to climb up and down the steps and didn’t feel comfortable leaving Jude on one floor alone – this was super handy. Most others would slip off, but this one hugs the hip so I could have clothes basket in one hand, baby in the other.
Burp Cloths – specifically the cloth diaper burp clothes. They sell them at BRU. They’re basically like white rags, but are highly absorbent. The ones I use are tri-fold with a slightly more absorbent center. Very hard to explain, but super handy! Plus they’re MUCH cheaper than the fancy decorated ones in weird fabric that don’t absorb.
Tummy Time Play Mat – This was super convenient before we had an area rug in the living room. When we put Jude on his back to kick around it kept him off the hard floors. Now that he’s getting a little older, even though we have the rug, he’s able to focus on the objects and likes looking at his little toys that hang.
Home Made Laundry Detergent – With all the wash, it’s nice to not pay high dollar for detergent!


Odds and Ends I might recommend:

Avent Bottles – another one of those to-each-their-own type items.
Pack N’ Play – Specifically Graco, it seems very well made.
Pack N’ Play Sheets and Changing Station Covers – much easier to swap out a sheet or a cover than to clean the whole thing.
Sling – See below on my rant about travel systems. This was a nice alternative when making a quick run into a store, going for walks around the neighborhood, doing stuff around the house, etc. (brand I used: hot slings)
Boppie – This was extremely convenient when I first started breast feeding. Jude, Ryan and I had a system when I would feed, legs crossed, boppy on top of legs, baby on boppy. Ryan would gently hold his hands while I got the latch right. I consider this system of ours the reason why he got the whole process so quickly. It was very routine and consistent. Thanks Boppie!
Medela Nipple Cream – I never got the dreaded sore nipples while beginning, but it was still nice and soothing while adjusting to the whole process.
Bottle Drying Rack – I usually hand wash all of Jude’s bottles – for some reason they would never get 100% clean in the dishwasher, so this was incredibly handy and allowed for easy access to them (instead of shoving them in a cabinet).
Nursing Wrap – Peanut Shell w/ Wire peep hole – perfect for nursing on the go – or just sitting around the house when you’re not sure who might walk in.

Take it or Leave it:

Infant Car Seat/Travel System – there are times when the infant car seat/travel system is the most convenient thing in the world and other times that it’s the biggest pain in the ass. For the cost… I would venture to say if I didn’t have it, I wouldn’t get another one. But considering I do and it was a gift, I love it more than anything? I feel like it’s a staple item on any baby registry – which is maybe why I went for it, but might be wise to just get a regular car seat and some sort of front carrier/umbrella stroller in the future… It’s really hard to say.