Anyone else looking at baby furniture?

[Jrene]

I've been looking on different sites to see which styles I like on cribs and other things to go in the babys room. But Im new to this being a first time parents.... so who and where has the best deals?

I swear Im almost tempted to do my baby registery already...lmao... j/king'
But I do enjoy looking at the baby things.

[MaerynPearl]

We are going to start looking at baby stuff this weekend when I fly down to visit DF (even if he doesnt know it yet... lol)

[wryknowlicious]

not this time around.

I had the baby room and crib and changing table for #1. totally unused waste of money and I sold it all before she was a year old.

What I am looking for is a bassinet/cradle/glorified laundry basket for the downstairs so that when the baby is young (0-5ish motnhs) it can take a nap in the afternoon downstairs while the older ones are upstairs or outside being crazy. i also need a shelving system that I can use for the all my dipes (i'll most likely have 2 in dipes) and that can easily switched into toy/book storage that I badly need.

I really don't have any baby 'items' left since I wasn't going to be having any more kids. I think I'm going to get a colorful soft blanket for the floor, the wood play gym from ikea, and a few momma made hand toys.

You can look on Hyena Cart or Etsy for really great grabing toys for young babes.
And my the crib i had for my 1st was from craigslist - you might want to look on thier for some really good deals.

[Jrene]

Originally Posted by wryknowlicious

not this time around.

I had the baby room and crib and changing table for #1. totally unused waste of money and I sold it all before she was a year old.

What I am looking for is a bassinet/cradle/glorified laundry basket for the downstairs so that when the baby is young (0-5ish motnhs) it can take a nap in the afternoon downstairs while the older ones are upstairs or outside being crazy. i also need a shelving system that I can use for the all my dipes (i'll most likely have 2 in dipes) and that can easily switched into toy/book storage that I badly need.

I really don't have any baby 'items' left since I wasn't going to be having any more kids. I think I'm going to get a colorful soft blanket for the floor, the wood play gym from ikea, and a few momma made hand toys.

You can look on Hyena Cart or Etsy for really great grabing toys for young babes.
And my the crib i had for my 1st was from craigslist - you might want to look on thier for some really good deals.

This is good to know, b/c I dont want to buy a bunch of stuff that I wont use. I have a used bassinet thats in great condition someone gave me. So I plan on using that for down stairs and in the bedroom until the baby out grows it.

I would like a nice changing table and crib that turns into a toddler bed. Also a glider, I plan to breast feed, I thought that would be very comfortable.

I guess your first baby you always feel you need everything ever made. But there are some things I want new.

[Chloe'sMama]

Yeah, we had the whole 'baby room' set up for DD months before she was born. She took 1 nap in her crib in her life. She has slept with us every night and in our bed for every other nap. Now we have a play room which I love having. I am planning on getting a bassinet for the first bit but plan on both kids being in our big bed!

I wish we had not wasted the time and money getting the room ready, but didn't know how much we would love having DD in our room. Well, I know it doesn't work for everyone.

[mommamisty]

I also felt the whole set up was a waste of money. We spend and were gifted at least $1,000 on nursery that DD never used. I kept a few things w others and did eventually use crib as a side car when we had 3 in our bed.
We are starting with nothing for this one, I thought #4 was it.
The only big thing I want is a changing table/dresser. I don't think I will use changing table part too often but need dresser for clothing, diapers and such for sure.
I would also like a bassinet for downstairs.
I've been checking out craigslist now and then.

[MacKinnon]

I would like a dresser changing/table combo. We had one from Ikea with DS, but it didn't work well, the changing table part folded out over the dresser drawers, so the drawers were hard to access. I would like a long one this time, and a downstairs place for baby to nap. However, we have a three bedroom house, so no "baby room" this time. I'm not sure what I want will fit in a shared room, so we might just stick with the Ikea one and a bassinet or pack and play. In our room baby will have a co-sleeper (which is mostly a nightstand!) and another changing table/extra pjs type station, we used the pack and play for that the last time.

[cinderella08]

This baby will co-sleep also, so he/she won't need anything other than an arm's reach co-sleeper which we'll probably not end up using since we did/still do bedshare with DD.

[wryknowlicious]

this thread reminds me of a really cool dresser with a removable changing table top that i saw at Ikea.
i wonder if they have it on thier website? I'll look for it later and post a link if I find it.
A friend of mine is very lucky in that she has a hallway guest bathroom that has 1 sink in a super long vanity. She turned the extra end of the vanity into a changing station, took the doors off the cabinets on that end and stores all her dipes right there. Diaper pail is next to the toilet. Voila!
i wish my hall bath wasn't the size of a broom closet!

re: Glider - you know what is way more comfy when nursing and more useful then the glider? one of those rocking/gliding armchairs.
You can get them used at a good price on craigslist, or look around BBRU for a floor model ( i got mine as a floor model for $83!! orig price tag was 399).

With my 1st 2 kids I nursed them more often on the couch or floor or bed then I did the glider that was gifted to me. it was way uncomfortable once you sat in it with baby and a nursing pillow or whatever else.
With #3 I got the nice glider armcair and that thing is pure heaven. it looks great in our livingroom, I can sit in it with my toddlers and read them stories, and I can nurse a toddler down for a quite afternoon nap in it too.

[tribord]

We put our "big-ticket" items on our registry and around 30 weeks we filled in anything unbought from Albeebaby.com which I thought had really good prices and free shipping. If you get on their mailing list they send out coupon codes occasionally, too. We bought our Pack N Play, crib, and mattress from there (although if I had to do it again I'd buy a no-frills used PnP and try to splurge for an organic-y crib and mattress). We also got DD's convertible carseat there later on.

We were lucky and got our travel system (infant carseat/stroller) as a gift.

As for other stuff, we just changed DD in her crib or on the bed in her room (it was a guest room and we just left the bed in there), so we didn't need a changing table. We also already had a dresser in there from it being a guest room. We put the crib up against our bed for the first 4 months so we didn't get a bassinet or co-sleeper.

I do wish I had had a glider. I am considering getting one this time but the more I know about flame retardants, etc. in furniture the more freaked-out I get. And unless it came from someone I knew I'm not sure I'd want a used one b/c it seems like it would be really hard to clean.

[Jrene]

Originally Posted by wryknowlicious

this thread reminds me of a really cool dresser with a removable changing table top that i saw at Ikea.
i wonder if they have it on thier website? I'll look for it later and post a link if I find it.
A friend of mine is very lucky in that she has a hallway guest bathroom that has 1 sink in a super long vanity. She turned the extra end of the vanity into a changing station, took the doors off the cabinets on that end and stores all her dipes right there. Diaper pail is next to the toilet. Voila!
i wish my hall bath wasn't the size of a broom closet!

re: Glider - you know what is way more comfy when nursing and more useful then the glider? one of those rocking/gliding armchairs.
You can get them used at a good price on craigslist, or look around BBRU for a floor model ( i got mine as a floor model for $83!! orig price tag was 399).

With my 1st 2 kids I nursed them more often on the couch or floor or bed then I did the glider that was gifted to me. it was way uncomfortable once you sat in it with baby and a nursing pillow or whatever else.
With #3 I got the nice glider armcair and that thing is pure heaven. it looks great in our livingroom, I can sit in it with my toddlers and read them stories, and I can nurse a toddler down for a quite afternoon nap in it too.

Yeah thats the kind of glider I want. Not the wooden type. I found some really nice ones at Target and Kmart from $149 to $179.

Im not sure how much I'll use the babys room but I can move the glider and bassinet anywhere. But I'd like to get a crib to have one. I'd feel bad if I didnt get the room totally ready for him/her.

[boatbaby]

Living on a boat we bought/ registered for next to nothing when we had DS and looking back we STILL think it was mostly a waste. Now we have narrowed it down to 5 items we need.

car seat
sling
baby monitor
diapering supplies
clothes (we didn't save ANYTHING from DS)

That's it. I think I can get everything but the car seat from my mama friends who have been reproducing like bunnies

Our biggest challenege is figuring out a fair and gentle way to transition DS (who will be 6) out of the family bed. It's a hair smaller than a queen with no way to expand. So we're thinking of getting him all psyched for a hammock/ loft set up we hope to build across the foot of the bed. That's our biggest "baby" preparation

[RedOakMomma]

This time all we need is another dresser. We'll be looking on Craigslist. Amazing deals if you look long enough (and reply fast enough )!

We're co-sleepers too, and we actually have used our crib a fair bit. All of our kids have napped in their crib, and a couple of them have chosen to sleep there as they transitioned out of our bed (around 20-24 months).

What we haven't ever used much is a changing table. When we're upstairs we use a bed, when we're downstairs we use the couch. I did end up buying a used changing table for $15 at a rummage sale for ds3, which was nice in the first few months as a first-floor changing station, but it wasn't necessary. In my opinion, it's definitely NOT worth getting one of those (so popular right now) dresser/changing table combos. Just get a dresser...it will be useful and look good for longer.

For the really early months, when he was just cat napping all day, we used a bouncy seat. We've also gotten a lot of use out of our pack-n-play (for naps), a sheepskin, and () our exersaucer.

[Parker'smommy]

I know most people don't like a changing table but I love mine. I like being able to change the table standing up and not having to lean over a bed or have to get down on the floor. I also cloth diaper, and I use the bottom of the changing table to have all of my wicker baskets full of my diapers, and my wipes in their solution.

We won't use the crib we have. In fact, we need to sell that thing at the next garage sale. I used it a little bit with my oldest but my dd never liked it. We will use the co-sleeper I have. I loved that thing and we used it for way over a year. Oh, and I have a glider up in the garage somewhere too. I'm not sure I'll use it again either. It's a great chair, and I used it a bit with ds, but the couch was just way more comfortable, imho. It was nice for rocking babes, but not for breastfeeding.

Good luck shopping. It's definitely a lot of fun!

[CraftyMcGluestick]

Originally Posted by wryknowlicious

this thread reminds me of a really cool dresser with a removable changing table top that i saw at Ikea.
i wonder if they have it on thier website? I'll look for it later and post a link if I find it.

I am getting this very one! My friend has it and uses it all the time with her 3-month-old baby. She also has an IKEA crib that converts to a toddler bed that I am going to get. Though she co-sleeps, and I plan to, she said she uses the crib a lot for when her baby wants to lie down and work out his gas. He likes looking at his mobile while he does it. At the very least, I like that I can use it as a toddler bed, also.

Here is a link to the changing table:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/S79853807

And to the crib:
http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60108663

[RedOakMomma]

speaking of mobiles (which I !!), you have to check this woman's handmade mobiles out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QiZH88NbAEk
http://hangingorigami.squarespace.com/

We bought one crane origami mobile for dd, and another for the orphanage she lived in for a few months, and they were both breaktaking. So light you can stick them into the ceiling with a thumbtack, and so that the slightest breeze or movement in the room makes the birds float.

She also, if you look at her web gallery, makes them in custom colors, sizes, and with custom animals (zoo mobiles, safari, ocean, fish, dragons, butterflies)...just gorgeous, minute, lovely work. And affordable! I was blown away.

http://hangingorigami.squarespace.co...igami-mobiles/

I have to say, too...she was so nice. When she sent us the mobiles for dd and the orphanage, she included a beautiful little folded paper box with paper origami "trinkets" inside that were so tiny she must have folded them with tweezers and pins.

Her website says she's temporarily not making the mobiles, but I'd still email her and check in later...we plan on buying another mobile for this l.o. Dd is 2 and definitely will not want to give hers up!

[Kelly1101]

I'm all about a changing table. I don't know how people do without one, it would kill my back to bend over a bed all the time, especially when your body is recovering from pregnancy and you are changing 2 dozen diapers a day (no, first time moms, that is not an exaggeration). I got a very simple frame one that has two big shelf areas underneath, perfect since I CD. It has a removable kind of mattress-y pad (obviously much thinner) that is waterproof, and I cover it with a crib sheet. Really my changing set-up is: Changing table with highest shelf having all the diapers and covers, cornstarch powder and rash cream, extra snappis, cloth wipes. Lower shelf has extra crib sheets for the changing pad, and also receiving blankets, towels and washclothes, just extra linens I didn't have anywhere else for them to go. To the right of the changing table is a five-gallon bucket lined with a wet bag for the dirties. To the right of that is a little "dresser" (really one of those Walmart plastic drawer thingies) for her onesies and footy pajamas and socks and hats (all other clothes are hung in the closet), on top of the dresser is a pump thermos holding warm water for the wipes.

I'm going to get an identical set-up in our new place for when the new baby comes. Since I'm having two kids in diapers, I want there to be a changing area in what will be the kids' room (where Em will probably be sleeping by then, and where the playing area will be), and one in our bedroom (where the new baby will be sleeping with us). That way if Em is playing and the new baby needs to be changed, I won't have to relocate us all to the bedroom. But, it will make all the middle-of-the-night changes easier for me without having to go into the kids' room.

We never got a crib for Em until she was about six months old, because we co-slept. Ended up getting the crib just for naps at first because she got too mobile to be alone on the bed. We did have a bassinet that she slept in for I guess a week or so when I was still scared of co-sleeping. Probably this one will go straight in the bed with us. So, no rush to get a crib. We just got Em's from Walmart site-to-store, it's a convertible that changes into a toddler bed and then becomes headboard/footboard for a regular bed. It was about 180.00.

And that's all the baby furniture we had. Now that she's old enough for a play area, we are using the bottom shelves of my two bookshelves for her toys. We did have a swing that she loved and was so useful for a few months, then at about six months old she got over it, we don't use it now.

[xekomaya]

I love looking at baby furniture, but probably won't be buying anything. I need to find a sturdy basket to stuff with the days supplies to tote around the house - diapers, covers, changing pad, new outfits, wipes. I also need something like a Moses basket for day time naps, but real ones are so expensive, it will probably be a laundry basket


I never understood what people meant about needing a changing table so you don't have to bend. I guess I'm really lazy - I just sit on the bed

I do hope those crane mobiles become available again. I would buy one in a heartbeat. Wow.

[Houla05]

I plan on getting a changing table for sure. If I didn't have a dog, I think I would do without one, but I will need a place I can change the baby without the dog getting into our business.

[RedOakMomma]

Also on the topic of baby "furniture" is what we finally found (that works) for a diaper bin. We bought one of those heavy-duty white hospital metal ones. It's kind of like the metal ones at Target (kitchen-size), but much more solidly built.

WE LOVE IT.

We don't even have to waste money on liner bags...it keeps the smell so contained, we just put the diapers in the bin and pull out the metal bucket/liner to dump them out when needed.

Our Safco bin.

(And yes, it came with the biohazard stickers in the box...I wanted to put one on as a joke, but dh thought it looked too threatening. )