Getting Ready for Baby...The Big Decisions

One of the most exciting things you get to do while waiting for baby to arrive is prepare the nursery! Although this is very exciting, it can also be a slightly stressful experience because pregnancy books list about a million things that you "need" (never mind the selection that is out there). I hope to ease some of this stress by sharing what we actually "needed". I am going to start by talking about the big ticket items and will get to everything else in a later post.

The Crib

Picking the right crib was a daunting task! There are an overwhelming number of cribs out there. Narrow your search right away by eliminating all drop side cribs. I suspect it is not going to be very long before drop side cribs are no longer available on the market. The trend away from drop side cribs had started when I was shopping due the many recalls that included this kind of crib. In fact, Consumer Reports now recommends non-drop side cribs. You may think that non-drop side cribs make it difficult to get baby in and out, but that is not the case at all. An added bonus is that you don't have to worry about waking that sleeping baby by raising the noisy side. We ended up choosing the Graco Victoria crib and are very happy with it (I am a huge fan of everything Graco)! Don't worry if you don't have a crib by the time baby arrives because you won't need it for a few months. Be sure you do have a bassinet!


The Bassinet

I would highly recommend putting your baby in a bassinet in your bedroom for the first few months (We switched to the crib at 3 months because our little one had outgrown the bassinet. If I could have kept her in there forever, I totally would have. It was a really hard transition for me...more on that later). If you are breastfeeding, this will make your life so much easier because your baby is within arms reach. If you are a worrier like me, you will feel much better if you can see and hear your baby. I don't have any advice to give on buying a bassinet because we used the same bassinet that I slept in when I was a baby initially and then a bassinet we borrowed from friends.


A Baby Monitor

A baby monitor is a wonderful thing for peace of mind! We live in a small two bedroom apartment so you might think we wouldn't need one, but I am so glad we have it! The Angelcare monitor is amazing because it comes with a sensor pad that goes underneath the crib or bassinet mattress to monitor breathing. If your baby stops breathing, an alarm will sound to let you know there is a problem. Even while our baby was sleeping in the bassinet right beside me, I used the monitor for this. Later when baby is in his or her own room, it can monitor sound and temperature as well. Overall, it is a great monitor and I would highly recommend it.


The Change Table

Save your back and get a change table. Some people will tell you that you don't need a change table because you can change baby anywhere. While this is true especially after you have been changing diapers for a few weeks, your back with thank you if you have a change table that you can use. You body will be sore enough after delivery and while your body adjusts to carrying around and infant, you don't need to add more strain. We bought our change table at Ikea and it is great because the top comes off and it can be used as a regular dresser. It anchors into the wall as well so there is no fear of it tipping over as baby grows and becomes more active.

The Car Seat & Stroller

Again, I am a huge fan of Graco everything so my car seat and stroller are Graco as well. We bought the Graco Metrolite Travel System in Utopia (Utopia is no longer available because they are always coming out with new models and new fabrics). This system is great and the car seat can be used until your baby is 32 pounds. People might tell you that you don't want a car seat that holds baby until 32 pounds because you won't be able to lift it after awhile, but the truth is I don't think that really matters. For the first few months, we did carry the car seat in and out of the car, but now that our baby is getting older, we just leave the car seat in the car and carry her in and out...much easier!
Interesting side story...
I am a Canadian living in the U.S. and because we have Canadian tags on our car, we are required by law to have a car seat that meets Canadian regulations. My husband and I initially purchased our car seat and stroller at our local Babies'R'Us and thought that we would be fine because the car seat and stroller looked EXACTLY like the Graco version sold in Canada. We later found out that all car seats purchased in Canada have a sticker on them that indicate they meet Canadian standards and without that sticker, it was possible that we could have our car seat confiscated when we crossed the border. Luckily, Babies'R'Us took our travel system back and we bought the same system in Canada (for A LOT more money). Interestingly, there are quite a few differences in the stroller which make the Canadian version totally worth the money! Anyway, back to the car seat...
Make sure you have your car seat well in advance because you never know when you are going to need it. Have it installed and inspected, they are not easy to install!

The Highchair

This is another thing that you don't need to worry about right away. We did start using ours fairly early (shortly after our little one was able to hold her head up, to get her used to sitting at the table with us). As you might expect, we have a Graco highchair. It was given to us so I am not sure which model it is, but it is nice because the legs collapse together and it can be stored out of the way.

Hope this helps!