What better way to start shopping for our baby than to buy new bedroom furniture for ourselves? It makes the expense of the baby’s things trivial by comparison and postpones the day when you can buy stuff for the baby by throwing a wrench in your finances.
Looking at a Babies R Us list of stuff a baby needs, it seems like a million things. And a lot of them will be useful for only a few months before the baby outgrows them.
The biggest ticket item we have bought is a crib. Since all of our furniture has cherry finish, the crib has to be the same. However, we have got quite a few shades of cherry in our apartment now. Among other requirements, the crib had to have an easy, one-hand rail-release mechanism. The crib we finally bought was expensive but we like it.
A so-called Travel system is, in fact, a stroller plus an infant car seat. Most of the models were quite heavy and big, useful only if you have an SUV or a minivan, I guess. We bought the lightest travel system we could find.
When I put the infant car seat in our car, it barely fit. I had to move the front seat all the way forward to get enough space for the rear-facing infant seat in the back seat. That means that the infant seat can’t be behind the driver’s seat since I drive with the driver’s seat pushed all the way back. Also, when Amber will be driving, I’ll have to sit with the baby in the back seat.
I thought it was only our Corolla that was almost too small for an infant. But looking at the leg room data for midsize cars, they don’t seem much better either. And here I was, thinking of buying a car even smaller than the Corolla for myself.
My definite favorite among the stuff we have bought is the baby carrier. We didn’t particularly like the slings, so we bought the Baby Bjorn Active Carrier. I liked the back support in this particular model which was much better than the others. I think I am going to carry my daughter around all the time in this carrier.
Since we are still living in a one-bedroom apartment, this buying spree has resulted in every corner being filled.
POSTSCRIPT: Our Baby Registry
In Germany, people say “bringing up a baby is like buying a Mercedes Car”
Buy your baby the best crib. yay cribs are the best things ever. i am lucky i can look at mine and rejoice.
My mom says she used to swear by the Snugli baby carriers. When my sister was recently looking to purchase some items for a friend’s baby shower, my mom advised her to be sure to get her friend a Snugli.
Dad: Seems like it. 🙂
Moiz: You still sleep in a crib? 😉
Al-Muhajabah: Yeah these carriers are good.