Do you like how my last few posts have the word "baby" in the title? That's because I'm entering the world of motherhood, which means I will always be obsessed with my child. Currently, I'm obsessed with the things that I'm buying for her such as her crib, car seat, etc. Obsessed because they are things that she'll need, and also because it is a little bit fun.
It is also fairly difficult to shop for the necessary big item purchases. You gotta stick to (in my case, that is) a limited budget, research the crap out of the product to make sure it doesn't completely suck (and make sure it's safe!!), and attempt to find something stylish. It is way harder than it seems. Not to mention that shopping for baby things is like attempting to read another language. They use special safety rating language, and they have products that I've never heard of that are supposed everyday baby items. It's a whole new world.
Luckily, I'm an incredibly fast learner and feel like I'm a pro now. Well, maybe not quite. I'm still attempting to learn diaper talk. Hah
Anyway, so the last week I got a 20% off coupon from Babies 'R' Us in an email, and decided it was time to buy the stroller and car seat. I bought the Chicco brand because A: my sister-in-law and cousin-in-law both recommended this brand and B: Chicco's car seats are rated #1 in safety. And they had a pretty good deal going on for their travel system (AKA: a stroller that allows the car seat to be attached, so they sell them together...and they match). I got this style:
I didn't buy a girly style because I plan on using this sucker with the rest of the kids I'll be having. Red and brown are pretty gender neutral, right? I mean, yes it looks more boyish, but can't you see a cute little girl sitting in that car seat? I know I can. The style that I really wanted wasn't at the store (boo!). It looks like this:
Isn't the yellow one so much cuter? YEAH, I know. But red and grayish brown are fine. I'm not mad about it.
It feels great to get one item checked off of the list. Unfortunately, there is a lot more to buy. Who knew that baby things would be so dag on expensive? I mean really. I thought the expensive parts of having a baby were the medical bills (prenatal and post natal), and the diapers and food, etc; not the stuff that has to be purchased BEFORE the baby comes! Luckily, some of these purchases will be reused for a future baby!
Anyway, so I came home after buying the Chicco set (purchased for about $240 plus taxes...and I added on insurance for $20...for a grand total of around $280) and decided to look online at cribs. The cribs at Babies 'R' Us were either really cheap quality, or way too expensive. So I looked on target's website and found the crib and changing table I plan to buy after I get home from my trip back East:
I struggled between choosing the white crib and espresso one (shown above). White is great because it goes nicely with the colors I want for the baby's room. However, it's not very realistic because white gets dinged and dirty WAY faster than dark wood. And Andrew liked the dark wood crib/changer better. And get this...so the changer and crib above were being sold as a package on target for around $299, but instead I'm buying them separately and saving $60. And the "package" deal doesn't give me anything more than the changer and crib. Weird...but hey, at least I know I can buy them separately and save some dinero.
Bedding...is way too expensive. Why do they charge $100-$200 for bedding? It's ridiculous! Luckily the bedding I found is pretty gender neutral, so I can reuse it later if I have a boy in the future. Here it is:
Nice and bright, right? So I want my nursery colors to be yellow, pink and orange. I'll still be following that color theme, but it is a pain to find ornage/pink/yellow bedding in any kind of decent design. I'm not into the butterflies and hearts and things. I like cute design, but not the super girly, kitschy stuff. And I like those cute little circles up there. PLUS, there is a lot of yellow and orange. Yesss...
That's all I have for now, but really that is the bulk of the big stuff. Thank goodness.
This is me as of yesterday. I'm getting so huge! It's uncomfortable to sit, lay down, sleep, and stand. AKA, I'm nearly always uncomfortable. Only 6 more weeks till my due date. Can't wait!
