Warning: Snork references within post (which, if you must know, is a mini rant about creating a baby registry)
So I am taking the freaky-deaky plunge into the OMG world of baby registry. It feels weird, and wrong, and odd, to spend so much time gazing at millions of baby products and wondering what the hell we will need. (yes. I have heard about the book. But I still like to do my own research. Um. research=google)
So why does it feel weird? Because it feels, I don’t know, cheeky or jinxy. My guard is never down and I am thankful daily that things are being so damn normal inside my gut. (I’ll have words with you later, cankles.) And as much as I am so the girl that wants to wait and REALLY make sure that Snork gets here safe and sound I am also the girl that likes to be prepared.
And here is where I confess to you that there is a fucking CRIB in my house. For a baby. For Snork. A crib, people. Granted it is still safely in the box and out of sight. But not for long. I actually have decided to tempt fate and have put a date on the calendar to set up the crib this weekend. Or maybe next weekend. Um. By the end of January? Also out of sight? Sheets for the crib. Beautiful sheets with the most adorable trees and birds on them you have ever seen.
Which brings us right on up to the world of baby registries. Remember that I am the girl that does not like to ask for things. So it feels downright unladylike to click the button that says, “add to registry”. But people have been asking, and there is something kind of exciting about looking at socks and stuff. (and is it wrong that the first thing I added to the registry was a set of argyle socks?)
The thing that amuses me about looking at all the baby stuff is the comments that come with it. People are not half-assed about this stuff. It is either “the ONLY thing my daughter will tolerate” or it is “the biggest threat and danger to an infant I have ever seen!!!!!”. The craziest place for comments? Crib mattresses. Wow. What a world.
I found one mattress that looked ok and the reviews were so manic and all over the place I had to step away. Then, yesterday, I found the mattress that I believe the new Duggar baby is using: (click to make bigger/readable)
I found a low cost organic mattress and was all set on it until I went hunting for reviews and found some that basically proclaim that the mattress is sprayed with rat poison. Holy hell! Even the mattress that THE BOOK is pushing on folks is getting crap on-line reviews.
Guess it just shows you that every family, every baby is different. Um. right? (still no effing clue about what mattress to get…sigh)
Even my local Craig’s list is a bit of a jungle out there. Most available furniture is one of two things: either $800 for a complete set or best offer for stuff that looks about as old as I am. And what the hell happens to gliders and rockers to make them look SO janked up? All the ones I have found used look like they were extras on the set of Miami Vice in both color scheme and in date of creation.
I’m such a simple girl when it comes to this stuff. I wish there was a way to plug in your needs, your budget, and your tastes and have the right/perfect item delivered (& assembled!) at your home. That isn’t too much to ask for is it?
I’ll tell you what is more fun, as in SO much fun: the side registry that I have that is 100% books for Snork. I would so rather be hunting down The Giant Jam Sandwich than figuring out the insane world of breast pumps. (wow) So whenever I get all worked up over how I will damage Snork with whatever WRONG item I select for him I can escape to the comfort of familiar and well loved books. Ah, books…
{ 28 comments… read them below or add one }
hahaha I never looked at reviews.. I bought was was reasonably priced…. you know, back in the dark ages, babies slept on piles of hay haha i’m sure any crib mattress you buy is perfectly fine lol
What is babe’s room going to look like? do you have colors etc?
I love decorating
Now an amazo.n wish list for those books would be great.
OK, you just need to rearrange your idea of registering. It is organizing a list of things that you think you will need for the Snork. If people would like to buy you things, the registry is simply the place to look for the things you think would be most useful (i.e. argyle socks are sooo much more useful than white ones. What if he spits up on his feet? You won’t be able to see stains on argyle). People will buy you gifts anyway, regardless of what you want. Frequently, they will look at your registry, decide there’s nothing they want to buy on it, and go off on their own anyway.
As far as mattresses go, you might just want to go into the store and touch a few to see what you think. I know you probably don’t have a lot of time for that sort of thing. But, for strollers and mattresses, I think it’s better to go and physically handle the items to see if they will work for you. BTW, I find it hard to believe that something that is labelled organic has been sprayed with rat poison, but there is always a tiny bit of truth in those crazy rumors.
So register for all those things you MUST have. Then, when Snork’s appearance is closer, take a look at what you have and what you need and figure out alternatives. The personal favorite in our house was my wanting to get the cover for the changing pad, so it would look nice. My husband said that there was no need to spend $15 on an item when we could use old towels for free. After all the blowouts and on the pad expulsions, I must admit that he was totally right and there was no way the cover would have still looked nice after a week of use.
I remember back in one of my fantasizing forays onto a certain large baby store site seeing a crib mattress that was $600.00. Somehow that seems like overkill. Hope you are able to find your way through the mass of info and advertising to find stuff you can be happy with.
or, you could do it like we (and many Jewish folks) do – wait until the kid is here – spit, spit, knock wood, keinihora. We all love you, and will get you tons of stuff, NOT TO WORRY! Heck, I think the internet will have FUN with it. But truth be told, some of us (koff koff) don’t buy stuff until the child is on terra firma… And well, honestly, in those first few weeks anyway, you just need dipes, some onesies, some bottles, and a place to change his dipes, and a place for the kid to sleep, and of course, a car seat. Other than that? It can all wait, so totally don’t stress yourself, except, of course, for all books, and all things plaid and argyle.
It is crazymaking, isn’t it? I went with a cheapish mattress (~80ish) and have been happy with it (not that they sleep much in their cribs.) Shelli’s right – you really just need some dipes, a few onesies or jammies (how cold do you keep the house? I’m guessing not very, given GM – so onesies are plenty), a carseat (Graco Snugride here, no complaints, seems like a very common choice) and somewhere to sleep (you’ve already got that covered.) Everything else is gravy & can be figured out as you go along. Bottles are optional, depending on BF. Honestly, I’d wait to see on that, and have your Mother run out for bottles if you need them. You very well may not, particularly early on.
So excited to see you preparing for Snork. I know there are a ton of good breast pump/carseat/whatever reviews in your reading population, and we know you better than the random BRU reviewer, so…ask, girl!
I don’t have any advice, but the crib-in-your-HOUSE! is very very cool:-)
I’m not going to give you any baby-item advice since I’ve kept THAT world seperate from my non-fertile one. Not to mention when my son was little no one discussed rat poisoned matresses, BPA-free or THE BOOK. I’m sure whatever you do will be good for Snork, your mother-y instincts will guide you when technology and reading material seem to fail. Trust that.
On the book note. I’m in agreement with you. Books are safe and full of fantasy and marvel and no matter how organic Snork’s matress is, he’ll have the beat-up, chewed on copy of The Giving Tree (or whatever) until HIS children are born. Speaking from personal experience here. I have my old Beatrix Potter collection – I mean OLD, like, 21+ years, where the cardboard box is broken and the spines are all worn and the white paper covering has yellowed – that is slated to earn a special place on a future nursery’s bookshelf.
Like others have said, you have A LOT of girls who are going to be spoiling the HECK out of wee Snorky man. We got you, girlie.
I’m very much feeling like any preparation would be tempting fate. So, I am in awe of your getting an actual, you know, cr*b.
I about had a panic attack the first time i walked into a Babies R Us while pregnant. Talk about Sensory OVERLOAD. OMG.
What I have learned since is what babies NEED is very different than what we buy for them.
Babies NEED – something to keep them dry (cloth or disposable, whichever toots your horn), something to keep them warm (in those early days, a onsie and a blanket really were all we needed but we got given SO many clothes), and warm boobies to keep them fed. Everything else – I do mean everything – is for safety or convenience, and you get to decide what you’re going to try. Just know that Snork may have other ideas entirely.
For example, we spent a lot of money on a way cool Amby Baby hammock only to have a kid that would not sleep unless physically on one of us, so the hammock got tried like 3x.
so excited for you….
Joy
You really don’t need much. And what brand of most stuff doesn’t matter. I think we bought the cheapest crib mattress BRU carried. Registering gave me a headache.
We bought argyle socks for Karl. Very, very cute.
Okay. First of all, I just snorted a very large quantity of water when I clicked on the review. It may be a commentary on the kind of day I’m having, but DAMN, that’s the funniest thing I’ve seen in days. Whoo, lordy.
Secondly, I could have written the above re: reviews AND wanting things to stay out of sight. Even after my showers (yes, plural–lord, what a nightmare, sitting front of a crowd and unwrapping stuff) I refused to take things out of their boxes, and then when I DID take them out I refused to throw out the boxes. The gear boxes lived in my garage for about 3 months. I was just too paranoid to throw them away; I didn’t want to seem cocky. Sigh.
Try to have fun, and get used to it; you may never buy anything for yourself again. Ever.
Might I suggest Todd Parr’s The Peace Book, and the If You Give… series (If you give a mouse a cookie, If you give a pig a party…).
don’t research too much you will go crazy.. in fact we almost got a divorce at the big box baby store. the few pieces of advice we got that i swear i’ll give those who ask… 1. bo.ppy is good. 2. diaper gen.ie is bad because they use proprietary inserts – if using a system such as that – go with a diaper champ. 3. skip over burp cloths and buy cloth diapers and use them instead – they are way more absorbent than anything else they sell. other than that wipes, diapers, (don’t buy too many of one kind in case snork is allergic or his legs dont fit in one brand), and a few onesies you are fine. ooooooo a crib… how exciting!
Baby socks are the best. Those were some of the first things I wanted too.
(Hint: I got a free breast pump just by asking the lactation consultant at the hospital what kind to buy.)
We just went to Target and bought a random crib mattress. I had to give up on some of the research because it became Too Much.
You’re like my twin – I love the book but obviously still have to research the item in question so long that it’s probably been discontinued by the time I pick it!
I feel really overly sure of some of the items we picked and really overly unsure about some. I suppose it will be like this for the next 18 years though?
I loooove “The Peace Book” and also the “My First Sushi Book” – my 7 year old still loves it to be read to him. Given that I have a child whose room overfloweth with books I am so on your brain wave. He really had very very little when he was born, but damnit I read and sang to him all the time. He refuses to really try to read for himself, I have no idea where his pig-headed-ness comes from – but he loves books. And for all the years of enjoyment you get out of them, they really are inexpensive. I still have some of my favorites from when I was a kid – “Never Tease A Weasel”, “The Cookie Tree”, and “Giants Are Very Brave People” – that one is my favorite. Loooove you!!!!!!
books…ahh…I love books. I bought a book for my future children probably 10 years ago..I have it all lovingly wrapped. I even had to have it special ordered. For whatever reason, I loved this book in Kindergarten and so I will share the title with you….The Five Chinese Brothers by Claire Huchet Bishop
I’m a postpartum doula as well as being due with my second child in May. I’m working on my registry right now. I’m happy to help you with this! If you email me I can also give you the link to my registry. All items I selected have either been tested out by me or have been loved by my clients.
Amy
(I think you have access to our emails, otherwise it is on my website which I’m pretty sure is linked through my name).
Oh my gosh, I can’t wait to get some books for Snork. I probably buy Punk 5 books a week at a minimum. I am addicted to filling my child with books. (Thankfully, one of her first words was “book,” so she totally gets it.)
Here is the decision I came to while searching for apartments (same comment factor). I think that most people don’t bother to comment unless they really hate the product. So, take everything in stride… but do research rat poison in mattresses before going out and buying especially if priced at 70% discount rates!
Oh! The research!! It’s endless really. The good news is EVERYTHING works for some babies… The bad news is everything works for SOME babies.
For what it’s worth, I’m a fan of the Miracle Blanket and the Medela pump that looks like a hamburger… The swing? Good stuff.
Otherwise, another vote for books and simplicity here.
Things to get: Miracle Blanket, a swing, a bouncer, a playmat, some kind of baby carrier (Ergo, Mei Tei, Beco, Baby Bjorn, sling), a changing table (don’t get a cover, use a towel) – also get a diaper caddy as you will get lazy and not want to traipse through the house in search of a diaper, use cloth diapers for burp cloths, a good stroller that’s easy to fold, video monitor (I know you have one for GM but many of them have a way to add another camera to your existing handset), boppy, diaper bag that you like – you think mattresses were hard these are worse!, medical kit (nose sucker, infant tylenol, etc), mustela baby products (pricey but work!) – or burt’s bees or california baby products.
Things to avoid (at least until baby is old enough to be bothered with them and you can figure out what you want): exersaucer, jumperoo, high chair, toys (yes seriously a baby needs diddly poop all in terms of toys – at least until 3-4 months).
You’ll get tons of onesies and blankets. Remember babies grow at an alarming rate so don’t get too locked into buying diapers in a certain size (Pampers Swaddlers are a good first choice). You may want to check out BabyCheapSkate.com and Mamabargains.com – I use them for bargain hunting. Now is a good time to get cheap car seats/strollers. If you want more tips/ideas etc. let me know and I’ll send you a list of what I used and found useful with my kids.
Oh and I’m so glad you are getting help for GM in-house. I know it’s hard to ask/accept help but you/GM/Mother need this to happen. You are far from a failure in asking for help – in fact I think it’s long overdue and I am hopeful that for everyone it will be a success.
Forgot to add – love all books (particularly Don’t Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late) by Mo Willems, Not A Box by Antoinnette Portis, Look Look, Tana Hoban’s Black on White series of books and Kevin Henkes (Kitten’s First Full Moon).
Also good books are the 1000 word type books – My First Word Book etc. And anything that has lift the flap.
My daughters probably have their own libraries at this point considering how many books they have now!
I emailed you back, hopefully you got it!
I am still laughing about the Duggar comment. There’s no stopping the Duggar references in our house.
You will have no time for research after snork arrives, so if you feel compelled to pick the ‘right’ things, make your choices now. You can always purchase them later. So very excited for you !!!
I’d be interested to know what mattress the Duggars are using…
I don’t know anything about crib mattresses other than they are supposed to be firm. And waterproof is nice to have. But whatever you pick? I’m sure will be fine. Here’s what Consumer Reports thinks: http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/babies-kids/baby-toddler/nursery-furniture/cribs/crib-mattresses-1105/overview/