Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best finds here!!

[Loves Vintage]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

That's adorable, HH! I can also confirm that cats really, really like the Arm's Reach Co-sleeper! The company actually sells a cat bed too.

Are you all set with your nursery and baby stuff now, HH? Did you get a swing too? We are taking our first trip to BRU after work today. We've only seen the limited selection at Target, and DH was not impressed with the quality of what he saw. One of the swings on display was falling apart, and everything else was not sturdy at all. The cribs could actually function as rockers?!!? I guess they do not bother to assemble them very well, or everyone tries to move them around, like kicking tires on a car, so they start to loosen.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

LV, we're pretty much set. We received the FP my little lamb swing at our shower but returned it to get other stuff we didn't get (like the monitor). We have a friend who's loaning us hers instead. We definitely have a few odds and ends left to get, like the extra car seat base, but nothing that we can't live without for a little while.

DH had a hard time with the floor models as well. I had to remind him that they were floor models though and in addition to being assembled by most likely bored sales associates, they've been shaken, rattled and rolled by numerous customers. Those products go through a beating on the floor so it's logical to assume there might be some issues if they weren't assembled well to begin with. Here's a run-down of where we got things and their brands.

Crib-Graco Lauren, purchased online from Walmart. Awesome product, very sturdy and nice to look at.
Dresser-Ikea Hemnes. Again, awesome product, very sturdy and nice to look at
Swivel glider-it's the BRU brand, we purchased it for $60 from CL and then bought the ottoman from the store. The glider has microsuede fabric on it that's really not upholstery-grade quality. We're having slip covers made from someone on etsy.
Stroller-uppababy vista, purchased from the factory store
Carseat-Graco snugride 35, purchased at BRU
Exersaucer-Bright Starts Around We Go (360 degree entertainment center that converts to a play table)
Bouncer-FP Ocean Wonders BRU
Swing-FP my little lamb BRU
Crack machine-we have the travel sleep sheep for our stroller/carseat from BRU and will be getting the homedics machine from Amazon/BB&B
Pump-Medela pump in style advance (my mom purchased this new from ebay)


I think those are the big things...

ETA: bedding was purchased from Homegoods, mattress was from BRU (sealy I think, about $100), curtains were homemade, lamps were from the Christmas Tree Shop with shades from Target.

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

hey Fiery...I was going to post this on the other site but since you chimed in... you got the Cosco Scenera for your MIL's car right? if so, how do you like it, or how does she like it? How does S like it? We are thinking of this for our 2nd seat (for my Mom's car)... it seems so cheap though (I think $45 at Walmart) so just compared to the other brands I keep thinking 'is it really safe safe?'...any thoughts?

J would prob be in it maybe like once every 2 weeks MAYBE, since my Mom won't be watching him after she goes back to work in a few weeks.

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

hey Fiery...I was going to post this on the other site but since you chimed in... you got the Cosco Scenera for your MIL's car right? if so, how do you like it, or how does she like it? How does S like it? We are thinking of this for our 2nd seat (for my Mom's car)... it seems so cheap though (I think $45 at Walmart) so just compared to the other brands I keep thinking 'is it really safe safe?'...any thoughts?

J would prob be in it maybe like once every 2 weeks MAYBE, since my Mom won't be watching him after she goes back to work in a few weeks.

It's a perfect grandma seat Mara, IMO. She doesn't love it but she's in the seat 2-3 times a month, at best, and only for 15 minutes at a time. R's mom doesn't take her out in the car much, just to dr appts or if she needs to do some grocery shopping. It's not comfortable enough for her to fall asleep in but she doesn't complain when she's in it. From the research I did online, it's just a stripped down version of the seats that have more to offer. I don't remember the height limit off the top of my head but I know it's not as good as the others because I remember saying she'll grow out of it a lot quicker than our Safety First.

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Thanks Fiery--yes I also saw height restrict was less than the more expensive seats but I figured that was prob ok given the cost--aka if he grows out of it at age 4 or 5 instead of 6 or 7 like the Britax then we could just deal with it then...maybe not even get a 2nd seat depending on how much he used this one etc. Also as you noted, he won't be going on any long trips with G'ma in this seat. Thanks!!

 

[MustangGal]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Mara - we've had a Cosco Scenera in DH's truck for about a year now. Kyle rides in it 15 minutes every day, and we've also taken in on the 4 hour drive to the grandparents a few times with no issues (and 2 hour naps in it). It was great on the plane too, light enough to carry it on. Walmart is selling them for like $35 now.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

My MIL has a Cosco Scenera. There is NO padding but it is good for quick trips.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

HH, Thanks for posting your list. It doesn't seem so bad that way. I really like the Graco Lauren. I think I had it on my Amazon wish list for a few days, but I am fickle and indecisive! I had never heard of the baby crack machine, but I googled it and see what it is now. Ahhh! I did like one swing on the floor at Target, but of course, it was the most expensive one, maybe 120? I don't remember what it was, but it was natural colors and the hanging things were all like really soft natural colored little stuffed animals. I will probably find it tonight. Be sure to post your slipcovers when they're ready. And, I must get to Home Goods soon to see what they have.

Sigh, I have almost given up on the idea of buying more things off of CL. My last experience was not good, and I am beginning to realize that one person's "excellent condition" is actually not excellent at all and may be, well, really dirty! Grr! And, good to know that boys like to comment on the lack of sturdiness of floor samples. I will remind DH that he didn't put them together.

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

hey Mamas...

Britax Marathon in Sutton is on sale for $135 after carseat25 code is applied:

http://www.babycarseats.com/Britax-E9L06G6-BRX1185.html

They also have a deal on the SunshineKids Radian. "The Sunshine Kids Radian XT SL in Nitro is $224.99 with code"

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

hey Mamas...

Britax Marathon in Sutton is on sale for $135 after carseat25 code is applied:

http://www.babycarseats.com/Britax-E9L06G6-BRX1185.html

They also have a deal on the SunshineKids Radian. "The Sunshine Kids Radian XT SL in Nitro is $224.99 with code"

That is an awesome deal. Damn it. LOL I wish I wasn't so indecisive. Do you think that color would get way too hot in a car with no tinted windows?

I'm thisclose to entering in my CC info.

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

hey Mamas...

Britax Marathon in Sutton is on sale for $135 after carseat25 code is applied:

http://www.babycarseats.com/Britax-E9L06G6-BRX1185.html

They also have a deal on the SunshineKids Radian. "The Sunshine Kids Radian XT SL in Nitro is $224.99 with code"

That is an awesome deal. Damn it. LOL I wish I wasn't so indecisive. Do you think that color would get way too hot in a car with no tinted windows?

I'm thisclose to entering in my CC info.

lol well i got the Onyx in Boulevard which is all gray and black for my car, which is also all gray and black. you could toss a light towel over it before you get out for long periods of time too.

i got the Marathon in Platinum for my friend with the 40% FAO code last week and it was $180--now she and both are like 'drat!!!' for her. oh well!

if a Roundabout comes up under $100 in the next few weeks i might get one of those for my Mom's car instead of the Scenera. and the irony is that I would have preferred a Marathon over the Blvd. oh well!

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

The new britax are coming out in August Mara so you could very well find an awesome deal on the older versions in the next few weeks.

I'm trying to find what the new seats will have that are different.

I have the page up on my second monitor...it's calling out to me lol

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

i heard it's just new patterns but not sure...

the manufacture date on the FAO Boulevards was supposedly something like 3 weeks before ship date so they are apparently totally brand new too, i know some peeps were worried they'd be like 10 months old or something. we have not opened our box yet so i don't know about mine.

FAO had a roundabout on their site for $80 during that same sale for like 30 minutes or something crazy before it sold out--i was like DAMN! but i am def going to keep my eyes peeled.

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Ok I didn't get the marathon but I did get the first year true fit for $119

I was holding my breath the entire time lol. I've been "afraid" to pull the trigger since I'm usually all about brands. I like to stick to what I know and I know, from friends, that Britax is safe and reliable. But I've also heard great things about First Year so I've been torn. What pushed this seat over the Marathon was the no rethread harness. Thanks for posting the link!!

 

[ChinaCat]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Fiery let me know what you think. Btw, what's a rethread harness?

 

[fieryred33143]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

China-some seats have a no re-thread harness that allows you to adjust the height without having to remove the straps. I saw that on Britax website, the new Marathon's will have this feature! It's just a little more convenient.

 

[Blenheim]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

FLOOR MODELS - I read somewhere (but can't remember where, so there's a chance that I'm off here) that some stores will assemble less expensive floor models not as tightly so they don't seem as sturdy and so that you feel that the more expensive models are safer and thus spend that extra money. Properly assembled, they all theoretically pass the same safety requirements. We have the IKEA Gulliver crib ($99 IIRC) and it is very sturdy.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Blenheim, Wow, that never would have occurred to me, but I guess it's "good" marketing on their part. We liked a Babi Italia crib they had there. It was VERY VERY sturdy! When we looked at the Jenny Lind, which I have always loved from photos, it was first of all, up on a high shelf, which didn't even occur to me as being odd, but now it makes sense, and it seemed about to fall apart. It was a 1/3 the cost of the Babi! Huh. Interesting.

We are actually going to Ikea tomorrow to look at cribs. I note on their website they say the crib has a "Perforated bed base for good air circulation," (which is a SIDs reference, right?), but I haven't noticed that on any other crib descriptions.

HH, Does Walmart have the Graco Lauren on display? I'd really like to see it in person too.

*********

When do kids stop using cribs by the way? Is it a weight thing or a length thing?

 

[NovemberBride]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Those who are considering the Graco Lauren - my mom has this crib at her house for DD and it's great. My mom is kind of nuts (1st grandchild) and insisted on buying a crib for her house so I pointed her to this one because it got great reviews and was relatively cheap. We, on the other hand, bought really expensive baby furniture from Ragazzi. Now, our furniture is beautiful, but I think the crib plus the conversion kit for the toddler bed was $1000. The Graco Lauren was $150 and looks almost as good. If I had to do it again, I would have bought the Graco Lauren for our house and put the other $850 in DD's college fund. But don't tell DH I said that because I had to have the top of the line furniture even though he thought it was a waste.

Mara, let me know if you get the Scenera and how you like it. I am considering it because we travel a lot and I want to get a lightweight seat for plane rides and rental cars. We have Britax Boulevards in both mine and DH's cars and while they are great (DD loves it - they're so plush I think I could take a nap in one of them), no way I am hauling one of them around an airport with all our other crap. Plus I don't want to risk them getting destroyed.

 

[Hudson_Hawk]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

I don't know if they do or not, but I know it's sold at Target so it might be on display there. I would buy it from Walmart though, we got ours for about $135 with $.99 shipping. Can't beat that kind of deal!

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

NB-- the reviews on the Scenera are really good overall-- which is why I am considering it even though it's so cheap.

 

[AllieLuv83]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

I have the Graco Lauren and we love it. It is very sturdy and put together very well. We got the crib for $175 and it included a mattress as a bundle. The shipping was .99 to the house, can't beat that.

 

[ChargerGrrl]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

wanted to throw in another crib option:

EMILY from Da Vinci/ Million Dollar Baby. It's highly rated in Baby Bargains and Consumer Reports. you can only get it online via BRU (for $229), but discovered that it's sold as the EMI crib on Overstock.com. And since you can usually find coupons/promo codes, I was able to get it for $199.

DH and FIL put it together last week, and it looks good!

 

[qtiekiki]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Along the line of CG, we just got the Da Vinci Kalani crib in espresso for Jaron. And the quality of wood and construction are pretty good. It was $249.99 from Amazon. I would recommend looking into this brand for crib.

 

[meresal]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Does anyone have any reviews on Tolo toys?

I am looking at this music player for C's crib. When you pull the string it plays soft music for about 5 minutes. Or should I just get a machine that slowly gets softer and softer?

http://cgi.ebay.com/TOLO-ROARY-MUSICAL- ... 0126078037

 

[vizsla]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

does anyone have the britax diplomat?
i'm thinking this may be a good choice for my tiny baby and my smallerish car.
it sounds like it's a winner winner chicken dinner on all fronts, but am having a hard time finding some real comparisons to other seats that fit in this category. i like that the 'wings' on the side of this seat are not as huge as some other convertible car seats (so my nosy baby can see). i also like the no threading option on the diplomat.
i guess i'm looking for any real world experience with this seat (or why i should choose a marathon instead??)
thanks!

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

i dont know about the diplomat viz but try googling diplomat vs marathon, sometimes i have found good comparisons of two other seats that way. aka i was trying to figure out diff between roundabout and marathon and found a site that said basically only diff is a bit more padding and higher weight limit rear facing and height limit in general. we got the blvd which HELLO is the world's largest car seat. oh well, we'll see if it fits.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

First, thak you everyone for your help. I really try to stay away from other websites for baby stuff, because they make me crazy, so I do rely on your opinions a great deal! One day, after I've figured some of this stuff out, I hope to post some advice too, but for now, I've just got questions!

Swaddle Blankets? Do we have a favorite brand here? I've read about the muslin-type blankets on here before. Are those good for winter too?

I came across these on Zulily today. Three Luna Lullaby blankets with a how-to dvd for 28.49. Good deal? How many blankets will I need?

Here's their description and a photo:

Possibly the best swaddle blanket on the market, this beauty features soft, stretchable cotton that gets softer with every wash. The fabric weave is specifically designed to breathe easily and to allow Baby's temperature to self-regulate. The size is ideal for swaddling newborns and larger babies, and the stretch in the fabric provides a snug swaddle. The blanket also makes a great nursing cover, stroller blanket, play mat, and tummy time mat. The included DVD gives a step-by-step demonstration of two swaddling techniques. It also has a soothing sounds bonus track, plus a question and answer session with nationally acclaimed baby expert Corky Harvey. This set makes a wonderful gift!

• Includes 3 swaddling blankets and instructional DVD
• 100% cotton muslin with breathable weave
• 44'' x 44'' (ideal for swaddling)
• Machine wash; tumble dry
• Imported

 

[Mara]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

LV, that baby in the picture doesn't even really look all that properly swaddled so not sure how much stock I'd put in the 'best' on the market claim. I noticed when I looked at YouTube that there are like so many diff ways to swaddle, but we always went with a really tight burrito swaddle since J was strong and would try to break out almost from day one. Oh and we just watched a YouTube video on swaddling, forget a DVD!

We used the A&A muslin blankets (we have almost exclusively for J until he could break out of them. And he was born in the winter (but we live in CA). Anything fleece or heavy was too thick and hot for our weather--we never used anything like that but it depends on where you live. I got a pack of 4 at BRU for $19.99 on clearance, you can watch for deals. Also BabySteals.Com might have A&A swaddles at some point--a lot of people have been asking for them. Get the 47x47 ones, the largest.

Once he could break out of the A&A we got a Miracle Blanket from a friend and it was the best thing ever. He was breaking out of that (even SUPER SUPER 'can they even breathe' tight) at 4-4.5mo so we de-swaddled at that point.

If I did it again I'd prob go MB from the start and then move to Woombie for slower deswaddling. We have 8 A&A blankets and 2 MB's. Now that he is out of the swaddle, we moved him to sleep sack since he likes to be 'contained' and he has like 6 of those. You can get by with 2-3 of something but then you just have to wash it more etc and I only like to do laundry 1x a week really.

Oh also we still use the A&A for everything else even thought he's deswaddled. They are the perfect blankets IMO-- thin, breathable, but amazingly warm when needed.

 

[Loves Vintage]

Re: Preggo stuff, Baby Stuff, Toddler Stuff...post your best

Mara, Thank you! You are the best! I think I will register for the A&A at BRU. People seem to like to buy things in the store, and really, I am not finding what I want in the store. Seems like limited selection when compared to well, everything in the world that's available on-line, so I do need to find some essentials to register for . . . A&A it is.