Strollers & Bedding & Cribs.....Oh My!

You would think that shopping for baby stuff would be easy. The baby won't care what she's sleeping or riding in and she certainly won't care what type of bedding that surrounds her. Therefore it should be just a simple matter of price, quality, style, and safety, but it's not.

The overall quality of most baby furniture leaves much to be desired, and most manufacturers have ceased to make baby furniture in matching sets. If a set looks great, it probably has a ridiculous sticker price. If a piece of furniture is appealing, it's detailing probably doesn't match any other piece you would want. If the detailing all looks nice, and they match a set, they probably only make it in black or some stain that only Ray Charles would approve.

We started looking at cribs, strollers and bedding two years ago, long before we were ever expecting, in order to get an idea of styles and prices. When Mom got into town, we took her with us to some of the baby stores to get her thoughts and opinions. Her advice and concerns have proven invaluable, but despite all of our advance scouting missions we have found ourselves completely overwhelmed.

We still have approximately 18 weeks to complete the nursery, if she doesn't make an early appearance, and that's not taking into account furniture delivery times of anywhere from 4 to 12 weeks. Jeff tried to quiet my concerns and pointed out that that we have a bassinet, so she has a place to sleep, and it isn't that big of a deal if we don't have the nursery set up. Once I stopped laughing I quickly reminded him that we don't want to be setting things up while trying to become accustomed to a new baby in the house. Additionally, there is currently no place to store or hang any of the things we have already purchased for her! He got the point and we headed off to the baby store (again) yesterday afternoon.

After yesterday's excursion we have really narrowed down our choices, and even Jeff mentioned that he was disappointed that we had left the store empty handed! Let me repeat that. Jeff, the man who hates to spend money, was disappointed that we hadn't purchased anything! I almost fainted!

We have definitely decided on a stroller and carseat travel system, and have a better idea of what furniture we will be purchasing for the nursery. We have still not found the exact bedding we want, but we know what colors we want to use. It's a small step forward but we are headed in the right direction!