These are a few of my favorite things... (part 1 - nursery)

For awhile now, I've really wanted to write about what stuff we've found that we liked for Izaak and what we could've lived without. We really don't have a whole lot of kid-oriented friends and interaction with babies had been kept to a minimum before our little bundle of joy came about. (So, basically we were fairly clueless as to what to get for the kiddo, save for a list from my friend, Lori, who had had her first baby within that year as well). We didn't have a baby shower and it's not in my budget to buy everything new. Plus, I kind of like the idea of "recycling" some of the baby stuff anyhow so I've spent many hours scouring reviews on the internet and shopping on Craigslist with occasional digging through garage sales and Once Upon a Child. I'm sure that "it depends on the kid", but the following are some of the things we've come across. First we'll start with the nursery:

Crib:

We got a "sleigh-style" convertible crib for Izaak from Walmart.com. Actually, I picked it out and my parents took care of the bill (yay! thanks again!!) and Joe assembled it. I am wary about the quality of any product from Walmart but this crib is (so far) very sturdy and quite handsome. It will convert to a toddler bed and eventually it can serve as the headboard and footer of a full-sized bed. It was extremely similar to a crib at Babies R Us (from what I understand, the same company makes both cribs) except the price tag was much more kind at Walmart and it included a decent crib mattress, plus the toddler rails (hard to argue with all that!). I picked a black finish and even though I didn't care for the matching changing table and dresser (we were looking for more of a combo unit anyhow), I figured it would be no problem to find other matching furniture. We came to discover that while not impossible, it certainly wasn't easy to find other black furniture! While I'm quite pleased with what I finally ended up with, I would recommend finding a SET that you like and going for it!

Rocking chair:

Decided to go with a traditional, plain, wooden rocker rather than a fancy glider. Not sure why. Found the rocker with the help of my neighbor, Jenn, at a nearby consignment shop. Eventually, I found some chair cushions to go along with it at a Ross (or equivalent) store. We don't use it a lot, but I'm not sure if that's more of a matter of Izaak not really being into it or if we don't feel like sitting in his room for very long. We usually try to soothe him back to sleep while he's still in the crib and if he's really throwing a fit, I bring him out onto the couch in the living room. Either way, I didn't spend a whole lot on the rocking chair and I'm glad it doesn't take up a huge amount of space. Starting to get nervous about Izaak bonking his head on a sharp corner or pinching his fingers on it now though...

Another important piece in Izaak's room is a giant yoga ball. We use that more than the rocking chair and sit on it while he's fussing in his crib, it's high enough to be able to lean in his crib to hold his hands to soothe him back to dreamland. If I am rocking him in the rocking chair, the yoga ball also doubles nicely as an ottoman. During the day, Izee likes to whack his hands on the ball so it makes a fun noise!

Changing table:

Izaak's room isn't terribly large so I searched high and low for a small dresser that would double as a changing table. And I figured it would be an easy item to find on Craigslist. No, not easy. Black was my first color preference but I was fine with having to do a little refinishing work like sanding and painting and/or replacing knobs if I could just find the right piece. Not too high, not too long, not too cheaply made, not cost both arms and a leg, not too hideous... no dice. Finally, I found a cute dresser/changer combo made by Carter's on Amazon.com that was not only the correct color but also the perfect size. The price was a little steep so I did a little more research and found the exact same thing elsewhere for way cheaper. SOLD! Then Joe's parents surprised us by so very kindly covering the cost (thank you, thank you, thank you)!! The changing table part can be disassembled when it's no longer needed for that purpose, leaving a nice dresser behind too - excellent! We have it crammed full of Izaak's clothes that currently (at least somewhat) fit him. I'm happy to say that I'm very impressed with the overall quality also.

Another thing that I'm glad we found for Izaak was a changing pad that has three (rather than two) contoured sides (Serta brand from Babies R Us). Kiddo would've bonked his head many times at the top of the changer if it weren't for that little bit of extra cushion, sooo totally worth the extra couple of dollars!!

Baby Monitor:

We didn't go for a "baby monitor" per se, I tasked Joe with picking out some sort of video baby monitoring system (and installing it, of course) and he found a video surveillance system made by Uniden that has been wonderful! It seems much sturdier and higher quality than the setups we saw in the stores that were marketed as baby monitors. Good pick, Joe!

Other misc nursery items:

Breathable bumper set - also found at Babies R Us, have heard that babies can get their faces pressed up onto traditional bumpers and we're all about safety! It's not terribly adorable but it does the job. The "sheet" is ridiculously easy to change - it lays flat, velcros around the edges, and is made of a water-resistent yet soft material. I bought a couple of spares for in case of emergency and they're nice to have extras of anyhow.

Cute hamper - nothing crazy, but it does the job, it's very lightweight, fairly sturdy. and we use it A LOT! We also have a very adorable laundry basket that I happened to find at the grocery store, of all places, that I use just for Izaak's stuff. It's smaller and works perfectly for a load of his laundry.

Vicks Starry Night Cool Mist Humidifier - we use this mostly as a night-light for the kiddo, it shines a starry sky on the ceiling that changes colors... mesmerizing! Also does its job as a humidifier which we've thankfully not had to use a whole lot as of yet. The filter gets gross very quickly but really, the night-light alone is worth it on this thing. I got it when it was half-price or so also... bonus!

The humidifier sits on a small, turquoise-colored end table that I picked up from Target for under $20. We also have a tall, black bookcase (it was used for actual BOOKS and such at one time) that we now use to store diapers, wipes, and extra bed linens and "blankies". It resides next to the changing table. I stock up on diapers and wipes when they're on sale and/or when I have coupons so we always have a bunch of extra boxes of both. The kiddo goes through them very quickly so it's convenient to always have a fresh box nearby. The bookcase is aesthetically perhaps not the most ideal choice - but it is organized and functional!

Last two items for this post:

Rainforest Mobile - Picked this up for $12 at Once Upon a Child. It's $49.99 at Babies R Us. It has some different settings and musical selections, we mostly just use the rainforest themed music (the top, green button, by the way!). It comes with a remote which we haven't really needed to use but sounded interesting in theory. Seems to calm Izaak down so totally worth it. We have other "Rainforest" gear so somehow this became a must-have. Originally, I was going to make a mobile for Izaak's crib - my plan was to take apart an existing mobile for the music box and spinning mechanisms and attach I don't know what to it. Luckily, this one presented itself.

Rainforest Soother - If I remember correctly, I had found this before the mobile (I might be wrong though!) and it resides on the opposite end of Izaak's crib. It gets less use but has similar sounding and soothing Rainforest sounds, the monkey swings, the fish bubbles, and it looks like the waterfall is flowing when you press the toucan. I bought it for $10 from Craigslist and feel that it was definitely worth the ten, not sure about paying the Babies R Us price of $46.99 though!

Next post(s), I will discuss bottles, breast pumps, car seats, shopping cart covers, bouncy chairs, bumbo seats, high chairs, toys, and more!