After I convinced Tyler that we should change the upstairs office to a baby room and put the office into our unused front room (as opposed to getting rid of our guest room and putting baby in there), he continued to be stubborn by saying that he wasn’t going to paint to room again. So I retaliated by asking my friend Vanessa if she’d be up for re-painting the room for me. Previously the room was navy blue on the bottom 1/3 of the wall and a gray on the top 2/3. Admittedly I thought the room was very sharp looking for an office, but the colors were always a little cold for me and reflected more of Tyler’s design taste than mine. I also felt the colors were not appropriate for baby's room when we have the means to change it. Vanessa heartily agreed to help and then Tyler begrudgingly said he wanted to paint as well as he could see I was going to get my way anyway!
Vanessa drove down on July 1st so Tyler & I had to make our final paint decisions by then so the work could be done. Despite saying that he thought brown looked like poop, Tyler eventually agreed to doing three walls in a turquoise color from the bedding (called “Happy Talk” from Debbie Travis) and one feature wall in “dark chocolate”. I’m really glad we did the one wall in the brown as I LOVE it and I think the two colors balance each other very well. The turquoise on all four walls would have been too much for me as I added a chocolate shelf and the brown glider to anchor the room as well and it just right now. So Vanessa & Tyler did that on Thursday & did a wonderful job. They are both much more attentive to detail about that kind of thing then I have the patience for - I say surround yourself with people who possess the skills you don't!
Our crib came in on Thursday also, but we didn’t open the box until Friday night. As soon as he did, Tyler noticed a crack in one of the main joints of the back frame. Not only was it not pretty, but it was possibly structure affecting so I thought it best to return it to Sears and re-order it then have it crack get worse over its use. The crib will either be converted to a toddler bed for this baby or re-used as a crib for a second baby & then converted so it needs to last. Luckily, the new crib will be here on July 10, less than a week away now rather then the long 3 weeks I waited for it the first time! It was a bit disappointing not to be able to set it up & see the room more complete but I’m getting used to having to wait for things now.
On Saturday, Vanessa wanted to go to Calgary to see Twylia & Kyla’s new babies. I was unable to get a hold of Twylia to make arrangements so I took advantage of the extra time to check out a few baby stores in Calgary: Echildren, Once Upon a Child & Babies R Us. Echildren is fun to check out but most of the items are more pricey than I’d be able to convince Tyler is worth it (or even myself). Realistically, you are paying for an image there more than great things for your baby. Once Upon a Child was like 90% clothes, which I was avoiding with Vanessa in tow. Plus I only want to purchase a few sleepers/onesies for baby’s first week or two and leave the rest until after my shower (which will be post baby). Then onwards to Babies R Us where we continued the “Travel System” (stroller/car seat combo) hunt that we started at Echildren. We narrowed down our choices to items by “Evenflo” as we liked the ergonomically correct handle on the carseat. Babies R Us only had one model so we thought we might as well shop a few more stores back in Red Deer before committing (especially as neither of us loved the puke yellow color of the the set). Though I didn't like the color I decided that I wouldn't let it get in the way of my buying decision as it was the least important factor for this item.
Vanessa drove down on July 1st so Tyler & I had to make our final paint decisions by then so the work could be done. Despite saying that he thought brown looked like poop, Tyler eventually agreed to doing three walls in a turquoise color from the bedding (called “Happy Talk” from Debbie Travis) and one feature wall in “dark chocolate”. I’m really glad we did the one wall in the brown as I LOVE it and I think the two colors balance each other very well. The turquoise on all four walls would have been too much for me as I added a chocolate shelf and the brown glider to anchor the room as well and it just right now. So Vanessa & Tyler did that on Thursday & did a wonderful job. They are both much more attentive to detail about that kind of thing then I have the patience for - I say surround yourself with people who possess the skills you don't!
Our crib came in on Thursday also, but we didn’t open the box until Friday night. As soon as he did, Tyler noticed a crack in one of the main joints of the back frame. Not only was it not pretty, but it was possibly structure affecting so I thought it best to return it to Sears and re-order it then have it crack get worse over its use. The crib will either be converted to a toddler bed for this baby or re-used as a crib for a second baby & then converted so it needs to last. Luckily, the new crib will be here on July 10, less than a week away now rather then the long 3 weeks I waited for it the first time! It was a bit disappointing not to be able to set it up & see the room more complete but I’m getting used to having to wait for things now.
On Saturday, Vanessa wanted to go to Calgary to see Twylia & Kyla’s new babies. I was unable to get a hold of Twylia to make arrangements so I took advantage of the extra time to check out a few baby stores in Calgary: Echildren, Once Upon a Child & Babies R Us. Echildren is fun to check out but most of the items are more pricey than I’d be able to convince Tyler is worth it (or even myself). Realistically, you are paying for an image there more than great things for your baby. Once Upon a Child was like 90% clothes, which I was avoiding with Vanessa in tow. Plus I only want to purchase a few sleepers/onesies for baby’s first week or two and leave the rest until after my shower (which will be post baby). Then onwards to Babies R Us where we continued the “Travel System” (stroller/car seat combo) hunt that we started at Echildren. We narrowed down our choices to items by “Evenflo” as we liked the ergonomically correct handle on the carseat. Babies R Us only had one model so we thought we might as well shop a few more stores back in Red Deer before committing (especially as neither of us loved the puke yellow color of the the set). Though I didn't like the color I decided that I wouldn't let it get in the way of my buying decision as it was the least important factor for this item.
In addition to baby stores in Calgary, we also went to "Crave" a crazy good cupcake place & "Chianti's' a yummy pasta place. After dinner we visited with the Bly's: Kyla, Michael & Logan. Logan slept & ate most of the visit but I got some good cuddles in and some good photos. That's all you can ask for at that age! Kyla also had some hand-me-down clothes that she had gone through and was going to donate so I went through it & picked a few items out for myself. It was fun as those are my baby's first clothes I've gotten.
Vanessa left Sunday morning so I managed to convince Tyler to continue shopping for the Travel System that afternoon. We checked out Zellers (which had absolutely nothing) and both Walmarts. Walmart had an Evenflo set that I liked the pattern on (zoo animals w/ the alphabet in a beige with some color) but it was definitely a step down from the other model we liked though only $180 which is $100 cheaper then the model at Babies R Us. We also went to Sears who had one Evenflo set in-store for $280 that is identical in features to the one at Babies R Us but with a different pattern. For some reason I really did not like the floor model they had: it gave me a hand cramp when I tried to flatten it & the wheels were a bit sticky around the corners when I test drove it. Sears also had a model in their catalogue that seems to be the same but is only $230 so theoritically should have less features. It's a beige plaid, kind of reminds me of like a trench coat pattern. We then trekked over to Red Deer's Babies R Us and re-looked at the "pukey yellow" set. The color was less appalling to us in RD over Calgary for some reason. We then looked at the Evenflo separates and discovered that they had a stroller and carseat that matched and clicked together, they were just priced separately: the stroller at $180 & the car seat at $100 so basically exactly the same price as the travel set. I asked an associate if there was any bonus to buying the travel set & she said that it didn't have any specific different features that she was aware of.
At the end of the day, we decided to order the $230 one from Sears to check it out in comparison to the $280 versions. If it suites our needs then it makes sense to save the fifty bucks. If we don't like it, its very easily returnable and we'll choose from either the set or separates at Babies R Us. It's scheduled to arrive on Friday, July 10th the same day my crib is due back in so fun stuf for the weekend.
I'm a visual girl so I'm going to post the travel set options for y'all to see...
This is the set from Sears Catalogue that is coming in on Friday:
This is the "puke yellow" one, the color is very different in-store:
This is the "separate" on that has a matching chair:
I accidently came across this one on the US Toys R Us site when I was looking up the other ones...I love the color so I may have to do some digging to see if I could get it delivered here. Does anyone know how the US safety standards compare to Canada?
Something you might want to consider is buying a double stroller that the car seat can attach to. Most people don't realize that the single is perfect for your current situation, but if you plan to have another child that it will no longer work. You will need a double stroller when your second child comes along because the older child will still need to sit for a bit as they won't be able to walk the long distance. Just something that you might want to ponder.
ReplyDeleteMichelle
Canadian carseat standards are more strict than American ones. It is illegal for a store to sell American carseats in Canada. It is also illegal for an American retailer to ship an American carseat to Canada. You definitely don't want to purchase a carseat from the U.S. A stroller is fine to purchase from the U.S, but I guess it would be pointless if you can't get the matching carseat in Canada.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to know about the difference between US & Canadian standards. Now I won't bother looking into it. Besides, safety & function should come before color choice. I had also pretty much given Tyler free range over picking the stroller as he's more detail oriented than I am about things like that...
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure about the double stroller. It definitely makes sense but I think I'd feel weird pushing around a double with only one kid in the meantime. I am pretty sure I want two kids but you never really know what will happen in life.