My baby wish list

We didn't really buy a lot of "stuff" for Theodore. Besides being financially insecure (which we still are.... sigh), I kind of wanted to shun the "you have a baby, you need ALL THIS JUNK!" mentality. We went through a few things to test them out (a crib, a swing, a travel system) but mostly I just bought them for really cheap on KSL and then sold them for more (actually, working on selling the crib still, anyone interested? It's super cute). We would keep it, but will probably be moving in Clementine's first few months, and definitely before she's ready for the crib (read: I'm ready to not cuddle my precious newborn all night long). Co-sleeping had it's upsides and downsides, but overall, I'm ready and more than willing to do it again. Theodore is a happy, well-adjusted, securely-attached and incredibly outgoing and confident child. Not sure where the co-sleeping fits into the causes, but if it did at all, it was worth it. However, we WILL be buying a king-sized mattress for our next "bed." I have the feeling there will be some nights where all four of us will end up together...

On to my wish list though. There are not many things, but after getting all experienced with the first kid, I have a really good idea of what I will definitely be purchasing once we settle down:

1) Changing table: one thing I considered completely unnecessary with my first baby. Who actually uses a changing table?! But with cloth-diapering and then a squirmy toddler, I realized how much I yearned for one. You see, with cloth-diapering, there is so much stuff to keep up with. Pre-folds, inserts, covers, spray, wipes, creams, pins, Snappis.... etc. For a while, we had a basket and then a drawer dedicated to all the materials, but it would have  been nice to have it all in one accessible location and go there to change every time. I love the pockets on this one from Ikea. But let's be honest, unless I could find it used, I'm sure I'll end up with an old, cheaper wooden one. Which would be grand by me.

Photo: Ikea

2) Didymos Wrap: ok, I like wearing my baby. That has been established. However, once Theodore hit about 18 pounds, it became pretty unbearable for my back. The Sleepy Wrap and Moby Wraps were just too bouncy and not supportive enough (LOVED them for the newborn stage though). I never have liked the buckles and everything on an Ergo and Boba. These are SO gorgeous and SO expensive. Sigh.... (ps: did just find one on KSL for $75 in this color below.... tempting....)

Photo: Amazon

3) Car Seat: So, kind of a generic want, but also an essential one. I really, really love the Combi Coccoro still, and they are re-doing it with those freaking awesome Britax-like LATCH connectors which seriously rock my car seat installing world. I would totally opt for another Britax Roundabout, but those things are so ginormous, there is no way I could a) fit two side-by-side, or b) rear-face it by the door. By the way, we turned Theodore around last week. He is now a veritable forward-facing toddler. I was really sad, but he was getting very uncomfortable and his head was inching closer to the top of the shell. I'm all for extended rear-facing, but I don't get how some of these car seat advocates have their four-year-olds rear-facing! Maybe it's our car...?

Back to car seat needs: Love the Combi. Will probably get it in the future. I didn't really see the need for an infant seat with Theodore and he was in a convertible after a few months (because I hated, hated, hated our cheap Graco infant seat that I could never get installed correctly, bounced all over the place and just sucked in general). BUT, that being said... I'm kind of wanting to invest in a nice infant seat, especially since I know I have small babies and we could use it for one year plus some. I never keep my baby in the infant seat outside of the car, but I remember a few times when it was ridiculously cold, it was super nice to have him all bundled up underneath that car seat cover-up thing before we head out to the car. And seeing as how one of the places we may live next year includes Wisconsin (or Connecticut or New Jersey), we may be in for a very, very cold winter. So, do I want to spend the extra money (well, technically my parents are buying us a car seat for Christmas, but if I buy the infant seat, I'll have to replace it in 18 months or so...) and get the infant seat even if I could only use it for a  year because maybe I'll be living somewhere very cold? Oh, the car seat dilemmas in my life. Why, oh why, do I worry so much about them? Anyways.... that being said.... if I did buy an infant seat, I'd probably go with the Chicco KeyFit or Britax Chaperone. In fact, it would either be the Britax Chaperone in Cowmooflage or the Chicco KeyFit in Limonata because of this study here on toxicity of car seats (darn you, Maren, for giving me another thing to obsess over!) Now, not only do I have to consider the safety of the car seat and the quality, I have to figure out which COLOR is less toxic (even though I was pleasantly surprised the Cowmooflage was least toxic... everyone knows I love a cow-print car seat).

So yeah, three things we'll be buying for this little girl (or probably not buying, but wanting to have). Luckily, we already have a full six-month wardrobe courtesy of my good instincts and an on-campus clothing exchange with tons of baby girl stuff. So, we won't need to be buying any clothes, though I did pick out a few adorable BabyGap outfits for a dollar each at DI the other day.