Guess who’s baby’s finally got a car seat?! Woo hoo!
I hate posting twice in one day, but in my defense we are getting awfully close, I didn’t post at all over the weekend, and these are exciting new developments (if you consider shopping for the bare necessities exciting).
Here’s the thing… love this because it goes all the way.
No, we didn’t buy this one.
Look at it. It’s like a throne for an astronaut. Love the color. One purchase lasts from birth to booster seat. Love it. But, it’s $185. I’m also kind of confused about how to use it, because I remember when my cousin Amy would bring her baby, Kyle (“baby,” who just got his drivers license), to Gammy and Papa’s house she’d bring him inside the house in the infant carrier. I just feel like that’s more convenient for Christmas, Thanksgiving, Easter, restaurants and all that kind of stuff than taking him out of the car seat and carrying him in. I got a stroller that’s super lightweight and reeks of awesomeness. It is perfect for Walt Disney World – it folds up pretty tight but it doesn’t have the infant seat component. It just reclines back enough for a newborn.
At some point, I am going to be rolled out of the hospital and they’re going to need to see a car seat before they’ll let me leave. Even if I had the dough for the Alpha-Omega… I don’t know if I can pull the trigger on it while I’m still confused about the carrier situation. I have also registered for a really cool Chicco Travel System, but it all comes back to the same thing – okay, it’s $300 and I HAVE a kick-ass stroller already. Do I want to spend all that money on this thing when I really just need the carrier? I love the stroller part, too, but I hate how big and bulky those things are even when they’re folded down. It would take up the vast majority of the back of the 4Runner. And while we could probably fit a few duffel bags back there with it, I don’t know whether or not we could fit a few duffel bags, a Pack ‘n’ Play, a baby tub, a diaper bag, and a dog.
Enter craigslist. We bought a Graco Travel System for $75. For $75, I don’t mind taking a risk on a travel system that includes a bulky stroller that we never use. I was really hoping to spend $25-$40 for a used infant car seat/carrier that would carry us through the first few months while we decided what we liked, so I don’t mind dropping $50 on a stroller that it will click into. That’s fine. If we hate it, we can sell it on craigslist. Maybe we’ll enjoy the travel system. Who knows?
Our “new” stroller and car seat!
Now, Pack ‘n’ Plays… they are so advanced. It used to just be a cloth/metal/plastic playpen. Now it’s that, but with different heights, a bassinet, a changing table, side storage and a character mobile. Forget it. I don’t want all that. Once I get all of that put together I’m never going to want to take it back down and go anywhere. It’s not temporary enough. I do, however, LOVE the super-pricey Baby Bjorn Travel Crib.
Only $279!
Stream-lined. Simple. Portable. TWO HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-NINE DOLLARS. And you’re probably going to want a crib sheet for that, and that’ll set you back an additional $43. Yowza.
Enter craigslist.
I know Dragon Kid needs a place to sleep while we’re in VA. I know I don’t like Pack ‘n’ Plays. I know I don’t want to spend $200 on something I don’t like… but $40… I could go $40 on it.
Retail: $189.95
Because I’m so smart: $40. Boom baby!
Look at that. Little happy can sleep right next to Papa Bear and Mama Bear… assuming he can sleep through the two of us sawing logs all night. I don’t have to get up to feed him. Just grab him and pull him into the bed.
All this talk about baby travel has made me really want that Puj tub. Someone listed one on CL here in Charlotte, and I found a couple in DC. If I could get my hands on it for $20-$25 I’d be one happy camper. Cross your fingers for me.
That La Kid 
Okay, we put the bassinet thing together and I freakin’ love it.
I’m excited!