babyblog

Baby Gear

Baby gear gets no less confusing the 2nd time around.

Fortunately we've kept alot of the more expensive stuff from last time, but there are still a number of things (30, according to my comprehensive list) we've got to buy this time, some of which are fairly major including a new mattress for the crib, a car seat or two, a swing, and a little more furniture.

Went out yesterday to check out mattresses. When D was born we went to John Lewis and there were a number of choices which met safety regulations. After a long chat with the saleswoman we determined that a foam mattress was a good idea to begin with, it supports the tiny weight of the baby and is breathable so should he bury his face in it, air can get through. Made sense, until later when you buy a firmer coil mattress. Here, they don't appear to sell foam mattresses, only plastic covered firm coil ones. According to the saleswoman they haven't sold foam ones in a few years due to safety regulations. But checking some UK Sites I discovered they do, so that's confusing as to what I ought to get. Ended up buying the most expensive (there's not much difference in the prices between low and high end) firm one I could get as the woman insisted it was the safest, but I remain confused between the different guidelines depending which side of the Atlantic you're on. I suspect that US led guidelines would be more anal about safety mind you.

Car Seats are also confusing. When D was born we had the obligatory Britax Rock A Tot. He was only in it for a matter of weeks as he was too heavy to carry around in it, so we switched to a larger seat (which we then stupidly gave away to G's sister). The Rock A Tot has been stored since, so I figured I could use it again. Apparently this may not be the case. According to safety regulations on this side of the Atlantic, seats are no use once they're 5 yrs old. Apparently the plastic degrades and renders them unsafe. There's also concern that they've been knocked around and damaged being so old (mine hasn't). So I'm not sure what to do on that front. I've unsuccessfully emailed Britax twice about it and had no response and I've tried to call them and can't get through. Another thing is car seats here advertise they use the LATCH system. I have no idea what this means or whether I need it / already have it. Sigh. Meanwhile I have ordered this car seat which is very snazzy, has cup holders and arm rests (which every discerning infant needs of course), and should last a while.

Swings. Never had one with D. Was always wary of him getting 'addicted' to one, as you often hear happens with some people. They put the child in the swing as a calming device and before long find the kid can't sleep unless it's put in there. I definitely DO NOT want to get into that habit! Having said that, D used to suffer terribly with the '6-10 grizzles' when he was small due to being a bit colicy, and I'm reliably informed by many women on babycenter.com that the swing is great for calming them and relaxing them, so I decided to get one. I ordered this one, which is apparently the best. We'll see!

In terms of other major purchases still necessary, I want to buy a bookcase for the babies room and this one is tempting, complete with lined baskets full of nappies and wipes and stuff like that.

Other than that, I am procrastinating over a baby monitor - it needs to be a good one, with a long range reception and preferably digital (so we can hear the baby when we're hanging out outside in the summer!), and other necessary purchases are all the essentials such as bottles, sterilizers, nappies, wipes, breast pads to catch leaking milk (lovely), and similar. All in all I reckon there's still a grands worth of stuff to get - yikes.

In other news, today makes 27 weeks of pregnancy. It really is going by rather quickly, I remember with D every day dragged! I'm starting to feel very massive and slightly uncomfortable, but nothing too bad as yet. This morning I discovered that it is extremely difficult to maintain a tidy bikini line when there is a very large obstacle in the way.

Posted by katie at May 3, 2004 10:32 AM