The hallway-cum-office-cum-library-cum-nursery
Some things about pregnancy, I’m finding, are awfully fun. Last week I popped—meaning the woman at Golden Gate Meat Company, the receptionist at my office, the co-owner of the market across the street, and a guy in my neighborhood all feel free to ask when I’m due and/or if I’m in the family way. (That was Peter, the guy in my neighborhood. He followed up with “So how long have you been married?” He’s 88, though, so give him a break.) A guy on MUNI asked if I wanted his seat, a concept so foreign that he had to ask me twice before I understood the question. And EVERYONE tells me I look great.
OK, OK, This is a Small-Space Blog
A surprisingly less-than-fun part? The registry. When we registered for the wedding, we knew exactly what we wanted. Pots, pans, knives, juicers—all of it felt like a giddy shopping spree through Sur La Table. But then, I’d cooked before. I’ve never set up a nursery before. And if our research online is any indication, except for a few city-dwellers at places like Apartment Therapy, no one online has ever kept a baby in a less-than-1000-SF home, and by not moving, my husband and I are kissing up to the concept of child abuse.
So we’re flying in a fog here, but we do have an incredible support group; in preparation for RocketBaby’s takeoff, three of my friends were even kind enough to have baby girls in the last three years! The writer of the wonderful Good Crafternoon blog, for instance, will be sending me about 6 months’ worth of baby clothes, from onesies to socksies to hatsies. A woman at work gave me her Boppy; my sister gave me her baby carrier and sling; and another friend will be passing along her carseat. Someone in our apartment building even left a baby bouncer by our door, although we haven’t tested it to see if the vibration feature works.
But what kind of crib to get? What kind of stroller? San Francisco hipsters roll around in the Bugaboo, but I can’t justify spending $600 on a stroller; not even the $400 a used one would cost. Cribs all seemed to be gigantic wastes of space. Do we get a bassinet or a Pack’n'Play? A crib or a Pack’n'Play? Or maybe even a Moses Basket? And what about the changing table?
Disposable, cloth, or flushable?
No on the last, at least–we’re foregoing the changing table for the dresser we found on the street last year. (Covered in an earlier blog!) So that was easy: first thing on the registry, a changing pad. Second thing: lots of cute blankets. Cute I can select like nobody’s business. Then there’s the breast pump, and the bottles, and the diapers—oh, but the diapers have so many options! Disposable or gDiapers or cloth? (Fortunately, Dottie of GoodCrafternoon is using all three and invited us over for a day’s worth of diaper duty so we can test them all. Such a good friend!)
DaVinci Emily Mini Crib
As our apartment’s not really big enough to warrant a playpen, we decided to go with the crib option. RocketMan’s convinced he can build a bassinet for the early months when the baby sleeps in the bedroom, and as long as I can test it and RocketGirl-proof-it, I’m OK with that. (I’m far clumsier than anyone I know, so if it stands up to my rigorous arm-flailing, I have confidence in its structural integrity.) Fortunately, there are plenty of mini-cribs out there; we went with the Davinci Emily Mini Crib, which measures in at 40.5 x 28 x 38 inches–not as small as some, but the reviews were good. The side drops, and it converts into a bed.
Still to come: a stroller; and some kind of rocking chair. Actual rocking chairs tend to have huge footprints, so we’d prefer something glider-like, but we’ve had bad luck finding a glider that doesn’t look like its design was last updated in 1987. At the last Alameda Flea Market, we found an adult-sized chair that operated similar to baby bouncers–a metal frame that gently bounces, as opposed to rocking or gliding. Alas, it was a huge chair, but if you happen to find anything out there similar, let me know.
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