I’m breaking my own rule here by writing a new post before any one has commented on the last boring one, but I think it’s time to move on. As I’m now in the midst of week 29 (or, I suppose, really week 30 because I have completed 29 weeks, just as I have completed 36 years — zoinks!), I’m starting to get a little panicky about all of the things that we have to do and would like to get done before Baby Girl Sweet Potato arrives. We are really not ready. I know a lot of people say that — and I have even heard more experienced parents talk with pride about how the crib wasn’t put together until mom’s water broke — but I am pretty serious about it and starting to get stressed. I would like the crib together well before I am calling triage at the hospital to tell them I’m on my way. I would like the changing table/dresser ready to go before I’m making sure the camera battery is charged. So, this week is a big week for us. AO has taken the week off (because he always seems to have more vacation time than I) and is going to put together a bunch of things we bought at Ikea a few weeks ago. Among these items are the crib and aforementioned changing table/dresser but are also two bookshelves we hope are going to work magic in our living room. You see, Dear Reader, we live in a one-bedroom condo. So, and I’ll do the math for you here, we are soon going to have three humans and a dog in a one-bedroom condo. I’m really not too worried about this — we have plenty of space — but it’s going to take some creativity and — and I’m mentally preparing for this — some serious trial and error.
Ok, that aside, this week I’m also trying to focus on a chair for our nursery-area. For the most part, I am convinced that we would really like a glider chair. I have read a bit of info suggesting a glider isn’t really necessary and instead we can just rock the baby in our arms in a regular chair, but I think a glider — I’ll take the extra help with rocking, thank you — is the way to go for us. I started my search weeks ago, but have amped up my efforts in the last week. I have looked at Overstock.com, Target, Ikea, Room & Board, Land of Nod, Pottery Barn Kids, Rosenberry Rooms, Babies ‘R’ Us, Hayneedle, and more. I have even looked into how to add a glider mechanism to any old chair and emailed a local upholster to ask him if he could do that for us. I have alternated between the mindset that I am willing to spend a lot of money (telling myself chairs are expensive and it will nicely balance out the frugality we exhibited when we bought our $99 crib) and heeding the call of the thrifty siren (telling myself there are a million other things we need to buy and a chair is not the place to spend any extra dough). There is also the issue of space and design. I would like something fairly compact — nothing oversized — and with simple lines; something upholstered without any bells and whistles. I’m drawn to designs like this chair from West Elm (priced at $599, but 20% off for the next few days):
I also very much like this more expensive sweetheart from Room & Board ($999):
An example of one that I am not at all interested in? This chair from Babies ‘R’ Us looks quite comfortable and is nicely affordable at $199, but is a bit too busy for my eye:
There is an additional issue. I would really like to buy something made in the US or, at least, Canada. But I have not decided how committed I am to this. What I mean is, I have not ruled out buying something made elsewhere. I recognize I have already bought a million things that are made in countries other than ours, so why put my foot down on this one? On the other hand, furniture — and good furniture — is something that is still made here in this country and perhaps I should have the moral and ethical code to insist that at least something in the nursery is made in these parts. And if not the chair, then what? Narrowing my purchase choice down to one made in the USA has the added advantage of, well, narrowing my choices down.
Hmm. Ok, this has been helpful. Writing things down really helps me make decisions! Thank you, Dear Reader, for I think I will indeed refocus my glider search on a made-in-this-country option. Any suggestions you have, though, would be more than appreciated.
life and puppies 