It's Bed Time!

The title of this post feels like the title of a Sandra Boynton board book. I think that's Pajama Time! Either way, I'm not talking about time to go to bed. I am talking about time to switch your firstborn from a crib to a bed. When it comes to this transition, I have 2 types of friends. First are those that put off the transition as long as possible, but before college because no one wants to be the parent of the freshman who sleeps in a crib. Second are those that force the transition as soon as baby number two is on the way because there's no budget for another piece of furniture with a teeny life span.

I'm in camp one - hold out as long as possible - but that may be because my daughter is not a climber. If she were scaling her crib walls, I would feel differently. Thankfully, I've trained her to believe that the only way for her to get out of her crib is by me picking her up. Or, her upper body strength isn't there yet (more likely). Either way, I'm in no rush to move her into bed land. 

But, when bed time comes, will I move her straight to a twin bed or will I transition with a toddler bed? I have no idea and would love some input on the subject. I don't know anyone who's done the toddler bed. I think this is because almost all of my friends (even those with 3+ year olds) still have their kiddos in a crib. My one friend who moved her little one into a twin bed experienced some resistance to the change (you can interpret "resistance" in whatever way you like...).

Here is my crib (check out THIS post to learn why I chose it):

(image source)

It's the Robin crib by Oeuf. And I love it. I love, love, LOVE it. It looks as good today as it did the day we got it and as it does in the photo above with that cutie doing downward facing dog. It has the ability to convert into a toddler bed that looks like this:

Comparing images, my daughter looks much closer in age to the yogi than the pirate. So, basing my parenting choice on Oeuf's marketing, I have a long ways to go before I need to purchase the conversion kit. Another thing I'm realizing is that those roll guards are very low...or is that normal height? My daughter is a pretty active sleeper. I didn't think active sleeping was possible, it falls directly into the definition of an oxymoron, but it is. Night after night she defies science by barrel rolling back and forth and upways and downways and crossways, all while maintaining a deep sleep.

With my daughter being a non-climbing, ruckus snoozer and the fact that I'm undecided on the toddler bed vs. twin bed issue, it's clear that bed time is not an impending transition in my household. When the time does come I'll fill you in on which path we choose - toddler conversion or twin bed or some other option that I'm not yet aware of...perhaps floor tent.

What's your plan? Did you already make the transition? How did it go? 

Double the Baby, Double the Gear?

When you add a second baby to the mix, what else do you need to add?  What other stuff do you need?  Some baby gear from your first born can be reused, but some can't.  Inevitably, you will need some additional things and some different things.  The following list is a brainstorm of the Reusable Stuff versus the New Stuff.  It's based strictly on common sense (and not experience) because I am a mother of one.  Kindly note that my common sense is not always measuring at a respectable level.

I've broken it down by category: Eat, Sleep, Travel and Everyday.

EAT 

Reusable - I think most things in the EAT category are going to be reusable, like bottles, a bottle drying rack, baby utensils and plates, food storage containers for the fridge and freezer, a breast pump and a Boppy/My Breast Friend/the like.

Purchase Necessary

• Bibs - Some of these may have suffered significant wear and tear.
• Bottle/Sippy cup brush - It was probably time for a new one about a year ago (hopefully you took care of that), it's definitely time for a new one now.
• Breast milk storage - This depends on what kind of storage you used and what you plan to use.  If you are into the plastic bags then you'll need more of those suckers.

I own this OXO bottle brush and am happy to report that
I replaced it midway through my bottle washing days.

SLEEP

Reusable - Your bassinet/co-sleeper, swaddle blankets and monitor are probably in good shape and reusable.  If you used a white noise machine or mobile, those are reusable as well.  The crib, however, is entirely dependent on whether your first born is still using it.  If baby number one has moved on to bigger bed pastures, then the crib falls into the reusable category.  If baby number one is still behind bars, then you're looking at your biggest round two purchase.

Purchase Necessary

• Bedding - A set or two of new sheets is probably in the cards.
• Wearable blankets - This will depend on how your old ones held up.
• Extra monitor camera - If you are still using your monitor with your first born, then you'll want to add a camera to your system so you can spy on both kiddos.

This is a travel crib by Baby Bjorn.  I don't have it, but I've seen it in action.
While I don't love the price tag, I do love how light weight it is...like a feather,
especially compared to the Pack N Play, which I do have.  

TRAVEL

Reusable - This category has some big ticket items, so it would be nice to reuse as much as possible.  You should be able to put your infant car seat to use for number two.  It's unlikely that safety standards have changed much (or at all) and it's likely that it's in good enough shape.  Your carrier, whether you went with the Bjorn or Ergo or Moby or some other cool choice, will definitely make a reappearance after a quick refreshening.

Purchase Necessary

• Portable crib - If number one still needs a portable crib, then you'll need another for baby number two...I guess...right?  It's hard for me to imagine a hotel room with multiple portable cribs, but what's the alternative?  I would love for someone who has traveled with two babies to chime in here. 
• Toddler car seat - Your first born will probably still be using the toddler car seat when your second born is ready to transition up, so you'll need to purchase a second toddler car seat at that point.  They stay in car seats forever.
• Double stroller - If your first born is under four years, you'll need a double stroller.  (Side note: four years is a total hypothesis on age, I don't actually know when most kids give up the stroller.)  Some single strollers are designed to attach an additional seat, so if you have one of these guys then you'll just need the extra seat.  If baby number one is closer to the four year mark, you may be able to get away with a ride along board (see below).

This is the ride along board from Uppa Baby.  Some boards are brand specific and some are universal.

EVERYDAY

Reusable - Some clothes, shoes and accessories will be reusable, though this depends on a bunch of factors that I talked about in a post a couple weeks back.  You can also reuse some health and safety stuff like thermometers, nasal syringes, an infant bathtub, towels and washcloths.

Purchase Necessary

• Pacifiers - They're inexpensive and seem likely something that should be fresh and new.
• Clothes, shoes and accessories - You will probably need some of this stuff based on seasonal, size and gender differences between your little ones.
• Diapers and wipes and ointments - Obviously.
• Humidifier - If you have two babies with two head colds (a total nightmare), everyone will need their own humidifier.

What am I missing?  I feel like a lot.  

What were you surprised to be able to reuse and bummed to have to purchase?  

My Crib Choice

I'm back and I'm sharing my crib choice.  It was one of my first big decisions when I found out that I was pregnant.  With that being said, it took me quite a while to pull the trigger because I had a pretty long list of musts-haves and would-likes.  Overall, I was aiming for high quality versus high style.  This wasn't an area that I was willing to compromise if at all possible.  My baby-to-be was going to spend a lot time in the crib (hopefully 8+ hour stretches...) and I wanted it to last through moves to new homes, into toddler years and even for future family members.

Here's my list:

• Relatively small - You know by now that I live in an small, one bedroom, NYC apartment.  The crib was going to (and now is) sharing the minimal square footage of the one bedroom.  I didn't want a true mini crib because I intended to use it in the future, in bigger spaces and with younger siblings.  Rather, I wanted a standard size crib that would fit a standard size mattress, but otherwise small (minimal thickness and height).  Some cribs are pretty bulky.  I wanted to steer clear of those cribs, however gorgeous they might be.
• Made of wood - Wood is better than pressed board (aka MDF) for a couple reasons.  First, it lasts longer.  Second, it's natural.  Pressed board contains some gnarly chemicals and while I wasn't going to be obsessive about off-gassing concerns (Google it), choosing a wood crib versus a non-wood crib seemed easy enough.
• Non-toxic finish - There are so many cribs with non-toxic finishes nowadays that it was simple to go with the safer option.
• Light finish - This was purely aesthetic, but I preferred a light finish (white, birch, etc.) versus a dark finish (cherry, expresso, etc.).  I work with the theory that light and bright colors help open up small spaces.
• Simple style - I'm not into ornate things, cribs included. 
• No drawers on bottom - At first I absolutely, positively wanted drawers on the bottom of the crib.  I figured the added storage was what every one bedroom apartment with a newborn needs.  But I changed my mind.  I realized that an open bottom crib gave me options.  I could use the open space for more versatile storage like baskets or plastic bins.  Or, I could just leave it open for storing playmats and other randomly shaped baby stuff.  
• Convertible into a toddler bed - Stretching the usability of the crib just made sense to me, especially because I wanted to purchase a high quality crib that I believed would last into (and beyond) toddler years.   

And now my choice - the Robin crib by Oeuf

What you see above is what you see in my bedroom, with the exception of the toddler doing yoga and the funky shaped cow rug.  So far, so good.  I'm very pleased with my choice.  It met ALL of my must-haves and even my would-likes.  I didn't have to compromise on a single thing.  The price point seemed mid range ($499 without the toddler bed conversion kit) compared to other models I was considering.  I had looked at everything from cribs available on Walmart.com to the Stokke Sleepi crib.  I really liked a crib by Argington (here), but was ultimately dissuaded after reading a number of reviews about faulty legs that snapped and broke.  The Robin crib was the right crib for the right price and I happened to love the way it looked, bonus.  

How did you choose a crib?  What did you ultimately settle on?