Major Purchases: Playard

As with my last post we have started purchaing items for our first child. Yesterday we purchased two items. One was the stroller I previously talked about and the other was a Living Room Playard. We spent more that we probably should have, as we talked to a salesperson at a store and she indicated that there was a cheap one on sale at a Baby Days Sale this coming weekend. I never even knew there was such a thing as Baby Days, but it seems like every store is having one the coming weekend! She told us that some babies even sleep in this until they are two years old and not to be fooled by all of the bells and whistles on expensive systems. Anyways, we purchased a maching playard to our stroller and car seat combo that was three times the price of the cheap one she told us about. Are we suckers for buying the bells and whistles and trying to match items? Guilty. Anyways, we purchased the Graco Pack 'n Play® Playard, it sure looks good.

Here is some information that I found on this product (found at Albee Baby):

Product Features and Benefits:

• Silhouette style frame blends flowing lines, ideal proportions and purposeful details to define quality and comfort.
• Posture plus changing table fits your life with uniquely convenient height and functionality.
• Cozy oval bassinet embraces your baby with Graco signature quilting.
• Baby basics organizer blends practical baby care with style and flair offering diaper stacker, refillable wipes container, and storage compartments.
• Deluxe electronic mobile entertains and soothes with:
• 2 speed mattress mounted vibration
• 5 classical songs + 5 soothing nature sounds
• LED lights "dance" to the music
• Check light shines on baby's sleep area
• Timer settings of 5, 10, 15 or 20 minutes
• Full slumber dome canopy shades bassinet with a calm charming influence
• Squeeze latch adds graceful detailing to natural folding motion
• Accented with elliptical aluminum legs
• Wheels for better mobility in the home

Recommended Use:
For use by children unable to climb out, less than 35" tall.Changing Station for use by children less than 25 lbs.; Bassinet for use by children less than 15 lbs.

Care and Maintenance:If unit gets sandy, carefully remove sand from all surfaces before packing into bag. Sand may damage top rail lock. Clean with household soap and warm water. Drip dry. NO BLEACH. Machine wash carry bag in lukewarm water.

Was it worth the cost? What are your experiences with Playards?

Major Purchases: Baby Strollers

We are almost at week 25 now and this past weekend we started purchasing big items, that we will need when the baby arrives. We decided to go into a larger city and get some advice on products that we might need. We started at Toys "R" Us - Babies, as we were told that they are very educational. The lady we talked to had run a daycare for years and was very helpful. She took us through all of their products and indicated what she thought was best. We were specifically looking for a stroller and she indicated it did not matter which one we got but we should go with a Quattro.

We ended up purchasing one later on in the day from Sears. We purchased the Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe Travel System. The main reasons we purchased this model was because it was a Quattro, the car seat is good for infants from 5-30 lbs. (most of the others only were good up to 22 lbs), and yes we like the colour. More information about the system we bought can be found below.

The Graco Quattro Tour Deluxe travel system includes the Quattro Tour Deluxe stroller, SafeSeat infant car seat with a 5-Point front adjust harness and a stay-in-car adjustable base. The Quattro Tour Deluxe stroller is made of aluminum tubing and promises years of comfy strolling for infants through toddlers. The one hand gravity fold simplifies life for parents and the 180° rotating canopy with peek-a-boo window shades your child from any direction. The 4-position, flat reclining seat keeps your child comfortable while the parent organizer tray with storage compartment and cupholders provides convenience for mom and dad. The lower and load storage basket is the perfect place for storing baby's essentials. Best of all, this travel system includes the Infant SafeSeat car seat for your infant from 5-30 lbs. and up to 32".

Do you have any other suggestions about major purchases that we should be doing before the baby arrives? What were your experiences when purchasing a stroller?

Huggies Virtual Room Creator

Huggies Virtual Room Creator is a web based program that allows you to decorate your baby's or toddler's room with the click of a mouse. I especially like the floor plan decorator as I was able to build a room with the actual dimensions of the room we will be using. At this site you can also do things like create a mosaic of you and your baby, create an online story book, look at products and view special offers. I know that I am beginning to sound like and advertiser but this site is a lot of fun.

Maternity Clothes

Today I learned a lesson about maternity clothes with a stop at Thyme Maternity. My wife was having problems finding clothing in her closet that fit right. We have still not let everyone know our good news so she wanted some clothing that conceals and looks good. We found a line of clothing that is called Now & After. This line is supposed to work early in pregnancy and after the baby is born. It is a little expensive but my wife sure looks good in the clothing.



Well time for a story. We went into the store and I looked around for a while. I am not the most patient shopper I was told so after about five minutes I decided (asked permission) to go over to London Drugs. I spent about ten minutes in the store looking at new TVs and thought I better get back to see how my wife was doing. I went back into the store and sat down to read a magazine that was in the store. Another fifteen minutes passed so I walked to the change room and called her name. No one answered. I then asked a salesperson to see if she was changing. I thought she might have been having a touch of selective hearing. The salesperson said that she was not in the change room. Well I was a little frustrated that she was not there and thought I would check a few more of the stores in the mini mall. I did not find her anywhere so I went back to the vehicle. She came outside from the store and was wondering where I was. She needed my opinion on the clothes. In the exchange in the vehicle I found out that I had been sitting in the wrong store! We sure had a good laugh. Do you have any shopping stories for me? If so make sure to leave me a comment.