Buying Baby Stuff - Car Seats, Strollers

[Slava]

We didn't have the name-brand baby Bjorn, but the front carrier was a godsend for us! Our daughter would sleep in that, and when she went through a few months of having to be held it was the only way my wife could get things done around the house (which is a great fringe benefit of mat leave!!!).

One huge recommendation that I have for all of you having sleep issues is a clinic put on by raymond parenting. I should say that I don't work for them or have any affiliation, I'm just a satisfied customer! We went for the seminar and when our daughter was about 3-4 months old implemented the plan and she has slept through the night ever since. She sleeps now for about 12 hours/night. To get there it was seriously only 3 hard nights, but no harder than what you go through otherwise!! The website is www.raymondparenting.com and it costs about $70/couple.

[looooob]

Originally Posted by fotze

Does that raymond sleep thing involve any amount of letting them cry it out? I am not as adverse to the letting them cry as my wife is. That is a non-starter for her.

yes it does. PM me if you want more info or moral support. I'm a survivor.

heck for a few hundred bucks I"ll watch your kid for the 3 nights it takes

[Slava]

Yeah, that was the 3 hard days that I was referring to. When we did this my wife took off "to get some things at Staples"....so it was my enjoyable evening to hear the screaming. But seriously, its only 3 days. We weren't sure that we should do it until we heard the seminar and then decided to give it a shot. Its not as bad as you think...

[photon]

I could never do the cry it out thing.. so I ended up increasing the amount of time between interventions. So I'd let him cry 5 minutes, pick him up, put him down, cry 6 minutes, pick him up, etc etc.. took a week and a half instead of 3 days, but I was happy with that.

[Gravitykillr]

Originally Posted by TimSJ

i agree with the above about the clip in.. Travel system

We went with the Quinney Freestyle 4 and the wife loves it. I think it was about $400 at sears

Our Baby girl is 8 1/2 months old.. I am jsut starting to look for the next stage in Car seats.. Anyone have any reccommendations?

Went with this stroller as well and the tire popped today so it's a pain to find replacement's because quinny's website is useless but Cyclepath in the south end of Calgary has them. Just got home from getting the new tire good guys, did a nice job on the tire ordered 4 more while I was at it.

[prarieboy]

Maybe you should give some thought to buying used as well. I know, I know, it's your first child and you want the best for him/her (as you should) but if you look around you'll probably find some of the same things your looking for in really good shape for half the price you'd pay retail.
People only use them for a short while.

[V]

Let's see. I picked up a cradle off of ebay (twas in Calgary) for 20 bucks. We bought a stroller for 20 bucks through the bargain finder. We bought a change table for 15 bucks. We bought a toddler bed for 30 bucks. For the car seat my wife did want to spend some extra money (safety first!) so we bought a new Graco for about 90 bucks. Bought a pack 'n play for 10 bucks.

Tonnes of clothes at VV Boutique.

I'll never understand the folks that will blow 400 bucks on a stroller alone.

[V]

Originally Posted by photon

I could never do the cry it out thing.. so I ended up increasing the amount of time between interventions. So I'd let him cry 5 minutes, pick him up, put him down, cry 6 minutes, pick him up, etc etc.. took a week and a half instead of 3 days, but I was happy with that.

I could let the kid go for a couple hours, and usually did when the wife was out of the house. She couldn't let her cry for more than 10 minutes if she was around, though.

If you know that the diaper is clean, and the tummy is full, there's little you can do for the good of yourself and the kid by picking her up. Just let her go, I figger.

[Bend it like Bourgeois]

Originally Posted by fotze

Does that raymond sleep thing involve any amount of letting them cry it out? I am not as adverse to the letting them cry as my wife is. That is a non-starter for her.

Don't worry, eventually sleep deprivation will change her mind

Depends on the kid I think. With our first we had to - though we were both dead against it to start. With the second, no need....yet.

[ernie]

Spend the money and go with a travel system.

Before you buy check to make sure it will fit in your car. Do not assume if one fits they all will.

Sleeping etc.. Every parent has there own advice and techniques. Some prefer to Ferberize and others just don't mind getting up all the time. Personally neither method is attractive to me.

What worked very well for us was reading the Baby Whisperer (Tracy Hogg). Really it's just a middle of the road approach where you put the baby on a routine. The routine makes it easier to figure out what's wrong and easier for baby to figure out what is coming next. But it is not a rigid schedule. For sleeping she has a pick up put down technique which is very effective for pretty much any baby over 3 months old. Within 3 nights (often only 1) the child will sleep through the night. And there isn't that much crying really because you comfort the child and teach them how to fall asleep/self soothe.

But even if you don't go with the techniques i would go with, and that is your perogative (never let anyone tell you how to parent), I would recommend that you pay attention to the cries and body language. Especially the first few months...there is a different cry/body language signals for hunger, wet, tired, overstimulated, cold and hot. Pay attention and learn those early on and things will be much more smooth. They are distinct cries that every baby has...and they are essentially the same for every baby. Stick a boob in the kids mouth everytime they cry and you'll never know what they actually want and you'll be at wits end in a hurry. And treat your wife like a queen and when suggesting things do it in a non-agressive/comfrontational manner. Her hormones will be swirling for months after the birth and she will have several crying fits at the slightest provocation. Even she won't know why she's crying.

[photon]

Yeah we kind of went with the Baby Whisperer technique as well.. funny thing is my friend just had a baby and I was going to lend him the book, and all the nurses were telling him that that was the one book they'd recommend he avoid!

For us the nurses were all telling us to avoid the Baby Wise books.

[Madman]

Here are some very interesting reads about infant car seats:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...7_seats_ov.htm

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...ings/index.htm

[ernie]

Originally Posted by photon

Yeah we kind of went with the Baby Whisperer technique as well.. funny thing is my friend just had a baby and I was going to lend him the book, and all the nurses were telling him that that was the one book they'd recommend he avoid!

For us the nurses were all telling us to avoid the Baby Wise books.

Our nurses pretty much loved that book. But our nurses also pretty much told us to ignore their advice as they were not the parents. I've met people who don't like that book because they interpret it as a strict schedule which it most definitely is not (or not strict enough!). I can tell you that I've used the techniques in her books on friends babies, nephews and nieces when their parents were at wits end for something and they've never failed. I've had several heartfelt thank yous from the parents who were surpised how easy it was to calm the child down, figure out what's wrong and get them to sleep through the night. We've been getting 8 hours of sleep pretty much every night (minus growth spurt periods) since our daughter was 7 weeks old. I got my 10 month nephew to sleep the night just babysitting one night as my brother and siste-in-law needed a break. He had never slept through the night ever before. It took less then 2 hours, was incredibly simple, very little crying, the baby isn't ignored and he learned how to put himself asleep.

It isn't for everyone. No parenting book is. People have different philosohphies and want to parent in a different way. Perfectly fine. You can't parent in a way that you don't truly by into. The biggest piece of advice is make up your own mind on what makes the most sense to YOU. The pre-natal class instructor and the maternity nurses all have their own agendas and their own biases so don't blindly follow their suggestions on what books to read. In fact, I would say if you have a healthcare practioner that is saying "avoid this book or that" you run away from their advice. Nothing wrong with suggesting books they like or think are more effective but they should never ever say "don't read that book, it's crap", because that book may not be crap for YOU or how YOU want to parent. They may not buy into it but they are not YOU and it is not their kid (in our city most of the materinty nurses dont have kids...perhaps that's better). 99.9% of the books on the market will provide you with good paretning skills provided it lines up with your own philosophies.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by Madman

Here are some very interesting reads about infant car seats:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...7_seats_ov.htm

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...ings/index.htm

Oh this is comforting news. As if I didn't worry enough already....

[ernie]

Originally Posted by Dominicwasalreadytaken

Let's see. I picked up a cradle off of ebay (twas in Calgary) for 20 bucks. We bought a stroller for 20 bucks through the bargain finder. We bought a change table for 15 bucks. We bought a toddler bed for 30 bucks. For the car seat my wife did want to spend some extra money (safety first!) so we bought a new Graco for about 90 bucks. Bought a pack 'n play for 10 bucks.

Tonnes of clothes at VV Boutique.

I'll never understand the folks that will blow 400 bucks on a stroller alone.

Well one reason is that if you buy a stroller or baby item new you not only get the warranty, but the company contacts you directly if there is a recall or problem...or so they say.

[I-Hate-Hulse]

Originally Posted by Madman

Here are some very interesting reads about infant car seats:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...7_seats_ov.htm

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/b...ings/index.htm

Damn... those are brutal results for something seen as saftey enhancing.

[droopydrew19]

If you are looking to do things on a budget you might want to try a store named Once Upon A Child. I think there are 2 of them in Calgary. They buy and sell used but are pretty picky about the quality of what they will accept. They also carry some new items as well. I can recall going there quite a bit when our kids were younger.

[Madman]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

Oh this is comforting news. As if I didn't worry enough already....

That's exactly what I thought too. Here I was, thinking the new LATCH system was superior and it turns out it may not be....great.

I think I'll get a 15 passenger van, fill it full of foam and stick my son directly in the middle of it.

[Frank the Tank]

Originally Posted by Madman

That's exactly what I thought too. Here I was, thinking the new LATCH system was superior and it turns out it may not be....great.

I think I'll get a 15 passenger van, fill it full of foam and stick my son directly in the middle of it.

I see we have the same thought process.....

But ya, that is REALLY disturbing news. The things pass at the required speed and these guts just increase it 10 km/h and everything goes to hell. Super.

[Titan]

Originally Posted by Frank the Tank

All depends on the kid I think. Its a hit or miss thing. Friends have them and their kids are fine in them. We got one as a shower gift and our son HATED it.

Our kid really liked the baby bjorn. We go the one with the lumbar support from ebay and really liked it. If you have it already give it a couple of tries and if the kid does not like it Over the Rainbow will sell it in about 4 seconds.