Sunday, October 05, 2008

Preparations:
OMG!!! What have I been doing for the last 3 yrs??? I cannot believe how much stuff we need and don't have. It doesn't seem like that much but, when a person has to research and think about every single thing like I do, its pretty time consuming. So, we've been doing the best we can and trying to tackle the must have's now and worry about the other stuff later.

Progress:
Car seats: I'm going to get a Britax, probably the Marathon, I just can't seem to figure out the difference between them all. This is one of those things I need to work on.

Stroller: heck if I know. So far, I've been leaning toward the Peg Perego Pliko P3 (say that 5 times fast!!) its fairly light, roomy, big basket, etc. I've also been looking at the Bob. We figure this is a must have that can wait. We'll probably buy a stroller in china so its not a huge deal if we don't choose a larger one until we return.

High chair: I want something that isn't hideous. Problem is, all the good looking ones have issues. I think we've finally settled on the one pictured to the right, the Combi Hero in Wasabi green. Its is height adjustable, one hand operated, converts to a booster chair, looks pretty easy to clean and is not overly huge or ugly.

Cart/high chair cover: these are the greatest inventions ever!! I so wish they had these things when the boys were small. There's a lady on ebay who does custom mades with about a million fabric choices, she also does car seat covers and they can match!! This is probably what I'lll do I just have to get my act together enough to order it.

Clothes: I've been buying clothes off and on for the last 2-1/2yrs or so. But, as anyone who is in the china nsn program knows, it is tough. You just don't have any idea what size or age (for some even gender) your child will be. So, what I've done is buy things from size 9 mos up to about 24 mos. I've only bought on EXTREME sale. Like when Kohl's has their 70% off clearance plus the 30% off coupon. I've purchased really, really nice sets and outfits for like, $1.50 each. I've also hit up the kids resale store every once in a while. Great stuff, pretty much all like brand new many still with tags for like $2 a piece. But, when you buy like this you end up with a strange assortment of stuff. Yesterday, I laid it all out and tried to sort through and figure out what we needed. I think for now, we're good. I plan to do the major clothes shopping once we return so I'll know exactly what size to get. I'm sure I'll be doing a little shopping in china as well.

Nursery: We have the furniture, I bought it over a year ago. The background color of the room and ceiling are painted and I've started drawing out the figures. Bobby got a good start by priming the closet doors but those still need to be painted. We have the chandelier but we don't have the ceiling medallion I wanted yet. We still need crown moulding. The closet is still full of stuff. Yes, there's lots to be done.

Anyway, we are slowly moving forward. I'd really like to get this stuff done with because in a few weeks we'll be needing to make travel arrangements and getting ready for the trip in general. Lots to do!! Very exciting!!

5 comments:

Sybil said...

Congratulations on your referal!

If you are considering a Britax look at the Boulevard, it has side impact support for the head. I've had the Marathon and the Boulevard & besides the extra side impact protection their heads don't flop over when they nap in the car.

Have a great trip & don't forget to take deep breathes! : )

Christy said...

OK susan, here is my opinion on all your listed items.

Stroller-- I have the Bob revolution and it is by far the best stroller on the market. It is sooo easy to steer through crowds and it is not too bulky plus it has a large basket, reclines almost fully and lots of cool stuff. It is by far the stroller winner-- you will never regret it!!

High Chair-- love the Peg Preggo Papa Prima in oatmeal. It is a neutral color and never looks too dirty (although it is horribly dirty with food stuck all over it) and it does all the cool stuff it needs to. Love that high chair and I roll it all over the house.

Car Seat-- I have the Britax Boulevard Car Seat in the shannon print. It is the top of the line Britax and has wings that support the head in case of a crash. I had the lower level one with my boys but this one is way better than the marathon. It is a bit more expensive but worth the money.

Anyway, if you want any more advice let me know. I cant wait to get together and let the girls play!!! YAAAA!!!!

Christy :)

Peanut Shell said...

Hi-

I have a peg p3, and while i think it's nice for baby, it's a little too bulky to lug in and out of the car. i also have a maclaren quest, which i use for day shopping, but it doesn't have good sun coverage. there's really no perfect stroller.

i have a chicco polly high chair that i like-- its easy to clean, stores well and isn't ugly.

i have a marathon-- it's not as big as a boulevard, and doesn't have the wings, but depending if your baby gets hot (mine does) the wings might not work for you. i also have a roundabout for the other car-- we like both our britaxes.

we also did a lot of research on baby stuff, haha. it's fun, though a lot of work!

.

Nina said...

I think as long as you get a Britax, you've got the best car seat you can buy.

We got ours very discounted online (because the cover was sort of ugly) and bought really cute carseat covers.

We got the stokke highchair, so that our baby can be at the table with us.

Stokke stroller, too, but it was exorbitant.

Have fun helping out the economy in the next few weeks!!

Tracy said...

Yes, you have your work cut out for you - LOL! But it will all be fun to prepare. We have a Peg Perego (ours is the Aria - it fits great into our MINI) and we love it. And we also have a Britax Marathon, which has been great. We just did a feeding chair instead of high chair, but I love the high chair you posted - cuter than many I have seen.