Baby Furniture Wars: the Basics (Crib, Dresser and the Glider)

Alejandra's Dad has joined the Baby Furniture Wars Series:

Unless you live in a 5,000 SF mansion adding a new baby to your household comes with a certain amount of displacement. If you're not sure what 'displacement' means; think of a full glass of water... in order to add another drop, some water has to spill over the side. In my case, my stuff spilled out of the house and into boxes in the garage.

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There are 3 key furniture pieces necessary for a baby's room. They are a crib, dresser and glider. (Sure, you can have more .. but these are the essentials and the ones that you'll have to negotiate into a standard room.)

Crib:

Choices - New or Used? Drop side or not?

We opted for a hand-me-down crib. I figured any piece of furniture that has survived the upbringing of another child, would survive mine. Plus, the price was right. The biggest issue with the hand-me-down crib was the 'drop-down' side which apparently was designed with the best intentions in mind for ease of loading and unloading of a baby into the crib without sacrificing your lower ribs in the process (assuming you haven't had your bottom two ribs removed for 'professional' purposes).

Leaning over a crib may be a bit uncomfortable; however, you may want to take this opportunity to start training for you new role as caregiver by easing up on the cheeseburgers and maybe one less six-pack per week and maybe try lifting up a bag of groceries a few times. This will get you in prime shape for lifting a baby from the crib and may buy you a year or two to see your kid graduate college or maybe get married. Practically speaking, having to lean over a normal crib height side railing is not the end of the world. It helps that when your baby is a few weeks old and ready to graduate from the bassinet to the crib the mattress height will be closer to the top of the railing so you don't have to lean as far.

Baby Furniture Wars: Cribs vs Playards vs. Bassinets

During the process of nesting, when moms and dads are furnishing and decorating the living space for their new baby, one decision parents must make is what will the baby sleep in.  Some parents choose the traditional baby crib with its furniture like feel and weight.  Others choose a playard/travel crib, a bassinet or simply place the baby into the parents' bed.  Some babies even wind up sleeping in swings and rockers.  However, for most parents it comes down to a decision between crib, playard or bassinet.

I actually know a family who owns all three baby sleeping devices, but my guess is that's rare.  Here is a comparison of those three choices (in alphabetical order).  There is no choice that's perfect for everyone, so each parent will need to make their own final decision.

Bassinet:

Size: small, about half the size of a traditional crib.  They tend to be very cozy and provide an intimate feel for the baby.  Unfortunately, because of the small size babies often outgrow the bassinet by 3 months of age and parents are once again in the market for something for their baby to sleep in at night.

Features:  they rock - literally.  You can rock your baby to sleep in one.

Price:  about half the price of a traditional crib.