Luckily, we got a handful of baby's magazine guide from our doctor's office which helped us a lot. The Babies R Us magazine is like a mini dictionary for baby gears cos they have picture of different kinds of strollers, baby cribs etc. They also have this one table comparing the plus and minus of each type of strollers.
I discussed with Jai the other day, what kind of strollers or cribs we should buy and such but he said it was hard for him to decide just by seeing the pictures so we decided to go check it out at the store on Saturday just to get the idea.
We spotted this store just next to Babies R Us and their price is relatively cheaper than Carter's factory outlet. Too bad baby's clothes has been ticked off from the list. After she has outgrown the clothes perhaps we can pay a visit to this store again.
So, I slept at 4 am yesterday browsing through baby gears online. Stumbled upon this post listing baby gears that are unnecessary for babies. Click HERE to read the full article. Oh, check out this article as well, 10 things people don't tell you about breastfeeding. Click HERE.
I agree with most of the items she listed out, like a bottle sterilizer. Hot water and soap should do the job. Do read the readers' comments too, they added few other things which is unnecessary for baby.
So, I have several questions in mind:
1. I am not so sure whether or not I should buy a baby sling vs. baby carrier . As I'm not going to buy a travel system carseat, that means I have to carry her in my arm, so a sling or a carrier will come in handy in this case.
A sling or a carrier, anyone??
*Image taken from google products*
*Image taken from www.squidoo.com*
2. Another thing is a $300 designer stroller. Considering this stroller will be a long-term investment, ie: we are planning to have another 2-3 babies in the future, shouldn't we just buy a good quality stroller even if it costs us a fortune? The thing is I don't really know how much time my baby will spend her time in the stroller, probably not much, so this make it even harder to make the choice.
Any good brand of stroller, anyone?
I don't know anything about brand names especially when it comes to baby strollers and what not. The famous brand in America is Graco and Chicco which is relatively inexpensive than the other brands like Peg Perego, MacLaren.
Ok, I admit, my eyes are fixed for MacLaren strollers just because I'm a big fan of McLaren Mercedes F1 team (though I don't know if they were actually from the same corporation) but because daddy is Ferrari die-hard fan, I doubt he will allow me getting a MacLaren stroller *digression sekejap*
3.Baby crib
No doubt, we will be buying a 4 in 1 baby crib which can be converted from infant to toddler and into a full-size day bed. This is also one of long-term investments that I think we should be getting with high quality material. But considering that she will be sleeping with us for the first 3 months, the new house doesn't have plenty of storage space, my mom and aunt will occupy the second bedroom, we decided to postpone buying a baby crib and get a second-hand bassinet instead.
4. Carseat
This is a must-buy item since it is required by the U.S law. So, we are opting for a convertible car seat which is suitable for infant and later, toddler. It is called convertible because it can do both rear facing (for infant less than 20lbs) and then forward facing when she has reached 1 year old or 20lbs whichever come sooner. Britax seems to be the favorite brand among Americans from my search but again, I don't know anything about brand names.
Ok. I think that's all the questions I have right now. Since I don't have any experiences and am here all alone (buat ayat sedih sket sob..sob..sob), I would love to hear any suggestions before we make the final purchase. Thank you!
6 comments:
a carrier....pasal dulu kami pernah pi 'jom heboh' kat lumut naik motor..laki aku dukung hazim guna 'carrier' sambil bonceng motor...ok tak??.. kalo sling tak leh dukung sambil bwk motor..
p/s; lagipun mak tak berkenan le ngn 'sling'..
2-3 kids more! WOW. productive~ ambitious~!
I have seen both slings and carriers before, and my sister is using a sling to carry my niece. In fact many people use sling (esp. the kakak2 who take care of their employers' babies, macam any cloth pun boleh dijadikan sling). I would say this...definitely seem like the sling is much more portable than the carrier. Bila tak guna, the sling can be fold/packed into a small, pocketable size, whereas the carrier cannot la. Tapi sling tu kena belajar sikit, banyak juga style guna.
2-3 kids more? wow!
hi farina! i SO feel you about this.. been there done that when i got so confused which one to buy and which one not to, especially a lot of things are quite pricey and that when you ask your mom she will say, “Alaaahhh.. dulu mama takde pun beli benda2 macam tu…” etc etc etc..
hehehe.
anyway, here’s my take on those few things you brought up.. but mind you (and other readers of yours) that this is totally my personal experience k! :)
1. Baby sling vs baby carrier -- don’t know why both kerol and I tak prefer either options… :P sebab rasa macam baby tuh macam ‘terseksa’ je masa dalam sling or carrier… well, we were being totally judgmental, so can’t comment much about this. but from reading i think carrier is better cause the baby is facing in front, hence giving him chance to explore the world with his eye sight.
2. Stroller – hmm for this one, kerol and I, we were of the view that baby won’t want to sit for long in his stroller. I mean, masa infant, yes. Then when he’s able to sit, and cruise, and then walk, I don’t think they want to be strapped for long in the stroller (which is Khayr’s case as we speak). Take a look around when you walk in the mall, most strollers are filled with barang2 shopping mak bapak :) and if ada budak dalam tu pun, its either he / she is still a baby. Or toddler yang dah penat nak berjalan so duduk diam2 dalam stroller. And then nanti bila baby dah besar sikit, untuk travel, kena beli another type of stroller yang senang lipat and just untuk the toddler duduk. But I know there are debates about this, whereby it was said you should train your baby to sit in stroller even though when he’s walk. We’ve tried, but tak sanggup nak biar anak sendiri menangis je dalam stroller in the hope he will understand and learn that he needs to be in the stroller (which will take time before he’s able to get it) while receiving this one kind of stare from the people around us.. huhu as if they were saying that we purposely want to torture our baby.. huhuhu.. Oh, kesimpulannye, we bought local brand saje, cost us around RM250 or something.. :P So kalau rosak ke. Or khayr taknak duduk kat stroller dah ke, tak le ralat sangat. Anyway Graco and Chicco are good brands definitely.
3. Baby crib – yang ini, gosh we agreed it was SO hard to decide! in the end, we didn’t buy any.. hehehe.. I agree we need to have one, but from friends they say tak payah sampai nak kena beli 3 in 1 or 4 in 1 type.. As for Khayr, he’s sleeping in his playpen (which is bigger than a crib I think) and day time, we just let him explore.. We have a mattress put on the floor for him to nap (you’ve seen it in most of the pictures in my blog) and thats it.
4. Carseat – Agreed this is a must. We bought the convertible one and it has been useful. But again, it’s a local brand.. cost us around RM300+. Not sure about other brands though. Tak silap ramai yang talk about maxi cosi or something..
There, my 2 cents. Huhu.. Hope it helps (instead of confuse you more!).. Hehehe.. But ape2 pun, discuss with husband so that whatever decision you take, it’s yours as parents. Jadi parents ni pun ade peer pressure woh! So kena pekakkan telinga and be firm, and comfortable with your decision.
All the best!
hi,
i already bought the car seat and stroller for my baby.. (tp mcm mummy & dady die yg excited lebih when it comes to this stuff) i bought quinny zapp for the stroller coz sini murah time boxing day ari tu.. but it can be only use for baby 6 months and above. but luckily it can be attach with the maxi cosi car seat which suitable for baby from birth until 15 kg if im not mistaken.. the stroller is light weightt and easy to use for travel. bout the crib, i'm also searching for the right one.. a last minute shopping or just order online.. the stroller and the car seat can be view at my hubby fb..
Hi farina,
Kyani leh share skit2 pasal mende2 nk beli tu. First
1. sling/ carrier: Kyani tak pernah guna. Pun rasanya bukan necessary item. Kalau yg mcm Hamka guna tu ok lah. Tapi itu kalau hubby rajin nk pikul or nk jln2. Kami kat europe mesra stroller, so tak pyh beli pun takpe. Kalu nk breastfeed mungkn snang kot ngan sling tuh. Tapi rasanya ada kain penutup baby klu nk breastfeed on the go.
2) stroller: I have to admit áin ada 3 stroller. TAPI ada sebab la. First kat sini kami xberkereta, so kena ada stroller yg suits the need sbb kami kena ikat stroller kat basikal. Stroller first beli kat malaysia. Boleh lipat tiga, tp sush sket nk lipat tapi leh pikul kat bahu. Stroller kedua beli kat sini, yg simple giler. Murah giler sbb utk jln2 tpt dekat atau g sopping. pahtu yg ke3 kami beli maxi-cosi yg senang lipat, pahtu ada penutup plastik + boleh tidur. Ni utk gi travel jauh2 sbb bila nk naik kpl terbang, kna bg stroller kt gate, so klu snang lipat xlah terkial2. Satu lg comfy la nk tdo.. So klu nk beli fikir cemana korg travel. By car or by train/ bus/plane mcm kitaorg.
3. crib: kitaorg ada crib sbb tuan rumah sediakn. Tapi rsnya yg murah tu pun ok. Kalu nk beli pn ok tp bukan penting sngt kalu dh ada bassinet. Sbb kalu breastfeed, rasanya mesti akan tdo ngan baby.. Kyani dlu pemalas, tdo je ngan baby sbb mls nk bgn.
4. Carseat: Kalu maxi-cosi ada stroller yg leh jd carseat. So check gak yg tu. Kalu nk beli convertible pun ok. Kyani xdek experience psl carseat sbb takdek kete, tapi better beli yg bagus sbb kt malaysia mahal!! itu je yg ingt.
5. Additional: kalu nk breastfeed, buy a good pump + equipmentnya. Sbb ms pantang nk kena perah susu bebanyak tuh..
Shila, Yaohua, Lilia, Wana and Kak Yani:
THANKS A LOT FOR SHARING!! Insya-allah will make a post to summarize everything after we made the purchase.
Thank you again!
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