We took the crib down on Monday, which was bittersweet; bitter because we spent a lot for the crib and sweet that my baby is growing leaps and bounds. Honestly, this was a reality coming at us full steam over 3 months ago, we just tried avoiding it. Up until then our son loved the crib but once we began struggling to get him in it and fighting with him to stay, we knew the day had come and he was ready to transition out. But the advice from other moms was to keep him in the crib until he could climb out. The horror stories about their babes getting out of bed in the middle of the night to crawl into bed with them freaked me out enough to put up with the fight. But the joke was on me because when he would wake at nights screaming and not willing to go back down, for my own sanity, I caved in and got him back to sleep by snuggling in bed with him. Then the epiphany happened; what's good for one family isn't good for all.  So we packed up the crib and discovered more play space and now almost a week into it are sleeping through the night, that is until last night when he started teething again, humph...

Since we live in a 2 bedroom and have my parents stay with us often, an extra bed was needed, so we went on the search of something functional but yet compact. Eureka, we found the Ikea Hemnes daybed (trundle) that has an awesome amount of storage and meets our sleeping needs to a "t". It's an affordable investment and equally a beautiful piece. We even bought two Ikea foam mattresses that stack and are light weight. Now that he's sleeping in the twin, we bring the second mattress on the ground in case he rolls out. I know you're thinking that's what bed rails are for, but I just couldn't bring myself to pay for what pillows, blankets and the spare mattress can do.

Now about the bitter part, we made the investment in this amazing Stokke Sleepi Crib system. It's a crib, toddler bed, junior bed and even can be broken down into two chairs. But what we couldn't imagine was that our little guy would want to be out of his jail cell so soon. We even tried to coerce him in just playing in the junior bed, yeah right! My kid is smarter than me. So now that our baby is sleeping in a big boy bed that isn't the "convertible" crib I feel "had". Maybe the excitement of having a luxury all-in-one was to good to be true after all. But the truth is, this bed was really a great buy, its function and design as a crib really achieved so much of what we needed in our small space. (Here's me blogging about it).  I'm just sad to not see it morph into its other stages.

Tell me about your transitioning stories. Are you ready to move your babe into the big bed or are you holding out? Have some funny stories to share? Would love to hear about them.

Love Lots,
Mommy SF

Things...

Wow, as a parent we are overwhelmed by things; gadgets, furniture, electronics, all of which is supposed to make life easier as a parent.  Often, I've found myself on line at a store with a cart full of things then asking myself, "Do I really need all this stuff?" and of course I don't. So after I put it all back, I swear not to do that again.  But gosh it's hard.  There's so much we need, or do we?

In all seriousness, how much does a baby need? Besides the basics; love, food, shelter, clothing what is a must? Well when we went on a search of all things baby, no way did I realize how so many of the items that attracted us were European. The first and foremost is the Maxi Cosi car seats.  For practical reasons we initially bought the convertible car seat and after a month of trying it out we invested in the Maxi Cosi Mico, which is really a life saver on baby and mama. The infant seat also has adapters for our awesome Bugaboo Frog, which is small but rugged enough for our SF sidewalks.

Another must is the Stokke crib. I really don't know what I would have done without it.  It's been the best investment. We didn't use the sleep system which includes the bassinet. But our little guy didn't mind the largeness of the crib once we transitioned him out of our bed. The sleek oval curves and gliding wheels make this a must for all parents.  The baby stayed in our room for 4 months and occasionally comes back when we use his room for guests. If we had a stationary crib there would be no way we could or even should move the crib in/out of rooms.

Now at 5 months we are on to all things solid. So the highchair and feeding system are very high on the priority list. We love the Svan highchair and Beaba Babycook (and so does Edward). The highchair is also a beautiful piece of well made furniture. It has a great adjustable height and width as well as a sturdy base and a removable dishwasher safe tray.

Our Beaba Babycook is also marvelous. It steams, chops and defrosts all in one!  It's really light and mobile, making it simple to pack up for vacations. For moms who want good wholesome foods for their babies, this is a another must-have. Also great for busy moms, there's the option of cooking and then freezing the food in baby trays which pop-out for single use feedings. Edward also loves their spoons. He has no problem holding the spoon and feeding himself, it's wonderful to watch.

Besides the fact these products are safe, environmentally friendly and good looking, they are also so simple and practical.  There are too many products on the market that lack those traits.  Another important factor is that both the Stokke and the Svan grow with our baby. I think it's genius!

I'd love to hear about your favorite must-haves.

Love Lots,
MommySF