Wednesday, March 31, 2010

The Bean Bassinet

In the post about the bean stroller I mentioned the fact that we'll be using the bassinet portion of the stroller as a portable bed for the chiquita. The plan is to obviously use it with the stroller when we go out on errands and also keep it by our bed at night until we feel like the bean is ready for independent sleeping in her crib. We're going to try and use the crib from the very beginning during the day, but I think it will be a whole lot easier having her close at night. Does this seem like a good idea?

Uppababy(the stroller maker) sells a lovely stand specifically made for their bassinet, but it's definitely out of our price range(although even if we had the money, I wouldn't buy it). Here it is in action.

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{cute, but definitely not $350 cute}

After realizing this was not going to work with my frugal ways, I went on a search to find an affordable option. I searched and searched and found....ta-ta-ta-da:

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{the rocking bassinet stand by jolly jumper}

I actually originally found it in a baby store in Marin where they carry the Uppababy and a stand almost exactly like the one above. The one I got is actually better, in my opinion. I was able to try it out with the exact bassinet and found it fits perfectly! woo hoo. Yet, being the cheapskate frugal girl I am, I wasn't about to pay $90 for it at the baby store. This is where my friend the internet came in to play. You can find everything on the internet. I did a quick search and found it for $45, actually $42 with tax after using a coupon code I found on the internet. Thank you internet! I didn't mind paying that much for something we probably won't use for more than a few months. The other cool thing about the internet option is that they have it in seven different finishes. I bought ours in black because the bassinet is mostly black and I wanted it to match. I considered the cognac to match our furniture in the master and then I thought about white to match the bean's furniture, but black won this time. The other neat-o thing; it's universal. Basically, it works with any average bassinet or moses basket. yay. Yeah, I'm excited. Oh yeah, and the stand rocks! 

3 comments:

Maggie said...

Boo, for some reason I've been having issues seeing your pictures lately. But congrats on the great steal of a purchase! The whole decision about baby in your bedroom or not is a very personal one that everyone seems to feel differently about. We put Colin in his crib on Night #2 because I would wake up with every tiny noise he made while he was in our room (and they make a lot of noises). But his bedroom is very close to our bedroom so that made it convenient. Plus I felt most comfortable nursing him in the glider that is in his bedroom so it made sense from that standpoint too. I never could get very comfy nursing him in our bed. You guys will quickly figure out what works best for you and you'll go from there!

Elizabeth, Lawrence, Samantha, Katelyn and Calvin said...

I am pretty set on going with Maggie's method. Lawrence and I talked about it, and we feel that moving the baby to her own bed sooner rather than later is better for the baby and better for our sleep, albeit could be a bit more inconvenient having to get up and trapse down the hall every few hours. For you, Nancy, the beanette is a bit further away, and up some stairs, so in the middle of the night I could see that being a pain. But like Maggie said, it will be your personal decision on what works best. I was shocked when the question came up in the Baby Makes Three Class we took and EVERYONE else said they were planning to have the baby sleep in their room for at least a few months. One couple even said they were going to buy this bed divider thing that the baby can sleep in - in their bed! I guess co-sleepers and baby in your bed isn't uncommon at all, but the thought had never crossed my mind. To each their own!

Stephanie said...

I'm having issues seeing your pictures too!

We had Charlotte in our room for the first month and for the first few months anytime family stayed over. It worked out really well because I definitely did not want to be physically out of bed when feeding her in the middle of the night. It was nice to have her right next to me to feed, then Chris changed her, and we went back to sleep. That way, I never had to leave the bed!

At about 5 weeks old, we put Charlotte in her crib. I've never felt comfortable having her co-sleep because I just can't sleep well knowing she's in the bed with me. It works great for a lot of people!