I am strange in that I love putting together furniture. "Assembly required" is not a phrase that I mind. It's like a puzzle when you unpack all of the pieces and screws and allen wrench and when it's all done, there is a sense of, "I did that!" that I love. So when the changing table I picked out arrived on Friday, I was super excited to start assembling on Saturday morning! Hubby and I unpacked and dug in. After about an hour, we had the changing table all ready to go. Space is limited in Baby Boy's room and as much as I would have liked to get a low dresser that I could have just plopped a changing pad on for now and continued to use later, the dimensions of the room didn't allow it. So, thanks to Pinterest, I found a corner changing table that fits perfectly in the space. It has shelves that I can store wipes, diapers, creams and such on. And it has a hamper, which was a big selling feature for me. I didn't know where I'd be able to keep a hamper in his room so this works perfectly. Plus, with the handle on the hamper, I can easily transport it to the laundry room without having to re-bag it.
 |
| Ta-da! |
I really love the changing table. The changing pad that came with it? Not so much. It's thin and the washable cover smells terrible. The problem is, the space for the pad is 30 inches instead of the standard 32 inches for a changing pad. No big deal, I thought. I can just order the slightly smaller size online. But see how the back of the table becomes a triangle to fit into a corner? That's how the changing pad that came with it is shaped. And I can't find a changing pad online that has that same shape. They are all rectangles, which means that I'd have to push the table out from the wall quite a bit to accomodate it. When I put the pad that came with it actually
on the table, it doesn't feel too thin. It actually feels firm and well-supported. So I think I'm going keep it. Now I just need to figure out the cover for it. My mother-in-law can sew well so I may ask her help me make a few over Christmas. And I'm going to soak the cover that came with it in some Woolite and hope that helps remove some of the packaging smell. It really is an awful smell.
What else did we tackle in the nursery this weekend? We bought a crib mattress from Babies R Us. Is it just my local store or are all Babies R Us's terribly staffed, run and kind of dirty? I hate going there but it is the most convenient one to where I live. What should have taken fifteen minutes to order took about an hour because the woman helping us didn't know about the crib promotion that they've been running in-store for at least a month. I don't want to get into it all but every time I have gone there I have had some sort of problem. At this point, I'd rather drive forty-five minutes to Santa Clarita so I can shop peacefully and with people who know what they are doing at BuyBuy Baby. I know this paragraph has sounded snotty but if I had one bad experience at this store, fine, these things happen. But something has gone awry on all four or five trips I've taken there in the past few months. Shame on me for continuing to shop there! This past time will be the last time though. I've learned my lesson.
And last, but not least, we got a rocker! There is no room in Baby's room for any sort of rocking chair, so we made space downstairs for one. It's stuffed and oversized and we got it on sale, so that was a bonus. It gets delivered tomorrow and I'm excited to start using it. I'm also a little nervous that it will fit in the space we cleared for it...there might have to be some major rearranging happening tomorrow! We'll see!
I like the idea of having your mother-in-law make a new cover for the changing table! I agree with your thoughts on Babies R Us and just had a horrendous experience with Carter's. I bought some clothes for a friend's baby, but took one of the outfits back. Even though I had my receipt and credit card, the woman refused to process the return without an email address (WTF). I told her I didn't want to be emailed promotions and she became super rude and said some things like, "Trust me, no one here wants your email address." OK, right. So, 48 hours later, the emails from Carter's AND their affiliates start. I now get minimum one email per day from them.
ReplyDeleteThat is crazy about Carter's! I HATE when stores ask for my email address. "And your email address?" "No." That response always gets a startled look from the cashier. If I wanted to be on your email list, trust me, I'd have signed up already. Have you been to a BuyBuy Baby before? They aren't as wide spread but they are a dream compared to Babies R Us. It really is a night and day experience! I went to one in NY over the summer to pick up a gift for a friend. And when my mom was visiting, we went there to set up a registry. They offered me a beverage, had a lovely pamphlet of what to register for and why. And then they said, "Don't forget to stop back on your way out to pick up your gift bag!" It had a FitPregnancy magazine, a "Baby on Board" decal for the car, a bunch of coupons, a pacifier. Serious swag.
ReplyDeleteI've heard other moms complain about the condition of their Babies R Us store so the situation must be widespread. Probably the result of budget cuts in the cleaning and maintenance department.
ReplyDeleteWhy would they think staff training and cleanliness are a good place to cut back?
It's a shame! They have a bit of a monopoly in the baby-centric-shopping world which has made them lazy, it seems. They'll need to start making some changes though as BuyBuy Baby expands. On Thanksgiving we drove past a Babies R Us and right next door, "coming soon", was a BuyBuy Baby. Competition is heating up and I know where I'd shop first!
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading! I checked out your site and it looks like a great resource! Glad to connect :)