Cribs and other fun things

Matt and I have been crib shopping.  While we don't know any details yet about our future baby, we both know that we want a baby.  We want to be there for all of the wonderful firsts in our child's life.  And so we figured it is safe to start looking at furniture for a nursery, versus for a toddler or child.

Here is where we have kind of hit a snag though.  When should we buy things?

We (of course) want to start buying things already, setting up the nursery, getting ready to go.  But my mom made the good point that if this process takes awhile, it could be upsetting to see the nursery sitting there waiting, empty.  But what if we hold off, and get a call one day saying, "Come pick up your baby tomorrow!" ??  We'll be in a panicked rush to set up a nursery.

Finally, we decided to go forward, but slowly.  We can take our time a bit, picking out pieces we like.  And we can buy them piece by piece, avoiding a frenzied rush at the end.  To start with, here is the crib we picked out!


Graco Charleston Crib

 The crib is very well-made, reasonably priced, and got great reviews online.  We have a 20% off coupon just burning a hole in our pockets to buy it this weekend at Baby Depot.  So excited!  It has a matching changing table too, but we didn't like that one.  The model in the store was very flimsy compared to the sturdiness of the crib.  But with white, we should have an easy time matching.  Our nursery is a light blue color, with white curtains, so the white crib will really pop.  We can't wait to set it up!

Next up to start thinking about is the other furniture to go in the room.  If anyone has any recommendations for what should go in a baby's room (what do you really use, vs what just is there for looks, for example), please let us know!  And what sort of baby 'gear' should we start looking at?  If we are able to have a baby shower, it will probably be after our placement, so that everyone can meet the little one at the same time.  So we are going to try to be ready for at least the first 6 weeks on our own.  Advice is very welcome! :)