Thursday, September 27, 2007

to store or not to store?




Things are slowly falling into a nice new fall routine.
We have decided to make a few changes to go along with the season.
The big one this week has been the ol' switch-a-roo from "baby's room" to "big girl room"
we dismantled the crib, took apart the change table and decided to get rid of the rocking chair.
(anyone interested?? it's for sale)
we put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, added some crown moulding and had lulu's new bed delivered.
I was excited to start fresh but at the same time both big daddy & I felt a little nostalgic while taking everything apart.
Just under three years ago we were eagerly putting everything together and so excited about the arrival of our first child.
wanting her little room to be just right.
It seems like just yesterday in some ways, but at the same time feels like it was soooo long ago.
I remember going into her nursery each night for the few weeks before she was born trying to imagine what it would be like when she finally arrived.
who would she look like? what would her personality be like? would I know what to do with her? did I have everything I would need for her?
ahh that unknowing anticipation.
I guess we are just moving on to yet another chapter of the great unknown in our lives.
I was a bit concerned that all the changes would make things even more difficult getting Lulu a.k.a.-the little sleepless devil princess-settled down for the night, but she was pretty excited, and actually had no problem with her new room at all.
she did however get up in the middle of the night and make her way into our room without either one of us noticing or hearing her get up and into our bed.
yikes.
this morning big daddy was like "um, did you go and get her last night?"
"no- did you??"
oh...this poses a whole new "situation".
Should we keep her door closed?
do we need to get a lock?
sigh.
I guess we'll just have to figure it out as we go along.
All part of the new chapter I guess.
The big bonus was that she didn't start screaming for us to come and get her, and we both actually got a fairly decent nights sleep for the first time in ages. woo hoo.
In addition to all the big girl changes we also decided to retire the high chair.
I still kick myself for spending so much on it in the first place and not just getting the little white Ikea chair instead.
Instead, in my hormonal-about to give birth to our first child-clueless-naive state, decided to get a $600 custom one instead.
Little did I know we would only be using it for such a short while and that it would be banged, drawn on, stained and chipped. duh.
Some things I'm glad we broke the bank on, but the highchair isn't one of them.
It also doesn't store well and we are running out of places to store all this stuff.
Also, we are still really on the fence about wanting another child- and actually so far we are still leaning much more at the keeping at one camp, than having another.
so what to do with all this stuff?
and wow, is there ever a lot of "stuff" for babies.
Ironically I always considered myself a minimalist. ha!
ah, well.
It's so hard to decide whether to hang on to everything- just in case.
Or to get the whole kit and caboodle on Craig's List.
anyone need a $600 highchair?
Need being the operative word.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Hi there,
would you mind emailing me a pic. of your rocking chair?? i'm due in 2 weeks and am in need of one, only problem is i have a very narrow staircase (old Toronto house!!). I've looked all over the city for something, and have not found anything i like. i know you have good taste, so i'm quite interested.
my email is rmckechnie@sympatico.ca
Thanks so much,
Rebecca

Anonymous said...

oh ya, and is your crib bedding in good shape?? i think i've seen glimpses of it in pics you've posted- all white?
thanks again,
rebecca

petite gourmand said...

hi rebecca- congrats and good luck!
so if you happen to have an issue of House&Home July (I think) issue there's a picture of all the furniture in there.
we have a narrow hallway too, so this rocking chair was perfect.
will send you a photo of the chair up close asap.
pg

Betsy Mae said...

Both of my girls have always prefered sleeping with their doors shut. Then when they got into 'big girl beds' and could open their doors I always worried about not hearing them get up in the middle of the night...and we have an alarm system yadda yadda yadda...so we put a safety gate up in their door way. It allows us to close their doors at night and after they fall asleep we put the gate up. Something to consider so Lulu never falls down the stairs?

I have been selling off my stuff and it's bitter sweet. There is a definite market for used baby items, especially higher end items. The hardest thing for me recently was the crib, when we dismantled it I noticed little bite marks...I wanted to keep it forever!

I guess this means I'm finished having babies?

PS-I wonder if you will share pics of Lulu's new room???? And when does the show you were working on air?

petite gourmand said...

thanks for the tip mrs.p

will eventually show some pics of the room when it's finished.
I think we will be shooting it for one of the magazines I work for.
will keep you posted.
as for the show- the first episode is on Oct.2- though I don't think I'm on that episode- but Big daddy is. watch for the cute guy in the funky glasses.
I think one of my episodes is on on the 16th. gulp.
I can't believe I am admitting to that.
I'm sure I'm going to sound and look like an ass.
we shall see.

Gabriella said...

Can't wait to see you on TV! And yes looking forward to seeing Lulu's new room. You've got such great style PG; it's very inspiring.

Just yesterday I cleaned out one area of our spare room that had lots of Samantha's baby stuff; infant carseat, baby bathtub etc... you're so right they do accumulate so much stuff...I am so willing to sell it all but someone else in the family is looking for a second child ;)

Anonymous said...

i'm interested in the crib if it's still for sale.
please email me details on price and a pic (if available).

lally.rementilla@rogers.com

Anonymous said...

I understand the sadness. And the fact that you lasted so long with a high chair is amazing! We just retired it from boy number 2, and he's not even a year - using a booster seat instead. Much better. Wish I'd not gotten the fancy peg high chair, though, so I cannot even IMAGINE what a custom one is like!

As for the big bed, be happy that you can sleep through her arrival, and enjoy the cuddles. The Happy Boy is not so stealth in his middle-of-the-night visits!

karengreeners said...

It's funny what first-time parenthood will do to you, eh?
Bee has a beautiful nursery with a beautiful crib that she NEVER ONCE slept in, and is now a toddler bed. We got the bouncy chair, play-yard... all this crap that no baby acutally needs.

Now, #2 is 6 weeks away, and forget about turning the office into a nursery - we don't even have a dresser to put her clothes in. And yet, we are so less stressed with nothing done than we were the first time with everything done.

kittenpie said...

Gah. You and NoMo are all finished with your big kid rooms and mine is TOTALLY STALLED while lazy old Misterpie keeps not freaking finishing the painting! I am getting so frustrated.

I think when we have figured out the second child business, I will save some stuff, pass on some, and sell some off on craigslist or to a store like Once Upon a Child, where we bought a couple of things.

Meanwhile, we haven't used the swing for 2.5 years or the high chair for a year, but they have come in handy when friends with young ones come over, so I'd keep them around for a while til everyone is out of babymaking stages.

crazymumma said...

part of me wishes that I 'needed' a high chair, whatever the price tag.

getting rid of the baby stuff IS bittersweet.

sam lamb said...

we just moved Sadie into her "big girl bed" last weekend too. so far, she loves it and hasn't figured out that she can just "climb" out of it herself. phew. of course, the crib is taking up precious storage space...but the debate goes on over here as well. i'm not sure how we'll ever decide.

rock, paper, scissors?

moplans said...

I know what you mean about them sneaking in but it is so nice to wake up with them - sometimes. To not have to answer to screaming at night is the best though.

I also cannot wait to see the show.