City moms - talk gear to me!

[shadesofgold]

Hey ladies,

Thanks in advance for your advice as I start to sort out our registry and must-have list. We live in a major city, walking and using public transportation much more than we drive. (In fact, we're only just now buying a car for baby.) Our day care will be in walking distance from our home. We live in a 2 BR townhouse (~1200 sq ft) with minimal extra storage space and will room-share for the first few months with some creative furniture arrangements. Given that, it feels like we won't have the same needs for 1) transportation gear and 2) nursery gear as someone in a rural or suburban setting. 

If this sounds similar to your experience, I'd love to hear from you.

1) Transportation - did you find a "transportation system" useful or unnecessary? What ended up getting the most use for you - baby carrier, stroller, infant seat or a combo? Recommendations for the most convenient items within space constraints? Easiest to lug around? What would you advise to scrimp or splurge on based on your experience?

2) Nursery gear - how did you save space? Did you have any genius multi-purpose gear or furniture that saved you space or stress? Would you recommend a bouncer or a swing if I only have space for one? Any other lessons of living with a baby in a small space?

Thanks in advance!  

[harlowjune1984]

I don't live in a city but I work in a townhouse (with kids - nanny), in the city. Personally, there are so many things that you really don't need for a baby and can get by without.

1. Invest in a really nice carrier (like Ergo or Tula). One that is really comfortable and can go from infant to through childhood. I still throw my 4 year old in the Ergo every once in awhile (on my back) when I am going somewhere where I don't have room for a stroller. That will free up your hands for carrying other things. I have countless friends that have invested in a travel system (both city friends and suburb friends), that never really used the system and regret getting it. It became a dust collector, and took up way too much space in the trunk. If you are using public transportation a majority of the time, I would get the carrier, and then I would also get a nice backpack style diaper bag (instead of a shoulder carry one). When your baby is at the point that you feel that you need a stroller, I would get a nice umbrella stroller that folds up easily for on the bus/tram/etc. Chicco Echo is pretty nice, light, and has a handle on the side for easy carrying. Your diaper bag backpack would be on your back, and that would free up your hands for carrying the stroller in one hand and baby in the other. I have the Chicco Echo, and I think that you can start using it at 6 months and up, and it has a pretty good recline for when baby wants to lay back. And the umbrella stroller easily fits into a coat closet at home. And in all honesty, if you fully intend on continuing to mostly take public transportation after baby is born, I would shoot straight for the convertible carseat and skip the infant carrier type carseat. My daughter was on the small side, and she still grew out of her infant seat before she was one (not weight wise, but you could tell she was uncomfortable). If you don't plan on carting around the infant seat all of the time, the Chicco Nextfit has a really deep recline for newborns. I use my car multiple times a day and didn't baby-wear for the first couple months (who knew I would like it so much?!), so the infant carseat was a must for me. But with this baby, our plan is to most likely get the Chicco Nextfit, so that way we can use it from newborn until baby is several years old. And then I will just take him/her out when I get to my destination, and he/she will go into the Ergo so it can free up my hands for other things (like holding my 4 year olds hand).

2. Now, I personally live in the 'burbs, but I did start out with my daughter and husband in a 800 sq ft house (with NO closets....so hard!), so I do know a little thing about tight spaces. In her room, was the crib, small dresser and one of those Ikea 8 cube shelving units. I believe it is called a Ikea Kallax. Anyway, I had it turned on the side (instead of standing upright), and I put the changing pad on there and looped the safety straps through one of the cubes. In all of the cubes, I had a bin with different things in them: diapers, ointment, shoes, hats, receiving blankets, etc. As she got bigger, those items were swapped out with things like toys and other items. Clothes all went into the dresser. We didn't have a chair in there, as I find wooden rocking chairs uncomfortable, and I wouldn't want to spend money on a glider that I would never put in my living room eventually....so I would just feed her on our living room couch. Babies are hit or miss with the swing, some love them, some hate them. So if you are tight on space, I would wait and see if you REALLY want to try one out. And even then, I would probably try one out that a friend or someone else has, and see if your baby really likes it. We loved having the bouncer, as it was light and something that we could move from room to room as we did things around the house. They do also now how the swings that can also come apart and turn into a separate bouncer as well. So if you are really wanting a swing, maybe getting one of those multipurpose swing/bouncers would be a good idea. We had the Fisher Price Whale tub when she couldn't sit up, and it was perfect. Not too big, not to small, not a ton of doo-dads all over it. She stayed in that until she could sit, then was moved to the kitchen sink and the tub was put in storage. Once she was big enough to not slip and slide, she moved into the tub. We tried to keep everything really simple, and easy. Less is more (although before she was born, I was all "OMG! I need all the baby things!"). Now with my second, I am like "Lets see, we need diapers, a few sleepers, wipes, couple of blankets, a crib, a carseat.....okay, we are good to go. We are fully prepared!!" Its amazing how many things I got rid of between my daughter and this baby, because I either never used them with her, or I realized that we just didn't NEED the item.

[shadesofgold]

Thanks for your recommendations, harlowjune1984! Super helpful! I am definitely trying to minimize and simplify without sacrificing too much comfort. Being a FTM without many close mom friends, it is hard to know where to start!

[SpinsOffResonance]

Late, but I'm still gonna post in case it helps someone shadesofgold .

We live in the city in a 3rd floor walk up. 2bed, 1 bath. 700sqft. We didn't buy a car until DD1 was 9months old.

For the carseat we needed something portable and easy to install in a variety of cars since we used cabs and zipcar. We went with the Chicco Keyfit and got the Keyfit caddy to push it around. FYI most people don't realize you can install the car seat with the seatbelt and don't need to carry the base around with you. We didn't buy a stroller other than the Keyfit caddy.

I found babywearing way more convenient than the stroller, so that's what I did 95% of the time. You want a good carrier with a wide seat that you can wear both on your front for the newborn stage and on your back once LO is bigger. Ergo, beco, boba, Tula, Lillebaby, babybjorn one, etc are all good options, it's a matter of personal preference. If you live in a cold climate, you can get a babywearing coat that goes over you and the baby. There are more options on the market now, but I have the M coat.

When DD2 was born I bought an umbrella stroller for DD1 and used the carrier for DD2. I have the Chicco Echo, which is great because it folds/unfolds one handed so you can carry LO in your other arm.

We didn't setup a nursery until DD1 was 8months old. She slept in our room in the Arms Reach mini cosleeper the first year. A rock N play is another very popular option. We put a changing pad on our desk and used the desktop organizer to keep diapering supplies. A couple hooks on the wall above the changing table is great to hold clean onesies. No diaper pail, diapers went in the kitchen trash. We installed 3 deep shelves on the wall for her clothes. We only have one closet in the entire condo.

We got a Best Chair rocker-recliner that DH loved. I almost never used it and preferred nursing on the couch or in bed. So if you have room for a rocker/glider go for it but it's definitely not necessary.

We didn't get a baby bathtub. We got the Blooming Bath instead and washed The kids in the kitchen sink until they could sit up in the big tub. If I needed to take a shower, I'd put LO in the car seat in the bathroom.

We didn't have room for a swing so we got a bouncer seat.

We got a space saving high chair (the kind that attaches to a regular dining chair). We have the First Years deluxe reclining seat. It reclines a lot so you can actually use it with a newborn if you need an extra seat to put LO down.

I think that covers everything!

[macaronmama]

EDIT: Wrong board, need to pay attention to my tabs. ;_;