Crib for Grandma's house - urgent help please!

[slb]

hello!

My sister is getting married and so we are spending about 2 weeks at my mothers place. I would like to get a crib for her place along with some toys (mobiles, an activity center, other play toys...), a high chair, a safety gate for the stairs....so we dont have to transport everything.

here's is some info on my ds to help figure out what toys i should get.
My ds is 7mo. old and is crawling.
At my house we have the FP rainforest high chair, the tiny love laugh and learn activity center and the tiny love mobile. i sdont want to get the same stuff...

We will be taking the graco playard with us, but i wanted to use that as a playpen downstairs and wanted a crib upstairs.

For the crib, i wanted to stay around the $500 - $600.

As always, im doing everything last minute.....we are going to stay there from July 16th onwards...your help is sooo apreciated!

Thanks!
Last minute mom :)

[Melaine]

Wow, if I were you I'd buy a very inexpensive crib or better yet a PeaPod Plus for Grandma's house and save your money. Spending that much on an occasional use crib seems like a waste to me. Just imo.

[SnuggleBuggles]

What about getting a 2nd Pack n Play? Do you plan on staying with your parents enough to make the purchase of a real crib worth while? Will they have a good place to have it set up all the time?

You could find a crib for a lot less at Target, BRU, etc. than $500-600 and most would be in stock, ready to go. I'd avoid a drop side crib since those are the ones that have been recalled the most (even more expensive cribs have had trouble in this department). I'd probably just pick a store and pick a crib that I liked the looks of. :) I don't have any great ideas on a specific one. Sorry!!

Do your parents have friends that might have things they can lend you? My parents and my ILs were able to get all sorts of baby gear and toys from their friends that were also grandparents (or older parents). We were able to get gates, toys, high chairs and other things simply by asking around. Very handy that grandparent network!

At 7m I would mostly be buying gates, not big toys like activity centers. For 2 weeks I bet that simply exploring the new area- and new people- will keep him busy. That's been my experience. Focus on smaller toys (keys, toy phone, link a doos) and things like books. Cars that are rated safe for babies would be fun. My ds loves this Playskool ball spinning toy- it's from their Busy Basics' line (I have heard mix of love and hate on the Ball Choo Choo- babies love it, parents find it annoying).

I don't know if I would buy a new mobile now because in no time at all your ds will be sitting up and you'll have to take the mobile part down. The music box portion of the one you already own is easy to transport and will be a nice, familair item.

Beth

[slb]

i will be going often and we usually stay when we go...so i owuld prefer to get a crib. i agree with the toyss bit...how about a high chair?

[SnuggleBuggles]

High chair? Again, I would see if your family knows of someone who is done using their's or uses it so infrequently that you can just borrow it. Otherwise, I would be tempted to get the kind that straps onto a chair. How about just going to a store like Once Upon a Child if you really want to pick up a full sized high chair? If $ or space isn't your concern then simply go out to the store and buy the exact high chair you already have.

Beth

[KrisM]

For a highchair, I'd get a booster instead. Easier for your mom to store.

Look on Craiugslist for things, tto.

[misshollygolightly]

Yeah--unless money is truly no object, I'd use a second packnplay upstairs instead of a crib. Or look for a fairly cheap one from Ikea or Target. Or just use the packnplay you already have for him to sleep in, and enlist your mom or other relatives to help keep an eye on/hold DS and not mess with having a play yard. And I'd consider a strap-on booster seat instead of a full-scale highchair. When we visit relatives, they generally borrow a high chair and crib from neighbors who have lots of grandkids. We also found that our Graco stroller w/ the little snack tray works fine for a makeshift highchair, in a bind.

[MontrealMum]

Unless money is no object, echoing what everyone else is saying, I wouldn't bother investing $500 in a crib. Before long you'll be transitioning him to a twin or junior bed anyways. Unless he's going to be there every weekend or something, I'd wait and spend more on a real bed for later. Otherwise, I'd check out Ikea, Target or Sears which have a variety of less expensive options, and more importantly, things that would actually be in stock.

We use our pnp for DS to sleep in at my mom's (upstairs), and last year we had a playyard like this: bugs (http://www.amazon.com/Graco-Pack-Play-Playard-Quilt/dp/B000056C86) to keep him confined downstairs. We are now looking to sell it or give it away, as, on my recent trip with DS who was 21 mos, he was able to climb out of it. (The sides are lower than the sleeping kind, and the sleepsack keeps him in at night in the other one). YMMV on the type of acrobatics your DS gets into and whether that'd be a good investment or not. Mine is a wild man, and also quite tall for his age, so we just focus more on babyproofing, and being more consistent with our nos.

My mom was given a highchair by a friend, my dad borrows one from my uncle for our visits. If you can't get one on loan I'd get the kind that straps onto a chair. As pp said, less for your mom to store.

I would also not invest in a mobile since your DS is already 7 mos . He'll be pulling up soon and they're really no good after that. Our Pooh mobile is now in 3 pieces because DS got to it :( Tiny Love has a portable one: clip and go (http://www.amazon.com/Tiny-Love-Clip-Musical-Mobile/dp/B000306A3S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1247430430&sr=1-3) which I think is meant for strollers, but we used it as our travel mobile last year to help DS sleep.

My parents have both had toys, books, and other supplies (diaper pail) given to them by friends and have a basket stored away for when DS comes. The grandparents "network" is quite useful for getting stuff for visits. The only thing we really invested in were baby gates for each place since there were some difficult stairs + railing issues, and a few other childproofing items.

[WatchingThemGrow]

agree w/the pack n play idea...and a fp healthy care booster from target

[urquie]

we just switched our highchair out for this is booster seat (http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-Healthy-Care-Deluxe-Booster/dp/B001GQ2RWQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=baby-products&qid=1247436089&sr=1-1)... after all the great recommendations here.

our highchair was taking up too much kitchen space and was really too big for dd2. the booster is a great size for my 16lb babe. i bought it at my local target for $28.