Check Out My Crib

I’ve quickly learned that having a baby means you have to buy a lot of stuff (or register for a lot of stuff and thank your lucky stars you have generous family and friends.)  In all of the buying/registering, the three items I found the hardest to pick out were the stroller, crib, and mattress.  It took me hours of online research and 3 or 4 baby store trips to pick out a stroller! Pregnant women should not have to rack their brains with decisions like these!  I will spare you the details of the stroller decision, but since we’ve been talking about the nursery, I figured I’d share my crib buying experience.   Just call me Little Miss Fickle.

Source 

Buying a crib sounded easy enough at first, but after doing a little research I found out that all cribs are not created equal.  Some cribs of lesser quality are made of pressed wood that use glues with could contain a bunch of chemicals in them and the crib finishes/paints/stains can also contain scary sounding chemicals.  After adding up all of the hours a baby spends snoozing, I realized that the little one will be spending a lot of time in there and I want the crib to be as safe and non-toxic as possible.

And let’s not forget the crib should also be cute!  Admittedly this is less important and the baby isn’t going to care what the crib looks like, but heck I want to have a cute nursery!  As I mentioned back in my Nursery Mood Board post, I’d like the baby’s room to have a mix of white and wood furniture.  So I decided to go with a two-tone crib so it would work with both.  Plus although this isn’t always the case, it seems that a lot of white cribs are geared towards girls and dark wood cribs are geared towards boys.  Since we didn’t find out the baby’s gender, and want to use the crib for future babies, a two-tone crib sounded like the perfect solution.

After a lot of research, and knowing I wanted a modern looking crib, I narrowed it down to three two-tone cribs that were within our budget.



1. Delta Springtime Crib – $330 Babies R Us
2. Baby Mod Olivia Crib – $299 Walmart
3. Baby Mod ParkLane Crib – $279 Walmart

Then I started doing some research as to the safety specifications and materials used to make each crib.  I wanted to dig into this because some paints/stains used on a crib can pass government standards, but still contain some levels of phthalates and other chemicals that I would rather avoid even if they are at the government approved level. 

For the first crib, the Delta website listed that it has a “non-toxic finish tested for lead and other toxic elements to meet or exceed government and ASTM safety standards” and “JPMA certified to meet or exceed all safety standards set by the CPSC & ASTM.”  That sounded positive, but their website did not specify what kind of wood it was made from, it only listed that it was made from “strong wood construction.”  So being the overprotective mother I already am, I decided to call them to see if I could get any specifics about the type of wood and other things like phthalate levels.  The woman I spoke with on the phone, said that the crib was made from different types of pressed woods.  So I said, “Oh, so it’s not made from solid wood then?” but she insisted it was “solid wood” even though it was made from various types of woods that are shredded and then shaped and pressed together by her explanation.  I’m pretty sure she had no idea what the term “solid wood” means, because “pressed wood” sounds like the complete opposite to me.  She also said that they didn’t use any glues to press the wood together.  I’m no wood expert, but I would guess that you’d need some type of glue to hold the pressed wood together.  Plus, she wasn’t able to give me any further information about the levels of various chemicals used in the crib’s paint.  Now, I could be wrong about all of this, but she did not sound like she knew what she was talking about and I had no confidence that this was a solid wood, glue free crib like I was looking for.  To be fair, I also emailed them because this woman could have just been an anomaly, but I got no helpful information in their email response either.

At this point, you can picture me looking something like this (but with a less cool mustache.)



Meanwhile, the other two cribs are both made by Baby Mod and had more detailed information in their descriptions which said things like “solid wood, wood veneers and drawers; no paper press boards used” and “solid New Zealand pinewood construction.”  This had me feeling better already.  I still went searching for more information, but could not find an actual website for Baby Mod.  However, Baby Mod’s parent company is MDB who makes cribs under the brands Million Dollar Baby, DaVinci, and Babyletto among others.  And Babyletto makes the Mercer and Modo cribs which are nearly identical to the two Baby Mod cribs I was deciding between.  (The Babyletto cribs are currently on sale on Amazon, but at the time I was shopping around they were not, making them a lot more expensive than the Baby Mod cribs so that’s why I decided against them.)  The Babyletto cribs had much more detailed information on their website about the paints used in them.  On their website, they write:

“We exceed JPMA regulations and go through annual paint tests. Paint is called safe when it has toxic materials under 300 parts per million (ppm). In order for a company to claim low toxicity and as mandated by CPSC, it must be no more than 90ppm or 0.009%. All of our products here come in at less than 0.001%, way below the level allowed, making it absolutely lead and phthalate safe.”

Now, that’s specific to the Babyletto website, but their website does have a pledge to safety across all of their brands and I figured if the Babyletto and Baby Mod cribs look so similar, they probably have similar construction.  (Again, I’m just guessing about that, but I was impressed by the safety information given across the various MDB brands.)

So after all that, I narrowed it down to the two Baby Mod cribs, Olivia and ParkLane.



I like the Olivia crib and that the two-tone wood part was actually part of the crib, not just a drawer front.  On the other hand, the ParkLane crib has a drawer and after all who couldn’t use more storage.  But, Walmart offers a free mattress with the Olivia crib (at the time I was shopping, both cribs were the same price, but the Oliva came with a mattress and ParkLane did not.)  But, I don’t know anything about that mattress and if it has all the safety specs I’m looking for in a mattress.  But ParkLane ends up being more expensive since no mattress is included.  And I went back and forth like this for weeks!  See image above of Miss Fickle.

I also looked online and saw both cribs looking cute in various nurseries.  I realized that the ParkLane crib was the same crib chosen by Young House Love for their nursery.  I even sent John and Sherry a message asking them how they liked the crib after over a year of use, to which they kindly replied and said only nice things about the crib.  I also asked if they thought the crib was too short, as it’s a little lower than some other ones and that was another concern of mine, but they didn’t have any issues with its height. 

The back and forth in my head continued for a while and then I finally decided on the simple fact that the ParkLane had a drawer and that would probably be useful, so that’s what I went with!
 

The crib was delivered exactly one day after we ordered it online.  As soon as I opened the box I was impressed because it was not smelly at all and I was worried their might be a “painty” smell.  It was fairly straightforward to put together (says the person who watched her husband do it without helping.)  All of the parts seem nicely constructed and high quality too. 

Here it is with the drawer open since that was the deciding factor after all.



So after weeks of driving myself crazy over the crib choice, I can confidently say that I’m happy with the crib we chose!  Woot!



So that's an overly wordy description of the craziness my brain went through in choosing this crib.  Thank goodness I liked it once we got it because I wouldn’t want to go through that again!  Have you had to rack your brain or did you have trouble making purchases for your little ones?

P.S. Don't forget to enter my Conscious Box giveaway which ends at today.

Painting the Nursery

I’m excited to start sharing some nursery updates.  As I mentioned in my nursery mood board, we wanted to a gender neutral room and decided that turquoise colored walls could be fun for either a girl or boy’s room.  I wouldn’t normally pick such a bright paint color, but hey this is a nursery, let’s have some fun!

Of course picking the right shade of turquoise is another story.  Since it’s already a bold color choice (for us), we didn’t want to go too bright with it.  We also didn’t want it to be too minty or too blue.  Okay, we may have gone a little nuts when trying to chose the color with quite a few paint samples, and then we even mixed some of those colors together in search of the perfect shade.  Eight paint patches on the wall, that’s normal right?



Now, it would probably be helpful if I could remember what each of these colors are, but these pictures were taken a while ago (there’s been more nursery progress than I’ve let on) and sadly I have no idea which color is which.  But fear not!  I still have the sample paints so I painted them on a piece of white paper so I’d be able to share which color is which.  Whew.







We decided that the first three color choices were all very similar and were all too light and minty colored (this much I do remember.)  So that left us with the Sherwin Williams choices.  Tame Teal was a little bluer and Aquatint was a little greener than we wanted, so after much back and forth we decided that Waterfall by Sherwin Williams was just right.

We went with the Waterfall color in the Sherwin Williams Emerald line of paints because they are no-VOC.  We also chose a satin finish because we figured kids are messy and we’d want something more wipeable than a flat paint, but still not super shiny.  Luckily, Sherwin Williams was having a sale when we bought the paints because they are on the pricey side.

Before tackling the walls, we painted the ceiling with Sherwin Williams HGTV Home line of paints.  The previous owner had painted the ceiling an off-white color, but we prefer the look of a crisp white ceiling.  We went with the HGTV line for the ceilings because it is a less expensive option, but is still zero VOC. 

Here’s a progress shot of the room after the ceiling was done and we started cutting in with the turquoise paint.  Sorry for the iPhone pics, but after working on the room, this pregnant lady didn’t have the energy to get the real camera (stairs + pregnant lady = lots of huffing and puffing!)



And now for the room after one coat of paint: 



Aaaand, the finished walls.  Sorry to only show a few corners of the room, but I didn’t take any pics of the walls while the room was empty and there’s some furniture in there now, which I’m keeping under wraps for the time being, mwahaha!  Plus, I think seeing the color next to white doors gives a better idea of the shade (because between my camera and individual monitor settings, there’s bound to be some differences between the photo and the color in real life.)




And now for a shot of the baby’s big brother guarding the room, gotta protect those baby shower goodies!



I really like the quality of Sherwin Williams paints, the walls had a very nice finish after 2 coats of paint.  However, I was hoping the no-VOC paint would mean it wouldn’t be smelly at all, but there was still a slight smell from the paint.  The smell was less than a regular paint would leave behind, but since this is a baby’s room we still did a considerable amount of airing out the room with the windows open and a fan going to get the paint fumes out.

I’m also really happy with how the paint color turned out.  At first I was worried we went too bright or bold, but once we got some furniture in the room it looked just right.  I’ll be back soon with an update on the furniture!

10 Modern Cribs Under $400

For our baby’s nursery, I’ve been in search of a modern-ish looking crib, something with clean straight lines and a simple design.  (You can check out my nursery inspiration mood board here.)  However, I've had trouble finding a modern crib that’s both affordable and not over the top wacky-modern looking.  If you Google “modern nursery cribs” you can find several online stores that specialize in modern nursery furniture.  The problem is, many of their cribs will run you well over $1,000, with most costing at least $600.  There’s nothing wrong with splurging on a pricey crib if it will make you happy and you can afford it, but I’m looking for something less expensive.  As long as the crib is comfy and safe, I think my baby will be just as happy snoozing and pooping in a crib with a lower price tag! 

In my crib research, I found 10 modern looking cribs priced under $400, even including several under $200 crib options.  Here they are, in no particular order:

1.  Babyletto Hudson 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Amazon $299
2.  Baby Mod ParkLane 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Walmart $300
3.  Child Craft London Stationary Crib – Walmart $180
4.  Sorelle Commuter Crib – Walmart $358
5.  Ikea Sundvik Crib – Ikea $119

6.  Babyletto Mercer 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Amazon $339
7.  Baby Mod Olivia 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Walmart $300
8.  Ikea Gulliver Crib – Ikea $100
9.  Baby Mod Modena 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Walmart $199
10. Babyletto Modo 3-in-1 Convertible Crib – Amazon $351


There are some cute options!  I like all of these cribs, but for the nursery I’ve been planning, I  think I like cribs #2, #4, and #7 the best.

However, if none of these cribs are modern looking enough for your taste, I stumbled across this one:

Source

It’s a lucite crib which costs $3,750!  I’m sure someone out there has this crib in a nursery that cost more than my entire house, but I’m struggling to understand several things with the above image.  Aside from the price and the lucite material, it kinda looks like a fish tank, plus it’s filled with bouncy balls!  Now I haven’t taken any parenting classes, but I’m pretty sure a crib full of bouncy balls is a safety no-no.  Add in the creepy head statue on the dresser, and my mind is boggled about the kind of baby who would live in this room!

So what do you think-  Are modern looking cribs for you?  Any other affordable modern crib suggestions that weren’t on my list?  And what about the lucite crib, work of art or craziness?

Turquoise Nursery Mood Board

Now that I’ve spilled the beans on my super exciting secret project (a baby!) it’s time to get to the question that’s on everyone’s mind- what’s the nursery going to look like?!

There are a few things I know I want for the nursery:

1. A gender neutral design. Since we are not finding out the gender of the baby until d-day (delivery day that is), something gender neutral is a must.  I’m thinking a turquoise colored room since that will look pretty with colors like coral and yellow, as well as both pink and blue down the line.

2. Slightly modern-ish. While I don’t want an uber modern showroom style room, I’d like the furniture to have clean lines and a simple design.

3. Mixed furniture. To me, white furniture is often associated with girls and dark wood furniture is often for boys.  Since we don’t know what we’re having I’d like to use both light and dark furniture.  Plus, I think this will be a cool way to make the room look more personalized rather than buying a complete furniture set from a baby store.

4. Not too babyish.  Yes, this is a nursery for a baby, but I don’t want “baby" furniture that will only work for a baby or toddler.  Instead, I’d like furniture that will work in the long run and fit in any stage of the kiddo’s life and could even be used in other rooms of the house if we rearrange stuff down the road.

5. Fun colors and accessories.  Although I don’t want a super babyish room, it is a nursery after all which gives me a chance to use some bright colors, fun accessories, and funky patterns.  It’s the perfect place to play around with some fun decorating I might be afraid to choose normally.  I’m also thinking of going with a few tropical or jungle accessories, but trying not to be over the top “theme-y”.

So of course I had to put together a mood board to visualize my ideas.   Mood board time!

Modern-ish Slightly-Tropical Turquoise Nursery Mood Board:



1. Crib
2. Dresser
3. Shelves
4. Chair
9. Elephant Hamper
6. Jungle Mobile
7. Changing Pad
8. Curtain Rod
9. Elephant Fabric

So that’s my plan for the room. What do you think??