On the problem of baby gear and living in a city.

I'm having Baby Culture Shock. Or, more accurately, Baby Stuff Culture Shock. There is so much out there for little wee ones. Annnnnd...I'm struggling to narrow it down. I think I might have written back in the summer about how Brad and I were trying to be very intentional about what we were packing for Boston and what we would be storing. This was an incredibly crucial element in our move- primarily because we now live in an apartment, and we walk or take public transportation everywhere. These two things combined really bring out the minimalist in you. 

Don't get me wrong: we are very blessed with our apartment and have a nice amount of storage space. We don't, however, have an attic, garage, or basement storage available, which means that we have to get creative with where to stash stuff. Stuff like the boxes our appliances came in, which aren't really vital to our lives at the moment but will be when we move again. Or our Christmas decor and out-of-season clothing. Our "spare room" is very multi-purposed. It's our "office" and extra storage and guest room and future baby room. It's not terribly big, AND there's a weight-bearing brick column right in the middle of the room. And a built-in desk (which is awesome but does limit room arrangement possibilities).

All that to say that we're having to be, yet again, incredibly intentional about what baby gear we plan to acquire. The great lure of the Baby Gear Industry is all of the cute stuff. The pink and ruffly and soft and adorable stuff. It calls to me and threatens to fog my rationality. I've been fairly disciplined in not giving into those Sirens. Rather, I've spent countless hours (no, really) researching and evaluating the best options for the necessities. Things that are practical and necessary and fit in our budget. Things that are Boston- and apartment-friendly. Things that have good safety ratings and customer reviews. It's way more intense than I would have thought.

Some of our thoughts/decisions/quandaries:

1. We made the decision (after crunching the numbers) to try our hands at cloth diapering. We calculated average costs of disposables versus what we'd pay in laundry (which we pay for with quarters...gag) over the remainder of the time that we'll probably live in this apartment. Cloth diapers won. Not for environmental reasons nearly so much as practical reasons. We decided on this brand (after researching sessions that made me want to rip out my hair). Seriously...this was the very first thing we decided on. Diapers. How precious.

2. We're planning to get a mini-crib. Why? Because a regular sized one won't fit anywhere in our apartment. Not exaggerating. The crib does have a rocking feature, though, which is awesome.

3. We're going to need to forego some other items marketed as "essentials" by the Target and Amazon registries, like a changing table. We just don't have room for one. We're definitely going to be the type that have those changing pads scattered around the apartment. 

4. The stroller search is enough to give me a migraine. We need something compact for use on the trains. That's pretty much non-negotiable. We can't really do the awesome systems that are the way to go in the South (you know, the Cadillac strollers with the snap-in baby carrier?). Wistful sigh. We're planning on using one of the strap-on baby carriers. It's what people do here...and is seemingly the only practical solution. I've seen exactly one woman with a traditional baby carrier; she looked like she was about to collapse carrying it.

5. Claire isn't going to have an awesomely Pinterest-ed out nursery. We'll make it as cute as we can, but function is definitely the priority and will take a lot of creativity to manufacture. The good things, though, is that we can attach things to the upholstered walls (remember how it's a soundproof room?) with push pins. That's kind of fun.

6. We don't have much room for baby items like swings or bouncy seats. I've looked into some travel swing options, which have a smallish footprint. Jury is still out on that (speaking of juries, I got jury summons for less than 3 weeks before my due date. What are the odds??).

Anyway, those are some of the scenarios that we're working with. We're also starting to think through where we will store things like the stroller. There's not exactly a natural spot for it. I'll keep you posted. I know you'll be waiting with baited breath.