Cot or Playpen, that is the question

Way before we found out I'm expecting (7 months now, Alhamdulillah), we made the decision for our future kids to sleep separately. For starters, they'll be co-rooming with us so they'll know Mommy & Papa are very near. But .. on a different bed :)

We had different opinions from other parents about this (harder to feed at night, they won't sleep sound, malas nak alih), but for now we are sticking firm to the plan and tawakkal the kids will happily oblige. So off we went to research land to discuss what type of bed would be suitable for the little one.

There's two options: cot and playpen. We took out the cutesy Moses basket / bassinet from the picture simply because the baby will grow quicker than the return of investment we'd get from purchasing one of these. It's fine to get one if you have extra cash and also for memory's sake, but for us it's not an immediate necessity :)

So our method was to decide either playpen or cot for our home. Our deciding factors were:

• space (same goes for stroller) and storage
• quantity (one of each, or one for both homes)

We then settled for playpen, seeing that we'll be spending some time for confinement at my parents' we can just pack it up and lug it back to Shah Alam. Of all brands sold in Malaysia, we love Graco (and spent hours browsing its online site) for its design, durability (from newborn to 7 years) and easy storage. 

Of course, we knew not many stores would carry that extensive range hence we may not get the design that we like, plus the price would be hefty. But considering this set can be used by future additions, this seems worth it. I did some research as to which mall in KL carries this brand, and found out First Few Years (only at The Curve and Paradigm) does, albeit limited models. Other warehouse outlets does sell this brand, but fewer choices than the ones sold in FFY. 

We saw this one the first time we step into FFY

Such a cutie, this one. Comes with a changing table, string of soft toys,  cover, diaper stack, wet wipes casing... all of these were music to my ears! For months we had set our minds to this model, and one weekend in Ramadhan we decided to purchase the set. I should also mention we made most purchases early, cos husband had some work assignments in Korea 1st week of Syawal itself, plus knowing my body strength, i knew i couldn't (and wouldn't) walk far come third trimester. 

We went to FFY The Curve, and listened to the sales pitch again. It was this time, that my gut spoke strongly for one of its function. That after certain weight, the bassinet has to be lowered, for safety reasons. Of course i am all for safety, so this kinda bugged me a lot. 

I pictured putting baby back to sleep would be straining my back, as the next level would be the bottom. The fact that this playpen is almost half of me, i could be falling inside it as well.

Jokes aside, i told husband of this concern and... immediately our focus switched. To baby cot, here we go! As The Curve sits opposite IKEA, that was where we headed next. Mind you, it was only few minutes before berbuka yet there we are, finalizing plans for cot. I told husband let's just have a look, we don't necessarily have to buy that day, but he was on a roll i suppose (well, looking at the time frame we had, travelling and all). 

We bought a cot and a drawer that day.. It was funny when i think back, that we rushed to gulp some mineral, perform our Maghrib prayers at Curve, rushed to IKEA, chose the model.. we almost completed our shopping trip when i insist to have dinner. It was 8 something, and pregnancy hunger is red level-high priority action item! Poor husband had to entertain his wife, so we walked back to Curve and had dinner at Bubba (worth mentioning he wants to eat here). Took our car afterwards to IKEA and i waited patiently while he quickly grab those two items and headed to payment counter.

That was some workout i tell ya.. But yeah, we had managed to tick off two items alhamdulillah. Right now, the list has evolved to including things to do (laundry, setting up cot, sterilize everything). Lots of things to do, but only one component missing: husband still away!