Buying a crib and dresser should have been easy. Instead, the multi-day ordeal left Leo and I exhausted.
It’s partly my fault. During the Labor Day weekend, I began glancing at Craigslist ads to get a feel for whether any crib-dresser sets out there were affordable, yet in good shape. We have a few months before we must get this done, but I was thinking we could spread out the cost.
I found a set I really liked. Driving out to Wake Forest — a 35+-minute haul from downtown — was the last thing I really felt like doing that weekend, but I went Sunday to scope it out. They were fantastic.
She wanted me to pick them up as soon as possible. Begrudgingly, Leo agreed to go with me on Labor Day morning, first thing, just to get it over with. What we didn’t agree on was renting a truck. It seemed to me a pickup truck from the nearby Uhaul would be the easiest way to fit both items in a vehicle. Slide them in, strap them down, and done.
In a fit of frugality, Leo voted to borrow his parents’ Jeep, thinking the extra drive time to Cary (in the opposite direction) would be worth the cost savings.
So we were up by 7:30, out the door just after 8. We had the Jeep by 8:40 and headed to the far reaches of Wake Forest, arriving around 9:15. On the drive up, I fretted that the large dresser would not fit into the Jeep, even with the seats down. But after some maneuvering, the seller’s husband and Leo made it work. It seemed we were minutes away from tucking in the crib pieces and heading out with our find.
Until … the tallest crib piece was too tall to squeeze under the Jeep’s frame. I hadn’t even considered height, only the length.
Did I mention it was one of the hottest days so far this year? We’re standing out there, in the sun, steaming in the southern humidity. Leo and this other guy decided the pieces could be strapped onto the Jeep’s frame if we removed the top. Neither Leo or I had ever taken the top off. But how hard could it be?
Famous. Last. Words.
Twenty-five sweaty and irritated minutes later, Leo hung up the phone. His dad had talked him through the process and after another 10 minutes, we managed to get the dumb thing figured out. The nice couple, patient, but sweaty and clearly ready to be done, offered long zip ties and some cardboard to secure our purchase. At last, it was done.
We all waved at each other and Leo and I climbed into the Jeep. I realized I had shorted the woman $20 so I ran back to this woman’s door and tried to give it to her. I think she was sick of the sight of me; she waved me off and said it was fine.
Back at home, Leo and I struggled in the sun. After four trips up the stairs with smaller pieces, my pregnant self felt done in. But we heaved and hoed and pushed the damn thing in the door. And that’s where it remained. I refused to move it another inch until later that evening. One more colossal struggle up the stairs and we have a crib and dresser.
Poor Leo’s struggle wasn’t over. He returned the Jeep to his parents’ house, where it took him and his dad another 40 minutes to return the top to its proper location. It’s not a great endorsement for the soft top option.
All that to scratch two items off The Big List. I’m hoping bottles and blankets won’t be so painful.
I’ve mentioned it before, but I’ll ask again: What baby items can we do without, and which would you strongly recommend?
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