Where Babies Go for Fixing Up the Nursery: IKEA

I’ve always loved IKEA at any stage of my life: single, married, and now as parent.  When I was single twenty-something, I could cheaply furnish my studio apartment at Target prices, but with a touch more class.  As a married 30-something, I could furnish my slightly bigger apartment on a budget since we spent our savings on the wedding.  Now as a parent, I see that IKEA has risen to an awesomeness I had never realized before: they really cater to mommas and babies!  Here’s what I noticed with the new eyes of a parent:

Parking: family spots in the parking lot that are BIGGER (for getting car seats/strollers out) and CLOSER to the store.

Baby Nursing Station: A lockable, private room devoted to nursing your child!  Complete with a comfy chair, a changing table, and extra diapers and wipes in case you forgot!!!!  (yes, that deserves four exclamation points)

Bathrooms with changing tables: also complete with diapers and wipes.  For the smaller kids there are child seats to strap the kids into while you pee.  Note: my husband said the men’s side was fresh out of diapers though. 

Smaland: “a FREE supervised play area to leave your potty trained children between 37” – 54” tall for 1½ hours while you shop.”  Awesome!!!

Children’s Section:  Cribs, changing tables, toys, rugs, curtains…you name it, they got it!

Video games in the Living Room area:  Keeps the kids/husbands entertained while you shop.

Stroller accessible: You aren’t stuck to the aisles either. 

Cafeteria: Kid’s Menu is only a $1; and they have high chairs, bibs, and a bottle warmer.  Not to mention a complete play area for older kids. 

Shopping carts:  You don’t need to bring the stroller, they have carts (although I’ve always found IKEA shopping carts to be a bit wiley).

So, are you seeing why IKEA is like the best thing since sliced bread?  The only bad part is getting there (Rt. 476 has always stuck fear into my heart).  I ended up with a couple of finger puppets, a cute lamp for the daughter’s nursery, and a smile on my face for one of the better shopping experiences with child I’ve ever had!  

The Hipster Kid

So, I'm all for showcasing our wonderful blog readers, hence we took a family trip down Bridge Street to visit Hipster, "The Best Housewares Store in Philadelphia" (even though we're technically in Phoenixville).  What you might not be aware of is that Hipster (the store deserves italics) has a really great little section devoted to "Hip Kids."  Hey, your baby should be just as cool as you are! 

The online store doesn't quite have all the neato products the actual store does.  We couldn't resist getting Rockabye Baby: Lullabye Renditions of Weezer (and after you visit that website you are sooo going to want to buy the lullabye versions of your favorite inappropriate musical choices for children).  We almost bought some metallic butterflies wall decor for the nursery, but since we're moving soon to a bigger place (babies may be tiny, but their stuff takes up a lot of space) we'll be back to Hipster after the move for those decorating needs.

Why should you visit Hipster (as if I haven't given you enough incentive)? In addition to being a store you can definitely get your stroller through, the owner was kind enough to let me use the restroom when I was nine months pregnant and desperate.  I'm just saying.