Do you have some easy reading resources on this? Under a spoiler so those who would be stressed by it can skim over would be great, if you do have some!
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Unfortunately resources on this seem to fall into “somewhat alarmist layperson blogs or books” or “academic papers” and not a whole lot in between.
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We went high end and all natural for the mattress because spouse was worried about it. We ended up with the naturepedic + their breathable cover (it’s like …$300 
). But sometimes a parent feels very strongly about something and that’s ok.
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Re: car seats: a “baby bucket” type car seat was very useful for me because i had a lot of doctor’s appointments when LB was a baby (I developed GI issues) and I would just leave him in it. While not, like, ideal parenting, it was more convenient than trying to bring a stroller into the building. Another advantage of a bucket is that if your climate is inhospitable, you can do your fastening and unfastening inside the house rather than outside until baby outgrows it.
I guess the point of this anecdote is, everyone’s situation is different and you should give thought to your lifestyle. I might not need the baby bucket for my present lifestyle and am considering skipping it.
My philosophy in general is to err on the side of accepting free stuff, because it’s hard to tell what will be useful, and err on the side of not buying. The baby store will still be there when you realize you need X.
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See and we had a ton of appointments but lived in the city center and all the specialty clinics were super small. So no stroller and baby wearing saved the day for us- I took the car seat to one appointment and there was nowhere to set it, it had to stay in SirB’s lap! Total pain so I never did it again. But almost all the appointments were for her, so she needed to always be taken out for examination anyway.
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Ha, I was alone so if there was nowhere to put the baby, I wouldn’t have been able to go to the doctor at all! You can’t always wear the baby when you are the patient. But yes, another great example of needing to know your situation… To the extent that you can predict it. One is going to get it wrong sometimes and need to try something else and that is just part of it!
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Yeah, my daughter’s first appointment was a frantic “can you get here in 10 minutes?” one that I just carried her in my arms. The next 3 appointments were for both of us (weight check for her and BP check for me) and by then I had the stroller in the car.
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can you explain what this is? I googled it but Im not understanding, is it different from an infant car seat? Is it safe for sleep? Or is it a car seat that can be removed?
Sorry this all feels like a whole new set of things I have 0 familiarity with.
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Removable infant car seat with a carrying handle—hence “bucket”.
They are safe for sleep installed at the proper recline in the car, mind. It’s not like you have to wake them up in the middle of a ride because they fell asleep. Just not a good idea to let them keep sleeping in it after coming out of the car.
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With a bucket seat there is a base that stays in the car and then the seat portion snaps in and out. So you can quickly pop the seat in and out with the baby already in it. I found it very helpful, especially when the baby is really tiny and floppy, getting the right angle to safely secure the baby in the seat is difficult so I liked doing it in the warm house. There downside is that once the baby gets to a certain height/weight you have to switch to a normal convertible car seat. A positive is that if you have 2 vehicles, you can buy two bases and keep the bases installed in the cars and then pop the seat in and out accordingly. You can also get a stroller that allows you to pop the bucket seat into the stroller for easy transitions.
The other option is to start with a convertible seat right away. It stays in place in the car and is probably what you think of when you picture a car seat. It can be used for years as your child grows and switches from rear to front facing.
No car seat is safe to let your baby sleep in for a prolonged period. While in the car is fine, but some parents bring the seats inside and let the baby sleep in them for hours, which isn’t safe with any inclined surface.
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@frogger @Economista Thank you! Okay, so presumably there is some system with a stroller thing that can be a toddler stroller or take a bucket seat or take a bassinet?
And then is there a thing where you would actually use that bassinet piece as a sleeping bassinet? Or would you get… another differenter bassinet?
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Oh, and the amount of time you get out the bucket seat depends upon the child. I know someone who’s baby didn’t outgrow it until almost 18 months old. In my case baby #1 was too tall by 10 months, baby #2 was too tall at 6 months.
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If the kid takes after GM, it will not take long. If they take after me, it will take a very long time.
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It…varies? A “travel system” is typically a stroller (for sitting baby/toddler) with the ability to put in an infant seat. Some might have a bassinet insert, but that is more rare. And some strollers might just have the stroller and bassinet, no car seat.
IDK if the stroller bassinet would be a place to sleep outside of the stroller, probably depends, but a regular bassinet (smaller and more portable than a crib) would be simpler for day to day sleep.
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Yes. This is the one we got (mil purchased it for us). You can attach the bucket seat to the stroller, or lay the back part down flat to make a bassinet type area, but we didn’t use that until she was 6 months old or so and we were to the botanic gardens. Once they are around 6 months is also when they can sit up enough to just sit in the stroller.
We never really used the stroller for the purpose of sleeping 
We used a bassinet in our bedroom and a little portable one in other rooms of the house.
Baby Trend Expedition Jogger Travel System, Millennium Orange https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BQLPIVC/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_YNHAMRXQCK30GWK6JAZ4
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Yeah Latte was too tall at 9 months since all her height was in her torso at that point.
eta and this was the travel system we started with. We later got a used Thule urban glide 2 (a jogging stroller) which was our heavily used one from 12 ish months - 2 years. And now she refuses a stroller 
Chicco Bravo Trio Travel System - Camden https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08VPVLF95/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_i_6NPKTQ27ZXAR44HPZ111
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That’s how L was. Her overall height was within the limits (barely) but her torso was so long that her head was hitting the top edge at 6 months.
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Some of the stroller you can take the bassinet out and have them sleep in it inside, but I don’t know how many people do that. But in theory, flat firm, alone on their back, it’s a safe sleep spot.
(Random pic I don’t know this brand)
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My brain hurts. Will have to revisit this.
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