Unwanted Cradle & Traditions

[SoonerTexan]

You can use it to hold baby clothes, storage or laundry in transit. Or put it in storage.

That's the thing...I mean we really have NO where and I sure am not paying for a storage unit. If my mom will store it, fine, but she is short on space too. I'd much rather have the space for a new dresser to properly store things instead of throwing them in a cradle, but even fitting a dresser and nothing else is going to be a big challenge.

Maybe someone else in your family will announce they're expecting soon so you'll have an excuse to pass it along..

Unless one of my teenage cousins has an "oops" it will just be me for the foreseeable future.

Take it. It's hard to see why we're saying this now, but when push comes to shove, it isn't worth it at all to stress about this!

You know...I would say I would believe you, except my mom was in the same position and the only feeling she has attached to the dang thing is resentment. Especially when she was "ordered" to somehow get it to the next sibling across the country.

My grandmother has a tendency to push her way into things that annoy the heck out of my mom and now me. With the wedding it was, "What! You aren't going to include all (150) out-of-town guests in the rehearsal dinner??? But that's the way we DO it in our family."

The christening gown is kind of funny...when I was getting married my mom pulled out her preserved wedding dress for us to try on. She never really liked it because (surprise, surprise) Grandma had forced her into it. Her plan was to cut it up and make a family christening gown out of it for her children, but when she got back from her honeymoon, my grandmother had her dress preserved insisting her daughters would want to wear it. My two sisters and I had a great time playing with it for a whole hour but we all agreed it was hideous (including mom) and didn't want to wear it. So I told my mom, "You know, it's not too late to make a christening gown out of it for grandkids" and she got really excited about it. Not a month later, my grandmother showed up to visit with a christening gown pattern because she had randomly (we hadn't told her about my moms idea) decided she was going to start a new tradition and make a gown for her great-grandchildren. It's like she KNOWS.

[SuzySunshine]

If she's a good seamstress then I would give her the dress and say, "great we'd like to have it made from mom's dress" otherwise I'd continue with your plan.

Our baptismal gown is made from my mom's senior prom dress and wedding dress and all 5 grandkids have now worn it and we had their names and birthdates embroidered on it so that it can be passed down.

I think if its your mom's mom and you really don't want the craddle you should let her deal with it.

[Thirteen]

This got me thinking. My MIL grabs up all kinds of things we don't need or like and shoves it on us...
I've been busy graciously accepting and then donating them to the local women/children's shelter, or passing them along to friends. Although, you probably can't unload something like that without SERIOUS repercussions.

[diggitydot]

How 'bout this?

"Grams -- we would love to use it for a day to get lots of pics for everyone to appreciate the tradition, but our lack of space mandates we only keep it within our bursting home for a few hours before sending it back to you, C.O.D. While we'd looooove to keep it, I'm sure you and many other family members would be heartbroken when it inevitably is destroyed during the ensuing space crush of new baby and his or her accoutrements."

Yeah, it might be passive-aggressive, but it appeases the beast while keeping the damn thing out of your home. Pick your battles.

[GrayMatterWife]

Take the cradle. Use it or dont. You do not, however, under any circumstance need a changing table. ESPECIALLY given tight quarters, nix the changing table. More often than not you'll use the floor or bed or something else anyway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

This. And superwise advice re: the non-necessity of a changing table.

I have to chuckle at your predicament. You should see all the family hierlooms MIL has passed along, I'm sure she was so thrilled that there is now a new generation to dump stuff on. We have a 4th generation moses basket that was useful for only a few weeks with my large babes. And now I have to keep it until my kids have kids!! It is at least smaller than a cradle and I can use it to store stuffed animals. We also have a rocking chair that can't be sat on or it will fall apart, baby leiderhosen (yes really), a huge box of children's books from the 50's that are quite frankly scary and inappropriate. Plus lots of other non baby related furniture and nicknacks. We are super tight for space too and move all the time.

Just use it for the time you need it, then talk your mom into storing it again. At least there are other siblings that will hopefully take it one day.

[ladymoreta]

I like diggitydot's suggestion! I guess I'm in the camp of take it very temporarily if you have to for a few pictures, but get it back to your grandma ASAP. It's harder to just take something like that to apease family if there's physically no space for it. I would agree with taking it if it were possible, but family traditions don't create more square footage... Could it go in the living room for a little while? During the first few weeks, babies will sleep anywhere.

[scarlett09]

I like LM's suggestion. Could you use it as a piece of living room furniture and store books and magazines in it? I kind of feel bad suggesting that. But I know that you have some mixed feelings about it.

Is there a way to take it way closer to your due date and give back after 2 weeks to your grandmom, while telling her "baby loved it, but is now too big"?

Just brainstorming out loud here. I love these sorts of traditions. There is a bassinette in my father's family that him, his siblings, his cousins, and all of grandchildren and cousin's children (including me) have slept in. I'm hoping that the last cousin to have a baby about 8 years ago still has it!

[corn poffi]

My grandfather built a cradle for my sister and I. My parents didn't feel safe keeping babies in it, so it became a toy box of sorts for all of our stuffed animals. It was functional, and my sister and I enjoyed playing house with it when we were little. Now my sister and I fight over who will get it someday.

I'd take it. It would be great to pass it along someday.

[alison]

I get the no storage thing, but babies outgrow clothes so fast. Within three months you'll have clothes and toys that have to be stored somewhere. That's less than a year from now that you'll have things that you can't even use!

I like having a changing table, but it looks like I'm the exception!

[scrub-jay]

I like having a changing table, but it looks like I'm the exception!

I'm in this camp too, it is hard on my back to use the bed/floor/other surface. I like our changing table!

[ladymoreta]

I use the foam changing pad on the dresser. For months after I delivered, my joints were really painful, and I can't imagine doing every diaper change on the floor or even on the couch. I would have gotten a changing table if there was one that matched the furniture set we bought. Lots of them that we looked at seemed unsteady, so if you get one, don't just order it online without seeing a floor model first.

[SoonerTexan]

I use the foam changing pad on the dresser.

I remember your setup and actually that is what I had in mind

[peggyfromwastate]

That's what I have- the changing table pad on our dresser.

I'm in the camp of thanks but no thanks. I don't like heirlooms and a big cradle in small space would drive me nuts. Plus the expectation that you will pay to ship this thing around the country... If your grandma has space, can she keep it at her house so that when you visit you have a place to let the baby sleep?

[SoonerTexan]

f your grandma has space, can she keep it at her house so that when you visit you have a place to let the baby sleep?

In theory, but there is no way in hell I am traveling to Arizona in the time frame that the baby would use it. Or any upcoming time frame for the matter