This is a random ass post that you can feel free to skim and ignore, but I am totally stuck trying to decide about which glider to get for the nursery and would love some input if you have any. People say it’s an important decision because of the vast number of hours one spends in it while nursing, reading, and sleeping… but it’s also a potentially expensive decision, so please HELP!
Below are the two I’ve been waffling between buying (extremes, I know). Keep in mind that I live nowhere near baby stores and/or furniture stores, so I have never actually sat in either of these (or in any glider period). Also, my husband and I are both fairly tall people (I’m 5’8″ and C is 6’3″), and my husband’s upper body is incredibly long, so I’d love if the chair fit him well too.
Stork CraftThe biggest appeal here is the price – it’s only $179.
Product Dimensions: 29″ x 35″ x 37.5″ – according to a review I read, the seat is 18″ across at the armrests and 17″ deep, and the back of the seat is 28″ tall.
There are lots of negative reviews on amazon regarding the ball bearings (lots of squeaking issues and them going completely to shit within a year). It still gets a lot of 4/5 star ratings though (124 of 159), with people basically saying you get what you pay for, and it’s a decent chair.
Everything I’ve read says that this is the glider to get…and the price reflects it. If you get the model I want (Great Value Modern Grand XL Glider Model 854, glider + multilock & recline and the plain ottoman), I’m look at a $783 price tag. Ouch.
I can also get this in the white wood finish I want (to match the dresser & crib), and in the fabric I want (an orange/white plaid).
Dimensions: 33″w x 35″d x 44″h — so it’s extra wide (plenty of room for a nursing pillow) and extra tall (nice for C & I since we’re both taller people).
So there you go….thoughts? Opinions? Is it worth spending 4x the money to get the quality chair? It’s funny – we’ve barely had to spend a penny so far (got the dresser for $50 on Craig’s List and the crib as a baby shower gift)…so really I feel like I should just bite the bullet and get the Dutailier…but then the cheapskate part of me (that also wants to stay home as long as possible with this baby) thinks that money would be better to have in savings.
I have a dutalier BUT like everything else – it was a hand me down. That said, its great. Erik loves it. I love it too. The only downside is that Mac's nearly too big to fit in it these days….shocking I know.
I would say since you haven't purchased anything special for the nursery yet, this could be your big splurge. You would use it and love it for baby #2 as well. Mark and I have decided it's always worth it to buy quality first. We purchased bargain washer dryers, and every time it screws up the laundry or doesn't spin dry EVER, we are sorely disappointed and considering spending the big bucks for a great model on top of what the bargain item cost just for piece of mind. Tough choice! But if that one glider squeaks you're gonna go NUTS! 😉
Of course, I have no experience in this area, but my opinion would be to splurge. You guys will probably be spending a lot of time in it and you don't want the cheaper version giving out on you one night at 2am after you've finally gotten Rockstar to sleep. Again. 🙂 It is a lot of money, but if you can swing it, I'd go for it. Or maybe check craigslist, if you're okay with a secondhand one.
I'd say it depends on your lifestyle and where you think you'll be spending the most time. I thought I'd be in the chair for every single nursing, for every single child we hope to have. But once Gracie got here, I ended up nursing on the couch a lot more than I ever thought I would. I'm very weird about nursing in front of other people, though, so whenever we had company, I'd bring her upstairs to the chair to nurse in private. If I wasn't so uptight, I'd probably use the chair even less and stay planted on the couch those first few months.After the initial months of nursing constantly were over, I did end up nursing in the chair every single time.We still use the chair for the bedtime routine for both naps and bedtime every single day though. So all in all, we spend A LOT OF TIME in that chair.I'd say go for the expensive one, unless you think you'll realistically spend more time in other places around the house.Sorry, longest answer ever.
The first chair was lost on me as soon as you said squeaky. I think the more expensive chair is the way to go if you are certain you will be spending tons of time in it.Exciting purchase!
Get the better chair but you should get a fabric color that will match in other rooms in your house not just the babies room. When I found out I was pregnant with my daughter we went out and purchased a very nice glide rocker with ottoman form a furniture store. I ordered it in a fabric that was neutral so that it could be placed in any room in our house after it was done being used in the babies room. I kept the rocker in her room until she was 2 1/2 and now I am going to use it in my son's room. After we are all set with it his room it will be moved to our casual living room/playroom. I think you are better off spending more money and getting a quality piece of comfortable furniture that will last years and years.
I have the exact one in the picture above…the stork craft and i LOVE it. Cheap enough so I could get other stuff but very durable. Plus, it goes with anything. And comfy!!!
I found your blog through Oak's and I have to say you are gorgeous (in a non-lesbian way.. I realize that coulda come off as creepster). I have a hand me down dutalier, and I love it! It has some squeaky times, but for the most part does great. I'm not sure about the height issue though,since hubs and I are both 5'5 and 5'6. Good luck with your decision!
Oh ya…look at my blog. I take the babies month by month pics in it. It is all over my old blog. 🙂
I agree with everyone who says go with the expensive one. And I also agree that it would be a great idea to check Craigslist for a second-hand Dutailier because, yes, ouch, expensive! But worth the expense if you'll spend a lot of time in it. Repeat, repeat, repeat what everyone else has said. 🙂
I don't have a glider and I've gotten along just fine without one. I was a spoiled brat and wanted the 1K Pottery Barn one and if I couldn't have that one, I didn't want one. I ended up with a $200 chair that works just fine.I nurse any and everywhere and I walk around to put the baby to sleep if she's particularly fussy. I would like a glider or rocking chair someday but they're definitely not vital.That said, I vote for the splurge. You want to love your nursery and you shouldn't settle if at all possible. The nursery is your sanctuary just as much as the baby's and you want a smile to come to your face every time you sit down and a squeaky chair is NOT the business!
Those both look so comfy…Two of my friends just got gliders from Walmart and they said the price couldn't be beat, and they are the most comfortable ones they tried..
I have to weigh in! The glider was one thing I had to be able to sit in and see the quality of before I bought it. I splurged on the Dutailer because it was the biggest, most comfortable glider I found. I'm 5'9" and Hubby is 6'4", so size matters to us, too. 😉 It is tall enough that you can rest your head – not all of them are. I ordered the glider and ottoman from Babies R Us. Watch for coupons – they'll let you combine coupons, AND apply for their credit card and get an extra 10% off your order. Plus, if you're registered there, 30 days before your due date, they'll send you a coupon for a one-day 10% off "registry completion coupon" that you can also use.With all the coupons and discounts, I was able to get the glider, ottoman and $150 worth of other registry stuff for under $650.Hope this helps!
I agree with (almost) everyone. It's worth the splurge (especially if you can use it in another room in your house when Rockstar, and any potential sibling, is older.) In general, getting the extra wide one is a good idea. My babies were (still are) small and I still had trouble nursing once they got to be about 3 months old. It was just too tight a fit. I nursed until they were just about a year so that was a long time they didn't fit. I ended up nursing them in bed in the middle of the night. However, I still use the chair for bedtime stories and rocking my 2 year old to sleep on those particularly bad nights. Really, it's worth the splurge…especially if you haven't really splurged anywhere else.Good luck!
I say get the more expensive one since you haven't spent a lot on the nursery so far. I hate compromising and settling for the less expensive item and then it turns out to be a piece of crap. You deserve the good one!! 🙂
You're asking someone who paid $40 for my glider and ottoman on Craigslist. I am sure you can guess what I am going to say. Mine squeeks, but it is nothing a little DW40 won't fix. Plus if it is between getting to spend a few more sweet days with your little one, it is totally worth not having the absolute best of everything. I think a rocking chair is just as good too, so maybe there is one of those on craigslist nearby for a decent price. Honestly the ottoman isn't too useful. Oh I was gonna say if you want you could go to Babies R Us while you're in denver that Sunday….if you're coming down? not sure. But they have a bunch of different gliders and you can actually sit in them and feel how they are.
We just got a glider at a regular furniture store- I don't remember how much it was, but it was certainly not $800!!!!! I think it may have even been less than the storkcraft one, and I think it is a very quality glider. Good luck choosing!
We're borrowing one from our friends and they bought it from Big Lots. Not a great place to find furniture but I love this glider! It's quiet and it reclines. Do you have anyone you would borrow it from? If not… buy the cheaper one. Are those the only two options?
We have a dutalier and it was worth every penny! We got it on sale at Babies R Us, though, so it wasn't nearly that expensive…I'm thinking $400-500 range? I can't remember. We still rock in it every night before bed, though (my daughter is 2).
Granted I have no clue on either of these but I think the bottom one looks a bit comfier. I must admit I'm guilty of looking at a few baby items but I hadn't started browsing these yet. Good luck with you choice!!
I went with a Shermag from Target and love it. It was only $200 and free shipping.
We have a Dutalier glider but it looks more like the first picture. It's awesome but the price tag definitely sucks. We got ours used off of Craigslist and spent about a third of what a new one would cost.
I have the first one you posted. I really like it because it blends nice into the nursery decor, but it has started an annoying squeak and if I was to pick one thing to change about it (besides the squeak) I would like it to be a little more reclined. It is straight up & down and when you are exhausted it is hard to get in a comfortable position in the chair while holding a squirming baby who is fighting sleep. But overall, I'd probably give it a 4/5 star rating, too.
Tough choice here. I have found myself in a very similar position. (Shocking, right?) The initial glider and ottoman I wanted (can't remember the brand) ran about $680.00 out the door. But that seemed like such a steep price considering I wasn't sure just how much time I would be spending in it. So I found another Dutailer model that runs about $450, and it got pretty decent reviews on amazon. (Can't pull up the link right now)Good luck!
We got the Stork Craft and although it's not in full use yet, it's comfy when we try it out just about every time we go into the nursery. However, pick your item to splurge on and enjoy it. Ours is going to be the travel system. Good luck… fun decisions:]
Go with the expensive one for sure. We use our glider for everything. Reading books, feeding baby, rocking the baby on the nights that he (and now she) are sick. Heck there were days where the kiddo was overstimulated so we'd go into the nursery, turn off the lights and the fan on and just sit, rock and whisper sweet things until he calmed down. I actually bought ours in a neutral color and when my oldest left a nursery and got a big boy room, we used the glider in the living room and then when baby #2 came along it went back into the nursery. So yeah, it is expensive at first but you will get your money's worth.