Parenting Mistakes

I'm sure Chris and I will make numerous mistakes as parents.

I think its unavoidable.

I just didn't think it would start this early.

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This one was my bad.

We've had a number of great experiences with Ikea in the past, which is why I thought an Ikea crib was a superb idea. They were cute, well-priced, and full-sized yet petite. Sure, Ikea products take some assembly, but it hasn't ever been too bad in the past. Doesn't everything take a little assembly?

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Our first warning sign was the directions.

Wordless directions.

Drawings only.

But we gradually figured that one out and got the shell put together.Wednesday night Chris was set to work on the bottom.

I came home from Mutual to find this:

(sorry, I had to edit for his G's--classy, I know)

Apparently the holes meant for the plastic screws are the wrong size.

Its impossible to get them all the way in.

Then its impossible to get them back out.

This creates a very unstable base.

If Chris tries too hard, the plastic screws break.

Some of them he got in just fine.

One of those caused the wood to split.

Nice.

Its been a very upsetting process and Chris has been so good trying to get it to work. At this point, I'm loosing hope at trying to make it work. Ikea got two scathing emails from a very upset pregnant girl, complete with pictures. Whether or not they respond remains to be seen. Not sure what we will do about it at this point, as their return policy says we can't return any "assembled" or "damaged" items. And when exactly are we going to trek back to Ohio? What is especially frustrating is that for $20-30 more dollars we could have just gotten a nice Graco crib. In hindsight, it would have been worth it. Guess that's why they say hindsight is 20/20.

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On the good news front, the bookcase was put together with ease and is tres cute.

Too bad she can't sleep in that.