The Long Awaited Arrival

 

Back when I was still pregnant and in the midst of my nesting phase, Chris and I spent A LOT of money at Babies R Us in one night; they were having sales, and we had coupons, so it just made sense to buy everything at the same time. In this shopping spree, we bought my rocking chair and ottoman. It’s a big, cushy brown corduroy arm chair that is super comfortable, especially in the middle of the night when I fall asleep while nursing. The only problem with this chair started about three weeks after Miles was born: major squeaking. I mean MAJOR. We tried to WD40 the problem but quickly discovered that the noise was coming from inside the chair, which would require taking it apart (way beyond our skill set).

Luckily, we purchased the buyer protection plan that they offer you for everything you purchase. I normally decline the warranties because how often do you actually need to use it?It’s just a ploy to get more money from parents-to-be that will do anything and spend anything for their babies. But the chair was one of the more expensive items (might have been the most expensive) we purchased.

So after three months of squeaking and not actually rocking in the chair because I was worried that the noise would actually wake Miles up instead of lulling him to sleep, I called to get the chair serviced as per the protection plan agreement. I spoke to a very nice man on the phone who told me that squeaking did not seem to be listed on his computer screen as things that could be fixed. But I am too smart for that.

I looked at the plan brochure in front of me and said, “It says here that the plan covers ‘defects in workmanship,’ and it seems to me that noise so loud that I don’t actually want to rock in the chair is a defect in workmanship.”

He agreed that that would be annoying (he has a child at home, too) and agreed to put in a service request and told me to expect a phone call from the service company in the next three to five days. After about six days, I got another call from the warranty department to tell me that there really is nothing they can do about the squeaking, so they would like to send me a merchandise credit for the retail price of the chair to buy me out of my service plan. I should expect a credit in the mail for $389.99 (more than we actually paid because we got it on sale).

The first thing that came to my mind?

I can totally deal with a squeaky chair!

We bought the chair when it was a new product which meant no customer reviews online, but now I see that pretty much everyone has the same problem. I’m not about the replace the chair with one that squeaks in the same way.

So I used my credit to buy the one item that I have had my eye on all summer: the BOB Revolution jogging stroller. I had been debating the purchase forever because they are quite a bit of money, but if I want to be able to run ever again, I need to have a stroller. Chris and I agreed that this would help my sanity, although I don’t think he understood how expensive they are.

After I placed the order online, I was obsessed with tracking the order. I felt like a kid waiting for Christmas. At least three times each day I tracked my package on the FedEx website, anxious for the glorious day when this would show up at my door.

And yesterday was the day!

I still can’t use it because the car seat adapter hasn’t arrived yet, but it sure does look pretty sitting in my dining room. Why the dining room? As it turns out, townhouses are really small. And jogging strollers are really big. I’m still looking for its permanent home.