Baby Stuff Overload
I’m not sure why I thought shopping for baby stuff would be easy and fun. Maybe because baby stuff is cute, and we’re excited about having a baby, and it’s fun to think about actually having the baby in our lives—all good reasons. But the truth is that there is a lot of baby stuff out there, and figuring out what’s what is a lot different than, say, selecting china patterns and towels for the wedding registry. At least we knew what china and towels were, and what their function was, and what made one kind better than another.
Friday night, we took the plunge and went to Babies R Us. It seemed like a good place to start. But we wound up strolling the aisles a bit zombie-like, faced with questions we hadn’t even considered: Should a car seat convert to a stroller? Should a stroller convert to a pram? Should a car seat double as a cradle? Does a bouncy swing thing have to look so garish—and am I doing my impressionable, eager-for-sensory-stimulation baby a disservice if I choose one a little more toned down? Etc. No one was around to answer our questions, so these mysteries were left unresolved. We purchased a wedge pillow to help me sleep more comfortably, and left the store.
Sunday, we had better luck at a great local store called Goore’s, apparently a huge baby behemoth on the West Coast. It had a higher-end selection, including the $1,200 Stokke stroller that, of course, we instantly loved. Perhaps more important than the chance to push around a stroller used by Heidi Klum was the fact that helpful salespeople were everywhere. A woman showed us all kinds of things about strollers, and we perused about 20 binders (no exaggeration) of possible linens for the baby’s crib. We wandered around a veritable sea of cribs as well, but will devote ourselves to that another day. After our time at Goore’s, we felt a bit closer to selecting at least a few items.
Many questions remain, however, and there is much uncharted territory to explore. Baby-shopping is a difficult proposition when you don’t know anything whatsoever about baby stuff, but we will persevere. As long as we have what we need to make sure the baby is clothed and safe when she comes home, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out the rest as we go along. (Is that a naïve new parent thing to say, or a wise new parent thing to say? Even that is a mystery.)
Friday night, we took the plunge and went to Babies R Us. It seemed like a good place to start. But we wound up strolling the aisles a bit zombie-like, faced with questions we hadn’t even considered: Should a car seat convert to a stroller? Should a stroller convert to a pram? Should a car seat double as a cradle? Does a bouncy swing thing have to look so garish—and am I doing my impressionable, eager-for-sensory-stimulation baby a disservice if I choose one a little more toned down? Etc. No one was around to answer our questions, so these mysteries were left unresolved. We purchased a wedge pillow to help me sleep more comfortably, and left the store.
Sunday, we had better luck at a great local store called Goore’s, apparently a huge baby behemoth on the West Coast. It had a higher-end selection, including the $1,200 Stokke stroller that, of course, we instantly loved. Perhaps more important than the chance to push around a stroller used by Heidi Klum was the fact that helpful salespeople were everywhere. A woman showed us all kinds of things about strollers, and we perused about 20 binders (no exaggeration) of possible linens for the baby’s crib. We wandered around a veritable sea of cribs as well, but will devote ourselves to that another day. After our time at Goore’s, we felt a bit closer to selecting at least a few items.
Many questions remain, however, and there is much uncharted territory to explore. Baby-shopping is a difficult proposition when you don’t know anything whatsoever about baby stuff, but we will persevere. As long as we have what we need to make sure the baby is clothed and safe when she comes home, I’m sure we’ll be able to figure out the rest as we go along. (Is that a naïve new parent thing to say, or a wise new parent thing to say? Even that is a mystery.)
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-Sarah