Baby! Baby! BABY!

This past weekend, I flew to Atlanta to have a pre-kid weekend with my mom. It turned out to be an all-out baby marathon.

On Friday, we intended to hit BabiesRUs for the baby registry and a host of maternity clothes stores. We barely made it out of BabiesRUs, spending from 11:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. building the registry. The baby industry is a fine-tuned machine. When we entered the store, we were greeted by two ladies who set up the registry and gave us a 15 minute overview of their store and registry process. The 'orientation' included a massive list of BabyEssentials: What to Include in Your Registry. They clearly have cornered their market. For the inexperienced parent, it was rather deceiving. Does a parent really need a swing, a jumper, a bouncer and a glider? First, what is the difference? And, secondly, as they all are essentially 'motion simulators,' do you need them all? Do you really need four different kinds of strollers? A Pack-n-Play, crib, bassinet and co-sleeper? ACK!

I had created a strategic, prioritized list that zapped the BabiesRUs 'essential' list in half. I read through my books and looked online to find what is truly essential. Once again, the Internet was an invaluable tool as there are sites with all sorts of reviews on every kind of product. Its not just looking in Consumer Reports to see how car seats are rated, its reading about real parents who love or hate the thing. Even with our more focused approach and recommendations, it was work. Even once we decided to prioritize the Pack-n-Play, there were 10 different models. What's the difference between the $99 and $200 model? I had written down three models that were supposed to be 'great!' but how ultimately do you decide? Will the baby really appreciate music? Lights? Vibrations? Will we really appreciate the music/lights/vibrations? (EG are they true 'sanity savers'?)

Outside of trying to sort through everything, I did find my heart swooning. A little creature that is mine will snuggle against my chest in the Baby Bjorn, will sleep in the crib with the dancing mobile and will play with the bright, colorful toys. And so while it was a bit overwhelming, it was neat to feel that we were creating a sense of place and home for this new little baby.