Just Browsing

While it’s too early to “officially” register, Tiffany and I have been checking out prices of various items at Target and Babies R’ Us to see if there’s difference and what should be registered for where. I don’t think there’s any doubt that the market for baby supplies has quadrupled in the last 20 years and that estimate is probably conservative. I can’t believe some of the stuff they’re trying to pass off as essential.

Anyway, there are some things that are necessary: crib, stroller, car seat, diaper bag etc... You can’t avoid these things, but you would think one could limit the spending. Last week Tiffany called me from Babies R’ Us and said she found a nice stroller and that it was made by Chico . It’s a stroller and also a car seat, a combo, a travel system as they call it. Many makes offer travel systems, Graco, even Eddie Baur, and I’m all for it. One less purchase,  we just have to buy an extra base so we have one for each car. 

However, when I heard Chico I thought that sounded expensive. Sure enough it’s one of the most expensive units on the market. Likewise when we’re at the store Saturday I saw a play yard that looked pretty good, that could also double as a bassinet for a week or two, only guess what? Chico makes one of those too and it’s 70 bucks or roughly 50% more than the one i thought looked good from Graco.

Now I’m not saying we need to buy things on the cheap, not at all, but who is the $300 stroller really for? The baby who doesn’t even know what a stroller is or mom or dad? I’m not saying I’m even against buying it, let’s just be honest and not buy these things under the assumption that it’s better for our child when in reality we could probably get one used and the baby would never know the difference.

Another debate that is raging right now is the “lifetime crib” vs. a traditional crib. And when I say raging debate, I mean neither of us can decide for certain which might be better. The lifetime crib, for those uninitiated folks, turns from a crib, to a toddler bed, to a full-size bed, so in theory, it could be the only bed frame you buy the child its’ entire life. Obviously, I like the idea of that. But I have some suspicions on whether or not that will be the case.

Already, I’m hearing things like, “Our guest room bed is a full so if nothing else, it could become the frame for that if we buy a cute kids bed later.” Again, sounds good in theory until the cute kid’s bed becomes embarrassing for the teenager to use. Do you switch back to the lifetime crib at that point and if so, what happens to the cute kids bed. I wouldn’t say I’m stressing about all this, I just find it interesting and wondering if they only have this lifetime crib as an option so they can squeeze another 40-60 bucks out of would-be parents, meanwhile it ends up in the trash heap or garage sale like everything else. I’m sure these are all issues that we’ll have to address at a later time. 

 I won’t even get into the “great glider debate”, we’ll save that for another post. Next doctor appointment in two days.