Baby Talk, Pt. 2

Warning: This will probably be a frequent topic over the next few months...and then some, really.

Husband and I started our registry this weekend. I don't think I could have made it through without him either. There were several times when I just wanted to run away and hide. There is SO MUCH STUFF! And so many decisions to go along with it. The wedding registry was much easier. Possibly because we had so much already and I knew what few things I wanted to fill out our inventory. Ahhh!

And anybody who knows me knows that I can be really indecisive, which is why I like to do a lot of research in advance. There's nothing more frustrating than not knowing the answers. So Friday we went to Barnes&Noble to buy Baby Bargains, a book I had found on the internet and that also came recommended by several people. Our intent was to work on the yard on Saturday and do our shopping on Sunday. I even had a little - okay, large - To Do list with items marked as to whether they were a Saturday or Sunday activity.

Of course, I found out Friday that the store we were ordering the crib from is not open Sundays. So I thought we could run out there and order the crib, come back and work on the yard. But Husband decided we should just do all of our shopping on Saturday instead. I frantically tried to read as much as possible on Friday, but it's a big book with a lot of good information so I couldn't even skim. Long story long, I was totally unprepared.

Browsing the baby aisles on other occasions, I would day dream of how fun it would be to walk around with the scanner and pick things out. I did not anticipate the minor decisions associated with all those cute pink and blue, frilly, fun things. And throw into the mix that we got a bunch of hand-me-downs from Husband's little cousins - which I have not yet inventoried - well, you know, running and hiding, etc.

How hard could it really be? Well, let's start with the layette. Okay, nevermind that we have a large supply of some of the basic onesies, etc. already. How many of the onesies, gowns, socks, hats, bibs, pant sets do you register for? And what sizes. Presumably, Baby Girl will be somewhere in the 8 to 10 lb. range. But how long will she stay that small? So you have to decide on the quantity of 0-3 mos., 3-6 mos, 6+ mos. items to select.

Then there are the toys and activity centers. Which ones are best? Which aren't going to cause ADHD? What really works and what is a waste of money? How much of this stuff do we really need? Why the hell does this thing cost so much?

Next came the bottles. This is where I just about lost it. I knew what brand I wanted, but there were a plethora of choices within that brand. Are the bottles reusable? Do I need the 3 oz. (intended for 0 mos.) or the 9 oz. (best I can tell they are for the 1 mos.+). Can we just buy the bottles and supplement nipples as she grows? Do they all fit together right? What about breastfeeding and pumping? I know the pump I have isn't the same brand as the bottles, so what then? Which bags do I buy? How many of each do I need? Oh my goodness, I can't do this! But Husband calmed me down and reminded me that it could all be adjusted later as I learned more. For the moment, just get something on paper. Okay. Deep breath and continue.

After that were the diapers - the brand I picked was solely because I'd heard someone else talk about them before. And the bath items. We picked a set that is supposedly all natural, organic ingredients.

By then, I was exhausted, thirsty and my feet had swollen, so we quit. We haven't even started the baby appliances yet. Or the regular, non-layette clothes. And the ever looming question is should we register for things to help us as she gets older? I mean we're totally going to have it made for the first 6 weeks. After that, who knows? Is it wrong to go ahead and register for sippy cups and silverware? Or larger diapers/training pants?

Anyway, rest assured that the majority of the questions are getting answered, slowly. But I would like some feedback on the last group of questions. For those of you who've had babies recently, did you register for older baby things, too?

Okay, deep breath and move on....