Baby registries, showers and the loads of unwanted stuff that goes along with 'em...

Boondock Ramblings just did a post about going to a friend's baby shower. As the gifts were being ooohed and ahhed over, she mentally did a running commentary of the things the mommy-to-be won't really need....stuffed toys and such. As I was reading, I couldn't help but think back to the showers I had when I was prego with the Bubs. I had one at work and one that a couple of my aunts threw for me. While I appreciated both, I did get a few things that I didn't really need. There were the obligatory stuffed toys and extrememly bulky blankets that were far too heavy for where we live, but for the most part we were very blessed to get many of the things we needed. Like all first time parents, we needed everything!

Oh, and, mercy, did people take the opportunity of a new baby in the family to unload, er, I mean give gently used baby items to us. Or, at least some of it was gently used. It took me months to go through the lot of it! For heavens sake, there's not a thing wrong with handing down baby clothes and such, but PLEASE hand down in moderation and make sure it's usable. That way it's counted as a blessing and not a royal pain by the new parents.

Even though the Hubs and I aren't first time parents, we do still get a kick out of looking at all the baby sites online. Hubs is interested in the baby gear section and I'm usually interested in, well, everything. I'm still amazed at the sheer number of gadgets, toys, clothing lines and bedding designs that are available for babies. I go into overload if I'm not careful! However, I don't get sucked in by the diaper genies and wipe warmer type things. I didn't need 'em with our first baby and I doubt I'll need them with this one. Believe it or not, we still have a few things left over from when the Bubs was a baby so we don't need every little thing like we did before. (And the bank account breathes a sigh of relief!)

Some of my favorite things to use after I had the Bubs were my Boppy pillow, the silent mode on our home phone, one piece outfits, our tricked out pack-n-play (thanks Mom and Dad), burp cloths, the diswasher basket for bottle paraphanelia and, of course, the stroller/carseat travel system. Speaking of the carseat, the Hubs found a neat cover for it to keep the wind and cold out....you know, as opposed to bundling up the kid until he couldn't move. That was a great find and saved us a load of time and aggravation.

I think this time around I know what we can't do without and what isn't neccessary...at least not at first. For instance, I would love to have a co-sleeper to go next to our bed, a gentle noise maker to keep baby from waking up and a bottle warmer for those "holy cow what time is it?" feedings. On the flip side, I have no use for stuffed animals, no matter how precious, or a wipe warmer. My frivolous side isn't completely repressed, though. I'm in love with the little Trumpette socks that look like little shoes and the Babylegs products. I can't help myself, y'all!

And heaven forbid if you don't have a theme for your nursery! I didn't have a traditional theme for the Bubs like cars or frogs and it drove some people crazy. I made his quilt and the window treatments out of fabrics that I'd collected and had fun doing it. That was a memory that I wouldn't trade for anything. I just had an aversion to anything too cutesy or Winnie the Pooh. Sue me. Now I'm having a hard time coming up with things for this baby. I do like toile and vintagey kinda stuff, but that's kinda hard to come by (pre-made) on my budget. My Mom is prob'ly rolling her eyes and chuckling 'cause I've never had typical/easy tastes. I'll come up with somethin', don't you worry! For now I'm off to cruise the cyber aisles of babydom and get our registry goin'. You wouldn't believe how many people have already asked me where we're registered....