I have to say that registering for baby items has been one of the more challenging aspects of planning for the baby. It's one thing to register for wedding gifts - you know how you live on a day to day basis, so you just pick out stuff that you need to be able to do what you normally do, except now you'll be doing it with another person that you've known for awhile and really, really love. And you have to decide if you want to do what you normally do on china with a silver band or with the trendy blue pinstripe?
A baby registry is an entirely different situation. All of these things have to prepare you for an entirely new life with a brand new human being that you have never met and that YOU HAVE TO KEEP ALIVE!!! NO PRESSURE! It's just that the cute little high chair that you like so much in the store?Well, it could kill your baby.
While registering for things that are vital to human survival, you also have to think about what these things look like - what kind of image do I want to impart on this brand new human being? This is important! This is the stuff that, years from now, your kid is going to complain about in therapy! (Example: The hideous mullet haircuts my mother gave us when I was in 2nd grade. Now, that statement will make her furious and she will insist that those were cute haircuts. Mama, I'm sorry. And you are wrong.)
The final trial you face in registering for baby gear is the fact that there are so flippin' many places to register! Target, Babies-R-Us, Amazon, babyGap, Pottery Barn Kids, and about a million other places. Then there are places that don't have registries at all - all of the etsy.com sellers, DwellStudio, Ikea. So what do you do when the crib bumper you like is at Pottery Barn, the sheets you like are at DwellStudio, and the mattress you need is at Babies-R-Us? Well, for the past 6 months, I've been obsessively trying to figure all this out.
UNTIL NOW!
Thanks to Real Simple Magazine (thank you, you beautiful, life-saving people) I found out about a website called wishpot.com. This site allows you to create a registry with items from anywhere online. ANYWHERE! (well, almost anywhere. I wasn't able to add the stuff I want from IKEA, but it's a small negative.) Now all of my registry items are in one location, so it's not confusing for me or for people wanting to buy baby gifts. PLUS it's a really user-friendly layout. PLUS it allows you to take contributions for pricier gifts. PLUS there's a fun little widget you can add to your blog! (You may have noticed all of the delightful items scolling on the right of your screen - those are items on the baby registry!)
I could probably go on for two or three more paragraphs about this, but I'm sure that would be boring. I will just say that I am in looooooooove with this website. Registry problems? Solved! Well, except for having to make sure my bedding choice won't emotionally scar my child.
Storms a Brewin'
14 years ago
Um, I remember that mullet haircut, and you're right. It wasn't cute. But neither was my side ponytail in my fourth grade picture. Or my perm when I was thirteen. And, yet, you and I both survived these traumatic hair moments and turned out to be responsible, productive adults.
ReplyDeleteSo, I say pick out whatever you think is cute and dress your baby in it. And pick out the bedding that will match the rest of the nursery you have planned. It's not like she'll remember her crib bedding anyway. There's a part of me that thinks, perhaps, you should dress her in ridiculous outfits to make sure she has the opportunity to learn about how to deal with embarrassing parents/clothes/haircuts. Think about it: you'll be doing her a service because you're allowing her to overcome adversity at an early age... Maybe that's what our parents were thinking when they gave us those haircuts...