Registries and quandries

Posted by: Cal

Yesterday Stacia begged me to drive out to Bellevue to register for baby gifts for our two baby parties. More about these in the near future. Instead, Stacia and I spent the day cleaning the house, but, this morning Stacia wakes me up with a smile plastered on her face which I know means she wants to roll out to Bellevue to click that laser gun at products for our baby. This to me sounds a) boring--breast pumps and bath tubs = not fun. b) necessary--we need a stroller, crib, etc. And c) fun (to an extent)--I like to imagine what my baby will wear, even if it is only shitting in it.
So we venture out to Babies R Us in Bellevue. Stacia does the deciding, I do the shooting. It all works. I follow her leads. I shoot the Baby Bjorn (apparently we need it). I shoot the elaborate breast pump system (apparently women breast feed up to one year. Who knew?), and I shoot the towels, rags, diapers, etc. that come with having a child.
But then comes the hard part, and the fun part. The hard part is hard because 1) we don't know what we're having, 2) we have particular ideas of gifts, and 3) we have particular tastes, especially when it comes to branding.
First, we had to stay neutral. This is because we don't know if we're having a girl or a boy, and, well, we don't like the idea of "boy is blue" and "girl is pink." Not that we think boys should have pink things to make a point. Quite the opposite. We don't think either should be swallowed by pink, or blue for that matter. So we scan some green/blue/yellow towels.
Second, neither Stacia nor I like adornments. We're shopping for a bassinet. There's one with palm trees. Stacia says no. There's one with animals. I say no. There's one with pink hearts. We both say No way! Stacia and I decide on the plain brown one. Then we head down to the strollers. Why is there Winnie the Pooh all over a stroller? Why Dora the Explorer on a stroller? the kid can't see these designs, and strangers don't need the cartoons to be able to guess what's inside the stroller? So why do it? The answer is so companies can make money from you purchasing the Dora the Explorer stroller. Stacia and I go with the plain one.
Stacia and I go through the furniture. This was fun. There's this awesome bed. We learned about it from our friends who had a kid a few months back. This bed is a crib. But when the kid gets older, it folds out to a toddler bed, but, then, when the kid's older, it becomes the frame for a full-size mattress that can be used through the teen years. How cool is that?
Then we get to the clothes. I like this 'cause I like to imagine my little tike in the little socks, the little hats and shirts. But here's a real pet peeve of mine: cutesy sayings on clothes. As we look through the onesies, it's so strange to me how everything has to say something, especially since the baby can't even read what it's apparently trying to convey. I see a onesie, I hold it up for Stacia. It says on the front, "I like hugs." I say to Stacia, "But what if our kid doesn't like hugs?"
"Worlds Best Dad"? I don't need my kid's shirt to believe this may be true. "Too Cute 4 My Own Good"? Maybe, but my kid's clothes don't need to make him/her arrogant before he/she can even speak. "I Want Candy?" So what? You're getting milk again, kid.
I can't put my finger on why I don't like "message" clothes, I just don't like it. I don't like it when adults do it either. You know those girls who wear sweat pants that say "Sassy" across their ass? Is that not weird to anyone else?
Anyway, I digress.
Although we were trying to be neutral, I couldn't resist this little dress for my (maybe) daughter. So I had to also scan some overalls for my (maybe) son. We'll see.
All in all it was a fun and interesting day.
We're planning a couple parties. One will be here in Seattle. The other will be in the Tri-Cities. Both parties will NOT be typical showers, but rather get-togethers for both guys and gals. These are Stacia's wishes. So don't think shower, guys, think Party. It's gonna be fun.