Here's my conclusion: except for big ticket items like strollers which are conveniently set up so I can race them around the store taking hard corners like an Indy 500 driver on crack, Babies-R-Us is filled with crap. I wanted to buy baby Moxie a toy so I could imagine her pudgy little hands clutching it, her drooly little mouth gumming it to death, the adorable way she'll fling it at my head...But the toys were all plastic and China-made or a weird man-made fabric chemicalized to be stain, drool, and boredom resistant. Now, I'm not a very granola or earth friendly person. I know that Moxie will be in this world for about two minutes before I am giving her ANYTHING she wants to gum on if it'll keep her content. But right now I'm daydreaming and fantasizing about my sweet, pure, chemical and lead free child. I would like to buy her at least one German crafted, overpriced, underdecorated object for her to ignore in favor of a cardboard box or bowl of dog water.
I know better baby stuff exists than what is shown in Babies-R-Us because one of my procrastination techniques has been to google different baby toys. Ooh, I've found good stuff! It all started because I was looking for a sling. I had been given one when Tallulah was born and we used it CONSTANTLY. She was colicky and wanted to be in my arms and/or on my boob all the time. The sling was the only reason I was able to leave the house. But it was the ugliest sling known to motherhood. It was a blue plaid with lots of padding. Plaid. And the thing about a sling is, you always wonder how long it will last. How long will my kid really want to be cooped up in this hammock-like straitjacket? So you keep wearing the plaid sling despite the fact that you look like a drunk scotsman who got his kilt tied wrong. And the sling phase lasts until your toddler turns two. Two years of plaid. There isn't enough gin in the world to dull the pain.
So I started googling slings early and I found not only the prettiest sling in the world, but I got it on sale! So then I had to get Kent a more manly version and Tallulah a sling for her dolls.
But it started this mania in me. What other cool baby stuff is out there that I never knew about?
I found nursing bracelets that help track the last time you nursed and which side.
I found the coolest cloth diapers known to mankind. Really. I was on the fence about cloth diapers because I'm a super crappy housekeeper and I don't want my house to smell like poop all the time, but these diapers have convinced me. They are as easy to use as disposable-- they use a velcro closure and are all in one which means no weird pins and clasps-- and the best part is, they are size adjustable. One size fits all because of a unique snap system that makes it small for the bitty babies and grows as baby grows. I saw a mom around town using them and I attacked her with questions. They are as easy as they sound and cute, too!
And then, of course, there's this site which has the funniest baby stuff ever. Check out this onesie:
Who doesn't need a gentle reminder?
