From doing a little research, I’m noticing babies are quite expensive. In addition to the medical costs of doc visits, tests, and a brief hospital stay where the baby will be sneezed out (here’s to hoping), we have to consider all the supplies Babies R Us makes me think I need (or want badly, at least, because they’re so cute and my little baby will look so cute using that _____ [insert cute little baby item here]).
So I’m starting early in order to cut corners where appropriate. If you know my mom, you know she loves a good garage sale. And she loves my baby. The perfect combination for making my baby the bargain baby spokesbaby!
We’ve already scored a pretty sweet stroller/carrier/carseat set (blue…again, here’s to hoping), a cute jungle-themed swing that makes rain and monkey noises, a bathing system, and little velcro pillows for a baby carrier to keep the little lumps head steady (in the image on the package, the baby looks so darn happy to be smooshed between two cotton pads, who could resist buying it?).
I’m also lucky…I’ve got one friend that offered me to rifle through her baby items she won’t be needing any more. And I’ve recently discovered the Craigslist baby items section. I fully plan on checking that every day for new treasures.
There’s also the small matter of maternity clothes…a sudden need for a new wardrobe that I can only wear for 5 or so months. I’ve tried extending my regular wardrobe as long as possible. The issue is, I walked into a room to ask Wally if one of my shirts I was wearing was too short, and before I had the chance to ask, Wally just laughed at me. Yipes!
Luckily, my sister is one of those tiny girls that baby doll shirts look fab on, so she has about 10. And she was generous to do a “shirt exchange” with me for the summer. I gave her some of my tops that I don’t want to stretch out, and she gave me a few weeks worth of shirts. Work friends, get ready to see me in the same handful of shirts over and over for the next few months.
Also, there’s my new favorite invention: the belly band. My sister-in-law just gave me two of these puppies over the weekend. I almost don’t want to reveal the secret, because it’s such a good one. But basically, it’s a tube of spandex material that I can wear around my stomach and hips, and it’s tight enough to hold up my pants and mask that they are not buttoned. If it sticks out the bottom of my shirt, it’s fine, as it looks like the bottom of my underneath tank top. Hats off to whoever invented these cloth tubes of magic and wonder!
I’m supposed to start feeling the baby kick sometime in the next few weeks, so hopefully that will be my next post!
On Being Pregnant 